As Restaurant Week approaches ....

Check out the Online Chat of Todd Kliman. I participate every week ... here was today's question.

Alexandria, VA:

Hi Todd, I know that you are tired of talking about Restaurant Week, but the rest of us DC Foodies are really anticipating it and have looked forward to it all year. I wasn't able to get a table at Cityzen or Corduroy, so I made a dinner reservation at Charlie Palmer Steak house. It was ranked #12 on Washingtonians 100's Very Best Restaurant List, so I thought it HAS to be good. Can you give me an idea of what I should expect on the menu there knowing it's a $30 dinner (prix fixe)? Thanks, Todd. Always a Pleasure, Lisa

Todd Kliman:

Tired? Not tired at all.

What I was having some fun with was, the fact that so many of you were urging me to weigh in so early. Well, it turns out it's not so early at all, with many restaurants already starting to book up. Once I knew that, I was on board. And we went ahead and put together our preview a couple of weeks early.

What can you expect of Charlie Palmer Steak? For one thing, not many choices -- which I'm usually not thrilled to see. The good news is that CP Steak does a lunch prix fixe all year round, so it's not as if Chef Bryan Voltaggio is contriving some dumbed-down menu for the week that departs wildly from his usual options.

You'll eat well. Just don't go looking for one of the huge, bone-in cuts of beef that define the restaurant.