Past restaurant weeks have brought a few DCists mixed results. Some of our experiences were great, while others — especially at some high-end restaurants — left something to be desired. We generally chalk that up not to food quality but to service — waitstaffs showing the symptoms of getting slammed with customers on normally slow nights. By dropping prices to $30.05 for three dinner courses, we’re sure area restaurants see Tuesday night crowds they aren’t accustomed to. Still, our negative experiences during Restaurant Week aren’t enough to put us off; as usual, the bad memories fade away and excitement about enjoying an awesome meal at the fraction of the usual price take their place.

This year, however, Restaurant Week seems to be serving up some extra confusion. A curious DCist reader asked us why dates on the Restaurant Week website were a week earlier than on OpenTable’s site. Simple enough — for some reason, last year’s graphic shows up on the D.C. Tourist Bureau’s site. But we’re still a little wary about OpenTable’s list of restaurants, especially since no formal announcement has been made. All we can confirm is that Restaurant Week will be taking place during the dog days of summer and some very nice restaurants appear to be participating.

If OpenTable’s list is correct — and we hope no restaurants mysteriously drop off — this DCist thinks its going to be a pretty tough choice. We’re dying to make the best use of the $30.05 prix fixe option and check out Taberna del Alabardero and Oceanaire, but it’s still too soon to book tables at the former, while the latter is showing that our desired seating times (anytime after 6 and before 9:30) are restricted by the restaurant. But the list is full of other great choices — like Sushi Ko, Colvin Run Tavern, and Ceiba. Still, we’d like confirmation from the Tourist Bureau as to the participating restaurants before making reservations. Let’s hope there’s enough time to make some good decisions.