Philadelphia Restaurant Week Survival Guide

It’s that time again, folks—time to celebrate something about our city that continues to draw national attention.

No, I’m not taking about our escalating murder rate; that’s certainly nothing to celebrate. I’m not even talking about Mayor Street’s recent decision to crack down on property tax scofflaws…like himself. (By the way, where did Mayor Street camp out last night for Halo 3?)

I’m talking, of course, about our restaurants. And, specifically, Center City Restaurant Week. You know the drill: 3 courses, $30, over 100 participating restaurants.

If you don’t have reservations by now, you’re probably more nervous than a senator in an airport bathroom stall. But don’t fret. There’s still hope.

Here are a few tips to help you make the best of Restaurant Week, even if you didn’t make reservations two months ago like you should have done:

Aim High. Not all restaurants participating in Restaurant Week are created equal. If the goal is to eat a $30 meal at the best possible restaurant (and, let’s face it folks, that is the goal), shoot for places like Le Bar Lyonnais or Amada over, say, CoCo's (no offense). By now, of course, seasoned veterans likely have seized most, if not all, of the reservations at Philly’s latest hot spots, so be prepared to lower your expectations somewhat. However, it never hurts to call some of these places to capitalize on any last minute cancellations. You should also scour Open Table for, what else: open tables. Better yet, let FooBooz do it for you. FooBooz has promised to post updates throughout the week letting you know which participating restaurants still have tables available.

Look for Places Serving Their Regular Menu. Restaurants approach Restaurant Week in one of two ways: (1) serve slightly smaller versions of items that appear on their regular menu; or (2) create new dishes to fit the $30 price point. In my travels, I’ve had better Restaurant Week experiences at places that do the former.

Eat at the Bar. Even if you can't get any reservations, you may still be able take advantage of Restaurant Week. Look for participating restaurants that have bars or counters, such as Washington Square and The Oceanaire, and eat from the Restaurant Week menu at the bar.

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Restaurant Week Wrap-Up: A Smack-down, Of Sorts

Restaurant Week is not a normal Center City dining experience. Twice a year it turns the local restaurant scene into a carnival-like atmosphere. As I’ve noted before, not all restaurants do the same act during the two Restaurant Weeks that they do the other 50 weeks of the year. Yet, much like the provocative posters for the Bearded Lady or the Dog-Faced Boy, the lure of a three-course meal at a posh restaurant for a mere $30 is hard to resist. And, indeed, the seats fill up quickly as diners scramble early for reservations. But as with all carnivals, soon after you emerge from the tent you often find yourself deliberating whether the show lived up to the hype. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.



Inspired by the likes of Barnum and his modern-day equivalents, I decided to take a different approach to Restaurant Week this time around. Instead of evaluating the restaurants in a vacuum, I though it would be fun to compare my experiences at two restaurants to see which one performed better under these carnival conditions—a sort of Restaurant Week smack-down, if you will.



First up was Bistro Romano. One of the draws of this romantic, Italian eatery in Society Hill certainly has to be its dedication to filling your belly. For example, instead of serving the standard three courses during Restaurant Week, Bistro Romano served four—the first being three delicious and remarkably fresh Bruschetta. The hearty Minestrone, too, was large enough to be an entrée.



Bistro Romano also emphasizes home-cooked style of preparation. Many restaurants in Center City masterfully execute a version of the home-style theme (e.g., Radicchio). However, Bistro Romano’s translation was not quite up to snuff. The Minestrone was uninteresting. The Veal Saltimbocca spent too much time in the broiler; the prosciutto appeared to have bonded with the veal on a molecular level, giving the dish a tough, jerky-like texture.



Similarly, the white wine sauce accompanying the Tilapia with Shrimp tasted like it was thickened with flour or cornstarch, making it heavy and reminiscent of gravy (a simple reduction or beur blanc would have been welcomed). All of this may be nostalgic of how mom used to make it; however, a restaurant should deliver a little more refinement, even if it is taking a home-cooked approach.



For dessert, we picked the Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Sauce and the White Chocolate Mousse. The torte was uncharacteristically sweet and the chocolate was less intense than the torte’s color and density would suggest. The mousse, though, was nicely balanced—not too rich or overly sweet.



The second restaurant was Mandoline, a contemporary cash-only BYO in Old City. It was refreshing to see that Mandoline’s Restaurant Week Menu appeared to be identical to their Winter Menu, which includes tempting starters such as Lobster Truffle Macaroni and Cheese and the Goat Cheese Pistachio Cake.



I opted to start with the Venison Ragout with Pappardelle Pasta and Grana Padano. The pappardelle was well-prepared and all of the all of its flavors were complementary. However, the ground venison was more subdued than expected. Although this makes the racy-sounding dish more accessible, it may be a little disappointing to those who are looking for the wild and gamey flavors often associated with venison. It may be a little too tame, in fact, to justify using something as exotic as venison.



Mandoline’s Five-Spiced Smoked Duck Breast, Citrus Sweet Potato Mash and Sweet Soy packs an array of well-chosen flavors. The smoke and glaze used to prepare the medium-rare duck impart sweet notes of apples and molasses, and the citrus enlivens the wonderfully sweet and earthy mash. Some pieces of the duck, though, were tougher than they should have been and were difficult to carve with the standard butter knife they provided.



Mandoline does not prepare desserts of their own, but they do offer gelati from Capogiro. The Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato is a guaranteed winning flavor combination (one of my personal favorites), and the hard-to-resist Olive Oil Gelato delivers the delicate essence of this cooking staple while maintaining a rich, creamy and satisfying texture.

So, who won the smack-down? This dubious honor goes to Mandoline. Both restaurants had a few issues—Bistro Romano presented overcooked veal and seemingly starch-laden sauces; Mandoline’s duck was a little tough and its ragout, while well-prepared, was somewhat different than expected. But at the end of the day, the issues with Bistro Romano’s performance were more systemic and appeared to stem from their literal interpretation and execution of the home-cooked concept throughout. Plus, as I’ve emphasized before, flavor counts, and the flavors of Mandoline’s dishes were more impressive than Bistro Romano’s.

Thanks to those who posted their recent Restaurant Week experiences here in the comments section of my prior post. Do check them out. Also, thanks to the Center City District / Central Philadelphia Development Corp. for organizing Restaurant Week. The next installment will take place September 23-28, 2007.

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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.

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Restaurant Week Wrap-Up

Another Restaurant Week here in Center City has come and gone. As always, the draw of this event is the chance to get a three-course meal at a chic Center City restaurant for only $30. Getting a good meal, though, can be a serious challenge. The reason this is so is because not all restaurants take the same approach to Restaurant Week. Some restaurants see it as an opportunity to shine and showcase their cuisine. Others, however, are only trying to cash in. In addition, some restaurants, for whatever reason, serve only their limited Restaurant Week menu (which I previously complained about here), depriving customers of the opportunity to experience their more celebrated fare. And, of course, there’s always a chance that the hungry throngs will overwhelm the restaurant’s staff, affecting the quality of both the service and the meal.

It’s hit or miss.



During this Restaurant Week we decided to try Chez Colette, a French restaurant located in the Sofitel. Chez Colette wasn’t necessarily my first choice (I waited a little too long to make reservations), but I had heard some good things about it so we decided to give it a shot. As soon as we arrived at 7:00 p.m., though, we immediately noticed two things: (1) the place was empty; and (2) they were only serving from their Restaurant Week menu. These were not encouraging signs.



We both started off with a cup of the French Onion Soup. The soup was light and not too salty. It was topped with a mix of Gruyere and some other type of “Swiss cheese.” However, the other “Swiss” took something away from the punch I’ve come to expect from a French onion soup topped only with Gruyere.



The server recommended the Lemon Chicken Breast with Mushroom Risotto. The entire dish, as you can see, was swimming in an overwhelmingly rich butter sauce, making it rather one-dimensional. Unfortunately, the chicken was dry and overcooked. The Mushroom Risotto, which I assume was the focus of this dish, also was disappointing. It was gummy, and although there were several sliced pizza-style mushrooms mixed throughout, it had virtually had no mushroom flavor at all.



My wife picked the Seared Tilapia, Grilled Asparagus Israeli Couscous in a Beurre Blanc Sauce. The tilapia was fresh; however, it, too, was dry and overcooked. The couscous had a nice texture and was well prepared, but unfortunately it was bland. Even just a small amount of spice could have added some depth to the couscous.



Finally, we each received a festive dessert trio: Raspberry Sorbet on top of a Meringue Cup, a Lemon Tart and a Coco Loco. The sorbet—my favorite of the trio—was an explosive burst of fresh, juicy raspberries. The meringue underneath was crisp and airy. The Lemon Tart was light, tasty and refreshing. The Coco Loco, a small wedge of cake densely packed with coconut, had a bit too much coconut for me.

My second Restaurant Week experience was unplanned (hence, no pics). A friend of mine and I grabbed a drink at Washington Square after work. In February I enjoyed Washington Square during Restaurant Week, so I wasn’t planning to hit it this time. But we got hungry at the bar and decided to order from the Restaurant Week menu. Here’s a tip for the next Restaurant Week: If you weren’t lucky enough to get reservations, grab a Restaurant Week menu and just eat at the bar.

I started with the Romaine Salad, which tasted just as good as it did in February. This time, for the entrée I tried the Merguez Orecchiette with Spicy Lamb Sausage. The meaty sauce was lightly accented with a touch of cumin, which added a bit of sophistication to this unassuming dish. For dessert, a thick, creamy dollop of silky milk chocolate mousse with a side of rich whipped cream delicately infused with coconut.

So, over all, Chez Colette was a miss this time around. Washington Square, once again, was a hit. Ultimately, Restaurant Week may not be the best way to find out what a restaurant is really like. But it definitely will answer this question—Is the restaurant able (or willing) to pull off a good meal under abnormal conditions? Is that information useful? Who knows? But it certainly is fun keeping score.

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Restaurant Week Dates Set for September

FooBooz reports that the Center City District has scheduled the next Restaurant Week for Sunday, September 10 through Friday, September 15, 2006.

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Washington Square

We made it into Washington Square near the tail end of Restaurant Week. Before we arrived, my wife and I decided we would look at both the regular menu and the Restaurant Week menu before ordering. As it turned out, we ordered from both. The Restaurant Week menu contained entrées from the regular menu. The only difference was that the portions were smaller on the Restaurant Week menu. Normally, this might be a drawback, but in this case choosing the smaller portion size gave us the opportunity also to explore a couple of the compelling side dishes on Washington Square’s regular menu.

We both started with the Caesar salad. Although the Restaurant Week version of this Washington Square staple was small, it was surprisingly filling. The cream cheese croutons are the highlight of this dish. They are tiny blocks of pure cream cheese that have been fried on the outside to form a sinfully crispy shell. These croutons would taste amazing on any salad, but they work especially well here paired with the rich Caesar dressing.

For the main course, I had the grilled salmon with artichokes, spinach, olive butter and saffron sauce. I expected more from this dish; I found it to be a bit too plain. Also, the artichokes distracted from the salmon and the sauce. My wife ordered the roasted organic chicken with cheesy polenta, wild mushrooms, asparagus and truffle jus. To be honest, this dish didn’t exactly leap off the menu to me, but it certainly leapt off the plate. The magic to this dish is the truffle jus. The effect is subtle, but its earthy goodness soaks through every bite of the polenta and highlights the organic, natural theme of this dish. The wild mushrooms add a fresh touch and even give you the illusion that the intense earthiness is coming from them. Roasted chicken is an excellent choice for this dish because it’s light and doesn’t compete with the other flavors.

For the extra sides, we ordered the garlic fries with aoli and the truffled mac and cheese. The garlic fries were deeply disappointing. They were too salty to appreciate any garlic flavor and otherwise were unimpressive. The aioli, sadly, appeared to be nothing more than mustard. The truffled mac and cheese, on the other hand, was amazing, intense and addictive. It is the ultimate gourmet comfort food. I never would have thought to combine truffle oil and cheese, and I don’t know what kind of alchemy they did to figure it out. But these flavors go so well together you’ll wonder how you ever ate mac and cheese without it. I’m not going to be able to eat mac and cheese ever again without missing the truffle oil. After tasting them, we took both sides home to save room for dessert.

For dessert, we had the cheesecake with green apple sorbet. This dish was made just for the Restaurant Week menu. The cheesecake, which was firm and rich, came in two miniature-sized slices. The green apple sorbet was refreshing and tasted surprisingly natural.

Washington Square
210 W. Washington Square
(215) 592-7787

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Is Restaurant Week really for foodies?

I know, I know. Restaurant Week was over two weeks ago. Time to get caught up. Philadelphia’s Center City holds a Restaurant Week a couple of times a year. Most cities with a restaurant scene do a Restaurant Week at some point during the year. The formula is roughly the same everywhere—one week (6 days, actually), 99 restaurants, 3 courses, $30. Sounds great. But is it really for foodies?

• No soup for you. There’s a good chance it’s already too late to make reservations at that special restaurant you’ve been waiting to try by the time the list of participating restaurants comes out. Time is of the essence. It’s difficult enough to get dinner reservations at your favorite restaurants in Philadelphia in general. But throw 3 courses for $30 into the mix and, well, it turns into a post-apocalyptic scramble for a table. Before you know it, everyone else is dining on Horseradish Crusted Salmon with Basmati Rice Cake, Bok Choy and a Dijon Mustard Sauce, and you’re left choking back a pepperoni and mozzarella bagel from Wawa. It’s frustrating.

• “Oh, I’ve been to Prague.” Can you really say you’ve been to Tangerine if you’ve eaten only from their $30 Restaurant Week menu? When you dine from a restaurant’s Restaurant Week menu, you’re getting the product of a limitation. And that limitation is price. To conform to this limitation, the chef may offer you a smaller version of something on the normal menu, the chef may only offer you the restaurant’s less-expensive entrées, or the chef may create a new item to fit within the price limitation. Think of it as Iron Chef meets $40 a Day. But going to a restaurant like Tangerine isn’t about going out to dinner—it’s about experiencing fine art. In that environment, the only limitation that you should allow yourself to experience is the chef’s imagination. All I’m saying is, if you’ve been to Tangerine, for example, during Restaurant Week, you haven’t necessarily “been to Tangerine” been to Tangerine.

Don’t get me wrong—I support Restaurant Week. Anything that highlights the Center City restaurant scene, keeps the local restaurants in business and allows more people to experience fine dining in Center City is a good thing. Moreover, the folks who organize and sponsor Restaurant Week should be applauded for pulling off such a successful event twice a year every year. Just keep this in mind: When Restaurant Week comes around again in September (1) make your reservations early; and (2) if you ignore the restaurants’ regular menus, you may be cheating yourself.

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