by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Combine dinner Downtown at a value price for the consumer with a way to keep restaurants busy in what’s traditionally one of the slowest times of the year and you have “Eat Up Downtown,” the two-week promotion sponsored by Downtown Vision Inc. and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
This year, the fifth for the promotion, there are 17 restaurants participating. They are offering three-course meals for $25 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
Most of the eateries have developed special menus for the promotion and understand that a smaller-than-usual profit margin can be made up for with more customers than might be expected at the end of August.
It’s the first year the City has sponsored Eat Up Downtown, with the JEDC chipping in $11,300 for a direct-mail advertising campaign.
The Landing has four participating restaurants this year – Koja Sushi, Benny’s Steak & Seafood, Vito’s Italian Café and Cinco de Mayo.
“It brings new faces. I think people really like it, especially in these economic times,” said Benny Yousefzadeh, owner of Benny’s Steak & Seafood.
He said he designs a special menu for the promotion. It’s based on items he usually serves as well as what is popular with his regular clientele and what can be served quickly. That allows the restaurant to serve more patrons in an evening and gives diners the opportunity to discover other features the neighborhood has to offer.
“Dinner is part of an evening Downtown,” said Yousefzadeh.
Landing Director of Marketing Michael Chambliss said restaurants at the riverfront retail and entertainment center have participated every year since Eat Up Downtown debuted.
“August is always a slower month for us just like it is everywhere. People are thinking about getting back to school. The promotion attracts more people to come Downtown and that’s always our goal,” he said.
356-2466
Aug. 15-28 ‘Eat Up Downtown’ prix fixe menus:
Koja Sushi
• Starter: shrimp tempura, seaweed salad, soup or salad plus one free drink (house wine or sake)
• Entrée: Hawaiian steak and vegetables, marinated ribeye steak, sushi or sashimi regular
• Choice of dinner box: main item, steamed or fried rice, fried potato, tempura shrimp, crab cake, seasoned cabbage, two California roll pieces, sautéed vegetables and orange slice
• Dessert: tempura cheesecake or deep-fried ice cream
Vito’s Italian Cafe
• Starter: homemade soup of the day or garden or Caesar salad
• Entrée: chicken Espagnola (breaded chicken breast with artichoke, olives, tomatoes, and a hint of spice in a light demi-tomato sauce), tilapia with mango salsa (grilled tilapia topped with a mango salsa, served with rice pilaf) or veal scaloppini (pan-seared veal with portabella mushrooms, tomatoes and onions in a demi-cream sauce)
• Dessert: cheesecake or canoli
Benny’s Steak & Seafood
• Starter: mussels Milanese (sautéed with garlic, shallot, mushrooms, fresh sweet basil and capers in lemon garlic butter cheese) or fried calamari (fresh squid tossed in seasoned flour, deep fried and served with spicy hot marinara sauce)
• House salad or Caesar salad
• Entrée: pasta primavera delight (mushrooms and garden vegetables in a creamy Alfredo sauce) or fried or broiled tilapia with rice and vegetables
Cinco de Mayo
• Starter: unlimited chips and salsa with choice of guacamole, bean dip or queso dip and a soft drink or tea and a draft beer or margarita (one per person)
• Choice of any two entrees
• Choice of two desserts
For more menus, restaurant hours and reservations, visit www.eatupdowntown.com