The Brown & White

Gourmet dining. You love it, you want it, but, as a college student, you are most likely not going to get it.

Lehigh has an abundance of high-quality restaurants surrounding its campus, but most typical students do not have the money to sit down to a three-course meal whenever they choose.

Instead, dining halls and cheap take-out have become the culinary norm.

For those who love to eat but hate to overspend, Bethlehem Restaurant Week, which took place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, allowed diners to come into local restaurants and order from special menus that are offered for a reduced price. Free parking was also provided by the Bethlehem Parking Authority.

The menus of the participating restaurants ranged in price, with the less expensive Blue Sky Café on the South Side offering both lunch and dinner for $10, and the typically high-priced Emeril's Chop House in the Sands casino offering a dinner menu for $30.

Each restaurant offered something different. Apollo Grill's $15 lunch menu consisted of three courses, while the $10 lunch menu at Starters Riverport consisted solely of entrees. Appetizers and dessert were included with the Starters dinner menu, which was $20.

"We do Restaurant Week every year," Jessica Fisher, a manager at Starters, said. "I think it brings in more people. People call and ask about it as soon as they hear. I mean, lasagna for ten bucks - it's a great deal, especially when it feeds two."

Participating restaurants included: Emeril's Chop House, Apollo Grill, Hotel Bethlehem's Tap Room and 1741 On the Terrace, Bethlehem Brew Works, Melting Pot, Blue Sky Café, Moravian Book Shop Deli, Burgers and More by Emeril, Petra Mediterranean, Carnegie Deli, St. James Gate Irish Pub and Carvery, Confetti Café, Starfish Brasserie, Darto's Restaurant, Starters Riverport, Edge Restaurant and Tika's.

The menus offered a broad range of choices, and most restaurants took dishes right off the menu but gave them a cheaper price.

Emeril's Chop House offered a fancy feast, with a choice of the Emeril's Chop House wedge or lobster bisque for an appetizer; chicken, salmon or pork chops for an entrée; and either chocolate bread pudding or banana crème pie for dessert. Filet Mignon could also be substituted for an additional $10.

Starters offered a more low-key dinner menu, with a choice of onion rings, chicken fingers or mozzarella sticks for an appetizer; orange chicken, shepherd's pie, German Oktoberfest bratsworth, chicken pot pie or lasagna; and either Snickers bar pie, Oreo cookie bash or Reese's peanut butter pie.

To get a first-hand taste of the goods, a companion and I decided to sample the lunch menu at Apollo. Located at 85 W. Broad Street in North Bethlehem, Apollo offers a sophisticated dining atmosphere for which a reservation is highly recommended.

Together, we ordered coconut curried soup and a mesclun salad for appetizers, fish and chips and chicken frangelico for an entrée and triple chocolate cake and blueberry bread pudding for dessert.

While the meal was much heavier than what someone would typically eat for lunch, the menu offered many options, and we left content.

Bethlehem offers a great variety of restaurants, but it is not often that the typical college student can pay for a good meal.

While $30 for dinner may be more than we are used to spending, these high-quality restaurants offered vast menus and meals that give you your money's worth.

Most students save places like The Edge and Emeril's for Family Weekend, but Restaurant Week allowed them to go in on their own and share a nice meal with friends.

With good food, good atmosphere and good prices, this annual event has proved to be a favorite in the Bethlehem community.