A couple of years ago, the wife and I ventured out to Mastro’s for dinner – which is a phrase that my pocketbook does not allow me to say more often. We enjoyed some steaks, some sides, a couple of apps and (because we did not crazy with the booze) were out there door for less than $100 plus a tip. Which, at Mastro’s is kind of a minor miracle.
We were able to do this because of restaurant week – a promotion that takes place in the shoulder season in the Coachella Valley to lure tourists and locals to restaurants in the desert. One of those things that attempts to lure people out despite the fact that it feels like the surface of the sun outside.
The thing about a restaurant week, in the desert and elsewhere, is it gives diners a chance to sample a restaurant’s fare without coughing up a ton of dough. Customers get to try out food and the restaurant gets people in the door when it normally might be slower. In previous years, this was done by having a standard price point of $26 and $38 at all restaurants.
In 2016, those prices will remain, but – and this is the thing you are not going to like – this year it appears several restaurants on the promotion’s website have ditched them in favor of a new, higher $48 pre-fix menu price.
$96 for a dinner for two, a couple glasses of wine, plus tax and tip…well, that is going to set you back about $150 – or probably about what you spend at these places when it is not restaurant week.
So much for any sort of deal during restaurant week, eh?
Luckily, there are also a few restaurants not going with a $48 menu during restaurant week.
Let’s all go to those.
Note: Mastro’s is not currently listed as a participant, as of this posting, as a participating restaurant. I mentioned it only because I had a pretty great Restaurant Week experience there back to when all the prices for the week made sense.
