Come Hungry, Eat Hearty During New York's Restaurant Week

Feeling hungry...for someone else’s cooking? Longing for a nice meal...with somebody not related to you to wash the dishes? Well, grab your penny jar and head out, because it’s Restaurant Week in New York City.
The event, which began yesterday and runs through Feb. 7, offers three-course, prix-fixe lunches for $24.07, and dinners for $35 at some of the city’s top eateries. On the list: 21, Aquavit and Asia de Cuba; Blue Smoke, Butter, and Capsouto Freres. Down at the other end of the alphabet, you can dine at Orsay, The Palm, Rosa Mexicano and The Water Club. Several websites have additional information and ways to make reservations; check out nycgo.com.
While the restaurants don’t always bring their A game—expect a lot of chicken and fish--it’s still a chance to enjoy a meal in some of New York’s most famous dining establishments.
But even if you don’t feel like setting foot inside, say, Tribeca Grill, you can still enjoy soup from a roving Restaurant Week Truck. Hungry New Yorkers can find offerings from twenty-four restaurants at three street corners (Broadway between 50th and 51st from Jan. 25-29; Fifth Avenue between 18th and 19th from Feb. 1-3; and Greenwich Street, between Warren and Murray Streets, from Feb, 4-5.) The trucks, new this time around, will generally be there between 11 am and 2 pm, and will offer such soul-warming goodies as City Crab’s New England clam chowder, and gingered sweet potato and lobster bisque from The Sea Grill.
And if you need more incentive, $1 from every $6 truck purchase will go towards The Haiti Relief Fund.
Eat well; help others. A win-win deal all around.

When it Comes to Restaurants, Survey Shows What We Already Knew

You probably didn’t need a survey--or any kind of official report--to tell you this, but New Yorkers are eating out less. The results of the 2010 Zagat New York City Restaurant Survey, recently released, shows what you undoubtedly already knew: Due to the shaky economy, New Yorkers are forgoing pricey restaurant meals for their own kitchens. Covering more than 2,000 restaurants, the survey, released on the website zagat.com, is based on feedback from more than 38,000 diners.
Not only are New Yorkers eating out less (3 times per week, as opposed to 3.3 to 3.4 times during the last four years), they’ve changed their entire approach to dining out as well. Appetizers or dessert? No thanks, say 21 percent. Alcohol? Nineteen percent are opting to take a pass. And corporate entertaining? Forget it. That way of life belongs to another era.
Any upside to all this? Well, if you do eat out, you can expect better service, an easier time getting a table, and maybe some good deals to boot, as restaurants try to lure you in.
And one odd note that seems totally at odds with this report: Despite the economy, last year saw more restaurant openings than closings in the city. Almost 50 more restaurants opened than closed: 157 openings, as opposed to 102 closings.
Brave or foolish? Worth the money?
Well, it’ll be easier to get a table and find out, that's for sure.

Step Up To The Plate: It's The Great American Dine Out

OK, people, listen up: More than 12 million kids in this country are at risk of hunger, and this week, you can do something about it.
Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out returns this week (Sept. 20-26) in cities across the country, including New York. So what's the deal? This week-long program raises money to help feed these at-risk kids by calling on restaurants-and the public--to step up, as it were, to the plate. How? Restaurants are implementing a number of programs, from donating portions of their proceeds to the cause to creating special menu items to selling promotional coupons or items like t-shirts.
What can you do? Paradoxically, you can help children get a meal by eating one yourself, so get thee to a restaurant. Participating restaurants in New York City range from the casual to the high-end, and include Blue Smoke (Barbecue); Eleven Madison Park (American); Capsouto Freres (French); Caffe Grazie (Italian); and Shula’s Steak House (Um, steak). (For a complete list, you can check GreatAmericanDineOut.org). The restaurants can be found all over the city, and last year, more than 4000 restaurants nationwide participated. Money raised will go to food banks and pantries (already feeling the economic pinch); increased community gardens; and stepped-up advocacy of children’s nutrition-related programs, among other things.
The eventual goal of Share Our Strength is nothing less than ending childhood hunger in this country--and if that’s not worth pulling out the piggy bank for a meal out, what is?