As a San Francisco food lover, I always look forward to January when Dine Around Town gives us all a chance to eat out at some great restaurants without breaking the bank. Recently, these sorts of deals, and the sponsored events that make them possible have started to spring up at other times of the year.

Case in point: the Dine Out With Visa promotion that starts today in San Francisco. Roughly fifty restaurants are offering special four-course meals for $54.95 if you ask for the “special menu” and you pay with your Visa.

Be aware that many of these restaurants will not post the menu, or offer it to you as you sit down, you have to ask. Of course they’re supposed to, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen.

The list of participating restaurants isn’t stellar, but there are some decent ones on the list. In order of preference, the restaurants that I think happen to be worth dining at (this is, of course, without having seen the menus that they’re offering) are:

Scott Howard
Ana Mandara
Le Colonial
Frisson
Big 4 Restaurant
XYZ at W Hotel
Faz
Maya

Check out the full details of the promotion. I’ll see you out on the town.