Savor Washington offers variety of tastes

    Washington?s downtown was alive Saturday night with the sound of cars and people bustling about. Main Street Washington held its event known as ?Spring Forward and Savor Washington? that night. Nine businesses in the super-square had a special signature dish that they sold for $3.

    Linda Lou?s Diner participated in the Savor Washington event for the first time Saturday. Linda Lou?s Diner is located on East Second Street one block northeast of the square. It is owned by Linda McFarland and has been open for about three months. Travis McConnell works as a waiter at the restaurant, and he said the diner typically draws a crowd in the afternoon. He said that Linda Lou?s was doing well Saturday night for Savor Washington.

    ?Tonight has been pretty busy,? said McConnell. ?We?ve had a steady flow of people the whole time. Everyone has ordered the special except for one person who ordered meatloaf.?

    McConnell said he has high hopes that Saturday night?s special offer will attract more business in the future.

    ?I hope this inspires people to come back,? he said. ?We gave them take-home menus, and they can look through those and come back.?

    Judy McKowen volunteered to pass out surveys at the Coffee Corner on behalf of Main Street Washington. She said the surveys asked people how they heard about Savor Washington. She said that Savor Washington did not seem to be attended as well as it had in prior manifestations.

    ?Compared to the last ones [prior Savor Washington events], it seems to be slow tonight,? said McKowen. ?They?ve had posters out for quite awhile now, so I don?t know what?s going on.?

    McKowen and her friend Sandy Burns said they had fun Saturday evening. Burns remarked that she had never been to a Savor Washington event before but said it was a good idea.   

    ?This is the first time I?ve taken part in this,? said Burns. ?It is a whole new experience for me. One reason I think it?s a good idea is that we have never been here before, so it gives us an opportunity to see what the restaurants are like and see what?s on the menu. I think it will encourage people to visit new businesses.?

    Derek and Terry Kalm were out on the town with their daughter Elizabeth Saturday night. The three of them had eaten at Linda Lou?s Diner and at Panda Palace on the north side of the square.

    ?I think we?ll go to one more business tonight,? said Derek. ?We?ll go to the Korner Kremery to get some ice cream to finish things off.?

    Derek commented that his family enjoyed the food they had eaten so much that ?everybody cleaned their bowls.?

    ?This is the first Savor we?ve gone to,? said Derek. ?I think it?s a great idea. You get out and get to have a variety of food, and go to some places you haven?t been to before. It?s a nice night, too. I had not been to Linda Lou?s before. We?ve been to Panda Palace a few times before, and the place is packed tonight. I hope it is good for everybody.?

Washington residents Fred and Nan Stark had two guests visit them Saturday. The group of four visited a variety of restaurants at the Savor Washington event.

One of the Starks? guests, Tom Wolfe of Davenport, remarked, ?Everybody has to do something for the town, and this is good. The food is wonderful. Washington?s downtown is Disney-esque. It looks like it?s from the old Walt Disney movies.?

For more, see our June 14 print edition.