DFW Restaurant Week 2014

Tomorrow kicks off my favorite week of the local Dallas-Fort Worth foodie calendar – Restaurant Week!

Each summer for the last 17 years, some of the hottest restaurants in DFW have teamed up to offer special prix fixe menus with 20% of all proceeds supporting the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas and Lena Pope in Fort Worth.

This year over 125 hot restaurants will participate in the main week of the promotion (August 11-17) by offering either $35 or $45 three-course dinners.  Many will also offer the Cadillac Lunch Experience with $25 three-course lunches.  And as in past years, many will choose to host an optional second or third week of extended promotions as well.

Some restaurants will also participate in the Central Market Fourth Course promotion with a free fourth course available with a certificate obtained from a local Central Market store with a purchase of $25 or more. (Pro tip – these started back in mid-July so take your receipts in to customer service or have them look them up via your debit/credit card to get the ones you missed.)  Others will add a specialty cocktail that also contributes to the cause as well.

You can view the full list of participating restaurants – many also have their special menu listed so you can browse for favorite dishes.  Many participating restaurants are also offering reservation booking via OpenTable.

We had the opportunity to visit Al Biernats last night during the early Preview Weekend.  Their ever-generous menu offered the opportunity to taste some of their best dishes.  I started with a chilled shrimp gazpacho, continued with a main course of braised beef short ribs, and finished with their famous coconut crème pie.  My companion enjoyed mini beef wellingtons followed by a 6 oz filet and potatoes, and a slice of key lime pie.

I’m currently holding another reservation for next week for The Capital Grille (where they are also offering the Generous Pour annual summer event… so I’ll be enjoying a great three-course dinner AND a lot of great wines too).  The Fort Worth list  includes a couple of my favorites (Piola, Grace, Eddie V’s, and Max’s Wine Dive) and the Dallas list has perennial favorites (including Abacus, Hibiscus, Barter, Nobu, and Kenichi).

Will you be dining out for Restaurant Week this year?  If so, share where you’ll be going in the comments!