Few things can get loyal Manhattanites, whether foodies or not, to hike out to Brooklyn. However, for one week in March this year (24th through 31st), as part of the "Dine in Brooklyn" event, over 175 different restaurants offer enticing, three-course, prix-fixe meals for a mere $23-- sure to have epicurians from Manhattan, and every other outer borough, flocking to Brooklyn to sample its culinary offerings.

In the fifth and biggest year of Brooklyn Restaurant Week, and with so many places to choose from, psychoPEDIA has narrowed it down to these options that are sure to please your palate:

Rose Water
Where: Park Slope
What: Seasonal American
Why: This Park Slope restaurant from former Savoy chef, John Tucker, delivers a menu that offers only the freshest in seasonally-available, locally-grown, and mostly organic ingredients. Highlights of the prix-fixe menu, which comes with an option of a $14 wine pairing, include appetizers like cauliflower soup with smoked shitake mushrooms, or fried clams with ravigote sauce and pickled celery; entrees such as early spring risotto with pea shoots, nettles, preserved lemon and poached egg, or roast chicken under a brick with cider-glazed turnips, hazelnut faro, and pickled onion. Desserts include a chocolate banana tart and cornmeal apricot cookies. With its cozy candlelit living-room-like space, and limited amount of seating–- reservations are encouraged.

Korhogo 126
Where: Carroll Gardens
What: Nouvelle African/French
Why: Formerly known as Bouillabaisse 126, this once strictly French bistro now offers the fusion styling of West African and Senegalese cuisine thanks to its executive chef, Abdhul Traore (a native of the Ivory Coast, from which the restaurant’s new moniker was derived, who honed his skills in the Lower East Side’s Les Enfant Terrible) and owner Emmanuelle Chiche. While the dine-in prix-fixe menu changes daily, some favorite menu options to be anticipated are: cod fritters, Escargot Kedjenou, and steak tartare with harissa for starters; and for entrees, an Ivory Coast seafood stew, a roasted chicken yassa with West-African onion sauce, and of course, the bouillabaisse.

Five Front
Where: DUMBO
What: American Nouveaux
Why: Located directly below the Brooklyn Bridge and neighboring the Fulton Ferry Landing, Five Front provides a stunning waterfront view, in addition to its cozy outdoor bamboo garden. With a menu that focuses on American-style comfort foods, the prix-fixe offerings for the week include spring English pea soup, oil-braised artichoke, or duck sausage, and entrees from pan-roasted baby hen, to speck-wrapped cod with crushed red bliss potatoes, or goat cheese ravioli. And not to forget the final course, classic desserts like warm chocolate cake or trios of ice creams or sorbets top off the meal.

Aurora Ristorante
Where: Williamsburg
What: Italian
Why: The original Williamsburg outpost of this rustic restaurant from Gaspare Villa later opened its doors in SoHo to offer more of its Tuscan-inspired, traditional Italian cuisine to Manhattan dwellers. Offering a precise selection this Restaurant Week, prix-fixe choices allow for one of three options for each of the courses: starters–- i cavolfiori (roasted organic cauliflower salad with melted cherry tomatoes), il polipo (char-grilled octopus with potatoes and fried capers), il maiale (pork belly with cipollini onions and apple salad); entrees–- i ravioli (sheep’s milk ricotta and wild mushroom-filled ravioli), le capesante (seared diver scallops with chickpeas, tomato ragu, and Mediterranean salsa), le quaglie (grilled organic quail with mushroom ferroto and pomegranate vinaigrette); and desserts–- la pannacotta (Tahitian vanilla beans panna cotta with fresh berries and balsamic vinegar), la torta di cioccolato (flourless chocolate cake), and l'affogato al café (vanilla & chocolate truffle ice cream and hazelnuts with a shot of espresso).

Le Petit Marche
Where: Brooklyn Heights
What: French
Why: Toting the slogan, “a place you can call your maison,” this Brooklyn Heights bistro from a husband and wife team Daniella and Igor Silone was garnering buzz even before its opening just over two years ago and continues to serve palate-pleasing French home-style cuisine. The three-course prix-fixe, which varies daily from its traditional a la carte menu, allows for your choice from three different hors d’oeuvres (which could include options like goat cheese tarts, corn dusted fried oysters, or country style pate), three entrees (pan seared duck magret with chestnut puree port and bacon-braised brussel sprouts, or maybe almond crusted skate wing–- with red watercress, hand crushed potatoes, in an apple cider reduction), and two desserts (with possibilities including Hawaiian chocolate soufflé cake, apricot frangipane tart, or pecan and dried cherry bread pudding with cinnamon gelato).

Madiba
Where: Fort Greene
What: South African
Why: Having its original station in Fort Greene, and since opening a second outpost in South Beach, Madiba pays homage to the former South African President and civil rights leader Nelson Mandela and serves traditional South African fare (as reflective of that served in the country's township dining halls) both in its cuisine and “community” style ambiance. With a large 2,500 square-foot space, Madiba also focuses on bringing in a host of various entertainers and musicians to promote a feel of South African music and culture fused with the dining experience. Special prix-fixe options for the week are: for starters, a house favorite Shebeen Salad or Durban samoosas; entrees including Durban bunny chow (saucy chicken curry with a selection of sambals), or Bobotie (curried mince bake with egg custard topping, served with yellow rice and raisins), and for dessert, a traditional malva pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Zenkichi
Where: Williamsburg
What: Japanese
Right in the heart of the Williamsburg hubbub on North 6th Street is this anomalous Japanese restaurant that allows for one of the most intimate and satisfying meals that comes, literally, at the touch of a button (or bell, on the corner of each table, which alerts the waiters to your every need). With its maze of private booths to allow for utmost privacy, dimly-lit and zen-inspiring atmosphere, and meticulously prepared experimental dishes, Zenkichi is anything but your typical take-out sushi spot. Not-to-be-missed offerings for the prix-fixe special include a choice of chilled plate: maguro (tuna) carpaccio or a sweet duck salad; choice of a grilled plate: saikyo black cod or free-range rocksalt jidori chicken; and a dessert, including the popular frozen black sesame mousse.


Second & sixth photos by Robert K Chin
Third photo via Gothamist
Fourth photo, courtesy of Korhogo 126
Fifth photo via eatery ROW
Seventh photo, courtesy of Aurora Ristorante
Eighth photo via Foodist Colony
Ninth & tenth photos, courtesy of Le Petit Marche
Eleventh photo by spreetaper via Flickr
Twelfth photo by omphale44 via Flickr
Thirteenth photo via Free Williamsburg
Fourteenth photo by Alba via Flickr