Dining days don't whet students' appetites

For most Penn students, a $30 meal at Brasserie Perrier is a bargain. But the same price for a meal at local eatery Nan? It just doesn't quite have the same appeal.

Starting this Thursday, 21 West Philadelphia restaurants are offering multi-course menus for $30 or less during the third-annual University City Dining Days.

But most students remain unenthused about the area's restaurant promotions, especially with Philadelphia's Center City Restaurant Week right around the corner.

Though Dining Days - which lasts until Jan. 18 - has increased in popularity among local patrons and will include more restaurants and pricing options than in its first two years, the choices available are limited mostly to campus mainstays, including Bubble House, Copabanana and Marathon Grill.

And while Dining Days does offer more upscale area restaurants, including Marigold Kitchen and Daniel Stern's new American-cuisine eatery Rae, Penn students like Engineering senior Jonathan Lehr argue that the appeal of Dining Days is diminished by the proximity and lower normal price ranges of the restaurants included.

"The thing that draws people to Restaurant Week, I think, is going to a nice restaurant downtown that you normally wouldn't go to," Lehr said. "But people have such easy access to places like Marathon that it's not even worth it."

At this year's Dining Days, prix-fixed offerings cost $20, $25 or $30, while another option - the two-person meal for $30 - is available at Blarney Stone and Strike's Bowling Lounge bars.

Dining Days are offered through the University City District, whereas the popular Restaurant Week - which will take place from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2 - is offered through the Center City District.

Restaurant Week features over 105 different establishments offering at least three-course meals for $30.

Some crossover does exist between the two events.

The Center City Marathon Grill is included in Restaurant Week, while its 40th Street University City branch is on the shorter list of Dining Days options.

Still, representatives for the Center City District said the events are not in competition but rather work together to showcase the range of the Philadelphia dining scene.

But for some Penn students, including Engineering junior George Scangas, Dining Days remains a relative unknown and has a reputation of not offering tremendously upscale options.

"I prefer Restaurant Week," Scangas said. "The restaurants are higher quality, and you have better selection of different types of food." But while he "would not pay $30 to eat at Marathon," he'd "consider it for Penne or White Dog" Cafe.

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