Through my amazing friend Paige, owner of SV Local Markets, I met Tracy Lee, entrepreneur extraordinaire of @Dishcrawl.  Dishcrawl is a combination of a progressive dinner but shakes things up by locating restaurants in a variety of neighborhoods where people meet for the first dish and crawl their way to the next - and the next.  Not only do the "crawlers" get to sample amazing food at a great price, especially considering the variety - but we get to meet new people along the way.  Totally fun.

Each restaurant offers up a savory dish, often a signature dish, and typically described in mouthwatering detail by the head chef as you're sampling.  It's an opportunity for the crawlers to sample food from a restaurant that might be new to them.  What I loved about it was the chance to learn about restaurants that were not necessarily on my radar before, but are now.  My husband and I have already gone back to two of the restaurants after our first Dishcrawl.

Walking our way through our journey of food was also a really enjoyable way to savor the evening.  My husband and I enjoyed the Stroll through Santana Row and discovered 8 restaurants including the Bombay Wrap, which is actually a street cart between The Container Store and Crate and Barrel.  It turns out that the humble little food stand was one of our favorites.  Everything was served up fresh with tender chicken cubes and fresh lettuce and tomatoes.  Spicy but not too spicy - it was just delicious.  My favorite was Oryza Bistro Asiana where the new head chef prepared three samples of beef, incredibly savory chicken wings and sashimi.  It was a taste to remember.   And I must mention Cocola, the sweet pastry shop where we ended our epicurian adventure.  Cocola is a mother and son partnership specializing in French confections and pastries.  They also serve up gourmet sandwiches on freshly baked baguettes and homemade soups.  This was one of our "go-back" restaurants.

So if you have not heard of Dishcrawl before, you have now.  Check out their calendar of events and make it a date night.

Dishcrawl is invading many major towns.  They are now in San Francisco, New York, Austin, Montreal, Toronto, San Diego, Seattle - and growing.  If you're interested there are opportuntnies to become a Dishcrawl Ambassador.  If I weren't taking so many photos of the food I might consider it.  Food - Photography - Food Photography - sounds good to me.

Check out some of the photos from this event - and be sure to savor the journey. IMG_3264

IMG_3297

IMG_3476

Disclaimer: I am now a photographer for Dishcrawl, but all opinions are strictly my own.  I hope I have served the food and restaurants well with my photos to make you wish you were there sampling the food along side me.