Local Restaurant Week preview - PHOTOS

It's that glorious time of year, Buffalo.

Yeah, it's springtime, but -- more importantly -- Local Restaurant Week is approaching. From March 26 to April 1, dine on the cheap at an old favorite or completely new area eatery. Here's the list of participating restaurants.

For just $20.12, treat yourself to an unforgettable meal -- or a meal for two, depending on the restaurant.

On Monday night, Local Restaurant Week organizers invited members of the media to sample some of the menu items offered at select participating LRW restaurants. I was lucky enough to get the invite, and I couldn't say no. The event was hosted by Mike Andrzejewski of SeaBar and Cantina Loco.

Full disclosure: I don't regularly eat beef or pork, but I give both meat items a try every year or so. Monday was that day. The dishes looked amazing and tasted much better than I remember red meat tasting, but my personal favorite dish was still a meatless one. Go figure.

Not only did we eat well, but we heard a bit about each dish from the respective restaurant's chef. Really a nice touch to meet the creative minds behind these culinary gems.

Here's a recap of what we sampled:

Soho Burger Bar: gold standard, steak house and red hot sliders, and fresh-cut potato chips
Oliver's: calamari salad over soba noodles
Curly's: cured duck breast with spiced polenta cake
Encore: gnocchi, mushrooms and peas, served in truffle cream (personal favorite!)
SeaBar: fried oyster with Rhode Island scallop
Tabree: braised beef shoulder over bacon hash
Roycroft: meatloaf wrapped in smoked bacon, with write truffle oil and honey