City's finest plate their best

By Dominic Graziano
(dgrazia1@mscd.edu)

Denver Restaurant Week started five years ago, after the city was ranked in the top 25 in the country.

"In 2004 there had been a national survey of opinions of the top 25 cities in America," said Visit Denver spokesperson Richard Grant. “But the bad news was we were ranked 23 in food."

Even Denverites were unimpressed with the city's food — "our own residents ranked us number 24." That's when Visit Denver took it upon themselves to change Denver's reputation. “We decided we needed to do something to spruce up the city’s representation for fine dining,” Grant said. "There were more than a dozen cities doing the same thing at the time."

Five years ago, 84 restaurants started participating in Denver Restaurant Week. This year, more than 200 of the city’s chow-downs will contribute the melting pot of cooking.

And true to the Mile High City, every restaurant is offering their fare at $52.80 for a dinner for two.

Grant said that some of the normally lower-priced eateries will be giving patrons more for their money. Some will feed four for that price, and others will offer giveaways like tickets to comedy shows or wine to go along with the meal.

“It’s a great time for people to grab some friends together [because] the bill is so easy to split,” Grant said.

Grant added that if a patron feels like hitting the town on their own, each restaurant offers half the food for half the price.

"A three- or four-course meal for $26.40 isn't too bad," he said.

And at that price, Grant expects quite a turnout.

“People are feeling pretty beat up from the economy. For a lot of people this is something they look forward to all year,” Grant said. Last year participating restaurants saw more than 160,000 diners, Grant said, and the numbers are looking even better for this year.

"The website has already seen 40 percent more hits than last year," he said.

Grant added that he is excited about restaurants that are extending the promotion through March 6.

"Over the years some restaurants have done it unofficially, but this year we are endorsing it fully," he said.

Since most of the popular restaurants will book up quickly on the weekend, it’s better to make reservations early. Forty to fifty restaurants host their reservations online, but by the time the event is marketed, weekends at most restaurants are booked solid, said Grant.

He added that some of the slower nights like Monday and Tuesday still have openings.

The occasion doesn’t just bring the restaurants together, either. “It’s a great deal for students; it’s a chance to splurge and go to a place you hear about or read about all the time. It’s a great chance to celebrate and grab a whole bunch of friends together,” Grant said.

Although it would be impossible to actually visit every participating restaurant, Denver Restaurant Week allows for the opportunity to explore restaurants that you may not have known about.

"The average person visits 42 menus on our website; there's a lot of trying to figure out what everyone's serving," Grant said. "You may only go to a couple of restaurants, but you look into a bunch of them."

visit: http://www.denver.org/denverrestaurant