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What can we learn from restaurant week?

Editorial by James Ringrose

Providence Restaurant Week has just finished and Boston Restaurant Week is just around the corner. For some of us, Restaurant Week represents an opportunity to dine out as much as possible. For others, it's a chance to try out a restaurant that you might not normally be able or willing to

afford.

If Providence Restaurant Week was anything to go by, we the general public, are very enthusiastic about the idea of enjoying a fixed price menu. Strangely, many of the participating restaurants were able to serve dishes from their normal menu and stay within the $30 for dinner maximum. Europeans have always enjoyed the value offered by "Prix Fixe" menus, especially in France. It's a shame that more of our native establishments don't offer this type of menu routinely.

The excitement and marketing around restaurant week is the thing that seems to have drawn so many people out to enjoy a low-cost meal or two. The participating restaurants reported brisk business for the entire week and from the feedback we are getting from diners, most of them appreciate the value of the offered meals.

At a time, when many surveys say, that Americans in general are cutting back on their level of dining out and travel, it's great to see so many restaurants full for an entire week.

Hopefully Restaurant Week represents a unique win-win for both diners and restaurateurs. Restaurants get a significant boost in business during an otherwise quiet time and diners enjoy both an economical meal and an opportunity to try out a restaurant's cuisine without making a large financial commitment.

Apparently, things look good for another Providence Restaurant Week later in this year and it seems likely that they will become a regular part of the Providence dining scene in the future. It will be interesting to see if the next Restaurant Week proves to be as popular as this one and if the restaurateurs are as enthusiastic and generous with their portions next time.

Why not let us know you think by e-mailing us at info@restreview.com? We will publish the most interesting opinions at the bottom of this page.



Below: A glorious lobster salad from Gracie's on Washington Street near the Trinity Rep.