Restaurant Week Winter 2010!

It's that time of year again (at least for us New Yorkers)! Restaurant Week!

The name is a misnomer, since Restaurant Week often lasts much longer than a single week. This year it's from now until Feb. 7th, and at many places it will go on until the 28th. You can find out about dates, places, and much, much more on the Restaurant Week Homepage.

Eating well during Restaurant Week is a hard-earned skill. It takes time, internet savvy, accounting, and pretty much requires having a foodie friend on hand to make sure those Yelp reviews are accurate.

Why is this seemingly great feast of a deal sometimes a dud?

For one, there are 200+ restaurants listed, and you can get a great dinner for under $35 at quite a few. Others limit their menus so much that the meal you'll get won't taste up to snuff. A mighty few, though, are truly worth the hullaballoo. How do you find out?

1) Go through all 200+ restaurants with your foodie friend and have them pick out a "best of" list for you. Make sure they give you a significant amount of options, though, because...

2) Cut out any restaurants that don't offer the meal deal you want. Some only offer dinner, some lunch. No places abide by RW on Saturdays, and only a few on Sundays. The last thing you want to do is show up to a place only to realize that you'll have to pay full price.

3) Compare the RW menu to their real menu. How much are saving? $4 or $40? This is where you'll really get the bang from your buck, so make sure that number suits your needs. Also, check and see what options they've got on there - do you have any dietary restrictions? Does the menu adhere to them? If not, you may want to check out a different place.

4) Make reservations early and be flexible. RW is a big ticket item, and reservations go quickly, especially at the places with the best deals.

My friends and I acted quickly and are going to David Burke Townhouse (a $20 value!) next Monday. We're very excited for it and will let you all know how it goes. Stay tuned!

And if you have any RW experiences (horror stories, success stories, etc) you'd like to share, write them in the comments! We'd love to hear them.

Happy Stewing, Readers!