Restaurant weeks unfold
December is a month of gastronomic excess, with restaurants packed for family dinners, holiday parties and year-end banquets. And then comes the quiet month in the culinary calendar. So January has been decreed California Restaurant Month, with destinations from Mendocino to San Diego offering dining promotions.
It’s the proverbial win-win: You get deals; restaurants fill tables. In the Bay Area, these dining weeks have become so popular that reservations are strongly recommended. Here’s a sampling of offerings.
Oakland, through Jan. 21: From the waterfront to Uptown to the hills, 80 restaurants are participating in Oakland Restaurant Week, offering prix fixe menus for $20, $30, $40 or $50. Pick a newcomer (Copper Spoon, Oeste, Slainte, Mockingbird) or maybe revisit a favorite (Camino, Italian Colors, Duende, Kincaid’s). New this year is a $10 lunch deal at select locations like Dragon Gate Bar & Grill. An extra: Some restaurants are donating a portion of the proceeds to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Menus, details: www.visitoakland.com. San Jose, Monday-Jan. 28: This promotion, originally devoted to downtown, has expanded in length and scope. Called #SanJoseEATS, it’s now 14 days long and encompasses the whole city. More than 20 restaurants, ranging
from casual to upscale, will offer either specialty menus (Spencers, Fogo de Chao, Loft Bar and Bistro, Mosaic) or discounts/freebies (Henry’s Hi-Life, the District, Mezcal, Oveja Negra, Tandoori Oven). The Counter will be grilling the Silicon Valley Burger for $12; it’s a plant-based patty with oodles of toppings. Menus, details: www.sanjose.org.
Berkeley, Thursday-Jan.
28: Here, 30 restaurants are taking part in Berkeley Restaurant Week, including newcomers Pompette (French) and Donato & Co. (Italian). The ethnic array expands with Akemi, Easy Creole, La Marcha Tapas Bar, Saha and Gaumenkitzel, among others. Want waterfront views? Think Bay Grille, Skates on the Bay or HS Lordships. Seasonal specialists are well-represented, too. Menus, details: www.visitberkeley.com.
Gilroy, today-Jan. 28:
There’s a delightfully pungent flair to Restaurant Week promotions in the Garlic Capital of the World: All 14 participants are cooking with the stinking rose. At the historic Milias restaurant, you can select honey garlic salmon or halibut in a garlic-wine sauce. Cafe Thyme is roasting rack of lamb with a garlic-peppercorn-red wine sauce. Pineapple Village is stir-frying four dishes with garlic. Cap off your dinner at Fifth Street Coffee with garlic ice cream. Menus, details: www.gilroywelcomecenter.org/grw.
Concord, Friday-Jan. 28: In
the East Bay, the first-ever Concord Comfort Food Restaurant Week will highlight 20 restaurants and their homey favorites — perfect for this month’s weather. Think meatloaf (with versions at E.J. Phair Alehouse, the Bistro and at the Tower Grille, this event could be subtitled Meatloaf Mania); chicken pot pie soup at Vineyards; braised Nicaraguan pork at La Fritanguera; and penne gorgonzola at Fiore. Menus, details: www. visitconcordca.com.
Alameda, through Jan. 21:
This island city’s restaurant scene is expanding like crazy, so it’s a perfect time for the inaugural Restaurant Week. Twenty eateries have put together prix fixe meals or other specials, and it’s a real United Nations of cuisines: Angela’s Kitchen (AfghanFrench); Injeria (Eritrean/Ethiopian), Mama Papa Lithuania (Lithuanian, natch); Phnom Penh House (Cambodian): Speisekammer (German); Habanas (Cuban); plus lots of new American, Italian and others. Menus, details: www. alamedarestaurantweek.com.
San Francisco, Jan. 22-31:
This year’s San Francisco promotion looks to be the biggest ever, with a whopping 130 restaurants across 30 neighborhoods offering two-course lunches ($25 or $40) or three-course dinners ($40 or $65). Sounds daunting, but the website makes it easy to find Spanish fare in SOMA, Asian fusion at Union Square or French in West Portal. Menus, details: www.sfrestaurantweek.com.
Elsewhere in California: In NorCal, you’ll also find restaurant weeks/months in Benicia, Calistoga, Mendocino, Napa Valley, Sacramento, Sonoma Valley, Stockton, Suisun, Turlock and Vacaville. Southern California’s got a ton too, from the big cities to the wine regions. Find details at www. visitcalifornia.com.