It’s officially Chicago Restaurant Week! Restaurant Week runs January 24th – February 9th, so there’s still plenty of time to make a reservation and check it out! This year there are over 400 restaurants offering a $24 brunch/lunch option and a $36/$48 dinner option. Before you go racing to make a reservation somewhere special, be sure to take a look at their restaurant week menu. Some of the menu offerings are amazing deals and some are kind of a rip off (as in it’s less expensive and better selection to just order of their normal menu) I love checking out new places during restaurant week and this year we went to, Aba!
Aba is located in the trendy Fulton Market neighborhood. It’s a little difficult to find as it’s located on the third floor so there isn’t much signage on the street level – be on the lookout for a black awning entry way (located next to Beatrix) Aba, which means father in Hebrew prides itself on incorporating flavors from Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece in their dishes! The menu is mostly spreads and small plates best served family style. Part of the reason we selected Aba is because they had an awesome restaurant week menu! You can select two starters and one entree per person so we got to try six dishes between the two of us!
The food is incredible! Every dish we had was better than the last. Here’s what we ordered:
- Whipped Feta: Crushed Pistachio, Olive Oil, Lemon Zest
- Crispy Potatoes: Mizithra, Rosemary, Scallion Crema
- Green Falafel: Avocado Tzatziki, Garlic Tahini, Dania Spice
- Dark Chocolate Babka: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Raisins
- Short Rib Shaksuka: Eggs, Spicy Harissa, Graviera, Fingerling Potatoes
- Grilled Chicken Kebab: Yogurt Marinade, Sweet Peppers, Zhoug
- Lamb Ragu Hummus: Braised Lamb Shoulder, Spicy Harissa
Everything is served with an unlimited supply of the most delicious warm pita bread. Honestly, it was all amazing. I would order each dish again and again! The Lamb Ragu Hummus isn’t on the restaurant week menu but our waiter brought it to us complimentary! He said it was his favorite dish and we were so happy he shared it with us because it ended up being Gabe’s favorite too! My favorite was the whipped feta and crispy potatoes. If this sounds like a lot of food, it was! We brought home leftovers and all of this was only $24 per person, if it hadn’t of been restaurant week it would have been $32 per person! I also enjoyed the raspberry and orange mocktail (not pregnant…just didn’t feel like drinking!) At $7, it’s a bit overpriced but refreshing.
Not only is the food delicious but the restaurant is stunning. I mean, really really stunning. There’s so much gorgeous greenery – especially the four beautiful olive trees in the corners of the main dining room. The lighting creates a really warm ambiance with a mixture of chandeliers, twinkle lights and large pendants. Each table is a bit different blending warm woods, marbles, wicker and metal. It’s incredibly cozy with a really cool indoor/outdoor vibe. They even have roof top which they enclose and heat in the winter!
I highly recommend dining at Aba! Even if you can’t make it during restaurant week you should add this to your list of places to dine at in Chicago!
Finally, for anyone interested here is an outfit roundup with links to exact or similar items! And yes, my shirt was literally only $1!!! I never shop at Rue 21 but when I walked past and saw a clearance rack for $1 I had to take a look.
Outfit Round Up: Under $100
Shirt: Rue 21 $1
Pants: Old Navy $25
Shoes: Target$25
Purse: Target $30
Earrings: Target $15
Total: $96
Britt Heller 