Restaurant Week Is Here
Ladies and gentlemen, start your appetites. Nary a snowflake has fallen yet here in Center City Philadelphia, but it’s already time for the winter installment of Restaurant Week.
You know the drill, folks—from January 28 to February 2, 2007 over 100 Center City restaurants will offer a minimum of 3 courses for only $30.
A list of participating restaurants and their menus can be found here (including the newly-opened Xochitl [pronounced “so-cheet”]). Many restaurants allow you to make reservations through Open Table.
If you have any particularly enjoyable (or disappointing) Restaurant Week experiences this time around, feel free to talk about them here in the comments.
4 comments:
We went to Red Sky last night and I'd like to give you a full report, but I can't. We arrived at 5 minutes to 7pm for a 7pm reservation and we're told it would 20 minutes for our table, no problem it's restaurant week and their busy 20-30 minutes to wait is nothing. After standing in a cold dark hallway for 75 minutes I returned to the host and asked how much longer? I was told 20 minutes that there were several tables ahead of me and they're very busy, so we left. Waiting an hour and half for a reservation at any restaurant is unacceptable. Well I hope their being busy this week doesn't hurt them in the future because I know when people ask me of my restaurant week experience in philadelphia the conversation will start very badly for this restaurant.
Roy's last night for restaurant week. My appetizer and dish were great (Cheesesteak Egg Roll and Shrimp w/ Pork fried rice). But the portion was a bit less than desired. It was a late dinner and I was very hungry. My date fared even worse. His Asian caesar salad with nuts was excellent but truly tiny. His Pork Barbeque meal was decent but again nowhere near a normal sized portion. I've never experienced this at Roy's before - obviously they were cutting portions to make up for the cheaper prices at Restaurant week. Diners around us that ordered from the regular menu got heaping plates. Still, we left hungry after shelling out $80 (including tax/tip). Not an experience I want to relive ever again.
Went to Brasserie Perrier and El Vez during Restaurant Week. Neither are particularly sexy choices, but my partner and I are chronically broke, so this was one of few opportunities we get to get out. BP was great...pleasant staff, "normal" treatment, nice menu selections. But I've had it with El Vez and its severely inflated self-image. After being granted the grudging atention of the hostess, we were reminded that we were ten mins. early, and shooed off to the bar. I GAVE MY FULL NAME TO THE HOSTESS...this will be important later. Bar was mobbed, unsurprisingly. We waited 25 minutes. My partner approached the hostess to check on the rez; turns out she gave our table to a party who arrived after us, who shared my last name. No relation; totally coincidental, yet the hostess scolded us that we should have told her the entire name on the reservation. We eventually got a table, but dinner was unremarkable. Chicken tortilla soup was stroke-inducingly salty. Waitress was pleassant but totally weeded. I understand the demands of Restaurant Week, but this isn;t the first time we've been treated with serious attytood at El Vez. The food is good enough that we're reluctant to stop going, but come on. Don't they realize that their days of fabulosity are over, and they should concentrate on what they've always done well...the food?
we went to a turkish place called divan on 22nd street. apparently they were participating in the restaurant week though their name wasn't listed anywhere. Maybe because their three course was priced a tad lower at $25.
The sigara borek-pastry with feta cheese-was excellent as was their mixed grill platter (esp. the lamb shish). Didn't care too much for the desserts.
They have a liquor license but allowed customers to BYO.
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