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Community Corner

Ballwin Eateries and More to Celebrate Culinary Commerce

Restaurants in Ballwin join in on area-wide festivities celebrating local restaurants and presenting some tasty offerings along the way.

Cities all over the country have them. Downtown St. Louis has one. So does Clayton. But Ballwin does not. At least not until next week, when the first West County Restaurant Week will kick off. The week is a celebration of fine dining establishments sure to satiate the most demanding gourmands.

West County Restaurant Week gets under way on Monday and continues through May 22. Each one is offering three courses for $25, plus tax and tip of course. Remember that reservations are highly—emphasis on highly—recommended.

The fantastic feast is the brainchild of  grads Bobby Conn and Robert Muckler. They are the founders of R&B Productions, an event marketing and consulting company. “We're both from the Chesterfield area,” Conn said. “We wanted to offer a collaboration of high-end restaurants—bring a little buzz back to West County.”

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It's a chance for residents to try out the newest places in town, such as Charlie Gitto's from the Hill or Picasso's Bistro. Or perhaps somewhere you've always wanted to try but haven't, such Balaban's or . 

Although R&B Productions has produced some high-profile restaurant events, they've never put together a restaurant week before. So how did they go about it? “We talked to the organizers of other cities' restaurant weeks about what worked and what didn't,” Conn said. “We used the best of them.”

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Although this is the first restaurant week in West County, Conn and Muckler are confident enough to call it annual. “The idea has always floated around in our heads,” Conn said. “We think it's going to be successful and think it will grow. We want it to be annual.”

Conn and Muckler also wanted to involve a charity in the event, so they included the option of adding an extra $5 to "Help a Hero," benefiting The Wounded Warrior Program for soldiers in need. “We have friends in the military,” Conn said. “We thought that since it was a week before Memorial Day, it was just the right fit. West County is very supportive of the military. It was the right charity."

So loosen those belts and get ready for the first restaurant week to hit the area. Check out the menus to to get those appetites revved up and ready, or just salivate over the computer and dream. And don't forget those reservations.

Click the links to see the fixed menu the restaurants are offering:

Andria's Steakhouse, 636-530-9800
Balaban's, 636-449-6700
Candicci's, 636-220-8989
Charlie Gitto's from the Hill, 636-536-2199
Gianfabio's, 636-532-6686
McCormick & Schmick's, 314-835-1300
Kari's Surf & Sirloin, 314-822-3637
The Mediterranean Grill, 636-536-2101
Picasso's Bistro, 636-532-5353
Sapore Italian Cafe, 636-246-3949
Yia Yia's Eurocafe, 636-537-9991

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