Are you ready to Restaurant Week?
“Restaurant Week has become a verb,” laughed Pamela Waitt, president of the Orange County Restaurant Association that hosts the annual OC Restaurant Week. “Everyone Restaurant Weeks differently—there are so many types of diners that we have made it easier than ever to decide which restaurants to visit.”
This year’s event is March 2-8 and boasts a record number of restaurants offering prix fixe menus for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.
“The event has grown in popularity over the years, with people always wanting to go out. We have always had the ability to get to 200 restaurants, but we let it grow at a nice pace. Last year, we had 185 restaurants participating, so I said let’s get to 200 this year,” Waitt told the Business Journal. “Last year, we had 200,000 people visit restaurants during Restaurant Week. It has helped put Orange County on the culinary map.”
It’s easy to see why restaurants want to participate. They can appeal to diners who have never visited before and lure them in with limited time menu offerings and prices, and they can appeal to people looking for fun ways to enjoy restaurant week.
On the OC Restaurant Week website, diners can search for participating restaurants by name or city as well as price point, but they can also search by themes such as Date Night, Wine Lovers, Luxe Menus, Brunch & Breakfast, Gather the Squad and other categories.
“The Date Night category has become a popular part of restaurant week,” said Waitt. “That started during COVID when you could not always go out and dine so restaurant week became something where you ordered fun dinners for two and picked it up. Sometimes they included a bottle of wine.”
This year, she said Date Night menus have doubled compared to last year.
“People get excited and hire babysitters, or best friends go out and do it,” she said.
Another popular category is Luxe Menu, which is a luxury dining experience with more courses or wine pairings. There are more than a dozen restaurants known for their wine selections listed under the Wine Lovers category, and a dozen eateries in the Vegetarian category.
“Our Restaurant Week slogan is ‘The Best Nights Go with Great Meals.’ The energy we are pouring into Restaurant Week is for people to gather together and have nice conversations and great meals. Insert your memory here,” Waitt said. “I get a lot of satisfaction from that. This year seems to have a little more spirit and energy. This is the year Restaurant Week became a verb.”
There is a special OC Restaurant Week kickoff event on March 1 with 36 restaurants serving samples of their cuisine, along with 30 wineries from Paso Robles pouring tastes. The event usually sells out but check the OC Restaurant Week website for availability.
TRELA’S HOT TAKE
So many restaurants, so little time.
That’s the dilemma for OC Restaurant Week. With so many fabulous menus throughout Orange County, it’s not easy to choose where to dine.
Some of the best values are reflected in the lunch menus. For example, 18 restaurants are serving $15 lunches, including Descanso in Costa Mesa. Their lunch deal is a choice of two tacos with Mexican fried rice and refried pinto beans plus chips and salsa and a beverage.
The sweet spot for dinner seems to be the $45 to $50 category, with more than 60 restaurants offering a variety of cuisines. Great Maple locations in Anaheim and Newport Beach are offering a three-course meal with entrée options that include lemon shrimp pasta or ribeye melt plus a beverage for $45, while O Sea in Orange has a three-course menu for $50, with an added wine pairing for $25. They also have an impressive Date Night offering: a three-course dinner for two for $100 that includes a bottle of wine.
I recommend spending time perusing the list of restaurants and menus on the OC Restaurant Week website to find ones that appeal to your palate. There is truly something for everyone: ocrestaurantweek.com
