On Thursday, students will eat their way around Philadelphia — without leaving campus.
A Management 230 team is holding Penn Restaurant Week, which will bring restaurants from around the city to offer their best dishes from 6 to 8 p.m. Featured restaurants include soul food restaurant Honey’s Sit ‘n Eat, Pod and Barbuzzo Mediterranean Bar & Grill.
“The goal is to celebrate the diversity of the food scene in Philadelphia,” event organizer and Wharton junior Benjamin Yahalomi said. “Students want to try out all the different food on campus at an affordable price.”
Students pay 10 dollars for eight tickets or five dollars for three tickets, with each ticket buying a small tasting dish. The first 100 people who pay ahead of time will qualify for the “early bird special” and will be able to enter the event at 5:30.
Food at the event will include dishes from food trucks, brunch places and fine restaurants in Center City and West Philadelphia. The team is currently negotiating with Stephen Starr and Kevin Sbraga for their restaurants to participate in the event.
To make the event friendly to those with dietary constrictions, the team partnered with the Penn Vegan Society and will serve dishes from at least three vegan restaurants such as the Vegan Food Company.
“It’s really for anyone and everyone,” event organizer and Wharton junior Christian Cortes said. “We definitely have those options for students with dietary restrictions.”
Aside from stress relief, the team hopes that Penn Restaurant Week will encourage its peers to explore Philadelphia cuisine.
“I think it’s a really great way to bring everyone together and bring Philadelphia to Penn’s campus,” team member and Wharton senior Stephanie Johnson said. “Maybe this will give them the push to get out of the Penn bubble.”
Students can buy their tickets ahead of time using Venmo to send money to an account called A Taste of Life, or they can fill out a Google form on the event’s Facebook page and then pay cash in person before the event. Those who pay using Venmo can pick up their tickets at the event. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
So far, the team expects a large turnout at Penn Restaurant Week. Less than 24 hours after the early bird special launched, it was almost at capacity and more than 600 have said they are coming on the event’s Facebook page.
