DC Restaurant Week January 17 – 23, 2011

This is my twice yearly public service blog about Restaurant Week in DC
(January 17 – 23) and this time I’m doing it early. Do you take advantage of this? Restaurant Week takes
place twice a year, once in the frigid cold of the post-holidays and
then again in the dog days of August. Times when diners are likely to be
few. For all the details, Google “restaurant week dc.” For those out of
the area, many cities schedule these. A three course lunch (starter,
main, and dessert) is only $20.11.

We’ve been doing this for a
few years now. We have a group in our office that book lunch at some
participating eatery every day of the bargain week. Not the same folks
for every place. You know, some really like Italian, but aren’t so keen
on Indian, whatever. I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to food;
Ethiopian, Peruvian, bring it on. Pass the curried goat, would you? Some
folks, eh. Meat and potatoes. If you like to explore new cuisines, like
I do, it helps to know a lot of different folks. I usually book for six
and we always manage to fill the table. The upshot for the customer is
that you get to try one of those $50 and up places at a discount price.
And the restaurant hopes that if you like the meal, you will be back.

We
have our favorites, places we revisit anytime we can get a deal. Our
group likes any place by chef Jeff Tunks; DC Coast, Ceiba, Acadiana, or
TenPenh. This time we’re revisiting Acadiana and TenPenh, but we try to check out
places we have never been before. This year, we are going to Potenza, a new Italian place on 15th Street.
We have also booked The Palm, and OYA, perennial favorites.

Well,
you get the idea. Events like this are a great benefit of working in
Washington and make a welcome change from that styrofoam container of
noodles from the grazing bar. Its only a week, budget for it both
diet-wise and monetarily and you should survive. The best part of it is
that you get to eat with friends, always a plus. You can book online for
most of these at www.opentable.com a free reservation service. The tables go quickly.

Oh,
yes, I started a group here on Gov Loop called Gov Gourmet which is
dedicated to discussions on food and drink. If you are interested,
please feel welcome!