If you head out for dinner tomorrow night, you may find yourself in for a long wait. Over 40 restaurants in the greater Seattle area will be participating in Dine Around Seattle, resulting in unusually busy dinner service on Sunday through Thursday nights during the month of March. Formerly known as 25 for $25 (25 restaurants offering three-course dinners for $25), Dine Around Seattle offers three-course dinners for $30; a three-course lunch for $15 is also available at select restaurants.
I have mixed feelings about Dine Around Seattle. It suffers from many of the flaws I described previously about Seattle Restaurant Week, but it does have a few things going for it -- primarily, smaller crowds. I think this is in part due to the fact that it's not as loudly advertised given that it's not sponsored by The Seattle Times and blasted above the website's masthead like Seattle Restaurant Week typically is. Most people learn about Dine Around Seattle by seeing a flyer at a participating restaurant or through word of mouth. Some don't even know it's happening until they're offered a special menu at their table. In addition, it is spread out over an entire month so people aren't rushing to make reservations like they do during Seattle Restaurant Week (which is actually a misnomer because it lasts two weeks, albeit only Sunday through Thursday; still, people feel an urgency to go out and take advantage of these "great deals"). And lighter crowds generally means better service and food.
Don't get me wrong: I'm excited that people are taking the time to try new restaurants or re-visit their favorites. I also understand that restaurants need to stay busy in order to be successful. If occasional promotions like Dine Around Seattle are beneficial to the restaurant industry and make diners happy, then I'm all for it. Just don't expect to find me wading through any of those crowds this month. (Betty, I'll miss you.)
On another note, Le Rêve's new hours begin tomorrow: 7am to 6pm daily!
On another note, Le Rêve's new hours begin tomorrow: 7am to 6pm daily!
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