A good nosh to be had by all

A good nosh to be had by all

Vaughan

By: Genevieve DeBellis

If it’s fine dining you have a hankering for at prices that are easy on the wallet, you’re in the right city.

SavourVaughan restaurant week kicks off Oct. 16 and diners can nosh on everything from Thai, sushi, Chinese and Fench bistro, to Italian and classic steak house cuisine at more than  25 participating restaurants. Three-course meals run from $25 to $35.

SavourVaughan co-organizer Elvira Caria said the program is as easy as choosing a restaurant and making the reservation.  

Helping the local restaurant scene was the main reason for SavourVaughan.

“Restaurants were in dire need of someone to support their industry in Vaughan,” she said.

Since its 2006 start-up, SavourVaughan has served  up 15,000 meals to the tune of $850,000 in revenue.

The family-owned Villaggio Ristorante in Kleinburg is one of the participating restaurants. Its traditional Italian cuisine features fare such as veal Villaggio and rabbit with gnocchi.

Restaurant owner Sabina Barbiere said being part of SavourVaughan is a way to get people to come out and try their food.

“It’s good to bring in some clients who didn’t know we were here,” she said.

For Paul Tanvaravuttigul, owner of Siamese Thai Cuisine, trying something new is a good way to bring in more customers.

His restaurant serves up pad Thai, cashew nut chicken and mango chicken.

While SavourVaughan has much to offer diners, Ms Caria said that Vaughan doesn’t have the same downtown environment as Toronto, where people can walk to most neighbourhood restaurants if they choose.  

But local gourmands can take advantage of hotel offers and spa discounts during SavourVaughan.

With these special offers, Ms Caria said she doesn’t see why people should go anywhere else.  

“There is absolutely no need for someone looking for a fine dining experience to have to travel to Toronto,” she said.  “We have everything up here.”

SavourVaughan plans to expand its horizons next year to include the rest of  York Region.

For restaurant listings, visit www.savourvaughan.com. The event runs until Nov. 2.

All content contained in this or any other yorkregion.com website including but not limited to textual, audio, video and any graphics are copyright 2000-2008 Metroland Media Group Ltd. and can not be used in any part without expressed written permission, with the exception of content in the yorkregion.com Pen & Pixel section, which requires the written consent of the authors.