Foodie Fest, the Oak Park area’s take on restaurant week, debuts for the second year on Feb. 21.
Cathy Yen, executive director of the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce, said about 50 restaurants in Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and Berwyn are expected to participate in the chamber’s Foodie Fest.
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The event, which runs from Feb. 21 to March 7, has participating local restaurants offer three courses or three items for a certain dollar amount, Yen said. Big Guys Sausage Stand, for example, likely will offer any sausage, fries and a drink for $10. A high-end restaurant would offer a three-course dinner for $20 or $30, she said.
A new event, Bite Night, kicks off Foodie Fest with specialty food and drink samples from more than 40 local restaurants and caterers. Yen said it’s fairly standard industry-wide to have an event commencing a restaurant week-type festival.
A $25 ticket allows event-goers to meet restaurant owners and chefs, learn about recipes and sample bite-sized portions from businesses like Serenitea, Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, Aripo’s Venezuelan Arepa House, Cucina Paradiso and more, Yen said.
Chefs from Robert Morris University’s student-run Eyrie Restaurant, New Rebozo and chef-butchers from Carnivore will offer cooking demonstrations at three different points in the night at The Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park.
“Anything we can think of to have some fun with food in the area,” Yen said.
Eyrie restaurant manager Megan Greer said chef instructor Danielle Weybright will give a 20-minute demonstration on making pan-seared scallops with queso fresco pea puree and chorizo, and then offer samples of the dish.
Yen said about 250 people are expected to attend Bite Night. She joked that there should be an award for the person who tries all 41 bites.
Yen said last year’s Foodie Fest was viewed as a success, since restaurants saw an increase in traffic during one of the weeks and didn’t see a dip amid the other, despite a snowstorm.
“It seems that people have the restaurants in their head but it takes that little incentive to actually go,” Yen said.
Greer said the event timing is strategic, as it comes at a time when restaurants typically experience a post-holiday lull. Eyrie will offer three courses for $30, with a few extra appetizers and an extra dessert.
“It’s just to kind of draw people out and get people spending again,” she said.
If you go…
Tickets for Bite Night, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at The Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park, are $25 each and can be purchased at foodiefest.net. Foodie Fest runs from Feb. 21 to March 7. A list of participating restaurants can be found at the same website.