FREMONT — Whether you’re craving the crisp and buttery layers of a French pastry, the timeless comfort of a hearty cheeseburger or the soul-soothing warmth of a bowl of ramen, you can embark on a global culinary adventure without leaving your backyard starting later today.
About 45 restaurants, cafes and bakeshops across the city will be offering discounts, special menus and limited-edition items from March 22 to March 31, for the 2nd annual Fremont Restaurant Week, giving food lovers an excuse to revisit old haunts or try something new. The 10-day event kicks off tonight at 5 p.m. at Billy Roy’s Burger Co., located at 3909 Thornton Ave. in Fremont.
A full list of participating restaurants can be found online at fremontrestaurantweek.com.
Among those participating is Mamahouse Bakery, which is offering a special pistachio tea cake for $10.50 and a trio of Kouign Amann pastries ($10 to $18).
“A Kouign Amann is basically a caramelized croissant,” Kim Coenen, co-owner of the family-run business, told the East Bay Echo.
Mamahouse Bakeshop will be offering three special varieties of the pastry for Restaurant Week, including blueberry ginger jam, chocolate cremeaux and cardamom cream. You can buy the pastries at the local farmer’s markets, online at mamahousebakes.com or by placing an order by calling 510-789-5108.
The pastries were a big hit during the inaugural Restaurant Week a year ago, and Coenen expects they’ll go fast again this year.
Nikki Inamine, the city’s economic development coordinator, said people interested in exploring the restaurants that are elevating the city’s culinary profile won’t want to miss SOHO Modern Japanese, which is offering a special tasting menu for $88, as well as special brunch items like an unagi benedict ($24) and ube tiramisu ($6). Inamine said it didn’t take long for SOHO’s Restaurant Week menu to sell out last year.
“There are restaurants like SOHO Modern Japanese that offer this very elevated, sophisticated fine dining experience that people may not typically associate with Fremont, but that seems to be changing,” Inamine said. “Restaurants like SOHO are really creating a destination out of Fremont.”
There are also established favorites represented from each district in the city, from De Afghanan in Centerville to Papillon in Niles, said Donovan Lazaro, the city’s economic development director. The latter is set to offer a prix fixe menu from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for $42.
“We encourage people to make reservations early and make sure to let them know it’s for Restaurant Week,” Lazaro said.
The city decided to launch Restaurant Week to help restaurants recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the rising cost of maintaining a workforce, Lazaro said.
“Restaurant Week is a celebration of Fremont’s diverse culinary offerings from around the world and an opportunity to support our local eateries during what is typically a slow time of the year,” Lazaro said.
People can grab a passport that has a space for each participating restaurant to stamp, or place a sticker, to document their gastronomic exploits. Passports with more stickers have a higher chance of winning raffle prizes, worth $3,000 in total.
Passports can be dropped off at the Fremont Chamber of Commerce in Suite 100 at 39488 Stevenson Pl.
Contact Inamine at ninamine@fremont.gov if you’d like to attend the kick off event.
Photos courtesy of the city of Fremont.
