This year, Summer Restaurant Week, runs July 24-31 offering meals from more than 25 restaurants ranging in price from $20.22-$50.22.
âThis promotion helps restaurants see new customers and maybe see some they havenât in awhile. It is also during a slower time of year for them and this really helps increase their bottom line. Zack (Weiner, chef and co-founder) with Jollity absolutely loved his first restaurant week in the winter and is excited to participate this summer,â said Amy Zahora, executive director of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association (MVRA).
This year Zahora shared that the number of participating restaurants are down significantly from past years due mainly to staffing issues. It typically features more than 40 restaurants. Zahora expects to see approximately 5,000-6,000 meals sold, about half of what they have sold in the past.
A dollar from each meal sold will be split between For the Love of Children and the MVRA Education Foundation.
Two new participating restaurants â The Last Queen, an English pub that recently opened in Enon, and Loose Ends Brewing in Centerville â will be joining the promotion with the opportunity to attract and engage new customers.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
The Restaurant Week menu that I am most excited about is Meadowlark Restaurantâs tribute to Ann Heller who passed away just over three months ago in April. Heller was longtime Dayton Daily News and Journal Herald food editor and restaurant critic and the author of two cookbooks.
Meadowlarkâs four course promotion that runs July 26-30 is the vision of Owner and Chef Elizabeth Wiley who knew Heller and respected the important role she played in helping document the local restaurant scene from 1975 to 2006. The menu is an homage to Heller with dishes inspired by some of the late food writerâs favorites.
Heller wrote glowingly in the past about the restaurantâs garlic frites. She also liked the dressing on the chicken salad, so for the amuse-bouche diners will enjoy garlic frites with a curry-peach mayo jam on the side for dipping.
The first course is a battle of two of Annâs favorite soups. Black bean or a creamy summer gazpacho. Which will you choose?
The main course has a choice of four wonderful options:
- Lemon-roasted chicken thighs with jasmine rice and Annâs summer squash salad with olives and feta cheese
- Braised pork butt with roasted garlic potatoes and smokinâ chipotle slaw
- A grilled shrimp skewer with avocado-corn salsa and cheese grits
- Red chile broken enchiladas with melty vegan or dairy cheese and fried corn and mushrooms.
Dessert offers the choice of three of Annâs favorites:
- A strawberry cobbler with butter cookie crust
- A fresh plum tart with crĂšme anglaise, dried plum gastrique and whipped cream
- A brown butter-bourbon pound cake with Annâs cherry almond sauce.
Special featured Restaurant Week Cocktails are an Ann Heller inspired Tomato Margarita and a Mojito that she loved inspired by El Mesonâs classic recipe.
The four course $40 meal is one that I know Ann would be absolutely tickled by. In the capable hands of Wiley who Ann dearly admired and is without question one of the best chefs in Dayton, I know this will be the menu of menus not to be missed.
Every Restaurant Week is special, but this one especially so. I know Iâll be there several times to raise a glass to my friend and try the dishes that inspired the cooks she loved and who loved her right back.
âRestaurant Week is very popular in our area because people of the Miami Valley do enjoy supporting our local restaurants and also like a good deal. Restaurant week gives people the opportunity to try a new place at a good price,â said Zahora.
Itâs also a labor of love that will be on display once more with kitchens and chefs all over town creating dishes they are passionate about.
If Ann were still here I know sheâd be planning a full week of dining out to relish in restaurants putting their best foot forward. Even in retirement she never stopped cheering them on and supporting them.
I canât wait to toast her next week and I know legions of her fans probably do as well. See you at Meadowlark!
How to go
What: Summer Restaurant Week
When: July 24-31
Where: Various locations
Cost: Meals range in price from $20.22-$50.22
More info and complete list of restaurants: (937) 461-MVRA or https://dineoutdayton.com/restaurant-week
2022 SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS
The following is a list of the businesses scheduled to participate in the 2022 Miami Valley Restaurant Associationsâ Summer Restaurant Week taking place July 24-31. Please note â this list of participating restaurants is subject to change and reservations may be required from some participating locations. Calling ahead is recommended, for details, hours and reservations. For the most up-to-date participating restaurant list and information visit http://dineoutdayton.com.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
DAYTON
Amber Rose, 1400 Valley St., Dayton, (937) 228-2511
The Bar and Bistro at Top of the Market, 32 Webster St., Dayton, (937) 224-3663
Cocoâs Bistro, 250 Warren St., Dayton, (937) 228-2626
Francoâs, 824 E. Fifth St., Dayton, (937) 222-0204
Jayâs Seafood Restaurant, 225 E. Sixth St., Dayton, (937) 222-2892
Jollity Dayton, 127 E. Third St., Dayton, (937) 938-9089
Wheat Penny, 515 Wayne Ave, Dayton, (937) 496-5268
KETTERING
Figlio, 424 E. Stroop Road in the Town & Country shopping center, Kettering, (937) 534-0494
CENTERVILLE
Carvers Steaks & Chops, 1535 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, Centerville, (937) 433-7099
Chappyâs Social House, 7880 Washington Village Dr, Centerville, (937) 439-9200
Loose Ends Brewing, 890 S. Main St., Centerville, (937) 723-6328
Thai Kitchen, 8971 Kingsridge Dr., Centerville, (937) 888-8424
GERMANTOWN
Florentine Restaurant, 21 W. Market St., Germantown, (937) 855-7759
WASHINGTON TWP.
The Chop House, 7727 Washington Village Drive, Washington Twp., (937) 291-1661
Thai Table, 5841 Far Hills Ave., Washington Twp., (937) 739-5841
Meadowlark, 5531 Far Hills Ave., Washington Twp., (937) 434-4750
MIAMISBURG
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, 3500 Rigby Rd., Miamisburg, (937) 865-9355
Backwater Voodoo, 3 S. Main St., Miamisburg, (937) 949-0522
Watermark Restaurant, 20 S. First St., Miamisburg, (937) 802-0891
VANDALIA
Bunkerâs Sports Bar & Grill, 893 E. National Road, Vandalia, (937) 890-8899
MIAMI COUNTY
TROY
Basilâs On Market, 18 N. Market St., Troy, (937) 524-5916
Smithâs Boathouse Restaurant, 439 N. Elm St., Troy, (937) 335-3837
TIPP CITY
Hickory River Smokehouse, 135 S. Garber Drive, Tipp City, (937) 669-2271
GREENE COUNTY
BEAVERCREEK
Basilâs On Market, 2729 Fairfield Commons Blvd., Beavercreek, (937) 702-3160
Pasha Grill, 72 Plum St., The Greene, Beavercreek, (937) 429-9000
XENIA
Nickâs Restaurant, 1443 North Detroit Street, Xenia, (937) 372-3202
CLARK COUNTY
ENON
The Last Queen, 210 E. Main St., Enon, (937) 340-6032
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