Tag Archives: NYC Restaurant Week

NYC Restaurant Week

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Have you ever wanted to dine in an expensive restaurant…a Michelin star restaurant? Have you ever wanted to eat like royalty? Have you ever wanted to eat at a fine dining restaurant for a reduced price? Well, now’s the time that you can because it officially Restaurant Week in New York City. Restaurant Week has become a phenomenon for both mid-summer and mid-winter in New York in which it captivates the culinary world to share the inexpensive costs of normally financially exuberant meals. The entirely of Restaurant Week is to enable restaurants to create better sales for their business by offering more affordable prices in order to encourage more customers to dine at their restaurants. It helps restaurants to evoke their culinary skills to customers that under other conditions would not be able to purchase these gourmet meals. It also helps to increase foot traffic when it is a slow time of year for business.

It is nationwide event that takes place all over America but is widely appreciated in New York for its constant expansion of food. Restaurant Week in New York has already begun on January 23rd and will run until February 10th. It is being offered in over thirty-five neighborhoods with over three hundred eighty-five. There are so many restaurants that are a part of this special culinary-inspired week that the options are endless. With a vast variety of cuisines and culinary styles, there are so many choices to decide to dine. The discounts are eligible only on weekdays excluding Saturdays, although certain restaurants will include their discounts on Sundays. It works based on a prix-fixe menu which is usually a three-course meal that is set a fixed price with a few options. The three courses consist of an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert. The reduced prices apply for both lunch and dinner; the lunch prix-fixe menu costs only $29 while the dinner prix-fixe menu costs only $42.

You can make reservations on OpenTable and on NYCGo as well as browse the restaurants that are participating in Restaurant Week. There is also a chance to win a $50 gift card to go towards your next meal for any of the participating restaurants when you snap photographs of your prix-fixe meal and post it to Instagram with the hashtag, #NYCRestaurantWeek, daily through the entirety of Restaurant Week.

Comment below if you would be interested in dining at any of the participating restaurants for New York City’s Restaurant Week or if you have in the past.

My First NYC Restaurant Week Experience

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I wanted to save this post for my food blog, but I decided to give you all the first look and review of my first NYC restaurant week experience at Brasserie Seoul.

I was born and raised in New York City and as a foodie in my family. However, I never took advantage nor experienced NYC Restaurant Week. This summer I decided with my boyfriend to take advantage of it. The restaurant I initially chose was Delmonico’s, but later changed my mind to Brasserie Seoul which is a new, hip, and trendy restaurant with Korean and French flavors and techniques. The restaurant is tucked away inside the new Holiday Inn in Downtown Brooklyn. I visited the hotel and restaurant twice during my summer classes. My class and I met the General Manager who said next time we return we would receive 10% off our bill as we are City Tech students.

I chose August 12th which was a Friday and also a celebration of completing my Bachelor’s degree. My boyfriend and I were seated in the center of the restaurant and had a good view of the kitchen. The servers seemed a little bit nervous and slightly inattentive. We asked for a sparkling water, but unfortunately the rim around my glass cup had a fuzz around it. The General Manager was behind me and asked if everything was okay, but I showed him my glass and he apologized and replaced it with a new and clean glass.

appetizerBrasserie

My boyfriend ordered the Crispy Salmon (salmon sashimi , crispy sushi rice, and chipotle aioli). This was definitely a unique and interesting take on a sashimi, but with a crispy sushi rice instead. It had a little kick of spice to it, but it was tolerable. I ordered the Wild Mushroom & Asparagus (wild mushrooms, asparagus, truffle soy sauce). I really liked this appetizer because I am naturally a mushroom fan. Although the dish was plated beautifully, I felt the plate was too large for the small portion that was given.

entreesbrasserie

For entrees, my boyfriend had the Duck Confit (endive, shallot, thyme orange sauce) which was recommended by a friend of ours. The duck tasted delicious and cooked just perfectly where the meat was soft, smooth, and moist. I got the Waygu Rib Eye Steak ( waygu rib eye with grilled vegetables) *$5.00* additional for my order and I also asked for medium rare, but not too rare. While eating my steak, I noticed parts of it was rare., but I didn’t say anything. The steak also tasted very bland. I wished they provided a sauce or rub on it. The vegetables were grilled to perfection, but again slightly bland.

dessert brasserie

I must admit that the best part of the experience was the desserts. My boyfriend ordered the Strawberry Pie (puff pastry, gelato, and housemade strawberry jam). The strawberry pie was puff pastry and strawberry heaven! It was crispy, flaky, and buttery. So good and so cute!  I ordered the Banana Split (devil’s food cake, caramelized banana, vanilla ice cream) as I saw a lot of photos on Yelp and kept dreaming about it. When it arrived to our table, the general manager kindly explained the different elements that made up this gorgeous dessert. Everything and all of the flavors really came together and tasted amazing! The devil’s food cake was absolutely to die for.

Our dinner cost less than I thought as the general manager gave us a City Tech discount. That was very kind of him and the hostess at Brasserie Seoul is so kind and friendly. Our experience could have been slightly better if maybe our entrees had a little extra flavor and juices to it. This isn’t your typical Korean restaurant, but this is definitely a gem and great addition to Downtown Brooklyn. I am looking forward to our next NYC Restaurant Week experience.

Have you ever been to NYC Restaurant Week?