As if Seafood Expo North America didn’t have enough to tempt the taste buds, this year’s show is held at the same time as Dine Out Boston, an event that puts a new spin on the city’s traditional restaurant week.
Restaurants participating in Dine Out Boston design prix-fixe menus for lunch and dinner. But what’s different about this year’s event is that chefs are allowed to pick one of three price points for their menus, instead of just one.
“Restaurant Week’s been around for 13 years and when it first started it was tremendously received,” saidys Pam Freschette, visitor marketing manager for the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, which puts on the event twice a year in winter and fall with American Express.
But in recent years the number of diners started to wane, thanks to competition from coupon services like Groupon and Living Social, as well as restaurants putting on their own prix-fixe dinners.
“Everyone was doing the same thing so we decided it was time for a new recipe, so to speak,” said Freschette. Because Boston restaurants “run the gamut,” she said, the organizers decided to try a three-tiered pricing system for participating restaurants instead of just one. Lunch prices are USD 15 (EUR 10.78), USD 20 (EUR 14.37) or USD 25 (EUR 17.97) and dinner can cost USD 28 (EUR 20.13), USD 33 (EUR 23.72) or USD 38 (EUR 27.13). Dine Out Boston begins today and runs through Friday, then continues again next week, Sunday through Friday.
“The restaurants can choose which price level they want to participate at and then create a menu that reflects their restaurant as well as that price point,” said Freschette. As the Expo Daily was going to press, 177 restaurants across the city had signed up to participate in the event.
Expo attendees who can’t get enough seafood have more than a few options to choose from, including some traditional favorites like Union Oyster House, Skipjack’s Seafood Restaurant, the Legal Sea Foods restaurants in Park Square and Chestnut Hill and The Oceanaire Seafood Room in the Financial District.
“Oceanaire is a phenomenal seafood restaurant,” said Freschette. “It has the most beautiful dining room; the marble alone, it’s stunning, and then there’s phenomenal meals to be had.”
Oysters are hot in Boston right now, and Freschette says many places have raw bars or their own oyster specials. One of the city’s most distinguished oyster bars, B&G Oysters in the South End, is a participating restaurant. Also participating is Mare, a renowned Italian seafood restaurant in the North End.
Closer to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center are a few new places to try like Row 34, though Freschette warns she tried to get a reservation at the new hotspot and wasn’t able to get in.
“That’s the new frontier for the city and kind of one of the last,” she said.
For a complete list of participating restaurants, go to www.dineoutboston.com. Reservations can be made online or by contacting restaurants directly. Because of the popularity of the event, advance reservations are strongly encouraged.
Diners who take part in Dine Out Boston will be helping a good cause. A local charity is selected as a charitable partner for each Dine Out Boston. For this event, all participating restaurants will donate a USD 100 (EUR 71.87) certificate to be auctioned off at DOBauction.com.
The proceeds from this auction go to Boston’s Freedom Trail Foundation.
