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restaurant week — Restaurant Week takes place Jan. 18-Feb. 13. Photo: iStock

(repost with permission from Downtown Alliance)

Local eateries made the best of a bad situation back in the cold, cold winter months with an excuse to try out all the first-rate dining rooms with the generous deals found during Restaurant Week: Two- and three-course prix fixe meals ranging from $29 to $39 to $59.

The promotion begins Tuesday, January 18, through Sunday, February 13 and, per NYCGo, the deals run Monday through Friday (not Saturdays) and it’s up to each restaurant whether they honor the rates on Sundays. You can read more details at the Restaurant Week site but for your convenience, the following are the participating restaurants below Chambers Street:

Anassa Taverna (104 North End Avenue)
Bareburger (155 William Street)
Batard (239 West Broadway)
Blue Smoke (255 Vesey Street)
Capital Grille (120 Broadway)
Felice (15 Gold Street)
Front & Wall Street (110 Wall Street)
The Fulton (89 South Street)
Gran Morsi (22 Warren Street)
Industry Kitchen (70 South Street)
La Pizza & La Pasta A Colori (101 Liberty Street)
Mad Dog & Beans (83 Pearl Street)
Malibu Farm (89 South Street)
MarkJoseph Steakhouse (261 Water Street)
Merchants River House (375 South End Avenue)
Morton’s The Steakhouse (136 Washington Street)
Route 66 Smokehouse (46 Stone Street)
Sant Ambroeus (200 Vesey Street)
Schilling (109 Washington Street)
Treadwell Park (301 South End Avenue)
Vino e Grano (101 Liberty Street, Eataly NYC Downtown)

Bon Appetit!

There’s a new generation of hotels in Downtown. No longer just a place to sleep, these hotels are an experience in themselves with food, drink, and entertainment that may just keep you from going outside at all. One of such places is The Roxy Hotel, a luxury boutique venue in TriBeCa, which Downtown visited for dinner last week.Upon entry, you’ll be enveloped in the dark and mysterious ambiance, with notes of smooth piano music playing in the background Tuesday through Saturday. The Roxy exudes cool luxury with a wide mix of people; Wall Street bankers, international guests, well-dressed friends slurping on oysters and intimate dates relishing in a tête-à-tête.What do to when arriving? There are four bars; the Oyster Bar with a menu featuring every imaginable delicacy from the sea, the jazz bar known as Django, Paul’s Cocktail Lounge and of course, the plush, cozy Roxy Bar and restaurant.

The food service starts at 7 a.m. with a cup from the laid-back in-house coffee shop, Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee and continues into late dinner service.

Dinner will be a fancy affair, but it’s worth the expense. The waiters have been trained well, attentive yet not overbearing, friendly but with a keen sense of when to leave the table. Choose from light, mostly organic appetizers, perhaps share pigs in blankets or a dipping board of Mediterranean Mezze and savor a round of lightly seared scallops for the table.For mains, the menu has been kept delightfully uncomplicated. Sample the Roxy Classics – Garganelli pasta, Brick Chicken, 14oz NY Strip Steak or a healthy kale salad, and pair with sides of brussel sprouts, sautéed wild mushrooms or pomme purée. Is your mouth watering yet? (YES!). As is traditional in New York City, the portions are also very generous.Pair your food with the finest wines, traditional or New World, seasonal and standard Roxy cocktails or Pinkus Unfiltered Ur-Pilsner and Ithaca Flower Power IPA.As if we haven’t already enticed you to swing by the hotel after work this afternoon (see you there!), there’s one more element of this world that we need to introduce you to. Namely, the Roxy Cinema.

Currently being refurbished into a film lover’s haven, the boutique cinema will re-open to the public in late September and promises a wide selection, from documentaries, art, indie flicks and celebrity showcases to 35mm and its latest introduction, 16mm films.

Keep your eye out for our interview with the hotel’s cinema manager, Illyse Singer, too!

Photos courtesy of the Roxy Hotel