Ryan Traversy is ready to get tongues wagging once again, as the city gears up for the second Barrielicious festival.

It’s a twice-yearly event that gives diners a chance to feast at local restaurants for $20.08.

“The first time we held it was in January and it exceeded our expectations,” said Traversy, general manager at Oscar’s Restaurant.

He took the idea from Toronto, which holds a Summerlicious and Winterlicious to promote its restaurants.

“We noticed a difference at Oscar’s afterwards. We had people coming in February who said they tried our meal at Barrielicious and wanted to come back.”

Traversy said diners can book reservations at a select group of places and enjoy a gourmet three-course meal.

“It’s a good way to bring people downtown. It’s geared to get people out of the chain restaurants and give them a real flavour of Barrie,” he said.

There are 22 independent restaurants on the list this time, and Traversy said reservations are filling up quickly.

“Each restaurant is a bit different, with a different selection, and people can try things they normally wouldn’t.”

Go for Italian, Thai, Indian, or other flavour of cuisine. Residents are welcome to book more than once throughout the festival. “Book as soon as possible to make sure you get a table,” said Traversy.

The Barrielicious festival runs July 4 to 17 and Traversy said all the food is homemade and showcases the talents of the local chef.

For more information about Barrielicious, go to the website

E-mail reporter Janis Ramsay at jramsay@simcoe.com.