{budget}fab*

dc restaurant week

Posted on 25. Aug, 2009 by dara in socialite

It’s DC Restaurant Week, and I couldn’t be happier! You can’t get more {budget}fab* than Restaurant Week. Hundreds of restaurants in the DC area feature an appetizer, entrée, and dessert for $35.09 (dinner) and $20.09 (lunch). Now before you get all excited…I don’t consider $35.09 to be a huge steal for dinner, unless it’s a pricier restaurant that you’d otherwise never be able to afford. Meaning, you don’t want to visit a fairly reasonable restaurant during this time and get their Restaurant Week menu because that defeats the purpose.

I typically check Open Table to find out which restaurants are a) most expensive and b) have the best ratings and make my selection. You can reserve your table online using Open Table’s reservation system. Often restaurants will feature their Restaurant Week menu on their website to help you get a better idea of what they’re offering. The full menu often isn’t included in the Restaurant Week pricing.

Todd Kliman, a food critic for Washingtonian, has some great tips and suggestions for Restaurant Week to ensure you get the best options available. He offers his suggestions in three different tiers in order to show which restaurants you should almost kill to get into and which will do if everything else is full.

I made my reservations before Todd’s post (sad sigh), but I’m still happy with my selection. I’ll be heading over to DC Coast, which offers seafood and has three $’s on Open Table (my bare minimum for this occasion). I’ve heard great things about their food and because I’m a seafood lover, I had to check it out ASAP. One word of advice for Winter Restaurant Week is to book early in order to have the optimal number of choices and times to dine. If you’re just looking to book something, rest assured there are still plenty of options, you will probably just have to choose something a little later in the evening in order to get your restaurant choice.

So {budget}fab* readers, will you be attending restaurant week this summer? If so, please leave a comment and let us know where you went and how it was. And if you live in another city, try searching your city name and restaurant week to see if there is a similar offering near you.

Image of DC Coast

Tags: dc restaurant week, fun things to do in washington dc, fun things to do with friends, restaurant week, todd kliman, washingtonian