Owings Mills Brings More to the Table for Baltimore County Restaurant Week

If the size of your wallet is significantly smaller than the size of your appetite for tasty eats, the next two weeks may be important for you.

"Baltimore County Restaurant Week" begins today, and Owings Mills eateries top the list of participating restaurants. Four restaurants in town will offer special lunch and dinner menus with fixed, discounted prices ranging from $10.11 to $35.11 for one to three course meals.

, , and are all options for Restaurant Week enthusiasts in Owings Mills. Only Cockeysville and Parkville, each with four, can boast as many participating restaurants.

The Grill at Harryman House, in Reisterstown, and Mia Carolina, in Glyndon, are also on the list.

"One of the things you see about the area, we have many restaurants geared to bringing that community base in," said Brian DeLeonardo, president of the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Chamber of Commerce. "We have such a diverse area and diverse variety of restaurants.

"For being in the suburbs, as opposed to being in the city, you really have a lot of different styles of restaurants in a very small area."

The first-ever Baltimore County Restaurant Week was in January, and restaurant tax receipts increased 11 percent from January 2010 numbers, according to a county statement.

"Restaurant Week not only saves customers some money, but it helps drive business to our restaurants at a time of year that is typically slow," said John Olszewski, Sr., chair of the Baltimore County Council.

That kind of success was felt in Owings Mills, said the owner of Artful Gourmet Bistro on Common Brook Road.

"We did very, very well back in January," Paolo Romeo said. "People are really happy with our menu...last time, we had a lot of first-time customers."

Romeo said full three-course meals will be served at the restaurant for $35.11, including appetizers like eggplant rollatini and entrees such as lobster crab cake.

Brian Ditto, executive director for the ROMG Chamber of Commerce, agreed the promotion's greatest success was introducing new-comers to restaurants they were not previously aware of.

It's similar, he said, to the ROMG Chamber's yearly "Taste of the Town Restaurant Showcase," which will be on Oct. 20 this year.

"It's a great promotion for residents of the community," Ditto said.

More than 20 local restaurants will participate in the Taste of the Town, Ditto said, but for now the area can take pride in knowing there are six close options taking part the county's restaurant week.

"I think one of the great things about Restaurant Week is that it gives restaurants the chance...to attract new people to come in," DeLeonardo said.  "I love Restaurant Week. What I typically love to do is find those places I haven't been to, those places I haven't tried before.

"It's a great way to go in, (and) try the restaurant."

Restaurant Week runs through Aug. 26 at all 30 locations in Baltimore County.