Great Philly meal deals: Five courses for $28 - and more

ON A RECENT Wednesday night at

Fork:etc.

's communal table, the courses kept coming, the wine flowed freely and the conversation touched on presidential politics, travel destinations and everyone's favorite topic: food.

The weekly four-course dinner, served at 8 p.m. at the Old City gourmet shop (308 Market St., 215-625-9425, www.fork restaurant.com), gives Thien Ngo, chef at parent restaurant Fork next door, a chance to stretch. Ngo's Fork:etc. dishes might be a departure from Fork's American bistro concept, or they could be a recipe in progress for the restaurant's menu.

The night's lineup started with crispy sardines with shaved green mango salad, followed by giant "sushi" of smoked salmon with red rice, nori and avocado. Both were paired with a crisp Australian Chardonnay.

Grilled lamb chops with garlic and lemongrass, served with mashed malanga and daikon, and paired with a Spanish Rioja, came next, followed by a refreshing, savory-sweet finish: a jicama-lemon sorbet with rum sauce.

Best for all for the bargain-minded, a Fork:etc. candlelit "dinner party" allows you to have your gourmet and go easy on your wallet. The four-course meal, including wine, costs $40 - about half what you might expect to pay for a typical chef's-table experience featuring food of this quality.

It's one of many strategies that local restaurants have cooked up so that you can have a fine evening (or afternoon) out without breaking the bank. Here's a look at some of the city's best meal deals.

At Little Fish, a tiny storefront BYOB in Bella Vista (600 Catharine St., 215-413-3464, www.littlefishphilly.com), the five-course prix fixe costs just $28 and offers a showcase for owner Mike Stollenwerd's inventive ways with creatures of the sea.

The format is always the same: a salad, followed by two appetizers, then a choice among three entrees and dessert. The dishes could be from the regular menu, like the Sicilian-style calamari with pastina, or created at the last minute.

A few blocks away, on Headhouse Square, upscale Mexican restaurant-bar Xochitl (408 S. 2nd St., 215-238-7280, www.xochitlphilly.com) begins its $35 three-course dinner with a treat: guacamole made tableside.

From there, you have the run of the menu. Choose appetizers like sopes with duck, carnitas and chorizo, then an entree such as chiles en nogada - a poblano pepper stuffed with ground beef, dried fruit and nuts, in a creamy walnut and pomegranate sauce - and, finally, desserts such as the classic churros y chocolate.

Across town, the swank Brasserie Perrier (1619 Walnut St., 215-568-3000, www.brasserie perrier.com) has become more true to its name, revamping its overall concept to be more casual. But the $35, three-course Sunday dinner is still a bargain.

Choices are limited to four appetizers and entrees, all crowd-pleasers like steamed Prince Edward Island mussels with spicy white-wine broth, a flatiron steak in merlot sauce and creme brulee for dessert. Adding to the savings is a BYO option on Sundays with no corkage fee. (Note: Neither of these deals will be available this Sunday on Mother's Day.)

Well-reviewed Center City BYOB Matyson (37 S. 19th St., 215-564-2925, www.matyson. com) offers a themed, five-course chef's tasting Monday through Thursday for $45. This week's "Feliz Cinco de Mayo!" menu, through tonight, features gazpacho, short rib tostada Napoleon and tres leches cake with caramel sauce.

In Fairmount, $3 is the magic number at London Grill (2301 Fairmount Ave., 215-978-4545, www.londongrill.com), which from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday serves up $3 "mini meals" - think petite fish and chips, mussels, burgers and duck spring rolls - as well as $3 drafts, bottle beers and well drinks.

Before seeing a performance on the Avenue of the Arts, take a seat in the authentic, taverna-like atmosphere of Greek seafood restaurant Estia (1405-07 Locust St., 215-735-7700, www.estia restaurant.com), which offers a limited, daily three-course dinner for $30. Choices include grilled octopus, the fish of the day and a traditional moussaka eggplant casserole.

Or dine in the old-school elegance of the Prime Rib, (1701 Locust St., 215-790-1701, www.theprimerib.com), where all day Sunday and before 6 p.m. the rest of the week, you can choose a three-course limited menu, including a signature prime rib, for $33. Also on Sundays, there's a BYO option and 50 percent off full bottles from the wine list.

Near the Arden Theatre in Old City, Philadelphia Fish & Co. (207 Chestnut St., 215-625-8605, www.philadelphiafish.com) has a three-course, run-of-the-menu special for $30 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. Menu items include a classic fish chowder, along with grilled Atlantic salmon and roasted butterfish with French lentils.

Le Bar Lyonnaise, the downstairs room at Le Bec-Fin (1523 Walnut St., 215-567-1000, www.lebec

fin.com), jumps on the BYO bandwagon on Mondays, as does the tony Lacroix at the Rittenhouse Hotel (210 W. Rittenhouse Square, 215-790-2533, www.lacroixrestaurant.com), which also offers a 50 percent discount on any wines in its cellar, if you don't tote your own.

Gayle, chef Daniel Stern's intimate storefront restaurant off South Street (617 S. 3rd St., 215-922-3850,

www.gaylephiladelphia.com), does its BYO thing on Thursdays.

The buzz around the bar at Rae, the lobby restaurant at the Cira Centre (2929 Arch St., 215-922-3839, www.raerestau rant.com), is fueled each weekday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. by $5 specialty cocktails, as well as discounts on Rae's new-school interpretations of sliders, wings, mini-calzones and other appetizers that would be more standard in lesser hands.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, the proceedings get even happier, with a free artisan cheese board with candied nuts, cured meats and fondue.

At Mantra, the pan-Asian bar-restaurant off Rittenhouse Square (122 S. 18th St., 215-988-1211, www.mantraphilly. com), weekday options include a buy-one-get-the-second-one-free offer from 5 to 7 p.m. on Mondays; a $20 pairing of three small plates and a flight of six wines, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays (with a limit of 25 participants); and a three-course, $30 run-of-the-menu deal from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

"Express" is the buzzword for these upscale blue-plate specials.

_ At XIX, the light and airy 19th-floor cafe at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue (Broad and Walnut streets, 215-790-1919, www.hyatt. com/gallery/nineteen/xix.html), the $19 express lunch offers three substantial courses.

Start at the buffet table with a selection of seasonal salads (possibilities include dandelion greens and strawberries and grilled purple asparagus with white balsamic vinaigrette); then enjoy a served entree of flatiron steak, a pasta dish or individual pizza, followed by a return to the buffet for mini sweet treats: cookies, mousse cups, brownies and carrot cake. XIX also has launched a similar daily three-course dinner special for $30.

_ Acclaimed tapas chef Jose Garces likewise believes in offering midday value at his restaurants Amada in Old City (217 Chestnut St., 215-625-2450, www.amadarestaurant.com) and Tinto in Rittenhouse Square (114 S. 20th St., 215-665-9150, www.tintorestaurant.com).

The former's $12.50 Catalan Express has two courses, including a choice of crab and saffron bisque or Galician white bean and ham stew, followed by a salad or sandwich - perhaps Serrano ham and fig salad or skirt-steak sandwich.

The latter's Biablo Express runs $14.99 and includes a soup such as truffled chestnut with duck, mushroom hash and pistachio, or green salad, followed by a choice of several bocadillos (sandwiches in Spanish) - marinated tuna or Serrano ham with saucisson sec and chorizo, among them - accompanied by house-made potato chips.

Your mom would appreciate that you're making a fuss but not spending too much on the $35 champagne brunch at the Moshulu, the four-masted sailing-ship/restaurant docked at Penn's Landing (401 S. Columbus Blvd., 215-923-2500, www.moshulu. com). Unfortunately, the Moshulu is all booked for Mother's Day, so you might want to cook for mom this Sunday and give her a gift certificate for a future outing.

The three-course spread, which includes unlimited champagne, consists of a buffet of salads and starters (bagels, pastries, soups and salads), a served entree (coconut-crusted brioche French toast, blackened shrimp or filet mignon salad) and a return trip to the buffet for cakes, tortes and tartlets, plus a Belgian chocolate fountain. *

Philadelphia-based writer Robert DiGiacomo last wrote about seasonal spring cooking in the Daily News.