Boston Restaurant Week-March

The Winter edition of Boston's Restaurant Week has nearly arrived and local foodies have already begun to make reservations.

The concept behind Restaurant Week is that numerous restaurants offer special, low-cost three-course lunches and dinners. Lunches only cost $20.08 and Dinners cost $33.08. The menus are usually limited but you can get some great meals.

The Winter Restaurant Week, which is actually two weeks, will take place from Sunday, March 9 through Friday, March 14, and Sunday, March 16 through Friday, March 21, 2008. So it is just not available on the Saturdays. Over 170 restaurants will be participating this year, though not all of them offer both lunch and dinner. Some only offer one or the other. That gives you plenty of choices.

Although the majority of participating restaurants are located in Boston and Cambridge, there still are a fair share of restaurants in the suburbs as well. Probably the best resource to find out which restaurants are participating is the Unofficial Guide to Restaurant Week Boston. You will find there a list of all the participating restaurants, as well as many of their special menus. There are also links to make reservations through Open Table. I have used this Guide numerous times in the past for Restaurant Week and have found it to be most helpful.

Check out the restaurant list and find places that you want to visit, maybe a place you have never tried before. Check out their menu, if available, to see what they are offering. Not all menus are the same and some restaurants have better offerings than others. Make your reservations as early as possible as many of the restaurants fill up quickly. This is a great opportunity to try some new restaurants at a very reasonable price.

Maybe you would like to check out Chez Henri, and try some Grilled Venison with Taza Cocoa and Ancho Chile. My favorite new restaurant, L'Andana, is serving both lunch and dinner. I would also recommend Tryst, Tapeo, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, the Elephant Walk, Toro, Sibling Rivalry, Sandrine's Bistro, and Harvest. Though there are plenty of other good restaurants that I have not mentioned as well.

Some of the restaurants even offer special wine deals with the meals. They might offer a few paired wines at a reduced price. Considering the low cost of dinner, adding a little more for wine pairings still makes for a relatively inexpensive evening.

Just check out the guide and find somewhere new to dine. I hope you enjoy!