In Defense of Restaurant Week

It's Restaurant Week, the much-beloved, much-despised biannual week where restaurants offer prix fixe menus. Official Co-Writer of DCWD CC very much is not a fan; I'm of the opposite opinion. I've said it in various entries, but to commit my thoughts to its own entry, here's my defense of Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Week is not the evil that some (CC included) often make it out to be. I will concede, however, the following points: yes, sometimes, restaurants use less-than-their best ingredients and make things that aren't on their regular menu; yes, it sometimes draws in a riff-raff that some people may not like (I, at a very recent point in my life, was probably a member of said riff-raff); yes, this crowd is a voluminous one not likely to return at that; and yes, at $35.11, it's often nothing more than Free Dessert Week.

But in defense of Restaurant Week, here's what I'll say about my view.

1) It gives me an automatic excuse to gorge myself, that is at least somewhat explicable to the outside world. This is a habit that I hide like an addiction, and only twice a year am I allowed to go crazy with it.

2) This is the third straight Restaurant Week where I've booked myself completely, so now it's tradition. And I love tradition, even the silly ones.

3) I often say that I have two sets of friends: one that finds nothing wrong with $1 Miller Lites, and one that finds nothing wrong with $15 cocktails. Some people even fit into both categories. That being said, Restaurant Week is an opportunity for me to convince people that won't normally go out with me to a certain breed of restaurant to go out with me to a certain breed of restaurant. Yes, they only save marginally, but somehow that's enough of a tipping point for them to come. And some of them, it's my first time seeing them since last Restaurant Week. I realize that's also sad, but I think it's a reality that a lot of DC residents know all too well.

4) That certain restaurants (small plates, places that offer prix fixe menus normally) aren't good deals at Restaurant Week shouldn't castigate the lot. Some places are legitimately good deals, offering up their whole regular menu, four-course menus, or are actually way more expensive on a regular basis (Adour, J&G Steakhouse, 2941, Bourbon Steak, to name a few).

5) Most importantly, I have had some wonderfully great, and some absolutely game-changing dinners at Restaurant Week before, and that gives me faith in the future. And these are places that consistently participate in Restaurant Week: Rasika, Art and Soul, Hook, Vermilion, 701, Bistro Bis, to name a few. And frankly, some of those places I might never have made it to without Restaurant Week. Yet now, I would fully recommend any of those places to anyone, Restaurant Week or otherwise.

edit: 6) Yes, I get it, some restaurants don't try very hard during Restaurant Week, and the expectation by some is that if you have a bad meal during Restaurant Week, it shouldn't be a reflection of the restaurant's quality, because hey, it's Restaurant Week, you get what you pay for (for those who were counting, I wrote the word restaurant five times). But here's the thing: in an industry increasingly dependent on word-of-mouth and positive buzz, why put something out if you're not going to be proud of it? Much the same that you'd be right to complain if a place put something on their regular menu that they weren't very good at, I feel like if restaurants aren't going to put their best effort for Restaurant Week, then why participate at all? Is two weeks of slightly higher receipts worth a load of negative press? Chefs may hate it, servers may hate it, but for restaurants writ large, it can be a huge positive if done right.

So there it is. Restaurant Week may mean different things to me than you, but I will continue burning my bank account twice a year. Unless of course they start charging $40. Then, we'll talk...