The rotunda at Brooklyn Borough Hall was filled with delicious aromas as Borough President Marty Markowitz kicked off Dine in Brooklyn, an annual event in which restaurants across the borough offer special menus at special prices as a way of introducing diners to their offerings.
With approximately 20 restaurants taking part in the kick-off, Junior’s cheesecake were piled high at one table, and gloriously green guacamole from Piramide was served up from a stone molcajete at another, while, nearby, Morton’s The Steakhouse offered gorgeous molded chocolate cups, filled with chocolate mousse artfully embellished by a swirl of whipped cream topped by a single, perfect raspberry.
The whirlwind culinary tour included sesame coated noodles from Moim coiled in a chafing dish, just a few steps from a tray of mushroom-studded Chicken Rollatine prepared by the Greenhouse Café, as Markowitz announced that the eagerly awaited event would be held, this year, from March 15th to 25th, with nearly 200 restaurants participating, Morton’s to Park Slope’s Melt.
During the borough’s 10-day-long Restaurant Week (everything is bigger in Brooklyn!), eateries that have signed on will offer $20.10 three-course lunches and $25 three-course dinners, though some of the establishments, Markowitz said, would be offering two-fers, whereby two diners can enjoy brunch, lunch or dinner for the price of one.
The “culinary epicenter of America is right here in Brooklyn, U.S.A.,” Markowitz proclaimed, noting that the 10-day event is an unparalleled opportunity “for all the foodies out there to enjoy the restaurants in Brooklyn.”
Brooklyn’s Restaurant Week is, “A truly borough-wide happening that gets bigger and better each year,” added Rick Russo, of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “Brooklyn has the best restaurants and the best prices,” he averred.
For the first time, this year, patrons at many of the participating restaurants, Markowitz added, will be able to make donations to Share the Table, a program initiated with the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, which is intended to help low-income families put food on their tables, long and short-term.
It is a crucial need, attested Joel Berg, the coalition’s executive director. “There are hundreds of thousands of people in Brooklyn living in homes that don’t have enough food,” he stressed.
Further information on Dine in Brooklyn – including a full list of participating restaurants — is available on line, at www.visitbrooklyn.org.
Additional information is also available by calling 718-802-3846.
