DAT: does it accomplish its goal?

I wonder if DAT is generally better in lesser known places rather than the "big boys" of restaurants for whom it might be seen as more of a burden to serve those seeking a 4 star experience on the cheap...where as to some of the others it can be used as a way to promote or even repair their reputation as a quality place.

I had what I thought was a good experience at Jiannas...others seem to have had mediocre to bad experiences at Postrio, Boulevard, Aqua...
However all this said I am still tempted to try some of those bigger/trendier restaurants for a mediocre DAT meal just to check out the atmosphere...
One cannot rule out atmosphere as it can sometimes be a seperate experience from the food experience(i.e. people dont go to the tonga room for the food...but they still go)

Expectations go a long way to defining ones experience at a restaurant... futhermore rudeness and condescension can ruin anyones experience anywhere...although anyone who knows Ed Debeveks in Chicago knows that even that can be built into ones expectations.

Bottom line is that when I go to a restaurant I am looking for a good experience(which is very subjective) that meets or exceeds my very subjective expectations. From what I have read so far from others I will wait to go to Boulevard when I am prepared to throw down serious coin...As far as Aqua goes I dont think I even want to go at all, I dont need the attitude...

The purpose of the DAT(Dine Around Town) program is to drive customer traffic, period. In a time, seasonally, where business is slower it seemed like a good idea to encourage potential customers to get out there and try something new, or visit an old favorite with the enticement of a bargain meal. For the business operator it is yin and yan. Is it possible to make it pay for itself? Can that many more customers make up for the loss in margin (which is very thin and nearly non-existent)?

I doubt if any DAT establishments are losing money on the promo meals.

Why does everyone think restaurants - even expensive ones - are always making tons of money??

Do you not have any idea what the raw ingredients cost to put together? Specialty ingredients at high end restaurants are extremely expensive. Half of the items i sell at my restaurant do not make food cost margins. I serve them only because i love to be able to use those ingredients. Truffles - not a money maker for any price people would be willing to pay. I serve them, because in my naive opinion I think the customer wants to eat them. Whether some menu items are esoteric or not - some people love them, and are happy to have them at my restaurant.

Do you not know what it costs to pay people to prepare them? San Francisco is a tough labor market. It is expensive to live here, - which is why even some of the wealthier "dot-comers", etc., have bailed town. So if i want people with some care and passion to prepare food, I have to pay them enough to live here.

Everyone knows the rent in SF isn't cheap, and it hasn't gotten any cheaper. Designers, plates, flatware, PG&E, waiters, hosts, wine - high end wine has a smaller markup, all of these are extremely expensive.

This business isn't easy to make any money in at all. Thus all of the closings over the past few years.

We restauranteurs and chefs do a promotion like DAT not to make any immediate money. We do it to show our guests what it is that we do. Hopefully they have enjoyed the experience and will come back to dine again when the promotion is over. DAT has made my restuarant very busy. 85% of our guests dine on the DAT menu. This is great, I'm happy to have them try our experience. But are we making any money on it - NO! It's written off to advertising and PR. The items we offer on the DAT menu are the same as we offer on our ALA carte menu - no difference at all. Do you think I could possibly charge half the price of what I usually sell something for and even potentially make a profit on it? There is no way.

Dine about town is a bargain. I hope you enjoy your experiences at the restaurants participating. Tell you friends about the places you've eaten, and feel very good about getting your money's worth.

Has it occurred to you that when 85% of your business is DAT customers, you might have a problem? If you can't put together a decent meal for $30, and make a profit, you need help.

did you not read my message at all???

if I had $30 to spend on a DAT meal for raw ingredients, that would be super. I would then have to charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $95 to even potentially make any money on it. And when we do talk about making money in this business, it ends up being a few cents on the dollar after everything else is said and done.

And , HELLO, there is a problem! Restaurants are dropping like flies left and right. Big problem! Who's making money? Everyone's just trying to stay in business. That's where this whole DAT thing is from anyway. Otherwise why would we drop our prices if business was already great. It's not - and it's not only my restaurant it's every restaurant in town. We are all fighting to maintain our market share - in which the market is dwindling every day.

All I'm saying is to enjoy it - it IS a bargain. We sell what would otherwise be a $55 meal for $29. It is a good deal. It is not an immediate money making proposition. We hope you come back.

[The Chowhound Team]

Hey, guys...not worth getting hot under the collar about. We're living in stressful times, and Chowhound's here for your leisure time enjoyment. If you feel your dander raising, why not just move on and let things drop? Consider that happy postings about really great dumplings and pizza are just a few clicks away!

Would you mind emailing me your restaurant name. I am always on the lookout for a good meal...If anything hopefully I will get more exposure to the restaurants that are really good...

You are very wrong, my friend.

I would guess it works, based on the number of posts here of people who have never tried the restaurants beforehand. NY's restaurant week came out of essentially filling unused seats during the summer and later the winter.

It's up to the restaurants to take advantage of what's essentially a marketing promotion and make sure that diners have a good enough experience at a discount that they'll want to return and tell friends at full price. That's why extremely limited or unimaginative menus that make you lust after the "real" entrees are foolish.

The lunch business is a little different than dinner, I think. Most of us don't consider a $20 lunch a bargain, and unlike NY, this isn't a city of expense account business lunches. I expect a $20 lunch to be something special; moreso than a $30 dinner.