Ogden Restaurant Week Is Back

Here’s a chance for Northern Utahns to to break out of their same-old-restaurant rut, with Ogden Restaurant Week from April 11-20.

The event showcases the city’s local, independent restaurants by offering two-course lunches for $8 and three-course dinners for $15.

This is the second year of Ogden Restaurant Week. Participants include Two-Bit Street Cafe, Sonora Grill, Rovali’s, Bistro 258, Hearth on 25th, Tona Sushi Bar and Grill, Roosters Brewing Company, MacCool’s Public House, Union Grill, Slackwater Pizzeria and Pub, Prairie Schooner, Bangkok Garden, Brixton’s, The Garden Grill and Lounge, Lucky Slice, and Movie Grille.

Each restaurant will offer a special Restaurant Week menu with several different choices of entrees, appetizers and dessert. (The regular menu will also be

available, at regular prices.) The courses, if purchased separately off the regular menu, would cost quite a bit more than the $8 price for lunch, and the $15 dinner price. All participating restaurant menus are listed on Ogdenrestaurantweek.com.

“A lot of the time when people go to a restaurant, they never try a dessert or an appetizer because of the cost,” said Steve Ballard, owner of Sonora Grill and chairman of Ogden Restaurant Week. “This makes it very affordable.”

This is the first year Two-Bit Street Cafe is participating, “so we don’t really know what to expect,” said James Dayley. “But we plan on it bringing in a lot of new customers. That’s the whole idea, as well as giving people  great value for their money, which we always try to do.”

The Famous Two-Bit Blue Chips (called “Famous” because they’ve been featured on local TV a few times)  will be offered as an appetizer choice, as well as several soups. Entree choices include the Cuban Tampa Bay, Creamy Greek Pasta during lunch. Dinner selections include baked Shrimp Scampi,  Beef Steak Chimichurri and Veggie Queso Tamales.

Dessert selections include Farmhouse Panna Cotta or “one of our many pies,” said Dayley. “We plan on offering the same options throughout the event, but who knows, we could get swamped and run out of something.”

My story in the Standard Examiner’s GO! section talks to some of the other participating restaurants about their menus. interviewing some of the other participating restaurants about their menus will be in the Standard-Examiner GO! section on Friday.

Restaurateurs say last week was a resounding success. Angelica Sweet, manager of Bistro 258, said her restaurant was consistently busy throughout the event. Alex Montanez, owner of Rovali’s Ristoriante, also saw a big increase in customer traffic, and about 30 percent of had never been to Rovali’s before. Both said they discovered groups of people who were trying to hit every one of the participating restaurants during the event.  

Another first-year participant is Movie Grille, the combination theater/restaurant that opened in 2013. “Restaurant week is an opportunity for people on a tight budget to experience what Ogden restaurants have to offer,” said co-owner Alan Jackman.

Movie Grille’s daily specials will include customer favorites such as the fresh turkey sandwich with housemade pesto cream sauce, the BBQ chicken pizza, deep-fried mac ‘n’cheese bites, and goat cheese and pear salad.

At Sonora Grill, $8 will buy lunch customers a choice of chile verde, a tostada salad, chicken enchiladas, grilled shrimp tacos, or the restaurant’s top-selling carnitas tacos. They can be paired with either an appetizer or dessert. Appetizer choices are beef taquitos, cheese bean dip, or made-to-order guacamole. Dessert choices are sopapillas, chocolate mousse, or coconut flan.

To build the excitement, prizes such as restaurant gift certificates are being given away on the Ogden Restaurant Week Facebook page.

After a few years of observing Salt Lake City’s annual restaurant week (known as the Downtown Dine O’Round,) here are some of my tips for enjoying Restaurant Week:

1. Drinks, tips and tax aren’t included in the price, so budget accordingly.

2. The $8 and $15 prices are only good for the Restaurant Week menu, not the restaurant’s complete menu.

3. If you’ve got a picky palate, be sure to check the Ogdenrestaurantweek.com website for the specials being offered. Otherwise, you may get to the restaurant, find out you don’t like the choices and end up ordering from the regular menu at the usual price.

4. Restaurants may fill up quickly during Restaurant Week. You may want to make reservations, especially if you’re going with a large group. Some restaurants don’t take reservations, so you might want to go a little earlier or later than the usual lunch or dinner rush, to avoid waiting for a table.

I plan to visit a few places during Restaurant Week, and I hope to hear what other people’s experiences are like as well.