Events

5 Quick Tips To Navigate Restaurant Week In Any City

TipsImage

Restaurant Week originated in New York City in 1992.  It was thought up as a way to reach customers who wouldn’t normally visit restaurants in their city. Restaurant Week offers a prix-fix menu for a two-course lunch and/or three-course dinner. Fast forward 20 years later and many cities and states have kept the concept of Restaurant Week alive.

For us foodies, it’s like a bi-annual Christmas. Depending on where you live it could be a tri-annual Christmas. I live in Baltimore City and we host a Restaurant Week twice a year, but Baltimore County also hosts Restaurant Week events.  For me that means I can also drive 30 minutes to Baltimore County and participate in their Restaurant Week.

Because I have attended so many restaurant week events, I have a system and a way I like to plan my visits.  It can be a bit overwhelming if you’ve never participated in Restaurant Week.  If you’d like to take full advantage of the event, follow my five quick tips to navigate Restaurant Week.

1. Research

Research

The Restaurant Week organizing committee always releases a list of participating restaurants in your city. The list usually comes out one week before Restaurant Week begins. Most lists are very detailed with information such as:

  • Restaurant name
  • Location
  • Phone Number
  • Cuisine Type
  • Lunch, Brunch and Dinner menu items
  • Parking Information
  • Neighborhoods
  • Online Reservation Information

The aforementioned details are very helpful for your planning process. If you plan on visiting several restaurants you can map it out.  If you have a taste for seafood, you can filter and sort through only the seafood restaurants. If you want to grab a quick lunch near your job, you can search by neighborhood and view the lunch menu and once you get there you’ll already know what to order.

2. Read –  After you’ve researched and narrowed down the restaurants you would like to visit, take the time to read about them.  There are various online platforms that give restaurant reviews – Zagat, Trip Advisor and Yelp, just to name a few.  Read as many reviews as you can. There is nothing worst than visiting a restaurant and it’s not a good experience. Such a waste of time and money.

3. Reserve 

Reservation

Don’t forget to make a dinner reservation.   The same way you are researching and reading in anticipation for Restaurant Week, so is everyone else.  Or they may not be researching or reading because they already know their favorite restaurant is on the list. Restaurant Week always has great attendance because it’s the perfect time opportunity for a group activity or date night.  Everyone loves a reasonably priced meal at a fancy restaurant. Some cities extend their Restaurant Week for a few days after the week because there was such a great turnout with high demand.  So please  make a reservation because it will be crowded especially during dinner. OpenTable  is a great reservation website to use.

4. Rally

Rally

My personal favorite of the list because I like to rally my friends together or separately to join me on my restaurant tour. I sometimes like to eat alone, but during Restaurant Week I like to eat in the company of others because my taste odds are better.  I can order one dish, my friend can other another and someone else can order another…this way everyone can taste the different dishes that restaurant has to offer.  Also there will be no confusion when the bill comes because the price is already preset and each person pays the same…unless of course cocktails are ordered.

5. Rest –  So many choices, so little time.  Restaurant Week can be overwhelming because I always want to visit every restaurant. Maybe you want to do lunch today, dinner tomorrow, lunch the next day, brunch on Saturday…whatever you decide, make sure you get some rest.  A three-course dinner is a lot of food, take time to enjoy it and enjoy the experience before you move on to the next restaurant. Don’t go overboard and remember there will be another Restaurant Week in the future and you will have the opportunity to visit the places you missed.

Visit FindRestaurantWeeks.com for a full list of participating restaurant cities and states.

Please leave a comment below if you have any other tips or if you found these tips helpful.

Happy Eating!

Karen’s Kitchen featured at “The Good Life” Party

Over the weekend I attended a formal party at The Woods Estate in the Lake Ashburton Reservoir area in Baltimore, Maryland.   The open bar was an added bonus, but I of course was more concerned with the food options.

The event was catered by Karen’s Kitchen culinary team in Maryland and guests were served a variety of hors d’oeuvres by the wait staff.  The menu featured three no-fuss items that were simple and delicious – Check out the pics below and I know you’ll agree.

KKSkewers

Tomato, Mozzarella Skewers with Basil Pesto

KKMeatballs

Chicken Meatballs with Marinara Dipping Sauce

Bruschetta

Shrimp Bruchetta

All Photos By: Shaun Anthony Photography

The Gathering Baltimore : March 2013

**This post was originally written by me for BMore Media 

Gypsy Queen Café's J.A. Peters, left, hands a Gypsy Crab Cone to Matt Groncki

Gypsy Queen Café’s J.A. Peters, left, hands a Gypsy Crab Cone to Matt Groncki – Photy by Steve Ruark

 

It was a dark and stormy February afternoon in Hampden. The smell of french fries and chicken curry filled the air. That’s when I encountered a gypsy queen in a castle full of iced gems at the Baltimore food-truck rally the Gathering.

This was my third visit to The Gathering: Baltimore’s Traveling Festival at the Castle on Keswick and 34th Street. The pop-up food festival began in the summer of 2011 and has continued to become a favorite of foodies living in Baltimore.

On this particular weekend afternoon, Gypsy Queen, Darua Food Truck, Cruisin Cafe, IcedGemsSultan, GrrChe Gourmet Grilled Cheese, SouperFreak, Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon and Busia’s Kitchen were on hand to feed the crowd. They served everything from Brazilian stew feijoada at Darua to Polish dumplings at Busia’s Kitchen.

The number of food trucks varies as does the locale. The next one will be held March 22 in Hampden and at Locust Point’s McHenry Row March 29. Stratford University in Little Italy, Harbor East and Reservoir Hill have also hosted The Gathering. Local bands Greasy Hands, Brooks Long & The Mad Dog No Good and Photo Radio have played live music.
Mobile canteens are nothing new in American history; their origins date back to the late 17th century with the idea of horse-drawn food wagons. The latest incarnation, the food truck phenomenon, was born during the recession in cities throughout the U.S. as diners looked for cheap eats and entrepreneurial chefs looked for cheaper alternatives to opening a new full-service restaurant. The food truck scene hit a snag a couple of years ago and the trucks were almost forced to leave downtown until the city designated food truck zones.
But it seems the phenomenon is here to stay.
On any given weekday food trucks can be found in dense areas of Baltimore City, including downtown, near Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland and other locales. (For a complete list of all the food truck locations in Baltimore, check out Charm City Food Trucks.)

Events like The Gathering help Busia’s Kitchen Owner Pat Dembeck find new fans of her cabbage rolls and pierogies. “It gets you in front of people you ordinarily don’t serve during the work week and occasionally gets your truck private bookings.”   While chatting with a few people on the patio, the consensus was loud and clear: Gypsy Queen was definitely the truck to visit. Naturally, the line was longest for the food truck declared the best in Charm City by both the Baltimore City Paper and Baltimore magazine last year.   Many people were walking away from the truck with a cone-shaped item wrapped in aluminum foil. Once I finally reached the window I asked for what I’d affectionately named “the cone of unknown.” It turned out to be a large waffle cone with old bay fries stuffed to the brim, topped with a crab cake smothered in a sweet and spicy aioli sauce — the famous Crab Cone.

Next, I made my way over to Darua to sample their Brazilian street food. I talked with Marcelo Salles, partner and chef at Darua food truck.
Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil,” he said. “It’s a slow-cooked black bean stew with five different kinds of pork served with collard greens and rice.”
I opted instead for the chicken croquette, which was fried to perfection on the outside, with flavorful, tender meat on the inside.

I walked by the IcedGems cupcake truck and spotted Paul DiMeo from “Extreme Makeover” fame chatting with fans while filming a new TV series titled “Second Act.” Scheduled to air in April on RLTV, “Second Act” is about what people can do once they retire from their day jobs. Hmmm…start a food truck perhaps?   

I made my final stop at GrrChe for a BCT — bacon, cheddar, and tomato — sandwich and I also sampled the shrimp basket from Cruisin’ Café.
On my way to the drink station I spoke with first-time Gathering attendee Travis Crawford, who raved about the spiked hot chocolate. Would he return?
“Yes, when the weather breaks. Hopefully there will be a wider selection of food trucks.”

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