We were involved in a conversation over the weekend regarding Craig LaBan’s ratings where we were asked what restaurants have four bells. As we rattled them off, it dawned on us that not everyone is so dorky to have them memorized. So here are Craig LaBan’s four bell reviews with links right to the reviews.

• Fountain
• Lacroix
• Le Bec-Fin
• Vetri

Update: Craig LaBan rattled these four off in his online chat today. He also said that if he could have eaten more than one meal at Talula’s Table in 6-months it would have been “in that league” and “Jose Garces is bound to land 4 one of these days – his food is there, but there’s always something that holds me back.”

Build your own Restaurant Week with Grub Street’s prix fixe picks for every day of the week. [Grub Street]

Snackbar has added a special food and drink menu between 5 and 7 with all items between $5 and$7.

Derek’s is celebrating 18 years in Manayunk with a 3-course meal for just $18. The bargain has been extended through August. [The Latest Dish]

Illadelph does its own deal dump just on $1 oysters. Oyster House, Union Trust and Pub & Kitchen are all offering bargain bivalves. [The Illadelph]

With a name like Miel Patisserie, you might not expect a great deal. But that’s just what you’ll get at the 17th Street spot. $5.35 for a sandwich, water and dessert bar. [Meal Ticket]

The $24 “Appetite Stimulus” lunch at Lacroix features 3-courses including a Gouda burger with double-smoked bacon plus fries topped with truffle oil, Parmesan and shallots. [Restaurant Club]

Want to try new Liberties Walk restaurant Sonata? Hit up any store on the walk for a 10% off coupon. [Meal Ticket]

There are lobster specials at Bridget Foy’s through mid-August including a $29 lobster boil featuring a 1 1/4 pound lobster, chorizo, mussels, corn and potatoes. [Meal Ticket]

A week ago we received a press release touting Bar 210 at Lacroix’s happy hour. And we thought to ourselves, they haven’t had a happy hour?

Turns out they haven’t but starting tonight they will! From 5 to 7 tonight and every weeknight there will be custom-crafted cocktails half-price at $6 along with $5 wines and $4 bottled beers and most importantly, complimentary hors d’oeuvres from chef de cuisine Jason Cichonski.

And don’t forget you can get a full meal from the bar menu (PDF) nightly.

Bar 210 at Lacroix [Official Site]

Take advantage of Lacroix’s Appetite Stimulus plan tonight. $35 for three courses, excluding tax and tip, plus 50% off of any bottle of wine from their hefty list.

Tomorrow is the National Pancake Day celebration at IHOP. Starting at 7AM and running until 10PM, head to IHOP for a FREE stack of 3 buttermilk pancakes.

Instead of paying for the flapjacks, IHOP is asking you to make a donation to The Children’s Miracle Network. Their goal this year is to raise $1 million for the charity tomorrow.

The closest IHOP to Center City is directly across from John’s Roast Pork in the Ikea-Target Snarl of South Philadelphia.

Lacroix [Official Site]
IHOP [Official Site]

Everyone is doing a deal these days and $35 seems to be the sweet spot. , Even at Lacroix, where they’ve just added a $35 3-course dinner option. As if eating at one of the best restaurants in the city for under $40 isn’t enough to entice, they’re offering it alongside a 50%  discount on the wine list.

The deal is available every Sunday and Monday.

See some of the menu items after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Le Bec-Fin, Rouge and Lacroix are each paired with a word you don’t usually consider with the high-end Center City eateries, bargains.

Big names, tiny checks [Metro Philadelphia]

Following on the heels of Matthew Levin leaving Lacroix, Adam Erace has a review of Bar 210, the more affordable bar at the Rittenhouse. It provides an interesting tease into what Levin could be planning next.

[Matthew Levin's] a sneaky bastard, slipping Coca-Cola into the tempura-fried shiitakes’ soy-sauce dip, spiking fresh-squeezed lemonade with tequila and jalapeños. In Levin’s world, the chicken “nuggets” are the size of bricks and the strawberry “pearls” floating in the cardamom-laced Champagne involve a gelling agent called Kappa and a medical syringe.

Levin captains Lacroix with the mischievous spirit of a little boy who just tricked his grandma into eating a bug. And Bar 210 sells the food he’d make for his co-conspirators: conceptual comfort stuff—ooh, the meatloaf gratin!—and guilty pleasures tapped from deep, dark places in our subconscious.

Playing the Numbers [Philadelphia Weekly]
Bar 210 at Lacroix [Official Site]

Meal Ticket breaks a big one this afternoon. Matthew Levin is out at Lacroix. Word is he is pursuing his own project. Can’t say we’re too too surprised. Chef at a haughty restaurant in a luxury hotel never seemed to jive with Levin’s personality.

Breaking: Chef Matthew Levin out at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse [Meal Ticket]
Lacroix [Official Site]

Betting on a holiday bonus? Recently won a slip-and-fall suit? Whatever the reason you feel like splurging, consider the Escargot Dinner at Lacroix this Friday night.

Four courses, each paired with a wine entices you at $95 per person.

Lacroix [Official Site]
Thanks to Blogalicious for reminding us this dinner was coming up.

Tonight is the kickoff of OpenTable.com’s Appetite Stimulus Plan. 70+ participating restaurants are offering $35 dinners and $24 lunches.

We don’t have a whole lot of information on the menus but Lacroix and Rae was nice enough to send theirs along.

Read the rest of this entry »