There”™s no need to go grocery shopping for two weeks in November, with the 11th Hudson Valley Restaurant Week kicking off Nov. 3.
The annual event runs through Nov. 16 and will feature nearly 200 restaurants across seven New York counties and Fairfield County, Conn. Nearly 100 restaurants across Westchester County are participating in this year”™s Restaurant Week, offering cuisine ranging from traditional American fare including seafood and steaks to Italian, French, Japanese and Mediterranean.
“Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is a great opportunity for residents and visitors to try the best dishes at Westchester County”™s top restaurants,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino in a press release. “Our unique chefs show off their amazing talent by using products grown locally during the fall harvest season. It”™s something you won”™t want to miss.”
Organizers and restaurateurs see Restaurant Week as an opportunity for consumers to travel and try new restaurants and cuisines, and to do so at an affordable price. Participating restaurants are offering lunches for $20.95 and three course, prix-fixe dinners for $29.95 plus beverage, tax and tip.
“If you”™re new to the area, it”™s a great opportunity to experience the variety of cuisine that”™s available,” said Janet Crawshaw, the publisher of The Valley Table magazine and founder of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week. “Almost half of the participating restaurants are in Westchester County, which has a really diverse restaurant scene. For example, if you like French food, there”™s La Panetiere in Rye or Le Provencal Bistro in Mamaroneck. It”™s fun to almost travel the world through Restaurant Week.”
And for those not new to the area, Crawshaw suggested getting out to explore the county to visit new places and try restaurants they wouldn”™t have otherwise patronized.
“Ralph and Dave”™s is in Verplanck,” Crawshaw said of the restaurant that serves American cuisine on Riverview Avenue. “When they signed up, I pulled out a map to find it, and that”™s a place I might go visit.”
For restaurateurs, Restaurant Week offers a chance to get exposure and build business at what is normally a slower time of the year.
“We”™re looking for brand exposure,” said Leslie Lampert, the owner and executive chef at Cafe of Love on East Main Street in Mount Kisco. “Hopefully, people who haven”™t experienced us due to mileage or perception will give us a try.”
Lampert said that though the meals are prix-fixe, the food is comparable to what is normally found on her menu.
“It”™s a great bargain, and it”™s just as creative and luxurious as our regular menu,” she said. “Visitors during Restaurant Week will be able to try out Moroccan beef tagine with herbed couscous or our coriander-pepper-encrusted tuna for $29.99.”
Another goal for Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is to promote local farms and food distributors. According to a press release on Restaurant Week, there are 2,552 farms, 72 farmers markets, and 35 community-supported agriculture farms in the seven participating New York counties.
“I like to say that we”™re using local ingredients on a global adventure,” said Lampert. “I was the first in northern Westchester to do that at Ladle of Love 11 years ago. But more than that, it”™s an opportunity to show how we support everyone who lives and does business in our communities, and Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is a great example of how we can do that.”
At Cafe of Love, Lampert said she is excited to open her doors to newfound customers who might discover the restaurant, as well as the regulars who come three or four times a week.
“It”™s an opportunity to sample everything and decide where you want to go back to,” she said. “It”™s a chance to try ”˜dating other restaurants.”™”
