If you go
Restaurant Week runs from Jan. 11 to Jan. 17, though some establishments extend the specials into later in the month. Lunch is $20.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal, dinner is $35.10, and does not include beverages, gratuity and tax. For a list of participating restaurants, visit washington.org/restaurantwk.
The D.C. area’s Restaurant Week is back again, offering great dining deals at some of the best establishments in the metro area. Restaurant Week was established following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to encourage the public to start going out again. The event was such a success, it now takes place twice a year: January and August.
“It’s been such a great promotion,” said Dan Mesches, chief executive officer and founder of the Stir Food Group, which owns area restaurants Zola and Potenza. Both restaurants are participating in Restaurant Week. “It’s been a huge positive. It’s an opportunity for people to see our restaurants. It piques curiosity.”
The benefits of Restaurant Week are plenty. Fixed-price three-course meals — this years it’s $20.10 for lunch and $35.10 for dinner — allow restaurant-goers an opportunity to try out new establishments, and those establishments get to reward regulars and have some fun with their menus. The discounted meals are a welcome relief in the bad economy, and getting people out boosts the restaurant business during one of their slowest months of the year.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Lionel Holmes, the general manager at B. Smith’s in Union Station. “It’s an opportunity for us to give back to the people.”
B. Smith’s is located in a historic part of Union Station, and offers Cajun, Creole and Southern cuisine. Items available on this year’s Restaurant Week menu include lemon-pepper catfish and fried green tomatoes.
“They are items pulled directly from our main menu,” Holmes said. “We typically pull from our best items.
“It’s also an opportunity to give people a sneak preview of our food and service,” he added. “We have a loyal following that’s excited when Restaurant Week happens.”
While B. Smiths is highlighting some of it’s top dishes for Restaurant Week, others are taking the opportunity to create something new. Bangkok Joe’s, a Georgetown-based Thai restaurant, will have a menu inspired by the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit currently on display at the National Geographic Museum.
“I want a lot of people to enjoy this menu,” Aulie Bunyaratapha, Bangkok Joe’s chef and owner, said. “I worked so hard at it. It’s a fun menu.”
One of the highlights is the Warrior Dumpling, stuffed with black forbidden rice, shrimp, chicken, ginger and scallions.
“I love to have something like this,” Bunyaratapha said. “I think it was a good opportunity.”
With the popularity of Restaurant Week, diners are encouraged to make reservations and have some patience when it comes to being seated.
“It can be a hectic pace,” Mesches said.
