L.A. loves to eat on the cheap; dineLA says fall Restaurant Week sets record

DineLA announced that its fall 2010 Restaurant Week has set a record, "providing the city a $5.2-million economic boost" during Oct. 3 to 8 and Oct. 10 to 15. The prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus offered by participating restaurants drew 158,000 diners, according to a release. 

Nearly 300 restaurants offered three-course lunch and dinner deals (priced at $16 to $44), making dineLA -- now in its sixth season -- the largest restaurant week in the country. 

"The program increased the number of participating restaurants by 28% and still increased the average estimated revenue for participating restaurants by 5.6%," says Mark Liberman, president and chief executive of L.A. Inc. (the Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau).

Estimated sales of $5.2 million are based on the number of dineLA-specific covers reported by each participating restaurant.  

"It was a great success for us," says chef Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose. "We had a full house every night ... And I'll tell you, it ain't like that every night. It was a great turnout."

The next Restaurant Week is scheduled for Jan. 23 to 28 and Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, 2011. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: A salmon dish by Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose. Credit: Mark Hanauer/For The Times.