Appetizers: Dine Downtown -- it's filling seats

January is generally a pretty slow month in the restaurant business. People are recovering from the holiday rush. They're making New Year's resolutions that have something to do with eating less -- not more. And if they're like me, they're letting their livers recover after drinking their neighbor's Aquavit!

But the news is good about Dine Downtown, the promotion that is coming to a close this weekend. Restaurants are happy. Customers are happy. And the downtown streets are hopping. The idea was for restaurants to pool their resources and offer a multi-course set price meal.

Here's what we just received from Downtown Sacramento Partnership:

"We've seen the levels of business almost double what we usually expect this time of year," said Brent Larkin, director of food and beverage for Grange at The Citizen. "Considering these economic times, people are surprisingly coming out in droves. We hope many of our guests are
using this promotion to visit our restaurant for the first time and, in turn, become future
patrons."

The event, which features over 30 of the Central City's best restaurants and ends on January 17, has been a hit with local foodies as well. Central City resident David Milam had originally planned to dine out all 10 days and ended up with 7 reservations. "I have a modest job at the UC Davis Library and thus not able to afford many these places on a regular basis," said Milam.

"Dine Downtown has been a great opportunity for me to visit restaurants I've never tried
before. It has also allowed me to catch up with different friends each night, so I've enjoyed it."

Participating restaurants include 3 Fires Lounge & Restaurant at The Marriott, 4th Street Grille, 58 Degrees and Holding Co., Biba Restaurant, Bistro 33, Brew It Up!, The Broiler, Chops Steak, Seafood & Bar, Cosmo Café, Cyprus Grille at The Holiday Inn, Dawson's at The Hyatt, de Vere's Irish Pub, Ella Dining Room & Bar, Esquire Grill, Fat City Bar & Café, The Firehouse Restaurant, Frank Fat's, Grange Restaurant at The Citizen, Il Fornaio, L Wine Lounge & Urban Kitchen, Mason's New American, McCormick & Schmick's, The Melting Pot, Michelangelo's, Mikuni Midtown, Morgan's at The Sheraton, Mulvaney's B&L, Pilothouse at The Delta King, Rio City Café, River City Brewing Company, Sapporo Grill, Sofia on 11th, Spataro and Ten 22.