My friends and I are deciding between Mendocino Grille and Rasika (I'd rather the latter just b/c I've heard nothing of the former, but no biggie). I think I'm going with my parents to DC Coast.

I had a great experience at Ceiba two years ago.

There's a great discussion over on DCFoodies too about restaurant week that's worth checking out:

http://www.dcfoodies.com/2006/07/dc_restaurant_w.html#comments

Oh my...I just read that article, and it's like we share a brain! That's *really* creepy...I haven't read DCFoodies in a few weeks, and yet our articles are awfully similar.

Great, now I'm going to have a reputation as a hungrier Xeroxin' Joe Biden.

Please rest assured that I did not mean to share so many similar ideas with DCFoodies, and was trust trying to dispense some advice for RW. All similarities between my article and theirs are completely due to parallel development and a common desire to eat at pricy restaurants cheaper.

Kind of funny that you call out McCormick & Schmick's. The wife and I went there during RW a few years back. The two offerings for RW weren't that exciting; instead we split an appetizer and got two entrees from the regular menu. We passed on dessert, but could have easily gotten one and still been well under $30 each. So yeah, RW may not be such a great value at certain places.

Nowadays, with reservations through Open Table, I pick my date and time, and then sort by dollar signs and go from there. I've booked dinner at 21P and lunch at Taberna del Alabardero.

Unfortunately, Olives isn't on the list (again) this season...however, Kinkeads is offering dinner! I am going to be an RW whore and have reservations at 4 spots (helping me with my quest to eat through the Washingtonian's Top 100)...Butterfield 9, Kinkeads, Tosca and Colvin Run Tavern.

Although I have not tried Bobby Van's during restaurant week, I would advise you to use the opportunity to try elsewhere. My experiences there indicate that they are unlikely to treat restaurant week participants well.

OK, Anon, it sounds like you've got some juicy info on Bobby Van's - share some details, mystery person! Do they shoot people who don't make $200k per year?

RW is a tricky time for restaurants. They get customers in their doors they wouldn't normally get, and that's a double-edged sword. I can't afford ultra-high end steakhouses or have an expense account, so I'm not their normal customer. However, I do go to one of those type of places about once or twice a year, don't have a lot of special requests, am a pretty low-maintenance customer and a good tipper. A place like a Bobby Van's or a Smith and Wollensky has a chance to win me over with a good RW showing. Most folks will go back to a place that treats them well during RW, and if the staff and the menu reflect a disdain towards RW and RW diners, then we won't go back. Simple as that.

Still...you got dish? Share!

(and I was kinda hoping Olives would be a late addition to the list. There's always next year, right?)

I didn't check if Smith & Wollensky was on this year's RW listing, but I went there for RW about two years and the steaks were quite good. I wouldn't say it was fantastic, but it was a very nice RW lunch.

Even if you make over $200,000 a year they treat you poorly at Bobby Van's. Bobby Van's caters only to high rolling male partners/consultants. The food quality is not good. The service is not good. And, the prices are not good.

There are many reasons why people go to Bobby Van's, but it is gemerally not for a good dining experience. Mostly, it is for political or simiar reasons. They have a good location and concept for that.

But, unless you are one of the VIPs or with one of the VIPs, you should not expect to be treated well.

I can't imagine that attitude would translate well into a restaurant week experience.

Stick with places like Ceiba, Corduroy, and Tosca.

well, I look like Sean Astin, so, if Bobby Van's staff likes "The Lord of the Rings," I'm set.