Similar to a pub-crawl, a Dishcrawl brings diners to four of the eateries that define their city. Participants will experience their community as they walk, talk and eat.
NORTHAMPTON – First there was the pub-crawl, now the Dishcrawl.
Dishcrawl, a national movement that creates dining experiences and events, is bringing gourmet food tours to the Pioneer Valley.
Similar to a pub-crawl, a Dishcrawl brings diners to four of the eateries that define their city. Participants will experience their community as they walk, talk and eat.
The debut Dishcrawl - which is designed for couples and singles - will be in Northampton on Tuesday, May 21, beginning at 7 p.m.
"I am very excited to help Dishcrawl expand into the Pioneer Valley. Northampton has so many amazing restaurants it was the logical place to start, " said Dishcrawl Ambassador Jennifer L. Iannaconi. "With so many amazing choices, why pick one when you can have four?"
To add an air of mystery to the event, the stops on the Dishcrawl are kept secret until 48 hours before the event when ticket holders are informed of the first location. Once there, they find out the other three restaurants.
“I'm focusing on restaurants you can't see when you get off the bus,” Iannaconi said, referring to their location close to the main thoroughfares where “people might not realize they're back there.”
The restaurants are within walking distance of one another. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes.
Iannaconi hopes to attract 45 participants to the Dishcrawl, and she is planning some ice-breaker games “to get people chatting.”
Chefs will be serving a sampling of their specialties, and offerings throughout the Dishcrawl will include appetizers and entrees with dessert at the last location.
“Northampton has so many restaurants,” said Iannaconi, of Springfield. “I want to get people who are familiar with going out to eat in the valley to go in a new way.”
Reservations are $45 per person (not including drinks) and can be purchased at dishcrawl.com/pioneervalley.
“Some people definitely need a break from the everyday,” Iannaconi said, adding that Dishcrawl offers just that. “Every now and then going out to eat is definitely good for the soul.”
Dishcrawl began in California a couple of years ago. Its mission is to show food lovers the best dishes in local restaurants through progressive dinners, prix fixe dinners and other fun food events that take place in such locations as San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, San Jose, Toronto, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Iannaconi hopes to have a second Dishcrawl in another Pioneer Valley location.
For more information, call (413) 351-2148 go online to Dishcrawl.com.