Traveling meal, Progressive meal, Restaurant sampler
Appetizer Crawl. Whatever you call it, it is a fun way to explore the food available in your town.
Almost any town or city will have more than one restaurant. From dark bars with greasy grills to the four star $120 a plate sit down extravaganza, they all have the one or two things that make it worth going to them. Most of the time, those items are on the appetizer menu.
Several years ago, for a special evening, my husband and I went out to eat at a local fancy place. There were shrimp and veal and aubergine in the future… Until we found that the reservation had been made for the next night. The place was packed, but there were two places at the bar.
Most people don’t know that you can order the entire menu at most restaurants from the bar. We were able to get a bite there to share and enjoyed what we were served. We couldn’t loiter and so we walked a bit up State Street and popped into another restaurant. And had another appetizer to share.
It was a long, leisurely meal with walking and enjoying the night between courses. We stuck with appetizers, until a delightful small dessert we shared at the end.
Since then, we have done several ‘Appetizer Crawls’, some just ourselves, some with groups of people. I highly recommend it, as you can share things and not everyone has to order at each place if there are budgets to consider.
A few guidelines for a crawl:
- Do not order drinks. Stick with water. Getting the same iced tea at each place not only takes time, it will cost you about half the price of the appetizer just for drinks.
- Try to keep to one dish per person, or less if you have more in your group. Yes, you will be walking between eating, but you do not want to over-eat at the beginning and miss out on bites at the end. If you have five or more people, share dishes to keep the kitchen from having a back-up with the sudden rush.
- Tell your waitstaff that you are just there for appetizers. That way they will not try to make you order off the big menu and will not be hovering around waiting for your entree order.
- Early meals and late meals are good for this. Early to get in before the rush, late for after a show or gathering.
- Have fun!