Restaurant Week Returns To Grand Rapids Early This Year

Restaurant Week Grand Rapids 2012 returns within a brand new time frame – August 15 through 25 – to "capture the essence of the local West Michigan harvest", according to a press release. Participating restaurants are excited to be able to showcase their 3-course dinners at $25 per person – or at several of the participating establishments, 2 dinners (3-courses each) for $25, all with an emphasis on farm-to-table food preparation.

Over sixty restaurants have signed on for Restaurant Week Grand Rapids with eight 1^st time restaurants also jumping aboard to take part in the event this year.

Other new happenings during Restaurant Week include more restaurants offering wine and beer pairings from Trinchero Family Estate wines, Black Star Farms and L.Mawby, as well as, Founders Brewing Company all who are sponsors of Restaurant Week Grand Rapids 2012.

There will also be a new mini-event for Restaurant Week called the “Grand Cocktail 2012” contest in partnership with Great Lakes Wine & Spirits, one the Restaurant Week Grand Rapids 2012 partners. All participating restaurants in Restaurant Week Grand Rapids will be eligible to enter up to two cocktail entries into the contest using Barcardi Oakheart Spiced Rum (released in 2011) – and – Grey Goose Cherry Noir (a brand new release) spirits products being offered on the market this summer. The cocktail contest will kick off early at participating restaurants in order to allow the public to taste the cocktails eligible for a “People’s Choice Award” within each spirits category and to vote for their favorite on the RestaurantWeekGR.com website.

$1 from every Restaurant Week meal sold gets donated to the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at GRCC – teaching culinary excellence to new chefs who will grow culinary excellence within our community.  The first two years of Restaurant Week Grand Rapids resulted in nearly $40,000 of scholarship funds being distributed to this program.

Click here for a full list of participating restaurants.