Blackberry Habanero Ribs at Tupelo Honey Cafe

Denver Restaurant Week is coming!  One of my favorite times of the year! Ten days (Friday, February 23 through Sunday, March 4). More than 230 restaurants. Prices to suit any budget. What’s not to love?

Denver has become a huge “foodie” city, so you can be sure you’ll have plenty of company at any restaurant you want to try. How can you get the most out of the dizzying array of choices? The place to start is the Denver Restaurant Week search page. Once there, these tips can help direct your quest:

Base It on Your Budget

This year, participating restaurants are offering price points of either $25, $35, or $45 per person. Click on the “Menu Price” box, choose your preferred price, and click the red Search button.

Explore Subtle Nuances

Want to really immerse yourself in a cuisine and explore every nook and cranny of it? Denver Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to do just that. Here’s an idea: scroll down past the Menu Price and Regions options to view the various types of cuisine on offer during the event. Click on just one, and see how many options come up. For example, the “BBQ/Southern Comfort Food” category is new this year. It offers four restaurants — you could certainly fit in trips to all of them over the course of the 10-day event.  Note: If you eat vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, you’ll see the availability of menus for these preferences noted under each restaurant’s description.

Dive Deep in One Neighborhood

The Search function presents you with nearly a dozen regions in which to focus your search. For example, there are more participating restaurants –73 at last count — in the Downton/LoDo/Larimer Square neighborhood than you could even squeeze into 10 days. Check out what’s around you, or what’s in a neighborhood that intrigues you. As a Realtor, I heartily recommend seeing what other areas have to offer ;-).

Try the Random Approach

Choose a number between 1 and 10. Then search on one parameter (for example, menu price of $35). Scroll down your results and make a reservation at whichever restaurant falls at that number on the list. Who knows? You could stumble upon a new favorite that you might never have considered otherwise.

No matter which approach you choose, you’ll want to make your reservations ASAP.

You’ll find more tips on the Visit Denver website, along with a constantly-updated list of participating restaurants. And if you find something really great and want to share, I’d love to hear your recommendations – post a comment on my Facebook page or tweet me @JMDenverHomes.