Similarly, BRU tends to bring desserts back to its beer. While the brownie allows raw foodies to indulge, chef Rachel Best says, “I hope to satisfy anyone, from someone on a raw diet to someone with dietary restrictions to your average meat eater.” Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant, for example, often caters to vegetarians, vegans and other speciality diets, and its First Bite dessert is therefore a raw turtle brownie constructed of layered cocao-date cake, raw caramel and walnuts. Plus, sweets are often representative of their restaurant, personifying their concept on a small, sweet scale. “I think it’s impossible to turn down dessert when it’s all-inclusive, and I personally love the desserts from Mateo and Greenbriar (Inn).” “This is definitely a Super Bowl for the pastry chef, because it’s de rigueur that people get dessert when they wouldn’t always otherwise,” Lacroix says. Then we watch in disappointment as the luscious dessert menu is whisked away by the server.īecause First Bite Boulder’s $26 price tag includes multiple courses, however, dessert is part of the package, so not only are you having one - no questions asked - you don’t even have to share. We look at our friends around the table, and we perhaps say things like, “No, I really shouldn’t.” “Who doesn’t love a good week of eating?”Īnd, more important, who doesn’t love a good reason to indulge in a delicacy in which many diners don’t often partake? “And restaurants say they do see a number of larger parties, so people are using it as an opportunity to get together with friends, which is great. “It doesn’t stray that far from restaurant weeks around the country, but we’re a smaller town, obviously, so there’s a much more personal feel,” she says. It’s a menu with which BRU plans to offer beer pairings as an add-on to take the experience to another level.Ĭertainly the financial incentive is a win for both customers and restaurants, but Lacroix says First Bite also brings together and vitalizes restaurant and dining contingents. “My favorite part about the event is that it’s another opportunity to share our love of food and beer with a coursed-out menu.” “(People) get to taste more than they might normally order,” says Ian Clark, who has been a part of First Bite throughout his career with Centro, Jax Fish House and, now, as founder and chef of BRU. The fixed-price multiple-course aspect of the event also makes upscale dining feel accessible and encourages more casual restaurants to amp up their creativity. Having the option of doing a couple courses that you usually skip, you’re able to experience a well-paced meal and feel the cadence of the meal.” “It became a special event for people on days that don’t always seem special. “It’s not just having a quick meal and being fed an entree,” says Jessica Lynch, manager of Zucca Italian Ristorante, where last year’s First Bite numbers exceeded expectations. However, the intent of the fall timing was to give restaurants a boost during a slower season, as well as to allow diners to treat themselves before the flurry of the holidays. “That’s a testament to how much people enjoy this event and how necessary this event has become, how much a part of fall it’s become,” she says.Īnd expect fall and its harvest bounty to be a powerful force, as participating restaurants are offering creative menus, many of them seasonally focused on harvest-time ingredients. Lacroix points out that the number of participating restaurants has consistently surpassed 40 and this year includes three first-timers: Fresh Thymes Eatery, Volta Mediterranean Restaurant and BRU Handbuilt Ales. “It’s a week-long celebration of Boulder’s best dining,” Lacroix says, “and it’s an opportunity for people to have a wide variety of great meals at a really reasonable price.” “Many people use First Bite Boulder to really go out and dine more than they normally would and try new places,” agrees event co-founder Kate Lacroix, who chalks up that adventurous spirit to the low cost of admission: Each restaurant puts together a three-course prix fixe menu for $26 a person. “It’s the idea of, ‘Oh, I don’t usually go there to eat, but I would for First Bite.” “They’re already emailing back and forth, saying reserve your calendar, and planning to hop from restaurant to restaurant that week,” says Ruch, chef at Fresh Thymes Eatery, one of 48 Boulder County restaurants participating in the eighth First Bite event, Nov. The plans are already in motion, says Christine Ruch, whose friends go to First Bite Boulder’s website to “stalk” participating restaurants’ menus every year.
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