Appetite Stimulus Plan (Restaurant Week) Nov 17-21

A new promotion has been announced for the week of November 17-21. Restaurants are offering 3-course menus for $24 at lunch, and $35 at dinner. 75 restaurants in the city and suburbs are participating. They're calling it the "Appetite Stimulus Plan" but it's really the same concept that's been promoted as Restaurant Week. You can see details here.

Any loop workers interested in trying out one of these for lunch on Monday the 17th? Smith & Wollensky? Petterinos? South Water Kitchen? Another?

Sent out today via email from OpenTable:

3-Course Menus & Double Dining Rewards Points!
OpenTable Appetite Stimulus Plan
$35 Dinners, $24 Lunches
November 17-21
http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=3&ref=4681&pid=329

Thinking about:
Aria
Boka
Le Lan
one sixtyblue

Where is everyone else going?

We've got reservations at Boka on Tuesday night, but I guess it'll be a last-minute decision whether or not we actually partake of the prix-fixe menu

I am fairly new to posting on any forum so please of this is inappropriate let me know.
We at Va Pensiero are participating in the open table appetite stimulation plan
our menu is as follows


Va Pensiero Garlic Menu
November 17th to the 21st
$35.00 per Person


A trio of
Green Garlic Soup
Parmesan Crackers with Garlic Mousse
Roasted Garlic Timbale



Housemade Semolina Ravioli filled
with Potato and Roasted Garlic
ox tail roasted shallot sauce



Lemon-Marinated Cobia
Roasted in Parchment
manila clams and garlic mustard sauce



Wine Pairing $10.00
Choice of:
Soave, Tamellini 2004
Venda Rosso, Vignalta 2004

Or

Valpolicella, Ca la Bionda 2006
Venda Rosso, Vignalta 2004

We are hitting Salpicon for my mum-in-law's birthday on Thursday.

I am excited. We have not been in year, although it is just a few blocks away.

Does anyone know which restaurants have the best prix fixe menus/deals?

It would helpful to know the menus ahead of time. I had this same trouble for Restaurant Week in February and wound up calling a bunch of the restaurants to find out their menus. This gets a little tedious...

Thanks Jeff for posting the menu at your restaurant!

chewonthat wrote:Does anyone know which restaurants have the best prix fixe menus/deals?

Obviously, "best" is a matter of opinion - not just best food, but also best value for this promotion. One of the things I considered is how much of a savings this promotion represents. If you can normally eat three courses at a given restaurant for $40, doing so for $35 may not be that big a deal. But at a place where you can't even get an entree for $35, the savings are considerable. I think we're going to Carlos tomorrow night.

I agree that it would be very helpful to know what various restaurants are having on their menu for this promotion. I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you if you call them, but how many places are you going to have to call?

I received an e-mail from one sixtyblue (I think I'm on their mailing list) and these are their choices for the three courses for this promotion (yes, very tempting):

starter plate

leek gnocchi / baby leek / leek emulsion / burgundy truffle

bibb lettuce salad / roast beet / great hill blue cheese dressing

house-cured king salmon / citron / crispy hash browns / lemon curd

main plate

roast wisconsin pheasant / celery sage stuffing / chestnut / pheasant confit

blue crab ravioli / ricotta cheese / spinach / brown lemon butter

hanger steak / roast asian pear / jicama slaw

dessert plate

chocolate panna cotta / cocoa nib streusel / spanish peanut crisp / coffee cocoa nib ice cream

sticky toffee date cake / seckel pear / tsatsuma tangerine / mascarpone cream

one sixtyblue daily sorbets

pairs4life wrote:We are hitting Salpicon for my mum-in-law's birthday on Thursday.

I am excited. We have not been in year, although it is just a few blocks away.

Could you report back on the dinner options?

This evening, we ate at Carlos in Highland Park (Highwood). This is the menu they are serving for this promotion:

1. Choice of (a) Lobster Bisque, or (b) Mixed Green Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette

2. Choice of (a) Wild King Salmon Papillote with Julienne Vegetables, Fine Herbs and Sauce Americana, or (b) Sliced Beef Tenderloin with Grilled Vegetables, Shallot-Roquefort Whipped Potatoes and a Cabernet-Rosemary Reduction

3. Symphony of Desserts

They also have a 27th anniversary promotion going through the end of this month with certain items from their opening menu in 1981, priced at their original prices at that time.

Dinner tonight was excellent! I've posted a very detailed report, including what we ate and how everything went, in the topic about Carlos. Click here to read it.