The 4th Annual Restaurant Week (Feb 18 – 27) kicks off today featuring discounted dining at more than 200 of Chicago’s finest restaurants. But if you’re looking for enticing activities beyond sating your appetite, sharpen your culinary skills with a new chef-series taught by a local pro at the Chicago French Market, or make movie night memorable at Logan Square Kitchen with a documentary sure to nourish your local food knowledge. So gather ‘round locals, from film to food to learning from Chicago’s best chefs, this week’s Forecast will feed both your body and mind.

Restaurant Week
Celebrate Chicago as a world-class dining destination as the city kicks off its 4th Annual Restaurant Week. For 10 days starting today, and running until the 27th, more than 200 restaurants will offer special prix fixe menus starting at $22 for lunch and $33/$44 for three and four-course dinners (beverages, tax and gratuity are not included). Take this opportunity to discover new dining hot spots and re-visit a few of your favorites for a fraction of the price. Highlights include: Naha, Topolobampo, Vie and Blackbird among others. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made on opentable.com or by calling participating restaurants. For individual menu details and a complete list of restaurants, visit www.choosechicago.com.

Cooking with Chicago Chefs
Here is your opportunity to taste world-class cuisine and ask talented chefs all your culinary questions as the Chicago French Market launches its new, free monthly chef series, “Dine Around the French Market,” this Tuesday, Feb. 22. From Noon to 1 p.m., join Michael Fiorello, executive chef of Mercat a la Planxa and The Blackstone Hotel, as he presents a live cooking demonstration featuring Latin and European-inspired cuisine with ingredients selected from the nearly 30 artisan vendors at the Chicago French Market. Every third Tuesday of the month, varying local chefs will be featured and given a $100 budget to create easy-to-prepare dishes for attendees, who will also receive complimentary recipe cards to re-create the dishes at home. The Chicago French Market is located at 131 N. Clinton. For more information, visit www.chicagofrenchmarket.com.

Dinner and a Movie
Enjoy both food and film as Logan Square Kitchen hosts the Chicago debut screening of Robert Bates’ new documentary Ingredients this Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by Jim Javenkoski’s Local Food Wisdom, the film screening (approximately 70 min), profiles farmers, chefs and others involved in local food activism. Attendees at the event can network with other locavores while enjoying a sampling of “naanwiches” prepared by Chef Matt Maroni’s Gaztro-Wagon food truck, and participate in a closing panel session featuring farmers and chefs. Tickets may be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets for $25 per person. A cash bar will offer selected brews from Chicago’s own Revolution and Haymarket breweries. Logan Square Kitchen is located at 2333 N. Milwaukee Ave. For more information, visit www.logansquarekitchen.com.