San Diego's 13th annual restaurant week starts Sunday, January 15, 2017. For eight days, 180 restaurants across the county from South Bay to La Mesa and Oceanside to Fallbrook will roll out the red carpet offering their culinary repertoire. Prix-fixe menus allow indulgent rewards for a fraction of the usual fare. Three course dinners cost $20, $30, or $40 per person depending on the eatery. Two course lunch menus are $10, $15, or $20. The theme this year is "Celebrating Girl Scouts!" In honor of the 100th anniversary of San Diego Girl Scouts, restaurants are partnering with local troops to concoct crazy good desserts made with the iconic cookies we all know and love. The media were invited to taste-test ten of the chef's creations at the local Girl Scout campus. I was one of the lucky ones on the list. I savored confections that are pinch-me incredible. A Few Desserts on Restaurant Week Menus Thin Mints are a fave with most people. That's why Great Maple restaurant (http://thegreatmaple.com/) uses them in their Pistachio Chocolate Marquise. Dark cocoa mousse with a Thin Mints crust and pistachio dust zing brightly on your tongue, launching the urge to continue popping the bite size morsels in your mouth. Numerous chefs indulge their passion for Samoas by incorporating the caramel, toasted coconut, and dark chocolate jewels into decadent desserts. Bali Hai restaurant ((http://www.balihairestaurant.com/) spins together banana mousse, feuilletine crunch, and orange zest resulting in a slightly citrus flavor reminiscent of the South Pacific. Island Prime/C Level (https://www.cohnrestaurants.com/islandprime) put a new twist on a tried-and-true cheesecake. And Pacific Standard Coastal Kitchen wows the senses with a larger, more refined version of the cookie in bar form (http://www.pacificstandardrestaurant.com/). For Peanut Butter Lovers Tom Ham's Lighthouse ((http://www.tomhamslighthouse.com/) executive pastry chef, Karina Godinez, reinvents Tagalongs into a chocolate cake one
San Diego’s 13th annual restaurant week starts Sunday, January 15, 2017. For eight days, 180 restaurants across the county from South Bay to La Mesa and Oceanside to Fallbrook will roll out the red carpet offering their culinary repertoire. Prix-fixe menus allow indulgent rewards for a fraction of the usual fare. Three course dinners cost
