The Rage Monthly caught up with Pamela Waitt, founder of the Orange County Restaurant Association
(OCRA), Orange County Restaurant Week (OCRW), Burger Week, Brunch Week, Pacific Wine and Food Classic, and
TacoTuesday.com to find out about the inspiration behind sponsoring a second Restaurant Week in 2020.
The pandemic and its impact on the restaurant industry has surely weighed heavy on your heart, and as president of OCRA you wanted to help out. How do you hope creating a new Restaurant Week Uncorked will affect the participating OC restaurants? Our local restaurants are facing some of the toughest times right now. We’ve added a fall Restaurant Week to encourage our communities to support their restaurants at this crucial time. The OC Restaurant Association sees this event as an opportunity to unite the culinary industry to emerge stronger as restaurants navigate through the current challenges together.
What does the new OCRW Uncorked include that wasn’t available before? Aside from the wonderful pre-existing menus, this event has been refocused to include Family Meals and Meal Kits, which is a great option for many households at this point in time. So, the take-out trend is the biggest new factor, and prices will range from $30 to $70 for families of four. Many restaurants will take advantage of alcohol sales to go with phenomenal specials on wines by the bottle and batch cocktails for takeout. Restaurant Week Uncorked will encourage diners from across the county to experience new menus from a wide variety of options, from upscale to family-friendly establishments that showcase our county’s diverse dining options. Also, a new component is a “Hatch Chili” menu offering, which will be offered at some locations.
What are the price breakdowns on the special menus? There is something for every budget . . . the original $20 Lunch Menu, $30 Dinner Menu, $40 Dinner Menu, $50 Dinner Menu with an exclusive $70 Prix Fixe Dine-In only available at select participating restaurants. And new this fall, the $50 Family Meal Menu and a $70 Family Meal Menu.
Go to
restaurantweekuncorked.com to access participating restaurants, search by city, cuisine categories, menu items offered, cocktail and wine specials, prices and more. Sponsors for this event include Melissa’s Produce, Orange Coast Magazine, The Fork Report, Herradua, Woodford Reserve, Chambord, One World Meat and OCfoodies.
Go to
ocrestaurantweek.com for general information, or to learn about participation or sponsorship opportunities in a future Orange County Restaurant Week. Go to
ocrestaurantassociation.org to learn about or join the Orange County Restaurant Association.
DINE DIEGO San Diego’s favorite foodie event, San Diego
Restaurant Week will take a break this September. Instead, Dine Diego (presented by San Diego Restaurant Week), will run Tuesday, September 15 through Thursday, October 15. Dine Diego will feature San Diego’s top eateries showcasing all the current offerings for outdoor dining, to-go options and unique in-house promotions. Dine Diego will support the restaurant industry in the safe dining methods currently being offered. The California Restaurant Association in conjunction with the San Diego Tourism Authority will host this inclusive promotion for all San Diego County restaurants. Dine Diego will utilize the San Diego Restau-
rant Week website and social media platforms to further harvest the community of foodies, while offering searchable tools to make finding your perfect dining match super easy. All restaurant participation and membership fees have been waived and restaurants have the flexibility to highlight their current in-house promotion, special and unique offers. With expanded parameters, you can expect over 300 participat- ing restaurants to choose from that span across the county from the South Bay to East County and to Oceanside and Fallbrook to the north. There is no better place for outdoor dining than
sunny San Diego and with expanded patio spaces and curbside dining, there is more space than ever before for you to enjoy a meal basking in the sun or under starry skies every day of the week! Tickets are not necessary for this mouthwater- ing month of dining, but reservations are recommended.
sandiegorestaurantweek.com
September 2020 | @theragemonthly 31
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