Sonoma County has long been known for its wonderful restaurants, fed by a cornucopia of gorgeous homegrown ingredients and world-class local wines. If it ain’t here, you might say, it ain’t worth eating.
Come February, Sonoma will also be celebrated for its wonderful restaurant deals. Because that’s when the first-ever Sonoma County Restaurant Week takes place. From Feb. 22-28, dozens of Sonoma’s top eateries will band together in an extravaganza of all things edible, and incredibly affordable, with each restaurant offering a three-course prix-fixe menu at $19, $29, or $39.
The timing couldn’t be better. Just the other day, a San Francisco friend of mine visiting my Sebastopol home gushed about her city’s “Dine About Town” promotion that begins Jan. 15 with almost 100 of San Francisco’s notable restaurants offering three-course meals for $17.95 (lunch) or $34.95 (dinner) per person.
When, she wondered, was our deal, so she could reserve my guest room for an extended-stay feast-a-thon in my neighborhood?
Dine-arounds are brilliant promotions, increasingly occurring in big cities across the country. Basically, loads of top restaurants offer a fixed price meal at the same time to help boost exposure of and drive traffic to an area’s dining destinations.
The idea is that people who might perhaps be intimidated by higher-end, usually independently owned restaurants will venture out for the specials, love the experience and become regular customers.
The restaurants maintain control in that they can limit the bargains to fixed menus and can elect to participate only during lunch service if need be.
If nothing else, the events are great ways for cities to promote themselves as exciting culinary centers and spread the word about the wealth of restaurants available.
My San Francisco friend had already compiled a calendar of restaurants she was going to hit in her city – places she’d been dying to try, but had worried about whether she’d really like and the wallop to her wallet.
At the Sonoma County Restaurant Week website she can start coordinating another schedule. Indeed, I’ve got friends in other states who actually plan vacation time around such events, taking time off work and traveling to indulge in exceptional lunches and dinners every day through the promotion.
By my calculation, I’ll need to eat at least 5.7 meals a day through the Sonoma County Week just to keep up. Even in its inaugural year, some 40 Sonoma restaurants have signed up, with many more expected. A list of the eateries and theirs special deals so far are detailed on the site, and I’ll post further juicy tidbits here as they’re unveiled.
Yet in the meantime, how’s this for a delicious start? Just a few of the top temptations includes John Ash & Co., Syrah, Zazu, the girl & the fig, Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar, Bistro Des Copains, Pizzavino 707, and Ume Bistro.
And to my San Francisco friend, might I add: our Sonoma County Restaurant Week will be even much more of a bargain than her beloved neighborhood’s. Here, in our friendly, chic countryside, there’s no bridge toll, and the parking is almost always free.
Details: SonomaCountyRestaurantWeek.org
