Belly Up for Restaurant Week(s)
Just when we need encouragement to brave the oppressive evening air and go out among the living this summer, instead of ordering bad Chinese takeout again from the comfort of our air-conditioned sofas, along comes the Restaurant Week parade. There is not one, not two, but three chances to get out there in the next month or so and test drive that swanky new place you’ve always wanted to try or the neighborhood favorite you haven’t checked out yet.
First up is Bethesda-Chevy Chase Restaurant Week from July 17-23, when you can get a two-course lunch for $15, and a three-course dinner for $22 or $30. A short trip up Wisconsin Avenue and across the District line leads you to a cluster of coolness in Bethesda, and at these prices, you can afford to venture into the wine cellar at Grapeseed and sample the healthy and properly-portioned plates of Rock Creek. New this year to the Maryland suburban scene and worth checking out during Restaurant Week is Praline Restaurant and Bakery, opened by former colleagues at Filomena’s in Georgetown. It’s tucked away an unlikely space – a refurbished shopping mall off Sangamore Road near MacArthur Boulevard. Just follow your nose for the signature brioche à la praline.
If you need more Restaurant Week, hop the train to Baltimore, where from July 24-28, Mobtown will celebrate its restaurants with a $30 prix fixe for three courses (about half of the participants are doing a two-course lunch for $20) and $3 garage parking if you must drive. Fifty-six restaurants are participating, including sure-fire winners Pazo, Sotto Sopra, and the Black Olive. Or check out the hip kids eating comfort food at Café Hon or go high-end Tex Mex/Asian and fish forward at Taste on Belvedere Square. Of course, if you’ve never experienced the old-man-bar-dark-wood-paneling-get-me-a-Guinness feeling of Bertha’s in Fells Point, now’s your chance to eat her mussels.
Finally, D.C.’s Restaurant Week will run from August 14-20. Sponsors are keeping the names of the participating restaurants under wraps until July 21. Past Restaurant Week participants included hotties like Corduroy, 1789, Dino, Hank's, Indique, and many more.
One note of caution. Due to all the relatively cheap eats, and more tourists than ever trying out these places, be patient, call ahead for reservations, and don’t expect too much of the service, as DCist has noted before. The point of Restaurant Week is to bring in new customers, so many places are on their best behavior, while some are just trying to get through it, amazed that the hordes are showing up. Still, it offers a bargain opportunity to try out the area’s great restaurants and decide whether you’d like to spend more there next time.
Our secret sources tell us Silver Spring might do a Restaurant Week later this year, and if you know of any other towns hosting, let us know. Hello, Virginia?
Photo by flickr user amuse and used under a Creative Commons license.