Have You Heard of Hudson Restaurant Week in New Jersey?

Most New York City residents are familiar with NYC Restaurant Week, a bi-annual event during the winter and summer months when participating restaurants offer special three-course prix fixe menus. Currently, for lunch, three courses cost $24.07, while the dinner prix-fixe is offered at $35. (Prices do not include drinks, tax and tip).
Meant to lure patrons during these slow periods, Restaurant Week typically runs for at least two weeks (despite its name), and in previous years selected restaurants have extended their special Restaurant Week offerings for the entire summer.

However, lesser-known is that across the Hudson River, New Jersey also has its own version of this much-loved event, called the Hudson Restaurant Week. For the summer of 2010, over 40 participating restaurants located in five towns in Hudson County (hence the name) are offering special lunch and dinner menus, like its more famous NYC counterpart. The dates for Hudson Restaurant Week this summer are July 26 - Aug 6, 2010.

Many people living in New Jersey also aren't aware of Hudson Restaurant Week. According to their official website, it was created by Get Out Hudson magazine in 2005 through conversations with local restaurants. Local restaurateurs were eager to attract new customers into their establishments, and this was the perfect vehicle to accomplish that objective. Both Get Out Hudson magazine and Hudson Restaurant Week are the creations of one young female entrepreneur, Tamara Remedios, who continues to run both.

More details about Hudson Restaurant Week worth knowing:

Cost

Three-course lunch menus are offered during Hudson Restaurant Week for as low as $13 up to $20. This
is much cheaper than New York City's price of $24.07. For dinner, the cost varies between a range of $25 to $35. For the latest information on participating restaurants, schedules (some restaurants include weekends), menu offerings and prices, check out the official Hudson Restaurant Week website.

Public Transport from NYC

The majority of participants in Hudson Restaurant Week are located in Hoboken and Jersey City,
towns with easy public transportation access from NYC. (Just ask the commuters who live in these towns).

To get there by public transportation, simply take the PATH train from Manhattan and get off at the correct stop in New Jersey. PATH train stations are located in midtown (West 33rd St. being the terminus) and downtown (World Trade Center), and bring you to either Hoboken or Jersey City (Pavonia Newport, Grove St., or Exchange Place) in fifteen minutes.

For up-to-date PATH train timetables, please check the official Port Authority of NY/NJ website.

Bigger than ever

This summer's Hudson Restaurant Week line-up is the biggest ever in the event's 5 year history. Eleven new restaurants offering cuisines ranging from Indian to Thai join the event's stalwarts who have been participating
since the event's inception.

I personally have taken the opportunity of sampling various restaurants' three-course dinner menus in previous years. Being a lover of Japanese cuisine, I still smile when recalling Komegashi's wonderful sushi creations, and hanging out with friends while devouring hanger steak at The Merchant. These two count as my most memorable Hudson Restaurant Week experiences.

So, forget NYC Restaurant Week! There is a vibrant fine dining scene minutes away in Hudson County in New Jersey, where prices are lower for the same quality. For NYC people, it's just a smooth PATH ride away. For Jersey people, no need to go to NYC for great deals on restaurants. Dine here during the two weeks of Hudson Restaurant Week, and you will certainly wish you'd heard of it much earlier.