No food is more comforting than the southern Alabama cuisine and Auburn's Ariccia Italian Trattoria and Bar has joined Alabama Restaurant Week by presenting a special three course meal from Aug. 16-25.
Alabama Restaurant Week features dozens of Southern restaurants that serve delicious and intriguing meals from specially created menus for this annual 10-day event.
Ariccia, located in The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center, kicked off their celebration Aug. 16 by offering a $20 three course meal exclusively for this event.
"We have been getting a lot of positive feedback," said executive sous-chef Richard
Mason.
"We interact with our guests with the dine-in experience."
Mason said it was important for chefs to choose a menu with as many Alabama grown foods as possible.
"As a team we try to look at what is in season and what is local," Mason said. "We go to farmers markets once a week to get anything available that is fresh."
The meal begins with a fresh garden greens salad topped by balsamic dressing, blue cheese and a pistachio brittle.
It is followed by a grilled chicken dish served with parsnips, grape mustard and roasted carrots.
Mason said they chose to exclude a sauce, a traditional accompaniment to grilled chicken, and instead include half of a lemon for the guest to squeeze over the chicken to add desired flavor.
A strawberry salad with basil, vanilla and passion fruit serves as dessert and eventual
completion of the meal.
Adam Keeshan, senior restaurant manager, said it was a good beginning weekend with many students returning for move in and bid day.
"It is a great opportunity for people to come in and try a salad or dessert they may not have tried before," Keeshan said.
Alabama Restaurant Week was started by the Year of Alabama Food as a way to bring the community together to eat at local Alabama restaurants as a way to support the community, said Allison Duke, social media specialist at the Auburn Hotel.
"We were part of it last year and we have a connection with the Year of Alabama Food
and Alabama Travel," Duke said. "We wanted to get the word out the community about the local foods and local restaurants."
According to Duke, the Auburn Hotel and Ariccia enjoyed being a part of the event last year.
They said they plan to participate in the event in the future and hope it will be a repeated success with their guests.
"Here, in house, as much as possible, we try to find out how the guest's experience was," Mason said. "We ask how the meal was and what we can do to enhance that experience."
Approximately 100 restaurants are participating in Alabama Restaurant Week in almost every county.
Many of the participating restaurants are successful Alabama-grown chains like Dreamland Bar-B-Que.
For a complete listing of participating restaurants, visit alabamarestaurantweek.com.
To make reservations for Ariccia Italian Trattoria and Bar's $20 dinner, call 334-844-5140 or visit auhcc.com.
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