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It's Restaurant Week, Do You Know Where You're Having Lunch?

By DNAinfo Staff on January 24, 2011 9:06am

By Elizabeth Ladzinski and Jennifer Glickel

DNAinfo Reporter/Producers

MANHATTAN — Manhattan's foodies will be flocking to neighborhood favorites and newcomers to the dining scene as Restaurant Week kicks off Monday.

Three-course prix fixe lunches for $24.07 and dinners at $35 await at more than 300 restaurants during the eatery showcase that runs until Feb. 6.

"We want to give people who wouldn't normally have an opportunity to dine at a place like this a good meal at an affordable price," said Shaun Hergatt, executive chef of Sho-Shaun Hergatt. "We really put a big effort to increase our buzz around Restaurant Week."

Greenwich Village eatery 10 Downing Street is also looking to create a buzz. The restaurant debuted a new menu in late December, adding dishes such as suckling pig and cheddar shrimp and grits.

Raw Bar Tasting: East & West Coast Oysters, Shrimp Cocktail at Lure Fishbar.
Raw Bar Tasting: East & West Coast Oysters, Shrimp Cocktail at Lure Fishbar.
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DNAinfo/Jennifer Glickel

"The menu really came about by being in love with food and [by] paying homage to some great, straightforward, honest cooking," said Jonnatan Leiva, executive chef of 10 Downing, who is extending his eatery's Restaurant Week menu and pricing through Mar. 6.

While some restaurants create entirely new dishes for their Restaurant Week menus, executive chef Josh Capon believes it is important that he offer dishes that reflect the normal menu he serves at Lure Fishbar in SoHo.

Capon sees Restaurant Week as an opportunity to expand his customer base and bring in new clientele.

"We want people dining here for the first time during Restaurant Week to experience the best we have to offer, so we can hope to make them regulars," Capon said. "If you can get them hooked, it's really important."

For Mark Ladner, executive chef of Mario Batali-owned Lupa, Restaurant Week is more about supporting the restaurant community, since the eatery takes a financial hit with the reduced-price menu.

For a full list of restaurants participating in Restaurant Week, visit the city's website.

Restaurants that have participated in years past have seen the benefits of offering the discounted menus, like TriBeCa's EN Japanese Brasserie, which has seen approximately 30 percent more reservations during these two weeks.

"This restaurant is located in an isolated area and we don't get many walk-ins because we're a destination restaurant," said EN's owner Reika Alexander. "This is a good way to attract new customers and it's good PR for the restaurant."

Like Capon, Alexander sees the importance of serving a variety of highlights from their normal menu for the lowered prix-fixe cost.

"We don't want to serve food that isn't us," she said.