The menus are posted and the excitement is building for Orange County Restaurant Week, March 8-14 at 150 dining destinations, a quarter of them in Irvine. Diners can visit new restaurants, revisit favorites and explore culinary themes at the 17th annual event.

“OC Restaurant Week has never been just about specially priced menus,” says Pamela Waitt, president of the Orange County Restaurant Association and founder of the event. “It’s about dining out and connecting with family and friends.”

The official website (ocrestaurantweek.com) allows users to filter participating restaurants and menus by price range and cuisine type as well as location.

Ten special themes include date night, vegetarian and wine lovers – consider Hijinx Hotel and Holey Moley Golf Club, Little Sister and Cucina Enoteca, respectively, at Irvine Spectrum Center – as well as girls’ night out at Puesto Los Olivos.

Enjoy a $15 lunch at Pepper Lunch for do-it-yourself Japanese teppanyaki or Georgia’s for soul-delicious Southern cuisine at Irvine Spectrum Center.

For $99, Warehouse 72, the fine dining room at the Hyatt Regency Irvine, offers an elaborate four-course dinner tasting menu with elevated wine pairings; think seared scallops, duck breast, dry-aged New York strip steak and Caymus cabernet sauvignon.