Ogden Restaurant Week: How to Navigate It
Ogden Restaurant Week is here, offering a chance to break out of their restaurant rut without breaking their budget. I recently did a story about it for the Standard-Examiner‘s Dining Guide. Here is a link to that story.
Ogden Restaurant Week, running April 10-19, showcases 19 of the city’s local, independent restaurants by offering special two-course lunches for $8 and three-course dinners for $15.
This year’s line-up includes Bangkok Garden, Bistro 258, Brixton’s, Harley & Bucks, Hearth on 25th, Lucky Slice, MacCools, Prairie Schooner, Roosters, Rovali’s Ristorante, Slackwater Pizzeria & Pub, Sonora Grill, Scruds Gourmet Burgers, Tona Sushi Bar & Grill, Tokoyo Station, Thai Curry Kitchen, Union Grill, Lighthouse Lounge and Warren’s Craft Burger.
“Restaurant week is a lot of fun,” said Steve Ballard, the Restaurant Week chairman and owner of Sonora Grill and Thai Curry Kitchen. “There is a buzz downtown as all the restaurants get rush of customers.”
The buzz also extends to social media, as diners post photos and comments of themselves eating at the various restaurants. Ballard said the first person to eat at all the participating restaurants and post them on their Instagram account, wins a $25 gift card to each of the participating businesses. That means you’d have to average more than two places each day, but it would mean some great future meals.
Each restaurant offers a fixed-price Restaurant Week menu with several different choices of entrees, appetizers and dessert. (The regular menus will also be available.) 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.
Some restaurants use the event to try out new dishes. Sonora Grill is featuring a new entrée, Chipotle Pork Tinga, or slow-roasted pork cooked in a banana leaf.
“The chipotle peppers give it a subtle smoky flavor,” said owner Steve Ballard. “It is then served over coconut almond rice, and topped with pickled red onions, diced avocados, queso fresco and crunchy tortilla strips. It is incredible!”
All participating restaurant menus are listed on http://www.visitogden.com/restaurantweek. Here are some ideas of what’s on the table:
Tona’s: The $8 lunch special offers appetizer choices of Garlic Edamame, Charred Shishito Pepper, Charred Sunchoke or Seared Ahi Tuna with Pineapple. Second course choices are Cobia-Orange (black kingfish) , Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, Smokin’ Cobia (black kingfish) Roll, or a Four-Piece Chef Choice Nigiri Sushi.
The $15 dinner includes appetizer choices of Garlic Edamame, Bacon Bubble-Gum (a mochi rice cake with pork belly) , Charred Shishito Pepper, or Wagyu Beef Tartare,. Entrée choices are: Mini Green Globe (thin-sliced avocado, spicy tuna and crab salad), 4-piece Chef Choice Nigiri Sushi, Grilled Shrimp Yaki, or New-Style Ahi Poke. Dessert choices are granita or Peanut Butter Cream.
At Brixton’s, $8 will get you any of Brixton’s loaded potato entrees and a side salad; or you can have an “fresh-style” entrée salad with a cup of the “famous” Baked Potato Chowder. It’s a savings of around $3-4, said owner Jamie Renda.
For dinner, the $15 special gets you two meals: two potato entrees, served with either Brixton’s Famous Baked Potato Chowder or side salads, and two cookies. That represents a savings of $6-7 for the $15 price.
“For dinner, I’m offering two meals, because my price points are lower than most of the participating restaurants,” Renda said. We will have the patio set up by then and outdoor music, so it will be a lot of fun.”
Brixton’s specialty is loaded baked potatoes, and some of the entree choices include potatoes generously topped with Chicken Alfredo, beefy Pot Roast, Memphis-style Pulled Pork or chicken, or Thai Curry Chicken with edamame. The entree salads include Cranberry Walnut Chicken, Santa Fe Ranch, Asian Sesame, Trip to Italy, or Caesar Asiago. If ordered separately the salads would be $6.99-$7.99, and a side salad is $2.49.
Bistro 258 saw a 25 percent increase in business during last year’s Restaurant Week, according to owner Nick Cash. “Many of them had never been here before, and now we see them as repeat guests.”
This year’s specials at Bistro 258 include a first course of soup, a house salad, hummus with grilled pita and fresh veggies, or (for dinner only) Savory Shrimp Cheesecake. Lunch entrée options are Promontory Mac and Cheese with smoked gouda and local Beehive Cheese’s Promontory Cheddar); Grown-Up Grilled Cheese with sautéed apples, bacon, cheddar and Swiss, Cranberry Turkey Wrap on a whole-wheat tortilla, or a Maple Berry Salad.
The $15 dinner at Bistro 258 includes a choice of the above first-courses, entee options of either USDA Choice Beef Medallions, Pistachio Crusted Chicken, Tortilla Crusted Grilled Tilapia, or Promontory Mac and Cheese. It’s all polished off with the Bistro Dessert Sampler of New York Cheesecake, Flourless Chocolate Cake, and Strawberry Panna Cotta.
At Harley & Buck’s, appetizer possibilities include fresh Caprese Stack, spinach and artichoke dip, or crab cakes. Then it’s on to a choice of dinner entrees: Pasta Puttanesca, Chicken Marsala, Salmon or Ahi Tacos, or Shrimp Cobb Salad. The meal is polished off with dessert choices of Scare Canyon Snowball, Apple Walnut Cobbler, or Chocolate Lava Cake. All the dishes are gluten-free.
Some tips for navigating Restaurant Week:
- Drinks, tax and tip are not included in the $8 and $15 prices, so budget accordingly.
- If you’re a picky eater, check the menus on Ogdenrestaurantweek.com or by calling the restaurant. Most places offer several different choices. But if you don’t like any of them, you can always order from the regular menu, and pay the regular price.
- Consider making reservations, if you’ve got a large group. Eateries tend to be fill up more quickly during Restaurant Week. You might want to time your visit before or after the usual rush hours.
- Be part of the community buzz. Meet up with friends or family. Take selfies and talk about your meals on the Ogden Restaurant Week Facebook page.