Winter Restaurant Week

Bookmark Opentable.com and set reservation hotlines to your speed dial -

Restaurant Week Reservations Open Today!

Restaurant Week is a dream come true for those of us with rib eye taste on a hot dog's budget.

Lunch: $24.07 Dinner: $35.00
(does not include beverages, tax or tip)

3 tips to enjoying RW:

1. Pick the most expensive participating restaurants, look for $$$$$ - no sense in paying $35.00 for a tasting menu at a BBQ or Mexican restaurant - many of the top tier restaurants are only available for lunch, but well worth it if you can use your lunch hour

2. Call reservations if Open Table shows nothing available - the human hostess is often more accomodating than the computer

3. If possible, preview the menu - one critique of RW is that some restaurants put bland and boring choices on the RW menu, so make sure you are still getting a quality meal - many restaurants post the RW menu on-line or are happy to fax you a copy

The list of restaurants can be overwhelming - from my RW experiences, below are some of my top recommendations:

Below 14th Street:

Gotham Bar & Grill (Lunch Only): Chef Alfred Portale’s NYC legendary landmark restaurant in Greenwich Village, I still day dream about the crimini mushroom soup

Lure Fishbar (Lunch & Dinner): Delicious seafood served in a glamorous subterranean yacht set in the heart of SOHO

Il Cantinori (Lunch & Dinner): Rustic Italian eatery offering Tuscan classics, and for SATC fans, this is where Carrie sits all alone during her birthday dinner

Kittichai (Lunch & Dinner): "Sexy" is the best word to describe this orchid-filled trendy Thai restaurant at the 60 Thompson hotel

I am recommending to venture to the UPTOWN establishments for this deal:

21 Club (Lunch & Dinner): the ultimate in the Power Lunch and an NYC Classic

Cafe Boulud (Lunch Only): Calling Upper East Side Ladies Who Lunch - Chef Daniel Boulud's dishes with the absolute best people watching - I literally heard an elderly woman yell at the waiter "yooohoo! give that table a bottle of wine! and put it on my account!"

Please share your Restaurant Week recommendations!