DENVER -- If your idea of upscale dining is getting a beer with your burger and fries, you need to think more upscale -- a value meal on another level. It's Restaurant Week, and for just over $26 per person, you can have meals that might cost a whole lot more some other time.

"We've got three starters, five entrees including the half-pound New York steak, four side dishes and a dessert," said Tom Moxcey, with Elway's Steakhouse.

Restaurant Week is a seven-day celebration of the culinary scene in Denver. For the entire week, participating restaurants will offer a multi-course dinner for the fixed price of $26.40 per person or $52.80 for a couple.

That magic number -- $52.80 isn't just for a great meal in the Mile High City. It also applies for restaurants in Parker, Golden, Lakewood, Greenwood Village and Boulder.

"The idea is to reward long-tome customers and bring newcomers in to give us a try," said Strings restaurant owner Noel Cunningham.

Strings has been around, it seems, forever. But the menu changes from time to time and Cunningham likes to show what the kitchen can do.

"Part of the idea is taking the mystique out of a great meal at a good place," said Cunningham.

Every day several hundred people come into Racine's for the meals and for good prices.

So what does $52.80 a couple get that's special?

"We want to make this a fun dining out kind of thing so the package includes dessert and we're throwing in a bottle of wine," said Lee Goodfriend, with Racine's.

Denver's Restaurant Week runs from Saturday, Feb. 2, through Friday, March 3.

More than 100 restaurants are participating. Menus vary widely. There are three courses, four courses, and even five courses available. Some even include a glass or bottle of wine.

The price does not include tax and tip, so with some of the money you're saving, why not tip generously?

More Information:

For more information on which restaurants are participating and what they're offering, go to DenverRestaurantWeek.com. You can check the restaurants and the menus. You'll also be directed to yet another Web site that handles reservations for many of the Metro area's upscale restaurants.