It's not often AU students can afford traveling beyond the Terrace Dining Room to one of the many fine restaurants in Bethesda, Md. This week is one of the few times when there's no reason to stay away - not even money. Bethesda-Chevy Chase Restaurant Week runs Monday through Sunday, Feb. 1, offering prix fixe menus at extremely reasonable prices: lunch menus under $15, and three-course dinner options for only $30. Here is a sampling of the more than 30 restaurants participating. For a complete list, visit the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce Web site at www.bccchamber.org.
Clyde's Cuisine: American
For a group outing, Clyde's is the perfect spot. It boasts a fun, light-hearted environment and food for any taste, from classic to classy. Clyde's broad menu ensures there will be something for everyone, whether it is a sandwich or roasted duck, to devour while you enjoy the scenery. Decorated in the vein of American transportation, one of the two main dining rooms is reminiscent of the Orient Express, with red patent leather booths and miniature train models to gaze upon, while the second dining room expands its theme to travel by steamship and airplane. It's truly planes, trains and automobiles at this restaurant, and this week you'll be able to buy a meal for the price of a tank of gas.
Lia's Cuisine: Contemporary Italian
Lia's is the perfect restaurant for a Food Channel junkie. Owned and operated by chef Geoff Fisher (the same one we know and love for his half-priced burgers down the street), Lia's offers a brilliant array of original entrees - particularly mouthwatering are their Day Boat Scallops, served with a wild mushroom-white truffle mascarpone risotto. With menu items like this, you'll be awed at both their flavor and presentation. And Lia's staff has taken that extra step to make Restaurant Week even better -- their usual selection is the prix fixe menu.
McCormick and Schmick's Cuisine: Seafood
It may be a chain, but sometimes you just crave seafood - and McCormick and Schmick's is the place to go for that craving. It's OK to bring along those who can't stand the stuff, too - the restaurant offers a nice selection of meat and poultry for landlovers. Named by Washingtonian Magazine as Best Seafood Restaurant, it has a more formal seating area, yet keeps a casual feel. It's a great time to check it out, since main dishes generally run from $15 to $25. This week, however, you'll be getting three courses for $30 - quite a steal. Now that's the luck o' the Irish for ye!
Trattoria Sorrento Cuisine: Italian
If you find the scene in the Italian restaurant from "Lady and the Tramp" one of the most romantic you've witnessed, this is your place for a date. Trattoria Sorrento is a small Italian restaurant where you can often find the owner wandering around, igniting a family environment the Italians are known for. Their homemade gnocchi is to die for, and nearly everything that comes out of the kitchen is cooked to perfection. A true standout on this list, Trattoria Sorrento can be anything you want it to be - a place to share one endless piece of spaghetti with your significant other, or a place where you can toast to anything with your closest friends. Salute!
You can reach this staff writer at kboghosian@theeagleonline.com.
