A couple of years ago, my husband and I were introduced to the concept of Restaurant Week. This is a time period, not necessarily corresponding to seven consecutive days, in which some of the Boston area's nicer restaurants offer prix fixe lunches and dinners. Back then, we found out about it because some restaurant-loving friends wanted to go. So we loaded up the SUV with ourselves and two other couples and made our way to Olives, a restaurant in Charlestown owned by Todd English. It was someplace we would never have tried otherwise, and we had a pretty darn good experience despite the labyrinthine streets around the restaurant. The event is run by the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, and in case you're curious Olives is participating again this year.
I don't know about you, but I see this as an opportunity. When I dine out, it's usually a casual, spur-of-the-moment kind of affair, as my recent reviews of places like the Border Cafe probably indicate. Very often I and/or my companions are on a budget (money or time) which limits our choices as well. A lot of these places are not only outside of my usual comfort zone, they're out of the way for me. Living south of Boston, getting into the city can be more of a hassle than it's worth, especially for an untried restaurant with a high price tag. I've decided that this year I'm going to make more of an effort to enjoy Restaurant Week. I don't know if other cities offer a Restaurant Week of their own, but if yours does it could be well worth looking into.
There are over 150 restaurants participating in this event, but not every restaurant participates fully. Some participate only for lunch, more participate only for dinner (and probably don't have a lunch service.) Some participate every day except Sunday. As part of the event, lunch is $20.08 and dinner is $33.08 per person. The menu is generally limited as compared to the restaurant's normal menu, but please don't let that turn you off. After all, the incentive for participating in the event is to attract new customers; they're going to want to make those limited offerings good! Participating restaurants can be found in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Dorchester, Downtown, Fenway/Kenmore, Newbury Street, North End, Roslindale, South End, Theater District, Waterfront and West Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston, as well as in Arlington, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton and Somerville. There are options a little farther out as well that may be a little more convenient for some people, depending on where they live.
For more information, to include names of participating restaurants, go to www.BostonUSA.com/RestaurantWeek.
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