Temple Students Take on Restaurant Week

WRITTEN BY: PAULA CUERQUIS

It’s that special time of the year again: RESTAURANT WEEK. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the next-best-thing-to-Christmas, Restaurant Week occurs twice a year, once in the winter and once in the fall. During Restaurant Week, nearly 120 restaurants all over the Philadelphia metropolitan area participate in a two-week period where they offer either a $20 three-course lunch, a $35 three-course dinner, or both.

As a college student myself, I jump at any chance to get out of the campus’ dining halls and eat – for a fairly reasonable price – at a nice restaurant. Seeing as Restaurant Week is a fairly known event across all of Philadelphia, I took it upon myself to ask some Restaurant Week goers about their experiences.

Kira Traktovenko, sophomore, biology major, went to Devon’s Seafood Grill where she had a “spinach and watercress salad, steak and frites, and a cheesecake for dessert.” She said she had a great time with her girlfriends and said “the food was 4 out of 5, the service 5 out of 5, and the venue 5 out of 5.”

Helen Rueckert, sophomore, bio-chemistry major took advantage of Restaurant Week, during her freshmen year, and went to Valanni’s where she “made a bunch of new friends.”

“There was this one boy who lived on our floor who basically just told everybody ‘hey this is what we’re doing’ and that’s where we went,” Rueckert said. “It was a great getting-to-know-you experience.”

Kenneth Woodring, sophomore, finance and financial planning major, is a veteran of Restaurant Week and is using the cheap prices to his advantage. “This year me and my girlfriend are actually going to Marmont Steakhouse. I’m very excited for it, it should be pretty good.” He also said that he chose it because “it had the biggest piece of meat he could find.” So for those of you who are looking for a big juicy steak, I’d hit up Marmont Steakhouse.

Restaurant Week falls on the weeks of January 17-22 and January 24-29. If you haven’t already, I suggest making reservations right now. Whether you go with your friends, family, boyfriend or girlfriend, make sure to take advantage of the numerous dining options available.

If you’re craving Chinese food, don’t just go for the typical China Star or Master Wok, go try Spice 28 on 1228 Chestnut St. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to try some authentic Greek food, reserve a dinner for two at Opa on 1311 Sansom St., where you’re given 20 different meal options. The different types of restaurants participating vary from Italian to Indian to even French food.

If you’re a little hesitant, check out http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/center-city-restaurant-week/ where you can view a list of all the participating restaurants. Even better is that you can select a certain cuisine you want to dine in and view their Restaurant Week menus beforehand!

Helen’s response to those not participating in Restaurant Week is, “I don’t know why you wouldn’t because you’re a poor college student who very rarely probably ever gets very nice food, so if you can get it for cheap why wouldn’t you?” And she’s totally right! Philly has so much to offer so why not take advantage of it?

We’re all just getting back to school and having to juggle the tremendous workload could be a little stressful. Treat yourself to a nice dinner with some friends and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of fresh food, good people, and cheap prices! Don’t miss out! Food is good but good food is even better!