Downtown Restaurant Week 2010

Entering Social is to immediately feel like you're no longer downtown. This sleepy European bar is the area's best-kept secret. Their gazpacho alone merits a visit, and thankfully it's an appetizer on both the $25 and $35 menus.

Far from the likes of Surin or Harry and Sons, Spoon is the hip, intelligent Thai choice for downtowners. There are vegan options on the menu that you?d never guess were vegan (trust us, get the pot stickers), and the curries are some of the best in Atlanta.

One of Atlanta's most outstanding French restaurants, FAB goes the cheaper route, offering only a $25 menu. Whatever, we'll take it. On it, you'll find the restaurant's fabulous steak frites and trout amandine. Anyone's who's been knows this is a helluva deal.

Yes, it's a Mexican restaurant, but it's unlike any other Mexican restaurant in Atlanta. It's in a cool `hood (Castleberry Hill), and it also boasts a cafe and hacienda. Restaurant Week is the time to delve into its higher-end fare (all on the special prix fixe menu), instead of placing your usual burrito order.

This NYC transplant got lost in the shuffle when it first arrived in Atlanta, but a year later it's recognized as one of our city's top steakhouses. The famous popovers, steaks sizzling with herb butter and cool setting in the elegant W Downtown will win you over, guaranteed.

Because sometimes there is an important game going on during Restaurant Week, we throw the sports set a bone with STATS, Concentric's splashy sports bar off Marietta. Sadly, the menu doesn't include beverages from the pour-your-own-beer table taps, but the flat screens and sports tickers make up for it.

Il Mulino, the highbrow NYC Italian transplant is formal dining at its best. Even though it's in the $35 camp, this is a complete steal compared to what it normally costs. And yes, the staff will still bring out that glorious, complimentary block of Parmesan to start the meal.

Room could have easily saddled the $35 price tag on the prix fixe menu, but instead went the $25 route. And for this, you get what (we think) is a near perfect masculine meal: fried mushrooms to start, hanger steak with potato gratin and hot chocolate cake for dessert.

This high-brow Pan-Asian spot on Marietta offers both a $25 and $35 menu. While there's a full-blown selection of steaks and sandwiches, we like this beautifully designed restaurant for its sushi, and the $25 prix fixe offers a chef's selection of the raw stuff.

Unfortunately, Max Lager's house-brewed beer doesn't accompany their $25 fixed menu. However, its culinary options lured us in with comfort favorites like pecan-crusted catfish, buttermilk fried chicken, sharp cheddar grits and green tomato chow chow.