With restaurants fiercely competing for customers, 2010 was a banner year for dining deals, with dollar sandwiches, two-dollar combos, Two for $20 dining, and even, in one notable case, a free meal for every customer.  In fact, the EatDrinkDeals staff had a tough time limiting our list to 10, but after much deliberation, here is our list of the Top 10 Dining Deals of 2010.

Number One Dining Deal for 2010 is The Upscale Happy Hour, exemplified by Best Happy Hour of 2010, McCormick & Schmick’s.

Happy Hour is no longer limited to the neighborhood bar.   Now you can find Happy Hour deals at the finest restaurants, such as Flemings, Mortons, and McCormick & Schmick’s.  You can enjoy fine dining at these upscale places for around $10 by ordering at the bar during happy hour.  Many mid-scale and family restaurant chains also added happy hour menus in 2010.

There were many other great deals in 2010 as well.  Here’s our complete list of the Top 10 Dining Deals for 2010, followed by some honorable mentions that just missed the Top 10.

1. Upscale Happy Hours.  Get Oysters Rockefeller for $4.95 (McCormick & Schmick’s), Prime Burger for $6 (Fleming’s), Crab Cakes for $4.50 (The Palm),  Filet Mignon Sandwich for $7 (Morton’s), and dozens of other deals.  Complete details in the companion story on our home page.
2. Denny’s Free Grand Slam.  Denny’s restaurants served a free Grand Slam Breakfast to about 2 million customers on Tuesday, Feb. 9. No coupons required, no conditions.  “We know that times are tough and a free hot breakfast helps a lot of folks and their families,” said a Dennys spokesman. Dennys made the same free offer in 2009. Will they repeat in 2011?  The 2010 giveaway was announced in a Super Bowl commercial, so be on the lookout.  Our 2010 story is at THIS LINK.
3. Taco Bell’s $2 Combo.  Taco Bell upped the ante in the fast food wars by announcing the only $2 combo among the major fast food chains.  For $2 you get a modest but complete meal – a taco or burrito, Doritos, and a regular soda. More details in our story at THIS LINK.
4. Arby’s Value Menu.  Arby’s launched a new Value Menu at its 3,700 restaurants, clearly in competition with dollar menus at the big three: McDonald’s, Burker King, and Wendy’s, which have their own dollar or 99-cent menus.  Arby’s calls their value menu the “Starting at $1 Value Menu” since franchise owners at some Arby’s charge a few cents more than a dollar for some items.  But at most Arby’s, a flat $1.00 will get you a Jr. Roast Beef sandwich, which we found to be a great bargain.  More details in our story at THIS LINK.
5. Restaurant gift card bonuses.  Most of the major restaurant chains gave gift card discounts for the holidays, like this one from Outback: buy a $100 gift card, get a $20  bonus gift card.  More details in our story at THIS LINK.
6. Restaurant Week.  This annual event allows you to visit the finest restaurants for a special price, usually around $20 for lunch or $25-$30 for dinner.  2011 looks to be an even bigger year for Restaurant Week.  EatDrinkDeals has links to 68 restaurant week events across the country.  More details at THIS LINK.
7. Two for $20 dinners.  Two respectable meals for $20 was a popular deal in 2010 and is currently still offered at Applebee’s, Chili’s, Lone Star, and other places.  It’s hard to pick the best of the lot.  See the deals for yourself at these links:
   • Applebee’s
   • Chili’s
   • Lone Star
   • In addition, O’Charley’s broke the mold with a Two for $14.99 dinner.
8. Subway Breakfast.  Subway entered the breakfast market in 2010 with a $2.50 combo that is still going on.  More details in our story at THIS LINK.
9. Valentines Dinner at Waffle House. Waffle House served up romantic Valentines Dinners in 2010 at select locations, and we expect will do so again in 2011.  And for the truly cheap, Waffle House provided a free Valentines e-card.   Details in our story at THIS LINK.
10. Rounding out the top 10 was this sweet deal: Free Donuts for National Donut Day.  This comes on the first Friday of June each year.   Donut Day was created to honor the Salvation Army, which served countless donuts to soldiers in wartime.  In 2010, national chains like Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme  gave out a free donut to customers.  We’re hoping for a repeat in 2011. Our story on this was at THIS LINK.

Other notable dining out deals during the year, in no particular order, were:

• Red Lobster’s Seafood Celebrations.  The seafood chain had great deals at its LobsterFest, Shrimpfest, Crabfest, and other events throughout the year.
• Denny’s Value Menu. Get $2 pancakes, $4 Fried Cheese Melt platter, $6 Nacho Salad, $8 Fried Shrimp platter, and more choices.  Details at THIS LINK.
• Endless lunch deals (free refills) were offered at Olive Garden, IHOP, Red Lobster, On the Border, and other places.
• BOGO at Maggiano’s.  Buy one pasta dinner, get one to take home.  Details at THIS LINK.

That’s it for 2010.  Here’s hoping that 2011 brings even better Eat Drink Deals.