About.com has finally announced the restaurants participating in the Winter Restaurant Week- which runs January 25th- February 7th excluding Saturdays. *Reservations open January 12th so get ready.
I always make sure that I have my days, times and numbers discussed with my family and friends a week before so that on the first day of reservations I can call in and get the exact times I want. So, seeing as it's January 5th I have all of them picked out.
I make my picks by doing research in a few ways. I first go to NYmag.com and look at their picks for the year. I read the reviews by Adam Platt and see what looks interesting. I cross check these with Food&Wine Magazine to see which restaurants made both lists. I also look at the previous year's list to see what I didn't get to over the summer. After a few hours of family recommendations and menu browsing, I've selected four restaurants I will be booking next week.
1) Fishtail by David Burke- My boss first suggested this to me over summer but since I only had a week left till school started again I decided I'd wait. This sustainable fish restaurant is supposed to have an incredible atmosphere and even better seafood. Described in Adam Platt's seafood renaissance article, Burke, "the mad genius" serves baroque crab cakes and tuna tartare in a beautiful uptown setting.
2) Tabla- Danny Meyer's Indian restaurant seemed like a natural progression. After trying both Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack, I doubt there's anything he can't do well, and I'm a huge fan of Indian food. Tabla is open for lunch only during restaurant week, and I'm excited to see his version of haute Indian food. This restaurant isn't as new, but was on the best restaurants in NY list in 2006.
3) Locanda Verde- Robert DeNiro's new restaurant, formerly Ago, serves rustic Italian food family style. Chef and Partner Andrew Carmellini, who previously worked under Chef Daniel Boulud, creates affordable dishes that are both filling and fashionable with specials like Rabbit Terrine and blue- crab crostini. I'm also excited to try the sheep's milk ricotta and herbs.
4) Megu- The Japanese restaurant has been discussed in every imaginable food magazine, blog and website for months. Their intricate menu and escalated prices are reason enough to experience Megu during restaurant week. I've been wanting to try this for a while, but for some reason never quite got to it so I'm thrilled to finally get there.
I will of course follow up with reviews after each meal. Other restaurants to try are Convivio for amazing and original Italian dishes and Acquavit for those who love seafood and great atmosphere.
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