Restaurant Week a great way to check out several spots

Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week is a perfect opportunity to try some amazing restaurants — most of which are independent — at bargain prices.

Continuing until

Feb. 9, it’s structured differently from most restaurant weeks, which are almost everywhere these days.

Chagrin Falls is my hometown in the sense that it was where we shopped for groceries and went to church. I actually grew up in the countryside around Chagrin that today is considered the Chagrin Valley.

And that’s also where many of the locations taking part in Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week are. So while you’ll find some in Chagrin Falls, others are all the way out in Lyndhurst, Woodmere, Burton, Welshfield, Bainbridge Township and Gates Mills.

Except for Welshfield Inn, which began in 1946, none were around when I was growing up. But that’s not surprising, considering the average restaurant lifespan is five years and, by some estimates, up to 90 percent of new ones fail within the first year.

Restaurant Week meals are three-course dinners, but it could be a three-course lunch in the case of Hungry Bee in Bainbridge Township. That eatery will prepare its three-course meals for carryout until closing at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at 2 p.m. Saturday.

And some places have two price options, such as Hyde Park Grille’s $32 and $36 dinners depending on the meat choices.

The higher-priced meal includes a filet mignon.

One of my favorite all-time restaurants is among those included this year. It’s the Paris Room, tucked away off the parking lot behind shops on a downtown Chagrin street. Its location is part of its charm, and once you step inside you’ve stepped into what could easily be a bistro in Paris. The Paris Room is intimate and does not accept reservations, so the best bet is to arrive early — at 5 p.m., when it opens. Its Restaurant Week menu is priced at $29 and begins with a choice of soup or salad and moves on to a choice among four entrees, including a chicken crepe followed by dessert.

Other personal favorites include Sara’s Place in Gates Mills; M Italian and Burntwood Tavern, both in Chagrin Falls and properties in the Chef Art Pour Restaurant Group; and Capital Grille at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst.

Although I favor vegetarian dishes, I’m married to a devout carnivore, so restaurants on our “want to visit” list include Bull & Bird Steakhouse, in Chagrin, and Texas de Brazil, in Woodmere.

The best place to review restaurant week menus and prices is the Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week website at chagrinvalleyrestaurantweek.com.

Be sure to make a reservation or risk being shut out of Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week.

SUBMITTED Skewered meats, cooked over an oven flame and wood charcoal, are found at Brazilian steakhouse Texas de Brazil, in Woodmere. It’s among participants in Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week.