Yesterday we made the happy announcement that reservations are open for NYC's Winter Restaurant Week. Now, we're going to come through on our promise to let you in on our top picks.

Without further ado, our 5 top picks for New York Restaurant Week Winter 2012:

· Red Rooster, Harlem
3-course lunch for $24.07
If you can get yourself up to Harlem for a midday meal, then this is our highest recommendation. Not only is Red Rooster the current talk of the town, but it's actually worthy of the hype. It's soul food with a Swedish touch, on account of (Top Chef Masters winner) Chef Marcus Samuelsson's mixed African-Scandi background. We just hit up Red Rooster ourselves for their Sunday Gospel Brunch and ummm yeah. We'll be back real soon. Do not miss the Cornbread, Mac & Greens (omg) and Fried Yard Bird.]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-05T13:47:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/1/3/234143/6499
The Ratatouille L'Ecole burger during NYFW last year

Go and get 'em! Reservation booking has just opened up here for the semiannual NYC Restaurant Week, aka one of our favorite (and super highly recommended) city food events. This is the 20th anniversary of the event, and the eating takes place for longer this time around, lasting from January 16 - February 10 (weekdays only).

Get over to OpenTable quickly to snap up the best and newest tables, among them Boulud Sud and Maialino, lest you get stuck dining at some Theater District steakhouse that survives on tourists being loose with their money and not too particular about what's on their plate. ]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-04T13:42:27-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/18/22611/8016

Restaurant Week deals aren't just for major cities in the United States, nosireebob. Believe it or not, Shanghai and their multitude of fancy-pants eateries have been getting in on the discounted 3-course meal act for several years now, and the deals are again good from September 5-11.

Alack and alas, the majority of the 70 restaurants on the bill either specialize in western cuisine or call the 4-and 5-star hotels of the city home. This is not a deterrent! Hotel restaurants in Shanghai are not the hotel restaurants you're thinking of; they offer some of the most diverse menus, dramatic views and dressed-up evenings you can find in the Pearl of the Orient, and with a three-course dinner costing 248 RMB, or about $38 or a three-course lunch at 118 RMB, or $17, it's only good news.

The city is a bit like our photo above—it's completely traditional and affordable in some areas, but those parts are almost immediately followed by the high-gloss modern neighborhoods with their famous-chef restaurants and gold gilt bathroom faucets. You've just got to learn to love both, and getting the latter fancy food for cheap helps.

Reservations opened TODAY! Go here to get them.

[Photo: Cynthia Drescher]]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-18T17:16:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/15/84648/4781
Yes, that is a donut on top of fruit salad

Sometimes in life, you just crave a nice, white-tablecloth meal with ice water in glass goblets and an attentive waiter who recommends the fish. Sometimes, however, you can't always indulge that desire if you also want to travel, buy nice things, pay rent/mortgage, etcetera etcetera. This is why we rejoice whenever Restaurant Weeks come around, when top-notch restaurants discount three-course prix-fixe meals to a level where it's totally cool to have a spontaneous date or skip the carry-out, opting instead for the white tablecloths and glass water goblets.

The next city to feed its foodies is Las Vegas, during their restaurant week(s) August 29 - September 11. Unlike the simplicity of NY Restaurant Week, Las Vegas will have different pricing levels based on level of restaurant and quality of meal: $20.10 & $30.01 Lunches and $30.10 & $50.10 Dinners. What you choose really depends on your budget and what must-eat-at restaurant you want to cross off your bucket list. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-15T14:11:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/25/13530/2564

Dear fellow foodies: we have good news and we have awesome news. The good news is that NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 has been extended until September 5. The awesome news is that the prices—$24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner—remain the same, the restaurants are still game all the way through Labor Day, and visitors to the city for the next couple weeks can enjoy the extension on the prix fixe meal deals.

Granted, Restaurant Week has become something more like Restaurant Month the last few times it's been offered, but you're not hearing any complaints from us. In fact, we kind of prefer these extra few weeks because the hype has died down, many diners have exceeded their Restaurant Week budgets already, and thus it's easier grabbing those primo reservations (especially when we're talking top lunches).

To take advantage of Restaurant Month, go here to see what restaurants are taking part in which meals, and even have a glance at the menus. Click through to book on OpenTable.com and check out our previous meal reviews here. We'll see you at the bar...

[Photo: Jaunted]]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-25T13:05:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/20/105757/342

Red, The Steakhouse

Good news: the city of Miami isn't just reeling in spa junkies with its summertime promotions--it's after foodies as well. And forget Restaurant Week--here the lunch and dinner deals run for two entire months. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare your taste buds for Miami Spice, August 1 through September 30.

The program celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, with more than 125 restaurants across Miami participating--including 35 new ones, which certainly helps keep things, well, spicy.

Three-course dinner menus are $35 (plus gratuity and drinks), and many restaurants are also offering three-course lunches for just $22.

]]> MsRebecca 2011-07-20T12:25:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/12/84723/9091

Huge news! Boston has announced the dates of their upcoming Restaurant Week. Okay, so you're like, "oh whatever, another Restaurant Week," right? While it's true that three-course dining on a budget does occur quite frequently around the country these days, Boston's Restaurant Week is special because it features many seafood restaurants...fresh seafood.

The dates to add to your iCal? August 14-19 and August 21-26, 2011. There's over 200 restaurants to choose from, and meals have more options and lower prices than you find at NYC Restaurant Week. It's a pretty worthy daytrip diversion if you don't live in Boston; we've done it before and you know we're already looking at BoltBus prices for this one.

Now for the pricing and featured restaurants: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-12T08:47:23-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/