Eat Out At The Best Restaurant Week Deals Near Campus
By Abe Gutierrez
You’ve seen the ads, you’ve looked at the food porn. So what exactly is Restaurant Week? Well, twice a year, foodies all over the city rejoice as Restaurant Week graces us with the opportunity to visit some of the best restaurants in the world for a price that is much more budget-friendly. Essentially, it’s a two week celebration where restaurants in NYC offer up three-course prix fixe menus for a set, relatively affordable price — $24.07 for lunch and $35.00 for dinner.
If that still sounds pricey, consider that some of the city’s most prominent restaurants are regular participants, including One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Aureole, and The Oak Room, all regularly command prices that hover around $100 for a similar meal. That being said, some restaurants really do pull out all the stops in putting together a thoughtful menu showcasing their talent and commitment to excellence, while others treat it as a time to dish out bland, uninspired food for the masses. Here are a few of our picks for restaurants near NYU campus that would make the most — or least — of your Restaurant Week experience:
Perilla — 9 Jones St. (between 4th St.& Bleecker St.) — Any Top Chef junkies should be thrilled right now, as this restaurant is the product of the winner of the first season of Top Chef, Harold Dieterle. The food here is divine, and the RW prix fixe menu doesn’t skimp. Although they only serve dinner, the fact that you can get an appetizer of Braised Rabbit Legs, Crispy Neck of Colorado Lamb as an entrée, and Chocolate Bread Pudding with black plum compote and praline ice cream for $35 is ridiculous.
Pro Tip: Get reservations early, as this is one of the hardest tables to score in Manhattan.
L’Ecole — 462 Broadway (between Broome St. & Grand St.) — L’Ecole is unique in that the chefs at the restaurant are all students at the French Culinary Institute, one of the top culinary schools in the country. What this means for the customers is that the prices are awesome for ridiculously good French food, and the RW menu reflects just that — their $24.07 lunch offerings are prolific. Choose between dishes like Chestnut Gnocchi with Oxtail Ragu or Country Pate with Foie Gras and Truffles as an appetizer, Butter Poached Lobster or Sautéed Lamb Chops as an entrée, and daily specials for dessert. The menu is decadent beyond all imagination.
Pro Tip: With their ridiculously large RW lunch menu, this is definitely a lunch spot. $24.07 is going to get you a great meal very similar to their dinner menu, so might as well save yourself a few bucks.
Aquavit — 65 E. 55th (between Madison Ave. & Park Ave.) — Ok, so this one isn’t really within the vicinity of NYU, but if hipsters are willing to trek to a sweaty apartment in Williamsburg for a party, then it’s damn well worth it to take the subway to midtown for an amazing meal. As one of the top Scandinavian restaurants on the planet, Aquavit is an anomaly in the culinary world. Now, for most of us, the extent of our knowledge of Scandinavian cuisine are those tasty meatballs that they sell at the Ikea café. Aquavit, however, completely destroys that and brings Scandinavian food to the forefront of haute cuisine. They serve RW lunch and dinner here and it’s the same menu for each meal, so it makes more sense economically to get lunch.
Pro Tip: They are renowned for one of their desserts, Arctic Circle, which is a goat cheese parfait infused with a passionfruit curd, and topped with a thin wafer and blueberry sorbet. It’s an option for RW dessert. You’re drooling.
Restaurant Week Trap: Rosa Mexicano — 9 E. 18th St. — Like I said before, some restaurants just throw together a menu that cost little to make and expect you to be satisfied. Rosa Mexicano is one of those restaurants. Being from Southern California, I have been spoiled with amazing Mexican cuisine, making it difficult to find something in the city that matches up, but Rosa usually does a pretty good job. However, when they expect one to pay $35 for a tortilla soup, tacos, and a cupcake, we should be downright offended. Avoid Rosa Mexicano for RW, and instead hit it up for Sunday brunch (and the Pomegranate Margaritas).
