Monday, February 22

It’s been quite a first year for Furious Spoon (1571 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wicker Park, 312-888-9485), and it’s marking the occasion with a one-week-only special of duck ramen ($10). The bowl will include barbecue duck breast, corn, carrots, and fried onions in a dark shoyu broth.

Wednesday, February 24

Honey Butter Fried Chicken (3361 N. Elston Ave., Avondale, 773-478-4000) launches a new series of guest chef-created sandwiches today, and the first offering comes from John Manion of La Sirena Clandestina (954 W. Fulton Market, West Loop, 312-226-5300). HBFC will feature his Cuban Clucker ($11), a combo of fried chicken strips, Swiss, ham, and pickles through Sunday. A dollar from each sandwich purchased will go toward nutrition-education nonprofit Pilot Light. (And if you’re in the neighborhood, La Sirena will be running a similar special all week: a buffalo mac and cheese empanada with Honey Butter fried chicken crunchies.)

Sunday, February 28

See how Lincoln Square spot Taco in a Bag does brunch in a bar during a pop-up at the Long Room (1612 W. Irving Park Rd., Lake View, 773-665-4500). As you chow down between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., you can take in some vintage cartoons and commercials.

Take a dip in Chicago’s dive bar scene during the Old School Dive Bar Pub Crawl put on by Lottie’s Pub (1925 W. Cortland Ave., West Town, 773-489-0738). Your $15 entry gets you on a school bus tour of four nearby spots (the itinerary is a surprise) along with food and a buffet following the tour. The party rolls out at 2 p.m., and you can snag tickets here.

Yes, it’s a little spendy—like, $125 per person spendy—but the chef line-up for the Japanese food celebration at Nico Osteria (1015 N. Rush St., Gold Coast, 312-994-7100) is pretty impressive. The so-called Nico Omakase dinner will feature food from Nico’s Erling Wu-Bower, Mark Hellyar of Momotaro, Gene Kato of Sumi Robata Bar, and B.K. Park of Juno, and they’ll be doing plenty of seafood (think kama toro nigiri and robata-grilled baby Spanish octopus). Call the restaurant to make a reservation.