august 15-18 and 20-25

Maybe, ideally, you're out on a Cape beach enjoying the last burst of summer sun. Or, maybe, you're not and are stuck in Boston traffic singing "Hot town, summer in the city" to yourself, cursing fate. Hey, treat yourself, your family. Boston restaurateurs know this is a slow time for business and to drum it up 131 of them - restaurants in Boston and its environs - are offering three-course prix fixe lunches at $20.06 and three-course prix fixe dinners at $30.06.

It's part of Boston Restaurant Week (Aug 15-18 and 20-25), which is a bit of a misnomer. In this, the third year of the promotion, it's expanded to 12 days.

"They've been successful," says Pia Proal, co-promoter of the co-sponsoring Restaurant Review. (The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau and various corporate sponsors are involved, too.) "Through consensus, when they did their planning, a lot of the restaurants wanted to extend it. It gives people the opportunity they couldn't have gotten last year to go out and try something new or visit an old favorite. It's a great value. I booked three or four." Lots of well-known spots like Rialto, Harvest, Luminere, The Blue Room, Aura and 29 Newbury are involved.

Get the full details, menus, etc. at restaurantweekinfo.com or call 508-337-8520. (Note: Some restaurants are even extending this through Labor Day Weekend.)