Houston Restaurant Weeks Kickoff Teases the Foodie Magic in a True Blowout Night

Ah, the flavors that tempted the 300 partygoers that packed The Annie Cafe & Bar for the official kickoff of Houston Restaurant Weeks. Hosting the event, Ben Berg and his Berg Hospitality team pulled out the stops with samples of appetizers from each of his restaurants.

Guests noshed on crab tostadas (The Annie), bacon wrapped quail (The Annie), shrimp cocktail shooters (Turner’s), mini carpet baggers (B&B), Tommy’s bacon bites (B&B), ricotta de pecora on crostini (Sofia Trattoria), margherita D.O.C (Sofia Trattoria), focaccia di NoPo (NoPo) and quaffed signature Annie margaritas, wines from Dionysus Imports, beer from Stella Artois and more.

It was quite the tasty affair celebrating the $17.6 million Houston Restaurant Weeks has raised for the Houston Food Bank since its founding by Cleverley Stone in 2003. The real point of the gathering was to encouraging participatipn in the upcoming “diners doing good” fundraiser that launches this Monday, August 1 and runs through Labor Day, September 5. As of the party, held earlier this week, the total of participating restaurants had surged to 290 with more being added daily. You can find all the participating restaurants and menus here.

On hand were Houston Restaurant Week sponsors Tellepsen, Stella Artois, Baked Blossoms, Fadi’s, Allegiance Bank and Dionysus Imports. Tadd Tellepsen, whose family started Tellepsen 113 years ago and is head of the company that built the Houston Food Bank, was on hand to echo his support for the event and its positive impact on Houston.

Of course, Katie Stone, president of the Cleverley Stone Foundation and daughter of its namesake founder, thanked the throng for its loyalty to the cause.

“I am simply delighted at this year’s participation and how excited the diners are,” Katie Stone says. “HRW continues to grow and serve importance to the community. And we are hard at work to tell Houstonians of the hundreds of dining options and opportunity to sample the best of the city.”

PC Seen:  Houston Food Bank president and CEO Brian Greene, Berg Hospitality Group chef emeritus Robert Del Grande,  Brennan’s Carl Walker and wife Jennifer, popular restaurant professional Arthur Mooradian, KPRC Houston Life co-host Courtney Zavala and Orlando Romero, KPRC Houston Life co-host Derrick Shore and Brandon Bourque, Prospect Park Restaurants co-owner Rob Wright, Houston Public Media’s Ernie Manouse and Walt Zipprian, High-Tech Texan Michael Garfield, and B&B Butchers’ Keith Garver.