If the holiday season is all about doing it up to "the nines," from fancy galas to glittery outfits to posh plates, then January, at least in the foodie realm, at least around Southern California, is about keeping the number nine in mind as you look for dining deals.
For that's the very number that ends several of the "specially priced" (as opposed to the prix fixe concept of the past) choices during Winter dineLA, the colossal cuisine blowout that arrives twice each year and proceeds to settle into a lengthy two-week stretch.
This elegant take on the concept of a Restaurant Week, which is closer to a Restaurant Fortnight, lines up a few hundred regional restaurants for set menus at a set price each January. Many of those prices end on the nine — $29, $39, $49 — meaning that's what you'll pay, plus tip and tax.
There are some lower price points, even, at lunch (hello, $15), and some swankier suppers, too, that are a bit up the scale in expense. Still, dineLA provides people who want to try new eateries a doorway to do so, and it is a doorway that doesn't boast an especially dear pricetag.
Making it ideal for a first-time try.
Locations participating in the upcoming Jan. 13-27, 2017 go-around include A-Frame in Culver City, Baldoria downtown, and FIG & OLIVE Melrose Place.
As for sample menus? A number of eateries on the roster have the dineLA choices already up, so you can peruse the plates before you go. Gracias Madre, for tasty example, Gorditas or Persimmon & Kale Salad or Pumpkin Empanadas or Flautas de Camote on its "choose two," lunch-for-$25 line-up.
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So don't stow your holiday longing to nine-it-up just yet. There are still a few nines to come, in the form of "specially priced" dishes, when Winter dineLA returns with its splashy eats (but not-so-splashy prices).
