January can be a cruel time of the year for those in the restaurant business. Cold, blustery nights often translate into empty tables. Rather than stand around trying to stay warm, most restaurateurs figure out a promotion or two to enliven the room. Welcome to the winter edition of Restaurant Week. This time it seems large metropolitan areas are joined by outlying suburbs in establishing their own special promotions. Lots of choices.

The old philosophy of a week of deals has expanded and numerous businesses are opting for multiple weeks. Why not–do the numbers: People filling the tables paying $35 for a 3-course dinner or a lot of staff hanging around in anticipation of someone walking in the door.

As with prior Weeks, Open Table is a wonderful source of information. BTW, now is the time to make reservations, especially for the hot spots that fill up quickly, but recognize that the popularity of the “good deal” means that some cities, such as New York, hold off accepting reservations until closer to the actual start of the promotion.

Here are a few January morsels to help you plan your East Coast tastings (check out the sites as many offer reduced parking lot fees):

–Washington, DC, January 11-17; Numerous restaurants have already said they will continue the prix fixe menu beyond the official dates. Not every participating restaurant does both lunch and dinner specials.

–Philadelphia, January 17-22 and 24-29.

–Baltimore, January 22-February 7.

–New York, January 25-February 7.

Sorry, Boston travelers, you’ll have to wait til March or participate in the Dorchester-Milton Restaurant Week, January 17-31. Don’t worry there are plenty of West Coast promotions, too, such as San Diego (January 17-22).

The best strategy, to have the most fun with Restaurant Week, is to dine at restaurants you normally find unaffordable. Who knows, maybe you’ll become a regular.

That’s the hope.