Dine Out is back, and it's even a bigger joke than usual. Most of the restaurants are offering "fixed price" menus that are not only not good deals; but many are more expensive than their regular menu. Lets see if the stupid people will bite.
The first example I looked at was El Vez, who have taken exploiting Dine out to a new level. They offer dine-out only for "brunch" on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, allowing them to provide a limited menu at a price higher than their regular menu and forcing you to spend a minimum of $35.
At Thasos you can get a greek salad, a chicken breast and baklava for just $45. They basically give you a choice of entrees for $30. Woo-hoo. Run, don't walk.
But the creme de la creme this year is Boathouse, who is offering you exactly 1 choice.
Virtually not of the higher end restaurant are doing it; you won't find Morton's, Eddie V's or Lobster Bar Sea Grill or even Big City Tavern participating. It's mostly hotels and restaurants desperate for SOMETHING to get you into their venue.
Dine Out now runs for the entire months of August and September, but my advice is to just forget about the dopey contrived menus. At most you'll save a couple of dollars and you won't be able to get what you really want. So go where you want and order what you want and save the calories on the dessert you don't want in the first place.