The Sugar Snap Pea Salad with red radish, laura chenel goat cheese, cashews and ume-shiso vinaigrette, is a featured appetizer at Beacon Restaurant, which is participating in the Fall 2010 dineLA Restaurant Week.
BEACON RESTAURANT
BLT STEAK
While grabbing a meal on the go has become Angelenos’ preferred way to satisfy their hunger, it will probably never replace the undying custom of stepping into a restaurant and ordering a nice sit-down meal.
Make that a three-course dinner or lunch at one of more than 300 participating restaurants during the upcoming Fall 2010 dineLA Restaurant Week. The event takes place Oct. 3 to 8 and Oct. 10 to 15.
During the two-week event, participating restaurants offer a three-course dinner and lunch Prix-Fixe menu that includes an appetizer, entree and desert, each with three choices.
A Prix-Fixe menu, French for “fixed price,” means a pre-set menu for a full meal. DineLA Restaurant Week offers set dinners for $26, $34 or $44 and lunches for $16, $22 or $28.
From small gourmet cafes to renowned Michelin-star restaurants, from a Mexican grill in Hollywood to a Korean restaurant in downtown, the choices are as diverse as the city’s populace.
Now in its third year, dineLA offers a dinner and hotel package for foodies traveling from outside the city.
Even Westwood, which might not come to mind when we think of the city’s food scene, hosted this year’s kick-off event with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at Napa Valley Grille on Glendon Avenue last week.
Vicki Fan, general manager of Beacon, an Asian cafe which has participated in dineLA since the beginning, said there used to be only two price tiers. According to Fan, Beacon chose the lower tier for dinner and lunch because it was similar to their reasonable regular price range.
“We thought about doing a higher-end tasting menu and something fun, and upgrading it a little bit,” Fan said. “But I thought the whole purpose of dineLA was to get people to get out and see the places they normally couldn’t afford.”
BLD Restaurant (which stands for breakfast lunch dinner restaurant) is a contemporary American restaurant that offers a $26 three-course dinner alongside their regular menu.
According to BLD pastry chef Mariah Swan, at the lower tier, balancing the cost definitely plays a role in influencing what’s on the menu.
“You want to make people happy, but you don’t want to go broke on it,” she said.
According to BLD chef de cuisine Diana Stavaridis, the restaurant is able to serve the same high quality of food at a low cost by working with its vendors for slightly discounted prices.
Stavaridis pointed to the likings and preferences of BLD’s customers and clients as a factor she considered when planning the menu.
Although the prix-fixe menu style is more limited, most participating restaurants accommodate dietary restrictions.
Beacon, which specializes in fusion foods, will feature dishes such as duck confit served with Swiss chard, Nueske bacon, roasted potatoes and plum-ginger glaze.
“We always make sure … we’re accommodating,” BLD’s Stavaridis said. “Generally we run at least one vegan dish and always have a vegetarian option standing by you.”
To prepare, Stavaridis usually writes the menu a month before dineLA. She tries to cater the menu to the season and plans for seasonal produce that would be available in October.
Swan said that she believes the event encourages and welcomes new restaurant-goers.
“For people who were intimidated or thought, “˜I can’t afford it,’ (I would say) “˜come in, give it a try,'” Swan said.
“I think that’s why we keep doing it as well ““ you always want more people to see what you’re doing. If I want to make a cake, I want people to see it.”
Fan said she is optimistic about dineLA as a young but growing venture.
“It encourages people that you can go out and have a great meal, and you don’t have to slave away in the kitchen,” Fan said. “It kind of reminds people, “˜oh I want to try that place,’ or “˜we haven’t been back a lot.’ It remind us about who’s out there.”