We’ve compiled a list of the places we think will please you most during Restaurant Week 2009 in New York. Before we get started here are some tips to help you through the Restaurant Week process. First, menus are prix-fixe for three courses at $35, when you make your reservation you should tell the host/hostess that you’d like the Restaurant Week menu. Second, travel in a group, parties of 3-5 are best for Restaurant Week because it allows for each patron to choose an item from the menu and then share with the table. Third, Restaurant Week is only from Sunday-Thursday, so go out and enjoy during the week. Lastly, this year for Restaurant Week many restaurants are substituting the final dessert course for a complementary glass of wine, don’t forget to ask your server when you order drinks if this is a possibility!

Ono
This meat packing district meets Japan gem is a New York staple in Hotel Gansevoort. For Restaurant week Ono is offering some of their restaurant staples on the menu including spicy crab pizza and smoked salmon maki as appetizers. The true Ono specialty is the togarashi- crusted beef hibachi which cooks on your table over and open flame in a charcoal oven. Head over to the meat packing during restaurant week to get your sushi, fire grilled robata, and sake sangria on!

Fig & Olive
Fig & Olive is a ray of Mediterranean sunshine with food that will transport you to a beach side cabana along the shores of Greece, France or Italy depending on what you order. The Mediterranean cold soup and zucchini Carpaccio for starters are a delightful transition into the fuller main courses that Fig & Olive offer. A special treat is the Truffle pollo, a chicken breast soaked in truffle with a potato truffle puree, truly a deal during restaurant week. On the beverage side of things try a bell pepper martini or the Fig & olive rosemary lemonade.

August
August is an intimate bistro that boasts European inspired dishes that ignite the foodie in all of us. August’s menu offers tarte flambé, an onion and bacon tarte with crème fraiche, and pizza con le patate e lardo, a pizza with potatoes and cured pork for appetizers. As a main dish try the asparagus stuffed trout or the roasted hen, both reminiscent of the European country side. The stone lined patio creates an indoor-outdoor feel while the sun sets over a glass ceiling. The vibe at August is while also providing breath taking appearance and delicious food.

Eleven Madison Park
Eleven Madison Park is an art deco haven serving modern American French cuisine. Eleven Madison Park manages to indulge all of your senses during restaurant week by serving a piece of salmon on top of white tomato foam. Presentation doesn’t stop; Eleven Madison Park also has a variety of in house cocktails including the Blood and Sand with scotch, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth and orange.

Craft
Craft is the restaurant of famed chef Tom Colicchio, a judge on Bravo’s hit reality competition - Top Chef. Craft provides traditional American flavors done with the freshest ingredients and a touch of class. The famed braised beef short ribs or the North Carolina soft-shell crabs are all great options. Since you’re saving on your meal, splurge on the bubbly, Craft has a large variety of champagne available.

Lure Fishbar
The Restaurant Week menu at Lure allows you to really experience what this restaurant is all about, fish. A Raw bar tasting includes east & west coast oysters and a shrimp cocktail or go for the salmon tartare with dill puree. Lure Fishbar also offers wine specials during Restaurant Week so don’t forget to ask your server for the special menu. The décor in Lure Fishbar is unlike anything else in New York, down a couple stairs into Lure Fishbar and you enter a classic yacht, glazed wood and portholes at street level really give this place a unique and luxurious feel.

Gotham Bar and Grill
While when you think Gotham City you might think of debauchery and crime, but that is not what’s going down at Gotham Bar and Grill. This eatery is one of the classiest joints in town, get dolled up and head over to this gem. For cocktails check out the Holland House: a cherry lemon concoction that you shouldn’t have too many of, and the dark and stormy, named for Gotham’s history: a rum-ginger taste you’ll try to recreate with ginger ale and Bacardi until you give up and just go back to Gotham Bar and Grill.

Spice Market
Spice Market does a bento box special for Restaurant Week, which includes an appetizer and entrée in the same box. Since everything comes at once you will enjoy a less leisurely dining experience, but everything at spice market is about bringing flavors together that you wouldn’t think of. Think crunchy seeds in a soup or fish covered by vegetables in a bowl, not your average meal but certainly tasty.

Mesa Grill
Bobby Flay's restaurant Mesa Grill brings American South-West to New York City. For restaurant week, Flay keeps the flavors popping’ with fry bread taquitos and cornmeal crusted chili relleno. Mesa Grill is an energetic environment with hot grills and hot southwest spices all under one roof prepare your self for a steamy fun time.