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“It’s about how they manage it. They can be passive about it or they can take the bull by the horns.�

West agreed.

“It’s about them; it’s not about us,� he said.

The event — which has been held every year in ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe since 2010 except for 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic — offers diners the chance to experience a wide range of local eateries at value prices. Participating restaurants typically offer three-course dinners — appetizer, main course, dessert — at prices starting at $25 and reaching $70. Several of them also will offer specially priced lunches.

West cited Joe’s Tequila Bar at the Inn on the Alameda, 303 E. Alameda St., as a good example of a restaurant that has taken responsibility for maximizing its participation in ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Restaurant Week. When West and Ostrove stopped by the establishment recently to discuss the event, West recalled the manager “lit up like a Christmas treeâ€� after Joe’s took part in the promotion for the first time last year.

“They did really well last year,� he said. “They do a really good job of their own promotion on top of ours. Some of the top performers in Restaurant Week, that’s how they get there.�

Old and new participants

A total of 38 restaurants had signed on as participants by Feb. 12, many of them longtime veterans of the event while a handful are new to Restaurant Week.

Among the new entries this year are the Manhattan Avenue Deli at the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Jewish Center at 230 W. Manhattan Ave. and the Time Travelers Gastro Pub at 907-B W. Alameda St. in the Solana Shopping Center. The Manhattan Avenue deli opened in late 2024, becoming the first kosher restaurant in the city, while Time Travelers opened just a few weeks later, serving elevated British pub fare.

Rabbi Shmuel Itkin, who manages the deli, said he was eager to take part in Restaurant Week when Ostrove and West pitched the idea to him.

“It’s actually a really wonderful way to reach all the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Feans who might not have heard about it,â€� he said.

The deli serves lunch only and is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, so it won’t be dishing up dinner entrees. But Itkin said it serves all the New York deli classics, including pastrami, corned beef, schnitzel, bagels and lox, falafels, latkes and chicken matzo ball soup.

“That’s what we’d like people to try and get comfortable with,� he said.

Itkin noted he is new to ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe, having moved here only recently from New York, and is looking forward to seeing for himself what Restaurant Week is like.

Craig Moya, the owner of Time Travelers, said he also likes the idea of having his restaurant exposed to a new crop of diners during the event.

“We want to get in front of as many people as we can,� he said.

Moya said he is planning a “highlight reel� of the eatery’s dinner entrees for Restaurant Week, including pork and pasta dishes, while some new sandwiches will be rolled out for lunch. Dinners will be priced at $40 and lunch will be offered at $30, he said.

Recruiting the restaurants

Ostrove said she and West try to cast a wide net when they start lining up restaurants for the event each year, reaching out to more than 100 local establishments through the mail several months in advance.

Then, they go knocking on doors, checking out new eateries for themselves to make sure they are large enough to accommodate the crowds that Restaurant Week typically brings in.

“We do a lot of legwork,� West said.

Ostrove said the restaurants that decline to participate in the promotion typically choose to do so because they already are full most nights and don’t feel like it’s to their advantage to offer value pricing.

When she founded the event in 2010, Ostrove said she met with all the key players in the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe restaurant scene and quizzed them about when they thought the event should take place. Late winter quickly emerged as the favorite, she said.

“Everybody kind of agreed February is kind of a shoulder season — not totally a time when you’d be beating a dead horse, like in January when people just aren’t there,� she said.

Spring and fall already tend to be busy with other events, and summer serves as the height of the local tourist season, Ostrove said, leaving late February as the default choice.

This year’s Restaurant Week will feature a new element, as the New Mexico Beef Council is partnering with the event. Diners who choose a beef option at a participating restaurant will receive $5 off their entrée when they present a coupon, which can be obtained at most participating restaurants.

Ostrove said approximately two-thirds of the eateries taking part this year are offering beef dishes that will be included in the program.

“I think it will be an interesting draw for diners,� she said, noting the Beef Council will reimburse the participating restaurants for each coupon that is redeemed.

The appeal of Restaurant Week extends beyond the local culinary scene, West said, noting some hotels are offering preferred lodging rates to diners who may want to spend an entire weekend sampling ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe restaurants.

Restaurant Week also features several special events, including a cooking class and sessions on how to pair food and wine.

Reservations for the establishments featured in Restaurant Week are strongly advised, given the increased traffic the event generates, although walk-in diners will be accommodated if possible.

Ostrove said the event is designed to give local restaurants a much-needed boost during a slow time of year for most of them. She said she thinks it has become a much-anticipated event over the last 15 years, with folks routinely stopping her on the street to ask when it will take place each year.

“Restaurant Week has become part of the fabric of ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe,â€� she said.