Kitchen Wench

During my first week at my current job, I noticed that the guy who sat next to me was making an awful lot of phone calls. He kept making restaurant reservations, then promptly canceling them in some sort of complex dining calculus designed to maximize his Restaurant Week experience. It all seemed a little intense to me, until I discovered that fine dining in DC is really freaking expensive.

Today, OpenTable published the list of restaurants participating Restaurant Week (August 11-17). I have already booked all my meals for the week. Like my old co-worker, I’ve become just as greedy about Restaurant Week. After all, it only comes but twice a year. So I save it all up and eat 7 (hopefully all) delicious meals for $35 each. Here’s where I’m going:

Monday: PS 7’s
Tuesday: Oyamel
Wednesday: Vidalia
Thursday: Cafe Atlantico, Rasika
Friday: DC Coast
Saturday: Acadiana
Sunday: Eating burgers and hot dogs at my boyfriend’s summer office party. Blech.

This could all change upon further research or contemplation. That’s the beauty of OpenTable–you can search, book, and cancel all online. I’ve eaten at PS 7’s, Acadiana, Vidalia, and Rasika before and expect that I will get a quality meal. Sadly, Corduroy is not doing RW anymore; you used to be able to get the full menu for $30 and it was faaaabulous. My guess is that the rent at their new location may make it prohibitively expensive. Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico, and DC Coast are a gamble, so if you’ve been there, please let me know what you thought.

I’ve never booked this early before, and I have to say, it’s nice. There’s no need to go into your second or third choice, eat at 10 pm, or check OpenTable constantly in the hope that someone will cancel and you can nab the spot. It kind of takes the thrill out of it, but I’m really looking forward to eating at 7 all week. So go get yourself a reservation early–you’ve got three weeks to save up the cash and/or drop a few pounds before treating yourself.