Good food great cause as Restaurant Week gives back

This is the week for eating good food and supporting a great cause.

"This is a great deal!" says Stephanie March, a food critic with Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, while enjoying an early breakfast at 3 Squares Restaurant in Maple Grove. "For the first time we've teamed up with a great community partner."

"Restaurant Week" is underway around the metro area and 48 establishments are on board. The week-long event is presented by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine and gives foodies around the Twin Cities a chance to experience local restaurants, try new foods, and receive some deep discounts.

Crudos at Esca for Restaurant Week

Crudo is the Italian variation on ceviche or sashimi. In other words, uncooked (or barely cooked) fish. The dish is typically served with a bit of citrus juice and salt-- but not enough citrus to actually cook the fish. Chef Dave Pasternack and chef de cuisine Katie O’Donnell are making some of the best crudos in town at Esca. One of my favorites is this gorgeous razor clam dish.

The chef was out fishing on Long Island when we stopped by, so Katie showed us how they make the dish. These are East Coast razor clams, which are so fresh they’re still wriggling. She cuts out the clam meat, sets the brine aside, slices the clam into small pieces, and mixes it with brine, mint, scallions, chiles, lemon and lime juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. She serves it in the beautiful shell.

NYC Restaurant Week

Of the many upscale restaurants that dot Little Neck, not one is participating in New York City's Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Week is a chance for diners to test out cuisine that might otherwise fall outside their budgets. For restaurants, it's an opportunity to lure future loyal customers with uncharacteristically low prices, perhaps saddling them with a taste for a particular dish that will keep them returning long after the discount is gone.

Of the 320 restaurants participating throughout the city, few of them are located in Queens, and fewer still located in northeast. In fact, most local restaurateurs had no idea the event was even taking place this week.

Joe DiMaria, the owner of DiMaria's Brick Oven Pizza, said he might have participated in restaurant week had he known it was happening.