Chinatown, the Italian Market and Rittenhouse Square are all known for their food in Philadelphia.
Now, University City wants its name on the list, too.
Beginning today, 20 area restaurants will participate in the week-long University City Dining Days, a promotional event aimed at promoting local edible offerings.
"Dining Days is meant to celebrate University City and its diverse culinary scene and help to continue to build upon the existing image of University City as a diverse dining destination, " said Lori Brennan, a spokeswoman for University City District and co-organizer of the event.
During the promotion -- put on by local restaurateurs, business owners and the UCD, which seeks to maintain and promote University City -- restaurants offer three-course dinners for $20 to $30.
So far reservations have been steadily booked, with some of the more popular destinations filling up entirely.
"We don't have any tables available at all, for the whole run," said Steven Cook, co-owner of Marigold Kitchen, adding that "we were pretty well full by the end of last week."
This is the second semiannual installment of the event, begun last July after a UCD strategic marketing plan found that the top reason people from outside the region travel into University City is for its restaurants.
Dining Days looks to build on that trend.
"The majority of the advertising and marketing we've been doing with this event has been directed towards the suburbs, particularly the western suburbs, the mainline suburbs and also into Center City," said Tom Kurland, a spokesman for the White Dog Cafe.
Kurland added that organizers hope to bring in "a population that has a disposable income and likes to go out to eat, [to] get them thinking about crossing the [Schuylkill] river more."
Promotional efforts have included advertising in Philadelphia magazine and city newspapers, partnerships with city Web sites and a mailing of 11,000 postcards.
But by reaching far and wide to make Dining Days known to outside audiences, advertising for the event may have missed Penn students.
College freshmen Genna Erlikhman said he had not heard of the event, despite having participated in September's Center City Restaurant Week and planning to take part in this February's as well.
College senior Erick Goihman was equally uninformed, saying he had "no clue" what the event was about.
A complete list of participating restaurants and menus is available online at ucityphila.org.
Preliminary dates for the next Dining Days are July 20 to 27.
