New York Restaurant Week is my favorite time of the year because expensive restaurants lower prices through introducing a limited-time $29-lunch and $42-dinner menu at the some of the best spots in NYC. Many of these restaurants are ones that I've been absolutely dying to try. They show off their best dishes, aiming to get customers hooked so they return in the future.
Gotham Bar and Grill
A restaurant where a single appetizer can cost the entire bill of the $29 Restaurant Week lunch, the Gotham Bar and Grill Restaurant Week Menu is too good to miss. When else are you going to have a Michelin-starred meal for under $30?
ABC Kitchen
One of Michelin-starred chef Jean Georges' restaurants in New York City, ABC Kitchen is all about fresh, seasonal ingredients. Reservations are difficult to snag even without Restaurant Week going on, so a table is prime real estate. Located in the Flatiron district, ABC Kitchen is a nice reminder of summer in colder weather.
The Chef's Club
This is a fun restaurant. It has dishes "borrowed" from other celebrity chefs in New York. When I went I tried the Chestnut Soup, Ceviche Classic, Thai Glazed Short-ribs, and the Smoked Arctic Char. Not only was the food to die for, but I also got to watch the chefs work in their open kitchen. They only offer the $42 dinner, so this one is a little more of a splurge.
Danji
Danji offers both the lunch and dinner Restaurant Week Menus, each serving up some kick-ass Korean food.
Le Coq Rico
Usually chicken is the safest thing on the menu, but at Le Coq Rico, its the only thing on the menu. Everything is bird-based from egg-y appetizers and desserts to the entire birds available for your main course. I was really looking forward to the dessert, the Ile Flottante, because it was one of the New York Times' top dishes of 2016, and Le Coq Rico did not disappoint. I might even pay full price for this one day.
River Park
Riverpark the most options of any New York Restaurant Week menus, for both lunch and dinner. I want to go back enough times to try everything. This is a classy, romantic farm-to-fork option right on the East River (hence the name) and I can't wait to return.
Schilling
Coming to TriBeCa from Michelin-starred chef Eduard Frauneder, Schilling was a must-try for this Restaurant Week. The food was a fun update on Austrian food (especially the Apple Streudel) but the restaurant really stood out in its service. It's reasonably priced year-round for lunch, so be sure to check it out.
The Clocktower
Everyone has regrets, and two of ours were Morimoto and Butter. Maybe it's the struggle of celebrity chefs, but these are two restaurants we are not eager to try again based on their restaurant week menus. But you miss 100% of the shots you can't take, and I can't wait for New York Restaurant Week 2018.