San Antonio Pappas restaurants roll out $40 menus for food banks

What to do when a restaurant empire has outgrown traditional restaurant weeks? For Pappas Restaurants, the answer was to go out on its own.

The Houston-based hospitality group is launching its first-ever Pappas Restaurant Weeks August 1-September 7, serving up prix fixe menus and featured dishes across all 10 of its concepts, including two in San Antonio: Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen and Pappasito's Cantina.

The format is similar to Culinaria Restaurant Weeks, running at nearly the same time. Each meal sold benefits a food bank in its local community, including the San Antonio Food Bank.

Both Pappasito's and Pappadeaux will offer $40 menus, donating $5 per meal sold. The three-course feast includes a soup or salad, an entree, and a dessert, although each can be augmented with appetizers or premium mains.

The Tex-Mex menu at the Cantina includes entrée choices such as chicken fajitas, grilled Atlantic salmon, or pork carnitas, which can be upgraded with add-ons like chile con queso. Pappadeaux’s seafood menu includes options like rainbow trout with lump crab, grilled shrimp alfredo, and a combo of fried crawfish and crawfish étouffée.

For those traveling, Pappas Restaurant Weeks covers 80 restaurants in eight states, from the fine dining Little’s Oyster Bar and Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen to the more casual Pappas Burger. But don’t expect the $40 price point everywhere. The price at Michelin-recognized Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas and Houston runs a steep $90, but includes some serious beef.

The event is a continuation of Pappas’ hunger-relief efforts, including its Bite to Fight giving program and its annual Pappas Can volunteer initiative, which encourages staff to donate time at food banks across the country.

"For decades, our restaurants have been dedicated to bringing people together around exceptional food and hospitality," said Christina Pappas, the company's chief marketing officer, in a release. "Pappas Restaurant Weeks is an extension of that commitment on a national scale."