The inaugural Spokane Restaurant Week kicked off last week, featuring a total of 53 local restaurants offering special fixed-price menus (at $18 or $28) with special items. The event continues through Sunday, March 3. You can follow the happenings of Restaurant Week at Inlander.com, 

@SpokaneRestaurantWk and restaurantweekspokane.com. Tweet your dining experience (photos are welcome) using the #SpokaneRW hashtag.

A few local celebrities got in on the Restaurant Week action last week, and here’s what they had to say:

“We hadn’t been to Italia Trattoria before, but we’ll definitely be back,” said Jane McCarthy, KREM-2’s news anchor after her meal Saturday night. “The menu is creative and interesting and the food expertly prepared. … We’re lucky to have so many highly acclaimed, creative chefs choosing to make Spokane home.”

“Spokane has a wonderful array of restaurants,” added Shelley Redinger, superintendent of Spokane Public Schools, who visited Scratch. “The Restaurant Week event seems like a great way to expose diners to many of the gems throughout the area. … I had the signature salad, butternut squash ravioli with grilled shrimp, followed by the wonderful crème brulee.”

Spokane County Commissioner Shelly O’Quinn tried Clover on opening night: “We decided to order one of each of the desserts and share,” she said. “While the crème brulee and chocolate ganache tart were excellent, the orangescicle cake was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. For all those who think they need to go to Seattle to enjoy a unique dining experience … I encourage you to browse the Restaurant Week menus and try a new experience this week.”

Check in at Inlander.com and restaurantweekspokane.com to hear from more local VIPs who tried the first-year event.