Area chefs set the table for Restaurant Week(s).

• Author: Houle, Barbara M.
• Position: Living

Byline: Barbara M. Houle

Worcester Restaurant Week, an event that showcases and promotes restaurants to the dining crowd, will be celebrated Feb. 24 to March 8 at businesses in and around the city.

The restaurants offer a great dining deal, with chefs creating incredible three-course meals (appetizer, entree, dessert) for the fixed price of $23.14.

The winter WRW promotion includes several new businesses. One of them is Meze Greek Tapas, owned by Sotirios Georgiadis with ties to Uncle Sam's Pizza in Worcester.

Meze Greek Tapas has taken over the space formerly occupied by Portobello Restaurant, 156 Shrewsbury St., Worcester.

Mezcal, at its new location, 30 Major Taylor Blvd., Worcester, also is a participant.

Other restaurants in Worcester include: 111 Chophouse, Armsby Abbey, Bocado Tapas Wine Bar, Brew City Grill & Brew House, Caffe Espresso Trattoria, Canal Restaurant & Bar, Ceres Bistro at the Beechwood Hotel, Coral Seafood Restaurant, El Basha, EVO Dining, Flying Rhino Cafe & Watering Hole, Funky Murphy's, Joey's Bar & Grill, La Scala Restaurant, Leo's Ristorante, Mare e Monti Trattoria, Northworks Bar & Grille, Nuovo, O'Connor's Restaurant & Bar, Park Grill & Spirits, the People's Kitchen, Peppercorn's Grille & Tavern, Piccolo's Restaurant, Ritual, Rosalina's Kitchen, the Sole Proprietor, Tatnuck Grille, Thai Time, Tweed's Pub Restaurant, VIA Italian Table and Volturno.

Also participating are AJ Tomaiolo's Restaurant in Northboro; Amici Trattoria, Lakeside Bar & Grille and Willy's Steakhouse, all in Shrewsbury; the Castle Restaurant in Leicester; Draught House Bar & Grill, Il Forno and The Mill at 185, all in West Boylston; Mexicali in Holden; and Via Alto 27 in Clinton.

Reservations are recommended during Worcester Restaurant Week. Visit www.worcesterrestaurantweek. com for updated information. You will find WRW menus on some restaurant websites.

Event sponsors include PepsiCo, UniBank, American Express, Mercadante Funeral Home in Worcester and Atlas Distributing in Auburn.

Celebrate the dining scene!

Johnny Fugata, 394 Belmont St., Worcester, is temporarily closed.

The casual eatery that serves lunch and dinner will reopen soon, according to executive chef/owner John Piccolo of Piccolo's in Worcester.

Piccolo opened Johnny Fugata in summer of 2013.

Go Whisk(e)y Weekend is Feb. 21-23 at Julio's Liquors, 140 Turnpike Road, Westboro.

Grand Dram Tasting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 23. More than 250 whiskies will be available for...