Do you eat food? I do. And for those of us who do, this is a very important week. It doesn’t seem possible that anyone wouldn’t know this, but this week is the third annual Newport Beach Restaurant Week, meaning there were two others, I’m guessing last year and the year before that. Restaurant Week starts today and runs until Thursday, which is five days, which is like a week but not exactly.
If you are a licensed foodie or you just love dining out, or the last time you tried to cook something it did not end well — this is your deal. Just about every restaurant of note in Newport Beach is participating and will offer a prix fixe menu for lunch or dinner or both for a price of — I hope you’re sitting down — $15 or $20 for lunch, and $20 or $35 for dinner. Are you getting this? Am I making myself clear? We’re talking about primo, first-cabin restaurants here like, well, the First Cabin restaurant at the Balboa Bay Club, offering three-course dinners for $35. Is that possible? I don’t see how, but they’re doing it. At these prices, I say make an entire day of it. Grab some pals, have a couple of $15 lunches at the Bungalow, then an early dinner for $20 at Pescadou Bistro, then finish with a late supper for $35 at Arches Restaurant. Just mention my name to Dan Marcheano and he’ll ask you to leave. Who started all this? That’s easy. It’s a team effort between the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn., the city of Newport Beach and the Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau.
