Town prepares for Restaurant Week
Nearly 24 establishments set to take part in 2nd annual event
NEW MILFORD — With nearly two dozen participating restaurants so far, the town is gearing up for its second annual Restaurant Week, which is March 28 to April 3.
As part of Restaurant Week, participating restaurants will offer special menus at fixed prices for dine-in and take-out lunch and/or dinner, according to the town’s New Milford Restaurant Week Facebook page.
“This is a collaborative effort with the town, the youth agency, and with our restaurants so people can get that wonderful experience,” New Milford Mayor Pete Bass said.
Participating restaurants will serve menus that feature multi-course, prix-fixe lunches and dinners. Lunches will cost $15.95 or $19.95 (second tier lunches) and dinners will cost $29.95 or $39.95 (second tier dinners). The restaurants, along with their menus, can be found on the town’s new tourism site, newmilfordnow.org website by clicking on the New Milford Restaurant Week green circle.
The list includes Johanas Restaurant, Zaragoza, The Iron Rail, Gaylordsville Diner, and Theo’s Downtown Diner.
The event is being hosted by the town of New Milford.
For parents who need child care services to participate in Restaurant Week, the town has partnered with the New Milford Youth Agency to provide that service.
Kathy Jackson, youth advocate at the New Milford Youth Agency, said the agency is holding parent’s night out March 30 and March 31 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. for children in Kindergarten to eighth grade. The cost is $10 for the evening.
“We are having it at the Maxx (94 Railroad St.). There is a pool table, air hockey, video games and movies,” Jackson said.
To register, visit myyouthagency.com and select “Register” and “Programs.”
There’ll be a team of people watching the children, including the agency’s childcare director, student volunteers and paid staff. Pizza and juice will be provided.
Theo Mastrogiannis, owner of Theo’s Downtown Diner on Railroad Street, will be serving corned beef reuben, chicken salad and avocado with grilled mozzarella cheese. There will also be a soup of the day, which can be beef, Yankee bean, lentil, and chicken. The restaurant, which serves American food, has been in business for 15 years.
Maria Koulouris, owner of The Iron Rail, will offer corn chowder soup, a quinoa salad and a steak sandwich. The Iron Rail, which is six years old, came under new ownership seven months ago.
For Restaurant Week, participants may order á la carte from the standard menus. However, to receive the Restaurant Week pricing, customers must order from the special prix-fixe menus. Reservations are strongly recommended for most restaurants, a press release said.
Additionally, opportunities to win gift certificates to be used at participating restaurants during Restaurant Week are available.
Bass said the goal of Restaurant Week is to showcase the town’s restaurants.
“A lot of them are award winning restaurants. Those that both live in New Milford and outside New Milford can come in and partake of their favorite restaurant or maybe try another restaurant as well,” Bass said. “It’s a great opportunity to support our small businesses the restaurant trade and also get a great meal at a good valuable price, and see what we have to offer. We’re excited to see so far the restaurants that have chosen to be a part of this and are looking forward to this being an annual event.”
Last year, Restaurant Week was take-out only, due to the pandemic.
“With COVID and the rules being much more relaxed, it gives people an opportunity now to really go inside and enjoy, if they so choose, the ambiance of going in,” Bass said.