I get plenty of press releases about $100+ dinners. But really good deals are hard to find when it comes to dining and more desirable now than ever. For the next couple of months I'm going to try to focus on events under $40. We'll see how it goes...

Dine About Town, the annual dining promotion sponsored by the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau is back! In a traditionally slow restaurant season it offers a good way to try a pricey restaurant for less than you might normally pay. Three course lunches are $21.95 and three course dinners are $34.95. Just a few of the restaurants on the list I highly recommend include Foreign Cinema, Luella, Anchor & Hope, RNM, Absinthe, Ducca and 1550 Hyde. But make your reservations now, because popular restaurants get very busy during this promotion, especially on the weekends.

A particularly good deal is Macy's Dine About Town launch party. Your $20 donation to Meals on Wheels gets you 10 tasting tickets which you can use to sample offerings from some of the Dine About Town participating restaurants, namely Café Andree, Campton Place Restaurant, Chez Papa Resto, Colibri Mexican Bistro, Daffodil, Fish & Farm, First Crush, Level III, Market Street Grill, Roots, and XYZ.

What: Dine About Town launch party

Where: The Cellar @ Macy's Union Square, 170 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco

When: January 14, 2009 at 6 p.m.

How: Purchase tickets. Note that tickets must be purchased in advance; bring your printed confirmation to exchange for tasting tickets at the event. Space is limited.

Why: At the party you will meet Dine About Town featured chefs, enjoy a cooking demonstration by Jake des Voignes, executive chef at Fish & Farm, moderated by “the tablehopper” Marcia Gagliardi and taste Napa Valley wines and receive a keepsake "Only in San Francisco" wine glass.

With talk of an economic downturn people may be tightening their belts a bit. Not surprisingly, restaurants are trying to make eating out more enticing with special deals. Here's a round up of deals, just be sure to check with each restaurant before dining since these offers do come and go...

Dine About Town is back! From June 1 - 15th the now bi-annual event features prix fixe deals for lunch and dinner at San Francisco restaurants, specifically a 3-course lunch for $21.95 or dinner for $31.95. Restaurants include Bushi-tei, Campton Place, Fringale and Roy's. Check out the Dine About Town site for details and a list of all the participating restaurants.

Castro stalwart 2223 hosts $12 Tuesday when starters are $6 and entrees are $12. Choose from comfort dishes such as Classic Mashed Potatoes, Southern Fried Chicken Salad or Braised Pork Shoulder in Salsa Rojo. The menu has 4 starters and 5 entrees choices.

Brave the bad parking on Russian Hill! 1550 Hyde has an award-winning wine list and is offering $10 off any bottle of wine priced $40 or higher. They have plenty of wines under $40 as well.

Nick's Crispy Tacos, chosen by 7x7 magazine readers for "best meal under $15" hosts $2 Taco Tuesdays from 5 until 9pm. Tacos, quesadillas or chips, salsa and guacamole are only $2 each. $2 happy hour menu includes domestic beers, well drinks and margaritas.

For prix fixe deals we turned to Kevin Blum of SF City Dish. Kevin's weekly newsletter, web site and dining card offer great deals and discounts at restaurant citywide and beyond. Here's what he uncovered for us:

Civic Center favorite Indigo restaurant hosts a nightly Ultimate Wine Dinner. Guest may choose one appetizer, one entrée, one dessert and drink freely for the evening from a select choice of wines. That's right, it is an all-you-can-drink dinner. Guests must arrive after 8 p.m. The dinner is $49.

Nob Hill brasserie Rue Saint Jacques restaurant is offering a three-course menu and a glass of wine for $23 every day from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Guests can take their choice of appetizers (soupe du jour or pâté du jour), a choice of main course (New York steak or moules frites) and a choice of a dessert (crème brûlée or mousse au chocolat). Rue Saint Jacques, 1098 Jackson St. at Taylor St., San Francisco, CA 94133, 415-776-2002.

On Russian Hill Luella has a spiffy prix-fixe menu that includes its addictive romaine, radicchio, and watercress salad with Gorgonzola and walnuts that has a fan club of its own. But then you have to turn down the baked mussels with bacon over mashed potatoes! Oh, decisions. Their roasted pork loin with pancetta-braised cabbage is then followed with a vanilla and fresh mint crème brûlée. All this for $26, which means you can splurge on one of their wines from their well-chosen list of unique vintages. Available Monday-Thursday 5:30 p.m.-6:30pm.

South of Market Supperclub which describes itself as offering "an innovative multi-sensory fine dining experience" is doing a 3-course prix fixe that includes entertainment as well as dining in bed, for $35 every Tuesday.

In Palo Alto, La Strada is hosting regional Italian wine tastings. Chef Donato Scotti will pair sultry wines with light bites inspired by different regions of Italy. Enjoy the evening in a convivial and relaxed atmosphere on La Strada's open-air patio. 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. $20 per person; includes wine and appetizers.

Fior D'Italia celebrates their 123rd year in business, America's oldest Italian restaurant by offering a Special Prix Fixe Menu (all summer long) for just $18.86.

The traditional, 3-course menu includes a choice of first course salad, Serra Mista or Caesar Salad a second course pasta entree, Lasagna al forno, Ravioli, Cannelloni, Gnocchi alla Piemontese, Fettucini Alfredo, Tagliatella Bolognese, Tortellini alla Panna, or Trenette al Pesto and choice of dessert, Tiramisu, Sorbet, or Gelato.

The restaurant list for the 7th Annual Dine About Town has been announced. Dine About Town (DAT) was designed seven years ago to allow customers to try out new restaurants around the city at a reasonable deal. Modeled after restaurant weeks in cities such as New York, DAT features a fixed price lunch and dinner at over 100 restaurants throughout San Francisco. This year, DAT will take place from January 15 - 31.

For a three-course, preset meal, you will pay $21.95 for lunch and $31.95 for dinner at any of the participating restaurants.

Food enthusiasts around the city make a sport out of trying to find the best deals and the best meals that can be had during Dine About Town. While restaurants will continue to be added to the DAT list until opening day on January 15, the current restaurant list features some participants that seem to be good deals or to have interesting menus:

Absinthe (lunch)
Aziza (dinner)
Bacar (dinner)
Big 4 (lunch/dinner)
One Market (lunch/dinner)
Sens (lunch/dinner)

Chowhounds warn of spending more on a DAT meal than you would normally spend at a restaurant for a comparable meal. Examples of this are Chou Chou, Scott Howard, 1550 Hyde and Le Charm -- many of which have year-round prix fixe meals for slightly less than the DAT price. An additional tip: when finding DAT deals, check out the actual prix fixe menu. Some restaurants relegate their most boring, pedestrian dishes to the DAT menu, unfortunately.

The rules of Dine About Town:

* You must pay with Visa.
* You must tell the server that you'd like the Dine About Town deal when you arrive.
* The best DAT deals fill up quickly so make a reservation.
* All meals are preset and three courses.