Restaurant Week has become popular phenomenon in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States.

Top-notch restaurants lower their prices for a week, offering special deals that make their cuisine available to people who might not ordinarily be able to afford to try it. Or so the theory goes.

I have no problem with this. I like the idea of people being able to try things that they normally cannot.

But please don't think that you get the same experience for the lower price.

With the lower prices comes a sharp increase in the number of covers that each restaurant is handling -- often double a usual night. And quality suffers.

I don't even mean that quality is bound to slip as the kitchen gets stretched. I mean that kitchens plan to offer lower quality meals for the lower prices. They aim to just serve each table and move on, rather than offering each dish with the same care that they normally apply. I know one nationally recognized chef in town tells his kitchen staff, "think Applebees."

Don't plan that romantic evening for Restaurant Week. Your dining choice wants you in and out in under an hour, rather than encouraging you to linger on for tow or three. And with restaurants so crowded, service (not just the food) suffers.

Plus, with so many diners, you're just a number even in the places that normally cater to each customer.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that top-quality restaurants are made accessible to folks who normally don't go. But don't fool yourself into thinking you get the same thing for less.

As for me, when everyone else is crowding the restaurants during Restaurant Week, I stay home... and I give my favorite kitchens a few days to recover after it's over... and then I return and enjoy my favorite meals.

Just my two miles worth.

Gary

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View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets