There are dozens of restaurants in the area and come meal time it can be hard to know where to start.

That’s where the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development steps in with the second annual Taste of Carbon Restaurant Week.Monday kicked off the week-long dinning-out event with 23 Carbon eateries, pubs, sit-downs and grab-and-go food stops joining the chamber in hope of enticing hungry patrons to their tables.The number of local-fare participants has doubled from last year’s first event.“Our county is big,” said the chamber’s Executive Director Marlyn Kissner. “We have a lot of fantastic restaurants in Carbon County.”Participating lunch stops range from Jim Thorpe’s Subway to Lehighton’s Red Castle Brewery to Balch’s Soup, Salad and More in Palmerton.“It’s a great thing to be involved in,” said owner Angie Balch. “Anything that we can do to draw people in to our town and store.”This is the first year the soup shop has joined the chamber for the week-long restaurant awareness promotion.“I thought it was cool to do, you see big cities do it all the time. We were excited to see them doing it again this year so we could join in,” Balch said.For dinner, participating restaurants include Macaluso’s in Nesuehoning, Mansion House in Summit Hill and Boulder View Tavern in Lake Harmony.“It’s a great special to have for the local business to be put on the map,” said Marcel Engelman, Boulder View Tavern general manager. “Everyone has something different.”Chamber event partner Slopeside Pub and Grill located at Blue Mountain Resort is covering both times of day with full meals for a set price.“It’s a great thing to participate in,” said Slopeside Shift Leader Michelle Westerman. “Everyone will be offering something unique.”All participants will have specials throughout the week running the gambit from appetizer to desert deals or buy-one-get-one specials.Kissner along with chamber’s Member Relations Director, Alice Wannamaker, will make appearances at the local eateries all week long handing out gift certificates and running trivia contests on both Instagram and Twitter accounts throught the event.“We are hoping people will go out and patronize the local restaurants and keep local business strong,” Kissner said.For a complete list of restaurants and promotion details visit discovercarbonpa.com or carboncountychamber.org