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Taste of Downtown Oakville serves up diverse cuisine by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff 15 | Thursday, February 20, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Fifteen restaurants will be serving up a special menu for The Taste of Downtown Oakville. From now until Mar. 4, Afro Café, Colossus, Coriander Green, The Crepe Kitchen, De Stefano's Ristorante, Fin Izakaya, Jonathans, Ristorante Julia, Maria Bonita, Paradiso, Piazza Bistro, Salvatore's of Oakville, The Works, Corks, and Seasons will each offer a special three-course lunch and/or dinner menu for $15-$45 per person. Now in its sixth year, the food festival organized by the Downtown Oakville Business Improvement Association (BIA) celebrates the diverse cuisine offered in the heart of downtown Oakville. Brittany Goettler, the events co-ordinator for the Downtown Oakville BIA, said it's an opportunity for residents to try all the great restaurants the downtown area has to offer -- especially during the quieter winter months. Maria Bonita, which opened nine months ago, is participating for the first time. Maria Suarez, who runs the authentic Mexican cuisine eatery at 151 Lakeshore Rd. W. with her husband Antonio Marin, said their family is excited about sharing their passion with others. Suarez said it has been her husband's Antonio Marin, owner of Maria Bonita, one of the new restaurants participating in the Taste of Downtown Oakville, offers up a plate of enchiladas featured on the restaurant's menu.| photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or www.facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) dream since they came to Oakville from Mexico City, Mexico to open up a shop. "He is very proud of Mexican food, and people who try what he makes, always talk about the great experience," she said. "People used to say `Why don't you open a res- taurant?' So that's what he did." Maria Bonita has both a lunch and dinner menu for $15 and $20 per person, respectively. They'll include some of their popular dishes like pork tacos, tamales and enchiladas. Despite the misconception that Mexican food is spicy, Suarez said while her husband can definitely spice up a dish if a customer wants, expect the dish to be flavourful, without the heat. "Everything is made from scratch and made in-house," she said. Meanwhile, Ristorante Julia is a restaurant that has participated in the Taste of Downtown Oakville since its inception. Executive Chef Carl Dahl said it's an event that is successful at driving traffic to the downtown area during slow months. "We always try to take the opportunity to showcase some of the items on the menu we'd like people to try," he said. Ristorante Julia is offering lunch and dinner menus for $30 and $45 per person, respectively. Dahl said one of the entrées featured on the menu is a sweet potato-crusted salmon, which is one of the restaurant's most popular dishes. The executive chef is encouraging residents, especially from Oakville's north end, to visit and experience what the downtown has to offer. "The downtown Oakville area has always been a great area for dining and shopping and I think it's overlooked a lot of time," he said. To view menus from each of the participating restaurants, visit www. oakvilledowntown.com/taste. EVERY PERSON HAS A STORY TO TELL. THANKS TO YOU IT CAN BE TOLD. At Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, talented physicians like Dr. Mangesh Inamdar help care for patients in need of urgent care every day. Their expertise plus the life-saving equipment you help fund make it possible for their stories to continue. Each and every year, our hospital needs hundreds of pieces of new equipment that will improve the lives of all of us here in Oakville. Every piece is critical and every piece needs to be funded by our community. It all starts here ­ with your help. Please call 905.338.4642 to share your story or make a donation. www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com DR. MANGESH INAMDAR OTMH PHYSICIAN