We all have our favorites. When we go out to dinner, we usually play it safe and pick a restaurant we know and love. But in a city with a nationally renowned up-and-coming food scene, why shouldn’t we broaden our horizons? What if you chose a restaurant completely at random? Better yet, what if an expert selected four of Eugene’s finest eateries and led you between them in one night of gastronomical utopia? Say hello to Dishcrawl.
Dishcrawl, a restaurant tour that has swept the nation, will make its debut here in Eugene on Wednesday. Four restaurants, all of which are kept a secret until 48 hours prior to the event, will serve their trademark dishes to a group of between 25 and 40 adventurous customers. The guests will make their way on foot between the restaurants, stopping for food, drink, conversation and dessert along the way.
“It’s a personal, VIP experience for all the guests,” said Rosalie Ruff, Eugene’s Dishcrawl ambassador.
Each restaurant’s chef and owner will address the group and discuss their restaurant and the plate in front of the customers. “They really enjoyed seeing who made their food,” said Sara Figueroa, who coordinated a Dishcrawl event in Portland, stressing that this intimate experience is one of Dishcrawl’s highlights.
“I haven’t heard of anything quite like this,” Ruff said of the event’s uniqueness. “You’re basically out to try food at four different restaurants. There’s no strings attached or anything.”
“I don’t know of anything that’s as simple and as easy and user-friendly as Dishcrawl.”
Forty-five dollar tickets to Wednesday’s event are available to everyone — adults, children, couples, individuals, groups of friends, fine-diners and casual eaters — until the day of the event. “We have an eclectic lineup,” she said. “You’re going to be experiencing something fairly nice, or maybe something kind of hole in-the-wall.”
The food is certainly the focal point of the evening, but it isn’t the only reason Dishcrawl has found success throughout the U.S. and Canada. “It’s not just about the food,” Ruff said. “It’s about the experience.”
“What we are really trying to do is get people out of their favorite restaurants,” Ruff said. “It’s really about getting you out of your bubble.”
Ruff and a few dozen optimistic eaters will get out of their bubbles Wednesday at 7 p.m. If exploring Eugene’s top restaurants for a night of food and friends sounds up your alley, lace up your walking shoes and join them.