Last week marked the end of Binghamton’s second-ever restaurant week and our Release food critics went on the town prepared with their notebooks and forks. While we love to support local businesses, we also think a little constructive criticism can never hurt. Check out what we thought of just a few of the participating restaurants.

LOST DOG CAFÃ.

Grade: B+

While Lost Dog Caf√É© is my favorite restaurant in Binghamton, walking in for their Restaurant Week was good but disappointing. The lunch menu had some delicious options, but there were no sandwiches available, which would seem something great to offer. However, not having the sandwich I usually get on the lunch menu forced me to try something else which I really did love: the Cajun beans and greens. Also, Lost Dog’s signature Rigatoni ala Vodka was available which I’m sure made a lot of hungry returning customers very, very happy.

Although disappointed by their small variety, Restaurant Week at Lost Dog allowed me to get a soup, which I don’t normally have when dining there. As a college student, the week is a great opportunity, especially when lunches are offered for just $8. While the lunch menu was a bargain for your buck, the dinner prices were insane. For New York City’s Restaurant Week, $20 for a three-course meal seems reasonable, but I’ve dined at Lost Dog for dinner for less than $20 ‘ making the special not worth it.

Being that Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try out new places, it also is a realization to keep supporting the places you love to eat at already. Many restaurants offer specials that can allow college students to eat well on their college budget. Lost Dog offers tapas Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. where students can come in and nosh on great appetizers for lower prices.

Loving the Lost Dog, I couldn’t help but give its Restaurant Week selection less than a fabulous review, especially after my chocolate chip cookie I ordered for dessert came to the table cold.

‘ Tessa Millman

CREPE HEAVEN

Grade: B

Crepe Heaven definitely deserves its name; however, their Restaurant Week special was what hindered my experience eating there. I went for lunch on Sunday and after passing by every other restaurant Downtown with ‘closed’ signs hung on their doors, I was not surprised to see the line formed next to the register when I entered.

My dining companion and I were the fourth couple waiting to be seated, and after about 30 minutes a table opened up. The $8 three-course meal consisted of either soup or salad as an appetizer, one of 10 different savory or sweet crepes as a main course and then baba (a Turkish yeast cake soaked in syrup or liquor), marzipan (actually a chocolate-walnut cake) or a rum ball for dessert.

There was no more soup left by the time we ordered so I chose the salad, a ricotta (and spinach) crepe and baba.

The salad was a very small portion served in a soup cup with Ken’s Italian dressing on the side. From the quality to the presentation, I could have been eating in the dining hall and I wouldn’t have known the difference. The lettuce was iceberg, otherwise known as the anti-nutrient ‘leafy green’ and the tomatoes were a bit too squishy for my taste. Before I was finished with my salad, the waitress brought the crepe.

On the side was a small plastic take-away container of cold tomato sauce (like the ones used for cream cheese in the dining hall) and dried out spinach posing as basil. (I nibbled the dark green leaf multiple times just to verify that my taste buds were accurate.) Despite these little details, the crepe itself was actually quite good. The French pancake was as authentic as I hoped it would be with its thin width and subtly sweet flavor. The spinach to ricotta ratio was pretty even, and although I was a bit put off by the presentation of the tomato sauce, I can’t deny how well it went with the crepe.

I had never tried baba before, so I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to taste like and therefore did not have any complaints. The cylindrical cake was sweet from the syrup and had a similar consistency to a plain Entenmanns doughnut. It was nice to try, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again.

I would definitely give Crepe Heaven another chance since they must not have proclaimed themselves, ‘Binghamton’s naughtiest guilty pleasure’ for no reason. My only advice for the Bosnian-owned establishment is this: iceberg lettuce may be cheaper, but romaine is healthier and makes your customers happier.

‘ Gabby Tilevitz

FLAN CLUB

Grade: C+

Though many may not believe me, I’m Cuban. I know, my Aryan complexion doesn’t exactly scream Latina, but I was born and raised with the Latin flavor, so get over it. Moving on, it was because of my heritage that I was pretty excited when I found out there was a Puerto Rican restaurant in the area. Boricua food is not exactly the same but given their proximity, it’s pretty darn close.

Flan Club is the very definition of a hole in the wall, with its scarce decorations, tiny size and linoleum floors. I wouldn’t exactly go on a first date there but usually greasy spoons have the best food. Authentic as it gets, the restaurant sells Goya sodas by the bottle with exotic flavors like sangria or tamarind and are perfect on a hot day. From what I could tell, the restaurant was run by three women who each served as hostess, waitress and chef.

For my meal, I ordered arroz con pollo and maduras (sweet plantains) ‘ a classic Latin American dish. My companion ordered a vegetarian meal of tempeh.

While the service is friendly, it was abnormally slow. The time from us ordering to getting our meal was a little over an hour and the portions were tiny. The chicken wasn’t as dry as I feared, though I can’t say the same about the rice. The plantains, however, were perfecto.

Being the Flan Club, we thought it would be appropriate to order flan for dessert. Wrong. The flan was ordered from a third-party vendor and honestly it wasn’t that good. And I thought there was no such thing as bad flan.

I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt given their heavy traffic of Restaurant Week was probably more than usual, and I would probably give it a second chance, but in the future I’d recommend hiring more staff and working on their flan recipe.

‘ Elena Cox

LITTLE VENICE

Grade: A

Little Venice may have the appearance of a family-type restaurant, but it is great for any age and any occasion. If you’re looking for a good home-style Italian meal, Little Venice is the place to go. They have delicious daily specials, including soups and seafood dishes.

I knew I had picked a great restaurant when I sat down and an appetizing bowl of fresh baked bread was set on the table ‘ a secret recipe, known to only a few. Also, Little Venice’s marinara sauce is distributed throughout the country. I ordered spaghetti and marinara sauce to judge it for myself, and it truly was exceptional.

Little Venice, although a great choice during Restaurant Week, is definitely worth going to on any occasion. With the choice of three entr√É©es during Restaurant Week, I’d have to say I enjoyed their pasta with sauce the best. The salmon dish was also delicious, and is a favorite to many who have tried it.

Each entr√É©e comes with a side of soup or salad. The minestrone soup is a great choice. I personally am a huge fan of minestrone soup and have tried it in countless Italian restaurants, but I would definitely say Little Venice’s was one of my favorites.

‘ Danielle Nackash