Let There Be Food!

Attention gourmets, gourmands and food enthusiasts of all stripes - Narragansett’s third annual Restaurant Week begins next Friday and, in whatever direction your culinary inclinations may incline, there is bound to be something for you. 

Whether you think of yourself as a foodie, an epicure, a bar food aficionado or you’re just looking for somewhere to take the family, next week should offer a selection of appropriate options.   

Organized by the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce, the 10-day event features special offerings and special prices at a variety of local restaurants in Narragansett, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Wakefield, Westerly and the village of Galilee.

This year, 26 restaurants are participating in the event, with fare ranging from falafel and tabouleh to mozzarella sticks and fish and chips, to pork tenderloin char-grilled with shitake peppercorn sauce and chocolate truffle mousse.   

Many establishments will be offering multi-course prix fixe menus, many in the $20 range, with $20.11 a popular price. 

Diners at in Narragansett are presented with a four course meal for two with a vegetarian appetizer sampler, a choice of two soups, four main course offerings and two desserts.    

Casey’s Grill and Bar in Wakefield will offer both a three course lunch and dinner, the latter featuring a choice of prime rib, gnocchi with grilled chicken, or lobster mac and cheese.

Other establishments opted for a less complicated approach, like in Narragansett, which will be offering a 15 percent reduction in price on all lunch and dinner menu items.

Sandi Lally, assistant to Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debbie Kelso, said the chamber initiated the event to encourage business during a down-time for local restaurants, and has seen good results. 

“This is our third year, and it went over very, very well our first year, so we just continued it,” Lally said. “[Participating restaurants] are looking forward to a very good week … where people are getting out and they’re either trying something new or revisiting their old favorite restaurant.”

Jennifer Reagan, the manager of in Narragansett, said this is the second year the restaurant has participated. 

“We had a lot of extra people come in so we wanted to see that again this year,” Reagan said.

Trio’s chefs created a special menu for the occasion, with new dishes including Statler chicken with prosciutto, a fontina cheese stuffing and rice pilaf.

“It’s a fantastic menu and it’s an excellent opportunity to come in and try some things that we don’t usually have or don’t usually do, some really fun, funky stuff that our chefs put together,” she said.

The Narragansett restaurant will be participating for its third year.  Chef Vasilios Kourakif said the restaurant has seen a very good reaction to the event in the past, and commended the chamber.

This year’s menu for the event features Vol au Vent, red snapper with Cajun spices, and pork tenderloin in a Burgundy sauce.  The chef particularly recommends the red snapper.

Restaurant Week begins Friday, March 25, and ends Sunday, April 3. Some participating restaurants accept or encourage reservations.  A kick-off party for the event on March 24 has already sold out, according to the Chamber website. 

For a complete list of participating restaurants with links to menus, visit the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce’s event page at http://www.narragansettri.com/chamber/restweek.htm