The best of the best in Claremont cuisine will be on display during the fourth annual Claremont Restaurant Week.

The event, which runs from January 16 through January 29 and put on by the Claremont Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Discover Claremont, will feature 16 different restaurants

Chamber CEO Maureen Aldridge noted the enthusiasm surrounding the event is a good indication of things to come. “I think it’s a great, great advertising opportunity for the city,” she said.

The event initially took place in July, but after some comments from restaurants and a desire to coincide with the larger California Restaurant Month, it was moved to January.

Participating restaurants are tasked with creating specialty menus just for event patrons. In previous years, the Chamber called for the restaurants to have “prix fixe,” or a three-course fixed price menu, but that rule was relaxed for 2017.

“We basically said to the restaurants this year, do what you want,” Ms. Aldridge said.

While some restaurants stuck to the prix fixe menu, others have created menus full of local favorites and seasonal offerings, some a la carte.

Ms. Aldridge said the 16 restaurants participating is “the max that we’ve had” in the food festival’s short history, noting the restaurants are ready to start.

The restaurants taking part in the event represent the city’s diverse culinary palette—from classical Italian mainstays such as Tutti Mangia and Aruffo’s, to modern fare such as Union on Yale and Bardot, to local favorites such as Viva Madrid and Saca’s Mediterranean Cuisine.

To kick off the event, a small party full of food writers and bloggers was convened at Casa 425 to get the word out about the Claremont restaurant scene.

 The media participants were given the opportunity to sample some of Casa 425’s signature dishes, such as the Blue Corn Quesadilla, Arepas con Carnitas and the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich.

As each dish was served, the bloggers hounded the plates, taking pictures of the food at different angles for their social media pages. The social media spike is all in an effort to get local foodies interested in dining in the Claremont Village. 

Casa 425 lounge manager Jason Cerswell noted the event is a great opportunity for restaurants to bring people in during what is recognized as a down month in the Village.

“I’ve said this before, but Claremont supports Claremont,” he said.

More information on Claremont Restaurant Week—including participating restaurants and menus—can be found at www.claremontrestaurantweek.com

—Matthew Bramlett

news@claremont-courier.com