Eating out in San Francisco may feel a bit more accessible for the next week or so.

State of play: Restaurant Week, which begins today and runs through April 19, gives diners a chance to try some of the city's best restaurants at lower prices — with prix-fixe menus ranging from as low as $10 for lunch or brunch and up to $90 for dinner.

• Here are some of my top picks:

🍕 Fiorella (various locations)

Do it for the pizza, do it for the cocktails, do it for that famously delicious, housemade buttermilk ranch dressing — really, there's no reason not to do it. The $25 brunch and $45 dinner menus are a steal.

🍷 Bon Délire (Embarcadero)

Get yourself those moules-frites (and maybe that second glass of rosé) because this $35 lunch will leave you with the sudden urge to text someone, "we should move to Paris."

🥘 Gumbo Social (Bayview)

A $15 lunch gets you a gumbo and po'boy combo that feels like a warm hug with hot sauce. Need we say more?

🥧 Violet's (Richmond)

This neighborhood staple leans into comfort with $35 brunch, $45 lunch and $75 dinner menu options, making it a great spot for a weekday meal.

🍣 KAIYŌ (South Beach)

Nikkei cuisine at its finest, where Japanese and Peruvian flavors come together in the most deliciously balanced ways. A $75 dinner introduces you to favorites like anticuchos and causa, plus Peruvian sushi and more.

🍖 A16 (Marina)

If you have to be in the Marina, then go to A16. Their menus lean into seasonal Italian cooking — think rustic-but-refined dishes, plus pizza that will make you feel like you just got back from a trip to Naples.

🐟 Bar Crudo (Nopa)

There's a reason this longtime spot on Divisadero Street continues to draw long lines two decades after opening. Anyone who loves seafood knows how expensive it can get, so a $75 dinner menu starts to feel like a good deal.

🍛 Copra (Fillmore)

If you haven't been sold on Indian cuisine yet, let this Fillmore-based restaurant convince you. A $90 menu gets you four courses and an experience you'll never forget.

More options

Speaking of food, NASA sent five hot sauce varieties on Artemis II, deeming the spicy staple an essential item. Even in space, flavor matters.

• Tabasco, Sriracha, Cholula, Frank's RedHot and Heinz Hot Taco Sauce are all along for the ride, according to Victoria Segovia, a spokesperson at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Spicy, bold condiments can boost flavor for astronauts, whose sense of smell is impaired in microgravity due to "fluid shifts — similar to having mild congestion — which can dull flavor perceptions," Segovia told Axios.

• Wasabi and Louisiana Hot Sauce are also popular on the International Space Station, PBS notes.

🚀 What we're watching: The Artemis II crew is set to land in the waters off San Diego today at 5pm after their 10-day mission around the moon. Stream it live here.

🏗️ The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) dropped its endorsement of state Sen. Scott Wiener in the congressional race to succeed Rep. Pelosi, backing Supervisor Connie Chan instead due to Wiener's opposition to a proposed tax on highly paid CEOs. (SF Chronicle)

• ➡️ Meanwhile, Wiener is proposing to pay cities $10,000 for each new housing unit built to encourage more development. (SF Standard)

💰President Trump is asking for $152 million in the 2027 congressional budget to restore Alcatraz. (LA Times)

• Go here to read our coverage of what The Rock's reopening would mean for SF.

⛲ In a rebuke of preservationists' efforts to block its removal, a judge ruled this week that the city can proceed with dismantling the Vaillancourt Fountain at Embarcadero Plaza. (Chronicle)

The family of Samantha Emge, a 22-year old SFSU graduate who was fatally shot by her boyfriend last month, disputes that the shooting was accidental after alleging a history of troubling behavior in the relationship. (Chronicle)

👀 Local chain Philz Coffee plans to remove Pride flags from all of its cafés, though it's unclear when they'll be taken down. (SF Gazetteer)

The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off this weekend — another great excuse to visit Japantown.

• Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka will serve as the parade's grand marshal this year. (I'm actually SO sad to miss her! Please allow me to live vicariously through you).

What to expect: The festival, which began in 1968 to celebrate the Japanese American community and the U.S.-Japan alliance, now spans two full weekends with much to see and do — think calligraphy lessons, bonsai displays, karate demos, tea ceremonies, Kyogen comedy, Japanese swordsmanship and more.

• You'll find the arts and crafts area on Post Street, but don't miss the main stage performances at Japantown's Peace Plaza.
• The parade begins 1pm Sunday at the Civic Center Plaza before proceeding up Polk Street.

If you go: 11am this weekend and next in Japantown.

The weekend is nearly here — cue the cleaning, shopping, errands and clocking in Monday feeling like you didn't get to chill at all.

🥲 That AI-enabled four-day work week can't come fast enough.

• But hey, at least we've got our Friday news quiz to take the edge off.

👏 Special shoutout to Sophie H. for being the first to share her perfect score last week!

• About 62% of you went 3/3 last time, so let's see if we can up the challenge.

Click here to flex that knowledge.

📩 As always, reply to us with a screenshot of your perfect score for a shoutout in next week's newsletter!