Roseville hosting its first Restaurant Week this week

Need a legit excuse to go to the Rosedale Mall other than seeing Avatar on IMAX? Well, here you go. It's Roseville Restaurant Week, and a number of Roseville-area restaurants are offering three-course meals for $25 through this Saturday. It's the first time the burb has organized the event, which is a lead-up to its third annual "Winter Jazz Blast" slated for Saturday.

Here are the 11 participating restaurants (NOTE: Many of them are at the Rosedale Mall or in a nearby hotel.):

• Axel's Charhouse, Radisson Hotel Roseville
• Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai, Rosedale Center
• Charley's on Centre Point, Courtyard by Marriott
• Chianti Grill
• Flame, Rosedale Center
• Good Earth
• Granite City Food & Brewery, Rosedale Center
• Green Mill, Rosedale Center
• Joe Senser's Sports Theater
• Old Chicago, HarMar Mall
• TGI Friday's

We recommend Axel's (Why is this place so underrated?), Flame (ditto), Good Earth (for pre-Avatar comfort food) or Granite City (good for post-Avatar redux). Chianti reportedly has a decent brunch.