Restaurant Week NYC: A Sunny Spot In New York City's Cold Winter

New York City's Restaurant Week is a bi-annual event that showcases some of the best restaurants the city has to offer. The way it works is simple. Restaurants apply for a spot and the city selects them based on a variety of factors. This year more than 300 restaurants are participating. Restaurant-goers can can select from custom restaurant week lunch and dinner menus. Both are three-course meals. The menus are prix-fixe with lunch setting you back $24.07 and dinner, $35.00, a bargain considering some of the high end restaurants participating.

The tradition, which has rapidly spread to cities across the country, started 20 years ago as a culinary event for the 1992 Democratic National Convention. At the time 95 restaurants participated. Its following has only grown from there.  

In the world's tourism capital, Restaurant Week has had the reputation of being an event for New Yorkers. But, as the event grows, and as New York reaches new heights in tourism, it's drawing more and more people from outside the city. It's a welcome phenomenon, given the usual slump in tourism New York experiences in January and February. Of course it means New Yorkers will have to sacrifice some post-holidays peace and quiet. But as long as Restaurant week continues to boost the city's economy, neither they nor their stomachs are likely to grumble.

Restaurant week runs from January 16 to February 10. For more information visit nycgo.com.