Restaurant Week: 'Yay!' or 'Meh?'

Boston Restaurant Week is in full swing (it's from Aug. 19 to Aug. 24 and Aug. 26 to Aug. 31, which actually makes it two weeks), and Somerville, it seems, isn't that into it.

Somerville has one restaurant participating in Restaurant Week—. By comparison, Cambridge has 22 restaurants participating; Newton has five and Arlington, next door, has four.

Meanwhile, it seems almost everyone— chefs, diners and restaurant owners—loves to gripe about Restaurant Week.

The Atlantic Cities website has an article titled, "Why Restaurant Week Won't Die, Despite the Haters." It paints a picture of chefs phoning in menus of low quality, stingy "amateur eaters" stiffing waiters on tips and owners who lose money by participating.

Here in Boston, Boston.com has an article about how local chefs have struggled with rising food prices when preparing Restaurant Week menus.

What do you think? Is Restaurant Week a fun event you look forward to, or is it a waste of everyone's time and money? Are you a diner who's had a great or awful experience at Restaurant Week? Or, maybe you're in the restaurant business and have an opinion about it?

Do you wish more Somerville restaurants participated, or don't you care?