Following this year’s successful launch of LA’s first-ever restaurant week, dineLA is pleased to announce that the second annual dineLA Restaurant Week will take place January 25-30 and February 1-6 in 2009. Presented by LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau in partnership with American Express, dineLA Restaurant Week unites restaurants from the traditional to the ultra trendy to give local foodies and visitors to LA the opportunity to indulge in a selection of specially priced three-course menus from a wide variety of LA’s best restaurants.

“The inaugural dineLA Restaurant Week far exceeded expectations with more than 100,000 consumers dining out at 143 participating restaurants,” said Mark Liberman, president and CEO of LA INC. “LA has become one of the premiere dining destinations in the world, and dineLA Restaurant Week offers Angelenos and area visitors the opportunity to experience LA’s talented chefs and original cuisine.”

Taking place over two consecutive weeks, dineLA Restaurant Week is the largest county-wide food event of the year that allows guests to sample many different types of cuisine, dining neighborhoods and restaurants. Dining experiences during the 2009 dineLA Restaurant Week will be available in three price categories: Deluxe Dining is $16 for lunch and $26 for dinner; Premier Dining is $22 for lunch and $34 for dinner, and Fine Dining is $28 for lunch and $44 for dinner (beverages, tax and gratuity are not included; participating meal periods vary by restaurant). Also, many of the participating restaurants will be offering wine pairings along with their special three-course dineLA Restaurant Week menu for an additional charge.

Not only does dineLA Restaurant Week highlight the extraordinary diversity and brilliant culinary expertise found throughout Los Angeles, but it also generates new and repeat business for the participating eateries which are certainly feeling the pinch in this economy. “dineLA Restaurant Week was a huge success and brought many new customers to us this year,” said Chef Ben Ford of Ford’s Filling Station. “The event really showcases the variety, creativity and quality of the LA restaurant scene, and we look forward to being involved again next year.”

"American Express is honored to help showcase the tremendous culinary talent of Los Angeles," said Tom Mullen, vice president of large market development, Los Angeles, American Express Merchant Services. "This is a great opportunity to sample the many excellent restaurants of the Los Angeles area, and we are delighted to continue our support of dineLA Restaurant Week."

ABOUT dineLA: dineLA is a dynamic marketing initiative between LA INC., American Express and the LA restaurant community to promote the scale and variety of LA restaurant and food experiences to locals and visitors. dineLA’s comprehensive Web site—www.dineLA.com—provides detailed information and search capabilities for over 2,000 area restaurants; chef profiles; a culinary events calendar; monthly enter-to-win giveaways; e-newsletter; online chef and restaurant videos; as well as engaging and timely editorial content. dineLA seeks to position Los Angeles among the top restaurant cities in the world and to build awareness, traffic and revenue for restaurants throughout the greater LA area. In addition, dineLA plays an active role promoting the LA restaurant scene year-round through involvement in industry events such as the LA Wine Fest, the Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert, and wine & dineLA. For more information, please visit: dineLA.com.