Gilroy, in an effort driven by the Gilroy Welcome Center and the Chamber of Commerce, is getting in on the action for California Restaurant Month and getting a boost from the hip Instagram stars the Hungry Hipsters.
Breann Chiero and Christian Medice, the hip hipsters who founded the Hungry Hipsters, an Instagram account with more than 130,000 followers, were invited to Gilroy by Visit California to help spread the word about restaurant week. They started their Gilroy restaurant tour at the Stomping Ground Tuesday night, enjoyed dinner at the Milias and finished up at Café 152 Bread Company Wednesday afternoon. For them, Gilroy’s small-town charm is a welcome change of pace from their home in Los Angeles.
“Gilroy is so cute and it has a lot to do for a small town,” Chiero said. “We’re both from small towns, so we’re kind of used to it. It’s crazy how many different wineries there are here.”
The Hungry Hipsters are considered influencers and with their large following on Instagram, coupled with the fashion and design skills of Chiero, they can drive attention to the restaurants they visit. Besides their restaurant tour, they made sure to visit the Outlets to help prepare for an upcoming trip to Yosemite.
“We should be used to the climate by now,” Chiero, who along with Medice moved to Los Angeles three months ago. “I thought I could just pack a bunch of T-shirts.”
Starting on Jan. 14 and running through Jan. 28, 15 local restaurants will showcase their best garlic dishes to show off the culinary chops of the Garlic Capital of the World.
To help give Restaurant Week a shot in the arm, the Welcome Center is offering a $500 raffle prize worth of gift cards for participants who visit five different restaurants from Jan. 14 through 28.
“People all over the country know about the Gilroy Garlic Festival in July–but many don’t realize they can get delicious garlic dishes here all year long,” Gilroy Welcome Center Executive Director Jane Howard said. “We’re thrilled to be part of this statewide celebration of great food and to have the opportunity to partner with so many wonderful local restaurants. We encourage residents to sample as many dishes as they can during this special promotion. It’s a great excuse to try something new and celebrate all the good things that garlic brings to our community.”
- Café Thyme: Roasted Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Peppercorn Red Wine Sauce with White Bean Puree
- Café 152 Bread Company: Café 152 Club (Served on Garlic Rosemary Sourdough with Roasted Garlic Chipotle Aioli)
- Café 152 Burger Company: The Big Roy Burger/Garlic Fries
- Claddagh Restaurant and Pub: Garlic Mushrooms and Artichoke Hearts and Garlic Fries
- Fifth Street Coffee: Garlic Ice Cream
- Garlic City Casino & Restaurant: Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken or Shrimp
- Ginger Café: Roasted Garlic and Basil Fish Filet
- Little India: Garlic Naan
- Mama Mia’s: Garlic Festival Penne Con Pesto
- The Milias: Halibut in Garlic White Wine Sauce and Honey Garlic Salmon
- Mimi’s Café: Coastal Shrimp Pasta
- Mr. Hong’s: Garlic Fish, Garlic City Roll
- Old City Hall: Gilroy Roasted Garlic
- Pineapple Village: Gilroy Chicken, Garlic Calamari, Garlic Eggplant, Fisherman’s Prawns with Roasted Garlic
- Victoria’s Mexican Restaurant: Gilroy Garlic Shrimp
Raffle participants can pick up a “Taste of Garlic” contest tickets at the Gilroy Welcome Center, or they can be downloaded at www.GilroyRestaurantWeek.com.
