LA’s Fall Restaurant Week Half Time Report

The Fall 2009 edition of Dine LA’s Restaurant Week (RW) is just a little bit past half way over.  The second 6-day strech ends this Friday, October 16.  At this point, I realized I was well overdue for some analysis of what’s available in our area along with who has come and gone.

Pre-Game

I was stoked to hear that Dine LA was doing more to promote the event before it even started.  Jumping on the food-truck bandwagon (i.e. Kogi and Cool Haus), they sponsored a Restaurant Week truck that drove to different areas around town during the week of September 28 – October 2.  Each day, a different restaurant served up free samples of some of the fare they’d be featuring later on.  The whole idea was to get people excited about the event and give them a chance to meet some of the chefs behind the food.

The South Bay, Long Beach, and the valleys were no where on the route though, with the truck making stops in Hollywood, Mid-City, Downtown LA, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills.  I can’t blame them; the locations they chose were close to the restaurants serving up the featured chow and central to other participating restaurants.  Take a look at the locations of the participating restaurants, and you’ll see what I mean.

Starting Line Up

So who is participating in Restaurant Week in the South Bay?  The list of 11 locations (up from 9 in January) is pretty easy to scan:

BALEEN LOS ANGELES
BLUEWATER GRILL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
CATALINA KITCHEN AT TERRANEA RESORT
CHART HOUSE – REDONDO BEACH
DAILY GRILL – SOUTH BAY
FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE & WINE BAR – EL SEGUNDO
IL FORNAIO – MANHATTAN BEACH
ORTEGA 120
SALT CREEK GRILLE
SASHI SUSHI  & SAKE LOUNGE
THE MELTING POT – TORRANCE

Baleen and Daily Grill are appearing for their third RW, showing staying power and the appeal of seafood and classic steak-house fare.  Chart House and Fleming’s follow that same recipe with two RW’s on their resume.  Also back for the second time is Sashi Sushi with an exotic, Asian-fusion menu.

There are 6  locations that are new to the line up, but with 4 spots not returning, growth was limited to 2.  New comers include Bluewater Grill, adding to the seafood selections.  Catalina Kitchen replaces Trump National as the only Palos Verdes location participating while  Il Fornaio offers up Italian fare in Manhattan Beach.  In Torrance, The Melting Pot is dishing up cheesey, chocolately fondue.  Rounding out the pack are Ortega 120 in Redondo Beach and Salt Creek Grille in El Segundo.

Don’t Blame the Commissioner

Many people have mentioned to me that the South Bay gets a raw deal when it comes to Restaurant Week, referring to the limited participation.  Well, we can’t blame Dine LA for it.  Participation is open to all restaurants in Los Angeles county so if anyone is to blame its us!

But why blame ourselves and not the local owners?  If we patronize establishments we enjoy and let the owners know that we want to see them participate in RW, they might consider it.  I’m sure Dine LA will love us for evangelizing the benefits of participation: tons of advertising and the opportunity to tap into an audience of potential new customers.

Crowd Participation

I would love to hear your input on this first shot at a Fall Restaurant Week.  Do you think its too soon?  Should it only be once a year?  If you go out this time, do you think you’ll be less likely to go out once it rolls around again?  What places have you tried out or are planning to try?  What places would you like to see participate?