I HATE restaurant week. It reminds me of New Years Eve....dining out for amateurs

Being a pro would take all the joy out of eating.

I was in NYC last week, and discovered that I was actually there for restaurant week. Fortunately, it didn't mess anything up. And we did do the restaurant week menu at one meal.

Our restaurant find of the week was Luna Piena, a cute little Italian place on East 53rd Street between 3rd Avenue and 2nd Avenue. We had lunch there on Wednesday, and liked it so much we went back for lunch on Friday. Highlights included an appetizer of figs stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped with prosciutto (on a nice salad), and a main course of Agnolotti ai Porcini, wonderful little raviolis with porcini mushrooms in a brandy cream sauce.

I think Restaurant Week is a great opportunity for participating restaurants to expose and offer their best, especially in a sluggish economy like the one we are living in. Unfortunately the majority of restaurants offer few appetizers and few Entrees; I think it is a mistake. Fortunately for Tabrizi's it isn't about making money but rather to encourage people to see the vacation-like neighborhood directly on the water and of course to savor our cuisine. The rest will come.

That's Tabrizi's stuffed artichoke in the photo, by the way. EL

I concur 100% w/ Tabrizi's!

I've been looking at that pic for over a day now, and can't, for the life of me, figure out how one would eat a stuffed artichoke.

Lissa, me either! I've been waiting for years for someone to just explain it without having to ask!

What is it stuffed with? Does one eat the innerds first?

I think Restaurant Week is a great thing, and it definitely helps both the restaurants bottom line, as well diners to find new places, or try places they can't normally afford. Sorry, but the New Year's Eve comment rubbed me the wrong way.

Plus, there is no law that you MUST order off the RW menu. Case in point, I made a reservation for RW at B10 South. Based on Other Reviewer Richard's nice recent review, I thought we would give it a try. But, bet your sweet bippy that I will be ordering off the regular menu that night because the chicken and waffles are not on their RW menu. But, it will be nice for the other diners at our table to have the choice. And, I will certainly be eating my hubby's dessert, because he loves me like that.

I still think Restaurant week is a joke. When you break it down, the deal is a free dessert. And the price for the free dessert is having to order off a limited menu and having to deal with all rubes coming out to take advantage of the bargain. In many ways, dining out during restaurant week is like going out on New Years's, it's amateur hour.

Restaurant Week Summer 2009:

Over the past few years my wife and I have taken full advantage of restaurant week to try the many new places in Baltimore. Last night we went to the Don't Know Tavern. Their name really should be "Don't Know When to Quit Tavern." Although they offered quite a bit of food for restaurant week, what they excelled at in quantity they failed in quality.

The good: The blackened scallops.
The fair: The salads and the onion soup.
The bad: Lobster ravioli, tournedos au poivre (undercooked), the rack of lamb (over cooked), the duck duck goose (under cooked), the cocktails (too weak). Even the desserts were disappointing as no one in our party finished theirs.

The chef must have no confidence in his abilities as everything was way over-salted or over-peppered.

With the crowd that frequents the Don't Know Tavern, the owners should stick to wings, burgers, poppers, and sandwiches.

What is it stuffed with? Does one eat the innerds first?

Eve's comment reminds me of a line on an old TV show, could have been the Beverly Hillbillies, at Thanksgiving:

Q: So what's in the turkey stuffing?

A: Stuffing? We didn't need to stuff it. It weren't hollow.

BL,

I apologize if Don't Know didn't live up to your expectations for Restaurant Week. The chef as well as myself take our food very seriously and we like to provide our guests with great quality of food at very reasonable prices. We are one of few restaurants that has USDA Prime Steaks at very reasonable prices.

I make no excuses for your food being over or undercooked and I would like to make amends by offering your party of 4 a FREE dinner if you ever choose to dine at our establishment again.

I take exception to the drinks being too weak, but that is neither here nor there;) I only wished that I was aware of the problem so that I could have taken care of it immediately instead of reading about it the day after.

Restaurant Week has been great so far, the night that you dined with us was our busiest, as far as food is concerned, ever. However, just because we are busy doesn't mean that your meal should suffer. We have learned a lot from the generous amount of business that we have received so far the past couple of days. Restaurant Week has been a great learning experience for us and hopefully on your next visit you will be pleasantly surprised as was Richard Gorelick.

Our crowd is very diverse as we are very sports oriented but the ages of our customers range from 21-65. Everybody should be able to enjoy great food even if it is a casual atmosphere like Don't Know.

Once again feel free to contact me at the restaurant or email me at jasonzink@hotmail.com and I will take care of your next meal.

Yours truly,

Jason Z

Jason-

Please accept my apology if I sounded too harsh and please consider my review as constructive criticism. I want your restaurant to do well. However, the bottom line is our experience was less than we anticipated and there is much work to be done on your part.

BL

BL

You didn't sound too harsh, until you posted it twice, lol! Point well taken, however please take me up on my offer. Don't Know welcomes everybody even though it might not be a place for everybody. I will treat you just as well as I treat the people who come in to watch the UFC matches or a WVU game. I talked to my server who waited on you and she told me that the table said that it was all excellent, if you are who I think you are. We shouldn't have taken the 7:30pm reservation due to the event that we were hosting later on, once again, my fault due to lack of communication on my behalf. I hope that you are able to try us again. If you have any other comments feel free to post them or contact me directly. Thank you once again for your comment.

Regards,

Jason Z

Well Jason, I must say that I am impressed with your kind and quite generous offer to appease an unsatisfied customer. So much so that I am going to dine at your establishment this week with my daughter. I hope that all the good things I've heard about your place are true.

I was considering giving Don't Know Tavern a try, but now there is no way. This decision has nothing to do with BL's experience; rather, I looked at the website and saw that the place caters to Red Sox, Patriot and WVU fans. My, there’s a wicked retarded crowd.

Why are there no bars in town that cater to Red Wings fans?

don't give up, Lissa. For years there was a place on Washington Blvd that had a Steeler's Roost. In their newest incarnation they have a Raven's Roost though. Anyway, could be out there somewhere!

Lissa, just go to a restaurant in Greektown that serves octopus. I think that is as close as you will get.

As delicious as octopus is, RoCK, it just isn't the same.

Besides, I prefer octopus sushi.