For two weeks in January, Lowcountry restaurants and food lovers will fill tummies and coffers with speciallypriced prix fixe menus meant to lure in diners during what is traditionally the slowest month of the year for restaurants.
Restaurant weeks began in New York City, where restaurants could boost business during the cold, post-holiday lull, while allowing diners with limited budgets to experience restaurants they might not otherwise be able to afford.
The first restaurant week, Jan. 11-17, is sponsored by the South Carolina Hospitality Association. Participating area restaurants will offer guests a three-course dinner menu of signature dishes for $30 per person, normally excluding beverages, tax and gratuity.
Some restaurants might include a beverage, or even a bottle of wine, according to the organization’s web site.The second restaurant week, Jan. 23-30, is sponsored by the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
Most Chamber Restaurant Week menus will offer three- or four-course prix fixe meals, with prices generally around $20. Russell Keane, executive chef at Serg Group’s WiseGuys, said “We can offer a great value with three or four courses. This is the restaurant equivalent of super-sizing your meal.”
Ann Marie Adams, executive director of the Hilton Head Hospitality Association, said although the organization is not sponsoring either restaurant week, they were asked to support both “and we do so happily,” especially in the current tough economy.
“What we’ve found is a chance to call attention to the local food and beverage market,” she said, both through statewide recognition as a culinary destination and as “a local opportunity to recognize what’s in our own backyard: small businesses, some groups with multiple restaurants, and chains.”
Charlie Clark, vice president of communications for the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, said Chamber Restaurant Week will benefit both restaurants and residents. Feedback from the January 2009 Chamber Restaurant Week from restaurateurs and diners was “tremendously positive,” she said, and some places saw business double compared to the same week in the previous year.
Katie Manley, marketing director for Alexander’s, Red Fish and Old Oyster Factory restaurants, said, “Locals are willing to try new things, and they pay attention to what’s going on in the area. They know it’s a great value for them and a way to support the local economy.”
Clark said last year’s menus “were pretty amazing.” For the entrée choices at Aqua Grille and Lounge, for example, diners could choose from surf and turf, shrimp and grits or grilled sirloin.
Last year, more than 50 restaurants in Bluffton and Hilton Head participated in Chamber Restaurant Week, and Clark said they’re expecting even more this year.
Anna Buckingham, owner of Bistro 17, was so pleased with last year’s success during Chamber Restaurant Week that her restaurant will offer the same prix fixe menu as it did in 2009 for the whole month of January. “People told us, ‘We’ve been wanting to try (Bistro 17). Now that we’re here …we’ll come back.’ ”
Reservations during both Restaurant Weeks are strongly encouraged.
‘DROP-OFF’ THE KIDS
The Sandbox, An Interactive Children’s Museum, is partnering with the South Carolina Hospitality Association and the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce by hosting “Parent’s Night Out – Kid’s Night In” events during their respective restaurant week programs. The first event is on Jan. 16, and the second on Jan. 30. These “drop-off” events will be from 6-9 p.m., and are geared for children ages 3-9 (all children must be potty trained) and include a pizza dinner, special arts and crafts projects, supervised play throughout the hands-on museum and a fun takehome toy for each child. Cost is $30 per child, with a reduced $25 fee for siblings and Sandbox members. Space is limited. Call 843-842-7645 for more detailed information or to make a reservation.
DOUBLE DINING DEALS
What: Restaurant Week South Carolina, sponsored by the South Carolina Hospitality Association
When: Jan. 11-17
The scoop: For participating restaurants and menus, visit www.screstaurantweek.com.
What: Chamber Restaurant Week, sponsored by the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce
When: Jan. 23-30
The scoop: For participating restaurants and menus, visit www.hiltonheadisland.org. That information will also be available at the chamber offices, 1 Chamber Drive, Hilton Head.
