Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week 2024 Kicks Off With Culinary Creativity and Tantalizing Treats
February 22, 2024 | Business Support
Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week, presented by GreenState Credit Union, kicked off February 15, 2024, with a tasting preview event at Epic Event Center in Marion. Nearly 20 restaurants debuted samples of dishes and drinks from their 2024 Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week signature menus. More than 200 attendees got to sample any and all their foodie hearts desired. Culinary creations ranged from spicy and succulent lobster rolls and comforting chicken soup, to deeply-satisfying hummus and chicken shawarma and savory-sweet smoked beef brisket elote. Coca-Cola Atlantic Bottling was on-site featuring a brand new “Spiced” Coca-Cola soda, and Cedar Ridge Distillery was pouring signature cocktails of their own.
A port cask bourbon, by Cedar Ridge Distillery, was the theme for restaurants participating in the cocktail competition to stir up appetizing apéritifs and delightful digestifs. Along with voting for their favorite cocktail samples (People’s Choice Drink), attendees also voted for their favorite dish (People’s Choice Food) overall. Winners of the competitions were announced after two hours of tasting and sipping. Congratulations to our People’s Choice winners Mezcal Tequila Cocina for their clarified cocktail creation, and Black Sheep Social Club for their smoked beef brisket elote. To these mavericks of mouth-watering creativity, we give a tip of the hat!
On Friday, February 16, our friends at Z102.9’s The Morning Scramble, Eric and Clare, set up for a live broadcast from Big Grove Brewery Cedar Rapids. The hype and energy carried the happy hour event from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. as announcements and exciting news about the upcoming week was shared live from their broadcast. One of those announcements for Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week is a new venture for 2024, the Foodie Fairy! Don’t miss the Foodie Fairy as she flits from coffee and brunch to lunch and dinner in bringing magical surprises to lucky patrons of participating Restaurant Week locations. Foodie Fairy restaurants will be announced via social media each day during Restaurant Week, so keep an eye on these sparkly updates for a chance to win a tasty treat!
On Saturday, February 17, three hungry and motivated gentlemen followed their witty plan to visit all 19 Restaurant Week locations in a single day. For the fourth consecutive year, Camden Stovie, Colton Storla and Joe Sample took the streets of the foodie community and hit each restaurant in their special in a 12 hour time frame. Accomplishing this impressive and filling feat, we applaud these gents for supporting local and getting all their punches knocked out in one day. And, for also probably filled their bellies for the entire week as well. Read the whole story on KHAK here.
Every participating restaurant in the 10-day Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week, February 16-25, deserves your patronage for their tasty menus not just this week, but all year round! Support local, get you official Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week punch card stamped, and get entered to win prize packs from participating restaurants and generous sponsors. With nearly 62% of restaurants in Cedar Rapids locally-owned, there’s something for everyone in enjoying the food scene close to home and keeping dollars local. Check out this complete list of Economic Alliance member restaurants and plan an outing today!