Restaurant Weeks, a chance to dine on chef-prepared cuisine at dozens of San Antonio area restaurants, kicks off Aug. 10th and runs through Aug. 24. The biannual salute to the Alamo city’s best culinary talent is the brainchild of Culinaria.

Photo: Kirsten Kaiser, adapted by Wandering Educators

“One of our primary goals is to help expose and support the remarkable culinary talent we have in this city,” said San Antonio resident Suzanne Taranto-Etheredge, president and CEO of the not-for-profit Culinaria.

The organization was founded to promote the city as a premiere destination for haute cuisine, beverage, and hospitality. Since its inception 20 years ago, Taranto-Etheredge has led the organization to new heights.

Now, the list of food, wine, festivals, and events is aimed at thousands of international visitors. That means anyone visiting San Antonio at any time of the year can indulge in any one of the popular local events.

More than 100 of the city’s best restaurants participate in Restaurant Weeks. Veteran participants include Bob’s Steak & Chop House, Eddie V’s Wildfish, Bliss, and The Silo Restaurant Group. Other regular participants include: Biga on the Banks, Tre Tratorria, Botika, Grayze, Nonna Osteria, Little Italy, Tribeca 212, Las Canarias, La Fogata, Gwendolyn, Cover 3, and many more.

Yummi Japanese Restaurant and Bistro 09 are two newcomers. But the list keeps growing daily, as more restaurants sign up to participate in this annual epicurean extravaganza aimed at introducing diners to the city’s fine-dining haunts. 

Tourists can take advantage of discounts at many restaurants during Restaurant Weeks when visiting San Antonio in August. Discounts are offered through prix-fixe menus. Brunch is $25 dollars, and three-course lunches are $15 dollars, while three-course dinners range from $35 to $45 dollars. 

Visitors don’t need to make reservations, although it would be wise to do so if choosing a restaurant along downtown San Antonio’s popular River Walk. But other fine restaurants can be found in old South Town, the Pearl, and surrounding suburbs.

Restaurant Weeks has reached a milestone by celebrating a decade of offering multi-course gourmet meals as part of a whole host of activities designed and produced by the nonprofit. Additionally, this year, restaurants from the suburbs farther afield, such as New Braunfels and Boerne, are participating.

Culinaria staff and volunteers work tirelessly to produce year-round food, wine, spirits, and competitive running events. Monies raised from a whole host of events go to support the educational aspirations of hundreds of hospitality and culinary arts students in the area. 

Led by Taranto-Etheredge, events are planned throughout the year. Just as one event ends, another is looming. Take Tasty Tuesdays, where participating restaurants offered discounts all summer long prior to the official start of Restaurant Weeks. Tasty Tuesdays featured three-course lunches for $15 and three-course dinners for $35. 

“Tuesdays are traditionally slower for the restaurant industry, so it made sense to extend our Restaurant Weeks offerings. It might be the nudge folks need to get out and sample some of our city’s best gourmet options and still stay on budget,” she said.

Thus far this year, visitors and locals alike have indulged in several events the organization created. In July, La Cantera Resort & Spa hotel hosted “Evenings of the Edge,” which conjured images of the old TV show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” with Robin Leach, and featured champagne, food, and fun poolside.

That event was followed by Ramblin Rose´ wine tasting in the beautiful Texas Hill Country winery of Dr. Richard and Bunny Becker. The annual sold out event drew dozens of wine lovers away from the city for a few hours of light bites and Texas wine.

Now, with the annual Culinaria Food & Wine Festival moved from May to Sept. 26-29, the organization is gearing up for another prelude to that event. This special celebration is called Bubbles. La Cantera Resort & Spa will host the event. 

In October, a Halloween 5K run invites adults and children to participate. The following months will no doubt include the annual January Restaurant Weeks as well as more events planned and executed by the prolific group.

San Antonio is one of the most popular cities in Texas when it comes to tourism, a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Culinaria. That said, anyone planning a trip should visit the organization’s website to see a schedule of year-round happenings at: www.culinariasa.org

Rosie Carbo is the Lifestyles Editor for Wandering Educators, and is a former newspaper reporter whose work has appeared in newspapers and magazines nationwide. Some of those publications include People magazine, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, and San Antonio Express-News. Some of her features were redistributed by The Associated Press early in her career as an award-winning Texas journalist.

All photos courtesy and copyright Culinaria, used with permission.