I think we’ve found a reason that some restaurants decided not to extend Summer Restaurant Week through Labor Day with the rest of the pack. It’s because they had some other, perhaps more imaginative, ideas up their sleeves. Take August (Bleecker b/t Charles & w. 10th) for example. August is celebrating the late summer harvest and regional European culinary and cultural festivals with a month of special menus and beverage selections it is calling “August at August”. This week (Aug 3-9) it’s London, Great Britain and the celebration of the Great British Beer Festival, the biggest beer festival in the world. August is featuring grilled bangers, braised lamb shoulder pie, monkfish n’ chips and several special beer selections. Check out the menu here (scroll down). Then there’s A Voce (Madison @ 26th), who in lieu of Restaurant Week, has come up with a prix-fixe lunch series based on the diverse regions of Italy. The 3-course, $29 menu will change every two weeks to cover a different region’s cuisine. First up, Sicilia, with menu items such as tonno crudo, rabbit sausage with cous cous, almonds and golden raisins and spaghetti with sardines. More specials, including Rock Center Cafe, Asiate and The Oak Room….Rock Center Cafe is taking advantage of tomato season by offering a special Tomato Festival menu, and is also offering a Nova Scotia Lobster Festival menu and a BBQ Dinner menu. While Asiate (The Mandarin Oriental) is no longer offering its Restaurant Week lunch menu, it is offering between 6-8pm through September 21st a special three-course Taste of Summer menu for $45, together with an optional $30 wine pairing. And while The Oak Room has decided to extend their Restaurant Week lunch prix-fixe, they didn’t stop there. The Oak Room in The Plaza Hotel is also offering a $45 3-course Pre-Theatre menu which is available Sunday through Saturday between 5:30-7pm. It features some great menu items, such as tomato & fennel soup with a robiola “grilled cheese” sandwich and a madai snapper with heirloom tomato salad & watermelon-crab beignets.

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