OK, it’s obvious I’m concentrating a little too hard on 4th of July feasting, but after the fireworks, the dining out works begin. Yes, summer restaurant weeks make dining out so much more fun and even adventurous. This is the time you can treat yourself to a restaurant you might otherwise panic about over price. Now lunch and dinner multi-course meals are attainable. What a perfect solution for staycation outings or mini travel trips to a restaurant you’ve had on the radar but then you got economized!

Open Table, my favorite online booking agent, makes these reservations a snap. First you choose your city, select its restaurant week, drool over the options, and make a reservation. If you are uncertain, go to the individual restaurant web site for more information.

Now for the fine print: If you are dining out at a new spot, get the buzz on its performance during prior restaurant weeks. You do not want to support a place that has the habit of tweaking its menu down for what will be a popular week. Check with local food bloggers to get the buzz on past restaurant week experiences. Fortunately, that negative marketing strategy is becoming less frequent as most restaurants get it: Take good care of a diner and they’ll probably come back! If you’re day tripping for a fine meal consider going to yelp for a heads up.

The big lesson: Reserve now even if the event does not begin for several weeks. This is a popular program and one worth taking advantage of. Not every participating restaurant in every city lists via Open Table, go to the sponsoring organization and find a complete list. Remember some restaurants do both the 3-course lunch and dinner menus. Not all participate in every aspect.

Look at New York City for instance. In classic Danny Meyer style, you can dine and help the less fortunate. Three of his restaurants, Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, and Eleven Madison Park will donate part of their lunch proceeds to benefit the city’s hunger relief organization, City Harvest. Unfortunately, Gramercy is already booked for its July 13th week. All hope is not lost: Three of their other restaurants are participating in the general program.

Here’s a few other cities planning summer events: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, and Charlottesville. Check out the dates, plan the adventures. Hurry, there’s a lot of eating to do.

BTW, Have a great 4th weekend!