Warm up your taste buds during Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week: Valley Views

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — If all the bitterly cold weather, trudging through snow and scraping ice off your windshield makes you crave regional comfort food, you’re in luck.

The Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce is preparing for its eighth annual Restoration Week from January 31 to February 6. 21 cool restaurants in the area will participate with special menus and prices, with enough variety to suit almost anyone’s taste and budget.

Chagrin Valley Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to break out of your culinary routine and try new restaurants. Most restaurants offer deals on dine-in and take-out options.

Restaurants included in the Chagrin Falls area are Batuqui, Bell & Flower, Brown Barn Tavern, Burntwood Tavern, Cowboy Food and Drink, ETalian, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Flipside Jojo’s Bar, Lemon Falls, M Italian, Muvel, Panini’s Bar & Grill, Paris Room Bistro, PonyBoys, Pub Frato, 17 River Grill, Sirna’s Farm Fresh Kitchen, Sushi Junki, Welshfield Inn and Yours Truly Restaurant in Chagrin Falls.

According to Jessica Debeljak, general manager of the CVCC, now is a good time to give your kitchen a night or two off. With approximately 550 members, the CVCC serves 13 communities in the Valley of Sorrows.

To see menus and special offers, visit chagrinvalleyrestaurantweek.com.

To take a walk: You can shed those delicious calories starting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 5 with the Geauga Parks Foundation’s Explorer Hike Series. This will be at The West Woods, 9465 Kinsman Road in Russell Township, part of the Geauga Park District.

The Explorer Party meets at a different park on the first Saturday of each month, usually in the main parking lot, to hike a chosen trail through various township and village parks, as well as the Geauga Park District.

March 5 hike is scheduled for Munson Township Scenic River Retreat, 10900 Mayfield Road.

On April 2, the group will take the group to Modroo Preserve on Hemlock Road in Russell Township.

Birdwatchers will enjoy the May 7 hike to Burton Wetlands Nature Reserve on Old Rider Road in Burton.

You won’t need hiking boots on June 4 when the group takes to the water in kayaks at Headwaters Park in Huntsburg.

The hikes are generally on moderate terrain and do not require prior registration. Details are provided monthly in the FGP e-newsletter – along with updates on park projects – so you can sign up for this at foundationforgeaugaparks.org.

By participating in the hikes, you will be able to meet members of the FGP and Todd Gaydosh, the new general manager of the group, who plans to walk the trails with you.

Contact foundationforgeaugaparks.org or call 440-564-1048.

Put on snowshoes: Deeper is better, but if the snowpack is at least 4 inches deep, you can borrow a pair of snowshoes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to explore West Woods Park.

The first-come, first-served system allows you to borrow the shoes for a period of two hours. It’s free for Geauga County residents and $5 for out-of-county visitors, payable by credit card. Borrowers must be 18 years or older and have a signed waiver form and driver’s license to leave as a security deposit.

Young people must be accompanied by an adult.

Full rules, waiver forms, size chart and more program information are available at geaugaparkdistrict.org. Select snowshoeing under activities.

The West Woods Nature Center is located at 9465 Kinsman Road in the Township of Russell. Call ahead for a snow report at 440-286-9516.

Read more about “knife skills”: The Temple Emanu El Advocacy Committee is hosting an online program focused on Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Institute with its Founder and CEO, Brandon Chrowstowski, from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 2.

The evening includes a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary film “Knife Skills” and a Q&A with Chrowstowski.

The event is free and open to the public. Register to attend by emailing Darcy Hershey at [email protected] for Zoom login.

The library provides access to services: The Geauga County Public Library is partnering with United Way to provide direct customer access to health and social services at UW 211 through a chat link on library branch desktops.

The program began on January 24, offering free, confidential help in obtaining community services and resources.

Additionally, the Chardon and Middlefield branches offer dedicated telephone access to trained UW 211 operators to help callers find the services they need. Contact 211oh.org or stop by a library branch.

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