La Grange Restaurants Serve Up Preview of Restaurant Week

In the back room of in La Grange on Tuesday night, local officials and business leaders gathered to dine and discuss the hotly anticipated first La Grange Restaurant Week to be held in February.

On hand were chefs and representatives of 12 La Grange restaurants, showing off their stuff with bite sized examples of the wide range of dishes produced in the downtown restaurant community.

"This event will officially put La Grange on the marquee as a culinary destination," said Linda Bacin, owner of Bella Bacinos.

Bacin is a central figure in the creation of Restaurant Week, and said she felt moved to bring all the usually competitive restaurants in the area together to work together on problems that face all of them. First and foremost is a slow season that hits restaurants in February, but Bacin said she'd also like to see the restaurants work together to buy in bulk as a co-op and to figure out where the village can put additional parking.

Restaurant Week, which will run Feb. 17-26 in downtown La Grange, highlights the diversity of culinary specialties that make for the Village's robust restaurant scene. On display at the preview event on Tuesday, dishes ranged from spicy lamb tacos, to pizza at and . Others showing off their dishes were , , , , , , and even the new restaurant/bar

For Restaurant Week, the participating venues will be wowing customers with special menus filled with signature dishes, as well as with special events, such as wine, beer and tequila tastings and chefs' demonstrations.

Francesca's Bellezza, for example, is planning a four-course menu for $29.

"[The menu] will be our signature dishes—the ones customers ask for the most and ones we love to make," said Michael Bassarab, general manager at Francesca's, over a plate covered with delicious bruschetta.

"Even though we're competitors we share a common bond to feed people and make them happy," Bassarab said of the communal atmosphere at the event.

The fun isn't restricted only to Restaurant Week. All month long, diners can pick up a passport at participating restaurants to get stamped with a purchase of $20 or more. Get your passport stamped at four places and you're eligible to win a trip for two to a culinary destination in the U.S. or overnight accommodations in Chicago. Get your passport stamped at least twice and you could win a dining certificate to a favorite La Grange eatery.

You can check the website here, for information on special events, or stay tuned to Patch for coverage.

Variety Wins in La Grange

With the variety of restaurants in downtown La Grange these days, it would be hard not to find four restaurants you'd like to try.

"There are a lot of new places in town," said Steve Palmer over a plate of fried green tomatoes.

Palmer Place, a La Grange staple since 1983, has watched the restaurant industry come alive in town. Palmer agreed that by working together the newly formed Restaurant Committee could do big things to bring more people into town.

Demetri Kopley, owner of Wild Monk, said he was excited to see people come to La Grange to try one thing and check out something new the next time.

"With [Restaurant Week] people can come to explore the entire area," Kopley said. "Maybe they'll find something new that they like."

Patrick Benjamin, community development director for the Village of La Grange, attributes La Grange's classic downtown feel to the success of the many restaurants in the village. New restaurants springing up all the time shows that La Grange is extremely relevant in the marketplace, he said.

So where will you see Benjamin enjoying restaurant week?

"I've got my favorites," he said with a laugh. "But I love them all."

One might guess is on his list to hit. Benjamin said he recently enjoyed a delicious Prix Fixe menu at Nicksons for New Year's Eve.

Just a Start—More Food Events on the Way

This is just the start, event organizers said during the preview. Residents of La Grange can look forward to more foodie events in the future, including plans to create a Taste of La Grange and a summer music festival.

"People support each other in La Grange," said Ryan Williamson, president of the LGBA. "We want to help them to do more things together."

"This is a jumping-off point," Williamson said of the preview event. "It's a chance for people to meet each other and get some new ideas."

With a food-filled February on the way for La Grange-area diners, and new food-centered festivals coming over the summer (hopefully), the real winner in town is, well, us.

Head over to the LGBA website here for a full list of all 15 participating restaurants, which also includes , and .

Oh, and get ready to get hungry. If you need help deciding which place to check out, take a look at Patch Places to see reviews from your neighbors, or search the restaurant name on the site for our reviews.