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We were scoping out the Open Table lunch reservations to take advantage of next week's Restaurant Week deals, and unsurprisingly, the usual suspects didn't have availability for 2 at 12PM: Think Cafe Boulud or the River Cafe or Union Square Cafe. Even though the lunch prices have risen 20%, from $20.12 last year to this year's $24.07 (NYC & Company explains this number will remind people that NYC is 24/7 - yo!), Gothamist thinks it's still a great deal to try out some fancier places - even though some of the offerings tend to be boring chicken and salmon entrees - because $3.95 is about the price of a speciality coffee drink at Starbucks or a celebrity tabloid magazine you don't want to admit you buy but you know you do. Where the restaurants hope you spend your money is the wine (or coffee), so if you're watching your wallet, beware of the upsell. However, one area we do recommend you splurge a little on - if you can - is the tipping; even an extra dollar is a nice gesture, especially if the service was great.
The NY Times looked at the economics of Restaurant Week for restaurants. And did you make any Restaurant Week reservations?
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What they don't mention is that most of these restaurants have prix fixe lunch specials for between 19.95 & 24.95 ... so yes, $3.95 is a big deal especially when there's no 'deal' to be had.
R.I.P restaurant week
hr is right....RW is dying. Fewer and fewer fine restaurants are offering the dinner deal, and many of those offering lunch deals are deceiving us: they offer prix fixe lunches the other 50 weeks out of the year. Since I am not able to leave work for relaxed lunches, my share of RW has declined through the years.
Nevertheless, I will digress and recommend Fleur de Sel's prix fixe lunch as one of the city's best kept secrets.
watch out for $36.50 next year for prix fixe lunch because NYC stays open all year long. oye, these marketing ploys!
Agree that Restaurant Week is a load of hot crap served with a side of fluff. None of the big name places are participating, and if you're lucky enough to get a reservation, their restricted choices are inferior dishes that you can cook yourself. Only people who would fall for these lame gimmicks are midwest tourists or Gothamist staff?
After reading the last NYT article about restaurant week, I made a reservation at Butter. In the last one, they discussed how chefs tend to serve a lower end of food with the exception of Butter, who still see it as a loss leader. It's true, the meal I had was great and I've gone back since. During RW I plan to go back again with my non-profit-job havin' friends.
I had dinner at Delmonico's during RW last year and almost laughed out loud when they brought my parsimonious salmon entree with three stalks of steamed brocolli and a half cup of rice pilaf. It looked like nouvelle cuisine from the '80s. It didn't help getting reamed by the $12 cocktails at the bar while we were waiting for our table.
Still, there is something to be said for being able to eat in a room you normally wouldn't patronize. And in the end, it's always your dining companions that really make a meal.
any experiences at artisanal during rw?