Restaurant Week to give diners a sampling of the city’s best eateries

Date: 4/24/2015

SPRINGFIELD – The city’s downtown restaurants will be in the spotlight now through May 2 in the first “Springfield Restaurant Week.”

Each of the participating eateries will feature special prix fixe dinner offerings for $20.15 – not including tax and tip.

The participating restaurants include: Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou, Currents (Marriott), Luxe Burger Bar, Nadim’s Mediterranean, Panjabi Tadka, PICKS/MVP (Sheraton), Plan B Burger, The Fort/Student Prince, Theodore’s, Uno Chicago Grill, Adolfo’s, McCaffrey’s Public House, Blackjack Steakhouse, Shakago, 350 Grill and Steakhouse, Petra Café, Samuel’s and Hot Table Panini.

At a press event on April 21, City Councilor Justin Hurst said the idea for the weeklong event came out of the Young Professional Committee, one of the new ad hoc committees designed to improve resident participation in local government.

City Councilor Michael Fenton called it “a great economic tool for downtown.”

Mayor Domenic Sarno recalled how the city’s downtown restaurants were featured in several one-evening events, but this would be the first for a weeklong celebration.

He predicted that people coming to Springfield Restaurant Week “are going to have a great time and have some great food.”

Springfield Business Improvement District Executive Director Chris Russell said the idea was suggested months ago and was designed to benefit the participating restaurants.

“All they had to do is to come up with a menu that highlights what they have to offer,” Russell said.

Each of the venues will feature the new White Lion beers – the brewery that is planning to be located in the city.

For a full listing of the menus offered by each restaurant go to     http://springfielddowntown.com/dinespringfield.

The following are the menus from four of the participating restaurants:
• Adolfo’s: Appetizer (choice of) of sausage and Gorgonzola stuffed mushrooms or fried mozzarella with marinara; Caesar salad or arugula salad; Entrée (choice of): pink vodka and sausage over penne or shrimp francese over angel hair or chicken parmigiana with pasta or zuppa di clams over linguine with red sauce; Dessert (choice of): cannoli or warm chocolate bread pudding;
• Panjabi Tadka: one appetizer or soup; one vegetable; one meat meal; one naan;
• 350 Grill and Steakhouse: Appetizer (choose one): bruschetta or Caesar salad or duck wings with bourbon barbeque sauce; Entrée (choose one): simply grilled hangar steak served with garlic Parmesan fries or chicken in sherry cream sauce served with rice or eggplant rollatini; Dessert: ladyfinger cheesecake;
• Theodore’s: Appetizer (choice of) five smoked wings with choice of sauce or three pork sliders with bourbon barbeque sauce and honey slaw or small crawfish popper salad; Entrée (choice of): half rack of St. Louis ribs with fries and honey slaw or chicken and sausage jambalaya or smoked meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy; Dessert (choice of): key lime pie or southern banana pudding or chocolate mousse cake.

Hurst added, “Our goal is to expand; move it outside of downtown and make it bigger and better next year.”