DID YOU get your fill at Silicon Valley Restaurant Week? The first-ever (but definitely not the last) event wrapped up last week. I was home with two sick kids most of the week, but judging by the happy chefs and managers I spoke to, almost everyone else in Silicon Valley ate quite well.

"Oh, my God," said Nick Vrignaud, manager of Saratoga's Sent Sovi. "We did huge, huge numbers." The small dining room seats about 30 people and typically does 50 covers on a good night. The restaurant did at least 50 each night of the weeklong event, and on Saturday the restaurant had 96 customers, possibly its biggest night ever.

Vrignaud said diners were out looking for bargains, and the event provided friends and family a chance to spend time together dining out. "With prices like that, there was no excuse not to," he said.

Over in Campbell, Twist Bistro did quite well, too. "It was outstanding," said chef and co-owner Dominique Faury. "I was packed every night. Let's do it again."

By the first day of the event, reservations were sold out for the entire week. Faury said that about 70 percent of his customers ordered from the prix fixe menu, but he was pleased with check averages because diners didn't skimp on wine and ordering additional dishes.

Response to his three-course meal was so good, he's continuing to offer it. Entree choices include hanger steak and fries, steamed Alaskan halibut and portobello Napoleon. "People are looking for deals all the time," he said. "That's what it's all about."

At Tapestry in Los Gatos, the owners were pleased that the weather cooperated so patrons could be seated on the outdoor patio. Otherwise the restaurant would have had to turn away diners as at nearby Nick's on Main.

Of course not every restaurant packed them in. "It was good but wasn't what I was expecting," said Adolfo Gomez, owner of Mezcal in downtown San Jose.

Even though he was offering four courses and a shot of Don Julio añejo tequila for $35, business was just average, he said. He figures because his prices are already reasonable, customers went to higher-priced restaurants like Alexander's Steakhouse, QUATTRO or Forbes Mill, where there was a perception of more bang for 35 bucks.

For the next Silicon Valley Restaurant Week, Metro Newspapers' CEO Dan Pulcrano, who spearheaded the event, is considering adding a two-tiered structure where higher-end restaurants would offer a prix fixe menu at one level and midpriced restaurants would offer a lower-priced menu.

As Restaurant Week moves forward, I hope it continues to bring out value-hungry diners, but also that it helps grow Silicon Valley's restaurant scene. A thriving food scene depends on two things: good restaurants and good diners.

Restaurant Week helps prime the pump by encouraging local diners to get out there and eat. Even some restaurant week participants were spotted checking out other restaurants. Some on the staff at Zitune in Los Altos ventured over to Parcel 104 in Santa Clara to see what was cooking. That kind of cross-fertilization can only benefit the local restaurant scene.

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