Tonight, I’ll be eating the tuna in this picture. Probably not the entire thing, but some of it’s 400 pounds of goodness.

Be very jealous.

Read about it HERE!

I’m not cheap. I don’t mind dropping a lot of money for a good meal or a good drink. I will spend $10 at an airport Starbucks just to get a latte and one of those delicious toffee bars. But what really annoys me is when I spend a lot of money and receive no satisfaction.

Buddakan last night disappointed me. We had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. While normally this doesn’t bother me, there was really nowhere for one to wait.  There were too many smells.  The hallway to the bathroom smelled like fish. Bad fish. The stairs (we were seated upstairs) smelled like old pee, the kind of smell usually reserved for subway stations. At least there weren’t scented candles. But maybe there should have been.

Our appetizer, the edamame ravioli, was delicious. Rich, buttery, truffley goodness. I loved it. I could have rolled around in it naked. Heaven. I was really set up for the rest of my meal.

The entrees? Not so heavenly. The wok cashew chicken tasted like something that comes from the Chinese food place in a strip mall. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. The accompanying basmati rice was abnormally dry and a little hard. It was old. The sesame crusted tuna was tasty, but after three pieces, I was over it. Yeah, sashimi grade tuna. Big deal. Do something out of the ordinary, Buddakan. It was under sauced. I wanted another course. I never felt satisfied.

I left the restaurant full, bloated, but wanting more. I wasn’t satisfied. $60 later, and I wanted to go to Taco Bell or the golden arches or the $12 dinner buffet at New Delhi in University City. I didn’t do that. I went home and ate leftover pasta, a recipe in which my Dad saw on the Rachael Ray Show. And you know what? It was pretty good.

Buddakan, I wanted something delicious. I wanted three courses of delicious. You made me hate myself for spending $60 and adding to my ever expanding waistline. Eating an assortment of chocolates in bed, that is satisfying and worth every fattening bite. Buddakan, you are not.

I’ll be honest. I think Philadelphia Restaurant Week is wayyy overrated.

$20 lunches and $35 dinners may seem reasonable, but most (I said MOST) restaurants on the list are actually equally or less expensive, plus there is more freedom in ordering your meal.  Par example, Zahav offers a tasting much like their RW menu for $36 per person(or $42 if you want to add an extra course of lamb shoulder). A three course dinner at Tequila’s would also set you back about $30-$40, but probably less because you won’t have room for dessert and could (and probably would) split an appetizer.

Regardless, Restaurant Week is an excuse to have dinner in the city multiple times in two weeks. Tonight, some of my friends and I are starting off our RW adventures at Buddakan, one of the celebrated Stephen Starr restaurants that have become increasingly popular ever since Starr’s appearance on Top Chef. I’m personally excited for the edamame ravioli.

We’ll see.