Pittsburgh Restaurant Week continues to offer enticing deals and exclusive dishes

Looking to try alligator and sausage gumbo? How about taking a date to that fine dining restaurant that's a few too many dollar signs out of reach? With the launch of Pittsburgh Restaurant Week today, this may just be your opportunity.

The winter installment of the biannual Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, which runs from Mon., Jan. 15-Sun., Jan. 21, includes over 50 restaurants across the city, each with a dish or course menu crafted for the occasion and often sold at a discount, according to Brian McCollum, the founder of Pittsburgh Restaurant Week.

The complete list of participating restaurants is available online, along with a restaurant map and "restaurant roulette feature" that picks a random restaurant for you to try.

Participating restaurants include Pittsburgh fine dining heavyweights such as Ruth's Chris Steak House, LeMont Restaurant, and Grand Concourse Restaurant, each with a multi-course special menu priced below $50 — a pittance compared to what a guest could usually expect to pay, McCollum says.

The list of participating restaurants covers a wide range of cuisine, from Khalil’s Middle Eastern Restaurant to the German-focused Hofbräuhaus, as well as Mexican, Korean, Italian, and more. 

According to McCollum, beyond wining and dining on a budget, Pittsburgh Restaurant Week allows those with more adventurous pallets to try something they've never had before. Muddy Waters Oyster Bar's three-course special menu features a gator and sausage gumbo — or Southern-fried Cornish hen — for $45.24. A three-plate menu from Carmella's Plates and Pints, priced at $45.24, notably includes duck confit alongside a prune pierogi.

"I look for dishes that I've specifically never had before," McCollum says. "Alligator is certainly not something I've eaten before, and I would look forward to trying it."

McCollum founded Pittsburgh Restaurant Week in 2012 as much for himself as for others. The food blogger says his goal with Pittsburgh Restaurant Week is to "shine a light" on Pittsburgh's restaurants and ultimately help them attract new customers.

"So, I would never tell you that Restaurant Week is a discount program," McCollum says. "I would tell you it is a way for restaurants to feature the dishes they do best and to inspire some additional creativity to help them evolve."
Scheduled during the dead space between New Year's and spring, Pittsburgh Restaurant Week also provides a boost for restaurants struggling to bring in customers, according to Frederic Rongier, co-owner of Paris 66 in East Liberty, which has participated in the event most years since it started.

"This time of the year, we're not crazy busy, so I will say [Pittsburgh Restaurant Week] gives us 50% more clients," Rongier says.

This year, Paris 66 offers a three-course menu with an entree of either poulet confit or pan-seared salmon bookended by a salad or escargot to start, and the choice between creme brulee or chocolate mousse for dessert. The special goes for $45.24 — less than half of what a guest would expect to pay if they ordered the same amount of food à la carte, Rongier says.

Rongier says. in an industry with already tight margins, Paris 66 doesn't turn a significant profit from Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, but that's not the goal. Instead, Rongier sees the event as an opportunity to showcase the French bistro's food to those priced out by the usual menu.

"Paris 66, it's a little pricey because it's a high-end French restaurant, and [Pittsburgh Restaurant Week] gives an opportunity for other guests who might not be able to afford to go to Paris 66," Rongier says. "They come during restaurant week to see us, to see what Paris 66 is like. It's good. It's for everyone."

Rongier, who also co-owns the French bakery chain Gaby et Jules, is a Paris native. Acknowledging his hometown as a food mecca of the Western world, he says Pittsburgh's food scene is nothing to be scoffed at.

"You can really eat wherever you want from all over the world," Rongier says. "Compared to Paris, it's about the same. You can go to Paris and have the same food."

For those unable to take advantage of the January event, Pittsburgh Restaurant Week will return in August, but McCollum has yet to announce the official dates.

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Pittsburgh Restaurant Week. Mon., Jan. 15-Sun., Jan. 21. Multiple locations. pittsburghrestaurantweek.com