The Dutch: A Restaurant Week Gem

Restaurant Week is the ideal time for New Yorkers to try 300 restaurants at very substantial savings. The Week isn't technically a week at all. This year it started its run on February 17th and will end on March 7th. At participating restaurants,  a three course lunch will set you back $25.00 and dinner will come in at $38.00.

I couldn't wait hightail it to Andrew Carmellini's The Dutch for lunch with two old friends. To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement.  The Dutch is packed most nights so lunch is an ideal time to go and immerse yourself in a menu that skimps on nothing.

The Restaurant Week menu lets you choose from the entire menu. We were able to order three appetizers and pass them around for all to taste. Their famous fried chicken with its great slaw and a biscuit made in heaven is normally $21.00 all by itself. The waiter almost apologetically told us that instead of the four pieces of perfectly fried, brilliantly moist chicken would be cut down to three. 

As if we could possibly still be hungry, we were then able to raid the dessert menu and, because we were three and there were three superb desserts on the menu, we were able to sample them all.  As good as the appetizer and main courses were, the desserts were magnificent: a lemon chess pie was paired with grapefruit ice cream. Peanut panna cotta sat atop chocolate sauce. A dried cherry crumble topped with whipped completed the picture and our lunch. 

I was so impressed with the place that I made an almost instant to go back for Saturday lunch.  While the brunch menu is every bit as intriguing as the one at lunch, unfortunately there's no $25.00 Restaurant Week menu on the bill of fare.  Which only made me want to immediately make dinner reservations for one day this week. I'd highly recommend your doing the same. But hurry, remember Restaurant Week ends March 7th.