Phillyist Framed Returns!
Playlist Rewind: AFI at the Factory
Whole Hog Is All Heart
Extra, Extra
Across the Ist-a-Verse
Restaurant Week, a.k.a. one more reason that this Phillyist isn't going on a diet until mid-October, starts on Sunday, and reservations are going fast! We had hell finding reservations that fit into our schedule (but were finally able to go with our first choice restaurant!), and advise you strongly not to delay another minute in planning your delicious (and deliciously underpriced!) three-course meal. There are a lot of new restaurants on the list this year, but even the usual suspects seem to have changed their menus this time around.
Remember: service can sometimes be a bit slow during Restaurant Week if you're at one of the more popular RW destinations, so be patient with your servers unless your wait time begins to move toward the absurd. Also remember to tip for what your meal was worth, not what you paid.
Above all, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to eat in the places that you (well, we) might not ordinarily be able to afford. Have fun, and bon appetit!
Restaurant Week
September 23-28 in locations across Center City
$30 (not including beverages, tax, or gratuity)
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I actually think Restaurant Week is, with the exception of a few places, one of the absolute worst times to dine out in Philly. Everywhere is crowded, service suffers horribly (and also takes on an extra tinge of condescension in many cases) and, most importantly, IT IS SELDOM A GOOD DEAL.
How can $30 prix fixe not be a good deal? Well, I'll give you one example: I love Lolita. I'd eaten there several times before Restaurant Week last year, and thought I would take advantage of the "special deal" of RW to visit again. Well, most of my favorites weren't on the RW menu. Okay, I understand, they've still gotta at least break even right? The thing is, I was looking at the "special menu" and remembering the regular menu, and things didn't seem to add up.
When I got home, I took a peek at Lolita's regular menu on their website and compared it to the restaurant week menu. No matter how I mixed and matched the items on the special menu, it was impossible to get to 30. The price on a regular night would have at most been 29, and could have been as low as 25. Now I still love Lolita, but I can't help but feel I got ripped off that night.
I've had other experiences and talked to lot of people, and I think that getting ripped off is the exception, not the rule. And even at the places where you get a little bit of a break, is it really worth it for the ultra hard-sell on pre-dinner cocktails, uncomfortably packed houses, overworked kitchens and harried, supercilious waitstaff? Not in my opinion. Just go out on a regular night and skip dessert, you'll be able to come in around 30 at the vast majority of the places participating in RW.
Two exceptions that are worth checking out during RW, from personal experience: Brasserie Perrier and La Famiglia. I would love to hear about other places that actually use RW to introduce people to their food, as opposed to just fleecing a full house.