Did you know that Chicago Restaurant Week is happening right now? From January 30-February 12, over two hundred and fifty restaurants in the city and suburbs — including some three and four-star restaurants — are offering special pre-fixe menus of three and four courses for $22 a person at lunch and $33 or $44 a person at dinner. (Tax, tip and beverages are extra.) Some restaurants offer special dishes just for Restaurant Week while others highlight some of their signature dishes on their Restaurant Week menus. You don’t have to do anything special to join in the fun. Just show up — or better yet, make a reservation — at any one of the participating restaurants. Find the complete list of participating restaurants and preview their special Restaurant Week menus here.

When Restaurant Week comes along and I have the chance to sample some of the best and hottest restaurants in town for a bargain price, I am on top of it. I clear my schedule, round up some dining companions, and book a handful of Restaurant Week lunches. At $22 a person, you can’t afford not to go out.

Blackbird is one of the hardest tables to get during Restaurant Week as savvy diners jump at the chance to eat at this nationally-known, Michelin-starred restaurant for $22 a person.  The rush is misplaced however:  Blackbird actually has a $25, three-course, pre-fixe lunch menu every day, so if you cannot get a table during Restaurant Week, definitely try another time.

You either love or hate Blackbird’s strikingly modern, all-white decor. I don’t love it myself, but I admire the restaurant for having such a distinctive look. And with its young servers in tailored suits and well-heeled clientele, one feels like part of a scene at Blackbird. What I love most about Blackbird, however, is the inventive, modern cuisine  and the exceptional service. Blackbird’s Restaurant Week menu only offers two or three selections per course, but what tremendous selections!

My dining companion and I went different ways for appetizers: she had a carrot soup with bergamot whipped cream, fingerling potato chips and chervil. I opted for the beef tartare with smoked mushroom, crispy grains, and dried tomato, not remembering that I did not like it that much last year. Once again, the beef tartare is such a tiny portion and the beef is minced so fine, that I missed the velvety texture that makes beef tartare so special. I did appreciate the crunch and nutty flavor from the toasted grains, including sesame.

For a main course, we both had the duck confit with buttermilk spaetzle, fennel, orange and fermented squash. I chose that entree from among the three selections because both duck confit and spaetzle are things I am not going to make at home. (I made spaetzle once and vowed never to again.) The whole dish was magnificent, from the meltingly tender duck to the tiny spaetzle and the sweet, caramelized fennel.

And then it was time for dessert. I believe that the pastry chef at Blackbird, Dana Cree, is one of the most talented working in the city right now. Her desserts sound homey but are always extraordinary works of art that juxtapose unexpected textures and flavors into a harmonious whole. We sampled each of the two desserts on offer: a bourbon gooey butter cake with whipped goat cheese, caramelized strudel, pumpkin, pecans and sorghum and a brownie sundae with chocolate ice cream, coconut custard, smoked oat crunch and whipped cream. Yes, yes and yes.

Next up on my Restaurant Week agenda: GT Fish and Oyster and Nightwood.