Enjoy Restaurant Week in Perry Hall

Baltimore County's first summertime restaurant week (technically, it's two weeks long) began last Friday (which happened to be my birthday, by the way!). You can be sure that a key part of my post-birthday festivities included a trip to one of the more than 35 dining destinations participating in this great activity. This has been the largest and most diverse Baltimore County Restaurant Week ever. 

The very first was sort of trial run, organized by a couple of prominent local restaurant owners. It went so well, the Baltimore County Office of Promotion and Tourism, the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, and Sysco Baltimore (a regional food service distribution firm) joined in and helped put together the second celebration, which took place this past January. As most folks know, there have been restaurant weeks held in Baltimore City for some time. 

I have always been a big fan of the concept of restaurant week events. Most of us get into the habit of going to the same old restaurants every weekend. While it's great to have your favorites, trying something new and different doesn't hurt either. The best way to develop new favorites is to try new options—same old, same old isn't the way to go.

With restaurant week, folks get a chance to try a representative sampling of the best appetizer, entree and dessert choice participating establishments have to offer. In this way, newcomers can get a good feel for what these venues have to offer and can decide for themselves if they have found a new favorite haunt.

In and around the Perry Hall area, we have three restaurants participating in this summer festival of food, which ends next Friday, Aug. 26.

If you want a good mix of food and micro-brewed beers, give Red Brick Station a try, over at The Avenue at White Marsh. Dinner menus include traditional English pub fare and some all-American choices.

If your pub preferences are more of the Irish variety, then (formerly known as The Twisted Harp) might be to your liking. Participating in restaurant week for the first time, their special menu includes a strip steak and crab cake as a main course option. It's worth pointing out that the three-course lunch meal, priced at $20.11, is a few dollars less than the list price of just the steak and cake.

There's also in . As the name suggests, the restaurant serves Italian fare. It was featured in . It has also been featured on Patch on several occasions.

Unlike Baltimore City's version of restaurant week, the county allows participating establishments to offer lunch and dinner in any of three price point options: lunch at $10.11, $15.11 or $20.11 levels; and dinner at $25.11, $30.11 or $35.11.

Nearby Parkville, Towson and Essex also have participating culinary destinations. For a full list of restaurants, check the county's official website.

If you've sampled any of these tasty choices, let Patch know by adding a comment to this article.