2009 Restaurant Week and Earlier Too

[PAYAL SHARMA]

Hi, is anyone planning to go to Kittichai in the Thompson Hotel. Need some opinions. Thanks..

[Nathan]

It would be economically stupid to go to Kittichai for RW.

Why? they're only offering lunch.

the RW lunch at Kittichai is $24.

the regular three course lunch at Kittichai is $20.

$4 says they've simply raised the price of their regular lunch $4 for RW.

like I said, it's a cynical ploy to gyp the uninformed. (I'm part Romany and therefore it is PC-acceptable for me to use "gyp")

[PaulaJK]

We enjyed a very pleasant lunch today at Cafe Boulud.

Salmon Tatare

Lamb Duo [braised + leg grilled to order]

Apricot Creme Brulee [to dream about!]

All delicious. All for $24.07. A white and a red wine were also offered at this price.

Service was excellent and the same as on previous visits.

Hats off to Boulud and staff for delivering an excellent menu & experience for Restaurant Week. It would be so easy to dismissive!

[Dianabanana]

I just realized that we are going to be in NYC during Restaurant Week, and have some questions about it.

1. This is the rare trip for me, and I am not likely to be in New York again any time soon. Are the Restaurant Week meals normally something special meant to showcase a restaurant to people who don't normally dine there, or just pretty good meals meant to allow the restaurant to participate without losing money? I would love to save money, but on the other hand I don't want a mediocre experience. For instance, I have reservations at Gramercy Tavern already, and have read that they will be participating in Restaurant Week. Should I just stick with the regular reservation, or try to snag a Restaurant Week reservation?

2. Reservations open tomorrow at nycgo.com, but there is no other information on the web site about which restaurants are participating, menus, etc. Do you know where I can find this? Or is it only released when the reservations open?

3. Is there any general wisdom associated with this event, like "lunches are a vastly better value than dinners," etc.?

4. Any other advice?

Thank you!

[oakapple]

The main point of Restaurant Week is to attract more customers, during a slow season when many of the restaurants wouldn't otherwise be full. Some places participate just for PR reasons, e.g., Gramercy Tavern, which is generally full anyway.

Restaurants approach RW in many different ways. Some places offer the same menu all year long, so advertising it as a "special" is just a gimmick. Some places offer the RW special only at lunch. As it's a discounted menu, there are usually limited choices, and you might not be getting the most interesting dishes, but you ought to do well—within the context of what a particular restaurant is capable of.

Many places will honor RW pricing even if you didn't book thru the RW site, so don't cancel your regular reservation at Gramercy Tavern before checking with them. If you give up your reservation, you might not get it back again.

At any time of year, lunches are often a better deal than dinners, as you get the same or very similar food at a lower price.

[gatilgan]

Just made a reservation for a dinner at Oceana during RW. Did anyone have any RW experience at Oceana?

This is their RW menu:

http://nycgo.com/cms/uploadedFiles/devnycv...2009%20Menu.pdf

Thanks

[oakapple]

Eater.com has word that Le Cirque's RW menu will be available through February 13 (weekends excluded). This stands as typical of many stories I'm reading these days. "Restaurant Week" isn't just a week.

[AnxiousCowboy]

Eater.com has word that Le Cirque's RW menu will be available through February 13 (weekends excluded). This stands as typical of many stories I'm reading these days. "Restaurant Week" isn't just a week.

←

It's awesome. I work there.

[weinoo]

I've heard from some knowledgeable food peeps that Scarpetta was doing a fine job with their RW deal.

We've always had good lunches at the Danny Meyer places.

And at lots of these places, the deal goes on year-round - I expect that as the economic situation affects more and more NYers, we'll be seeing even more lunch "deals."

[chefboy24]

i love centro vinoteca but i had a really random resto week menu there....if i had ordered a la carte the portions would have been much bigger (in my memory of the same dishes)...and the price would have been about the same.

had a surprisingly good resto week menu at benoit! very classic bistro french.

[chefboy24]

oh and tabla bread bar was perfect.....

had a nice beer flight tasting, the food was stellar, and i got a $24 coupon to come back this spring!