THE DISH: Whet your appetite with 'Dine and Discover' Restaurant Week

Jun. 11—Since 2019, The Hub of Bakersfield has brought exciting local projects and ideas to Bakersfield's urban core. The latest endeavor, courtesy of The Hub's Innovation Lab, is something you can really sink your teeth into.

Launching Sunday, Bakersfield Restaurant Week will offer local diners a chance to experience curated meals, drinks and other treats from a hand-picked selection of downtown restaurants and businesses.

The "Dine and Discover" project is the brainchild of the Innovation Lab's latest cohort spearheaded by Brittni Brewer, Vicheka Ek and Daryl Dean B. Santos.

Santos, an insurance agent, was a previous program graduate who returned to help the latest class of innovators who took part in a five-month program.

"The grass is gonna be greener wherever you water it," he said. "And so that's why being a part of the Innovation Lab and being connected with people in the downtown area that want to see change within the culinary arts and outside of the culinary arts (is important). That's what the whole goal is for me: to play connector to serve our community."

After a field trip to Smorgasburg open-air food market in L.A. and meeting with the founder, the Lab team started brainstorming what they could do in Bakersfield.

Brewer said, "Listening to how Smorgasburg started small and expanded, knowing that just a normal person being able to make change really inspired me to be like why not? I'm a real estate agent, Vicheka works with Blue Zones Project and Darryl is in insurance. ... So you have these like three people not specifically in the food industry able to make an exciting new event in town just by taking initiative. And I think the Innovation Lab sparked that within us."

The restaurant week has been in place for years in larger cities including New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Visit Bakersfield offered its own version last March but didn't revive the offering this year.

When the Innovation Lab team decided on creating its own restaurant week, it started by looking downtown.

"We wanted to focus on downtown Bakersfield specifically, just because a lot of us have some of our favorite restaurants in the downtown area," Ek said. "And we find that there are quite a bit of people that don't necessarily go downtown or explore the downtown area. We wanted to focus on one neighborhood first, before going into different neighborhoods, maybe in future years of Restaurant Week."

Bakersfield Restaurant Week will highlight 17 downtown restaurants, bars, coffeehouses and wine/beer tasting rooms. (See full list below.)

Carefully selected menus will range from $25-$35 for lunch, $40-$60 for dinner, and $18-$35 for drink flights and tastings. Some businesses will offer single drinks or items for purchase.

"I think the inspiration for this is to really incentivize and excite people to go downtown to have an experience they might not always be able to afford," Brewer said.

With varying price ranges, diners can opt for what works best for their budget while also enjoying some of the best the eateries have to offer.

Brewer said, "We wanted the restaurants to be able to show off their strongest assets and kind of get people to expand their palate. And maybe try something they might not always try."

Santos, Ek and Brewer have all been promoting the project on their own social media accounts as well as the Dine and Discover Instagram with videos, post and Insta stories to drive interest.

Even on the eve of this first week, all three innovators are optimistic about being able to expand the project across town and into Kern County.

"I think this is just the start of something awesome," Santos said. "And I think as long as people are patient with us and give us grace, I think this is going to be a great turnout of people just, you know, coming out and having fun."

"I really hope that people share about their experience, you know, take a picture, tag where they're at, tag Dine and Discover and we build that up. We have the momentum to help the next round of restaurateurs, drinking establishments and pastry places to want to participate next year."

"This is a community effort, really, and so I'm excited to see where this goes."

Offerings begin Sunday and run through Saturday, depending on each businesses' hours.

Participants are:

Padre Hotel (1702 18th St.): Chef Kuwahara designed a three-course prix fixe menu ($50) with a starter of blue crab-stuffed zucchini blossoms with basil aioli and spicy tomato concasse. The entree is coq au vin (wine-braised chicken) and summer vegetables. Finish your meal with an Irish car bomb cheesecake with whiskey candy glass and a Guinness reduction.

Campo Bar + Bottle (1824 G St.): Enjoy a flight of five staff favorites ($18): Matic Wines 2021 Kerner white (Štajerska, Slovenia), Field Recordings 2022 Skins skin contact white (Central Coast), Martha Stoumen 2022 Post Flirtation rosé (California), Las Jaras 2022 Glou Glou red blend (Mendocino County) and Ricca Terra 2021 'Bullets Before Cannonballs' red blend (South Australia).

Radio Sandwich (1229 19th St.): The shop will offer a mini-sandwich trio ($25) with: a mini muff, with mortadella, capicola, hot soppressata, provolone, olive mix and cherry pepper mayo on sesame bread; KFC (Korean fried chicken) slider, with double-fried chicken with sticky-sweet-spicy gojuchang sauce atop cabbage, carrot and scallion sesame slaw; and beet vegan wrap, with farm-fresh beets and beet greens, fava bean maro and holy basil dressing.

Locale Farm to Table (1727 18th St.): Sample a tasting trio ($29) from chef Juan Ponce that starts with two banh mi potstickers, made with slow-cooked pork, marinated radishes, carrots and onion, topped with pickled carrots and onions, and served with a cilantro lime crack sauce. The main dish is pistachio-and-herb-crusted lamb lollipop with a truffle arancini stuffed with goat cheese, served with cherry mostarda. For dessert, enjoy brûlée peach sticky rice, a bruleed half-peach half with sticky rice rolled in toasted coconut flakes and served with a coconut lemon curd sauce.

Cafe Smitten (909 18th St.): Get ready to be caffeinated with the Perennial espresso flight ($10), using the Perennial Limited Edition Blend, a 60/40 blend of a light roast from Colombia and a darker roast from Burundi. This trio includes a shot of espresso, a rose cortado (espresso, steamed milk and rosebud) and hibiscus lemonade.

The Botanist (930 18th St.): Travel to Mexico via a mezcal cocktail flight ($24) with a Oaxacan Old-Fashioned with 400 Conejos mezcal, Muerte with Madre mezcal and Naked & Famous with Del Maguey Vida mezcal.

Sandrini's Public House (1918 Eye St.): The restaurant and bar developed a tres leches martini for the event and will offer a three-course prix fixe meal ($40).

GhilaDolci Bakery (2002 19th St.): Owner Courtney Ghilarducci-Dendy and her team created a coconut lime cookie ($4.75)exclusively for the event.

Mama Roomba (1814 Eye St.): Three-course prix fixe meal

Fredo's (1604 19th St.): Three-course prix fixe meal ($30 or $50)

My Spot Downtown Grill (1412 17th St., Suite F): Taco flight ($20-$25)

502 Coffee (1412 17th St.): Toast and Italian soda flight ($15)

Adventure Awaits (819 19th St.): Coffee flight and pastry ($14)

Tlo Wines Tasting Room (1212 18th St.): Wine tasting ($35)

Off the Rails (1517 18th St.): Beer tasting ($18)

2nd Phase Brewing (1004 19th St.): Beer flight ($12)

BottleShock Wine + Brew (1002 19th St., Suite C): Prosecco float ($18)

For the latest information, videos and menus, follow @dinediscoverbakersfield on Instagram.

Visit thehubofbakersfield.org/innovation-lab to learn more about the Innovation Lab.

Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter at @realstefanidias.