In greater Huntsville, a mere week is not enough to celebrate all that the city’s culinary scene has going on. That’s why city promoters now set aside the entire month of August for exploring the flavors and diversity of its restaurants, dessert shops, breweries, and bars.
The month’s main course is Huntsville Restaurant Week, actually a 10-day feast set this year for August 11-20.
Some 90 establishments have signed up, offering specials including multi-course prix-fix meals for $50 or less per person. Options throughout each day range from breakfast to late-evening noshes.
Links to information about each restaurant, including their restaurant week special menus, can be found here.
The event was established in 2012 by the Huntsville Convention and Visitors Bureau (HCVB) to promote local restaurants and create new customers. It’s also become an attraction for non-residents exploring the Rocket City, and lets locals show love for the area’s food entrepreneurs, organizers say.
It’s been such a success, the HCVB decided, starting last year, to expand the celebration into Culinary Month.
“Just as we have world-class museums, outdoor recreation, arts, and more, Huntsville also has a world-class dining scene,” Judy Ryals, president and CEO of the HCVB says in a news release. “We’ve witnessed the incredible tenacity and hard work our restauranteurs have shown over the past few years, and this campaign is one way of expressing our appreciation for them.”
During August, the city will host a qualifying event for the World Food Championships. The finals, billed as the “largest food stage in the world,” are set for November in Dallas.
Other Culinary Month events include hands-on classes, demonstrations, and one-night-only events from industry professionals. A list can be found here.
You don’t have to go out to enjoy restaurant week. Rocket City Delivery is waiving delivery fees from participating restaurants throughout the event. Enter the code HRW2023 for a list of eateries with no-fee delivery.
The restaurant lineup reflects the expansion of dining options in Huntsville, Madison, and nearby. Participating eateries specialize in a wide variety of Asian cuisines, German and other European cooking, high-end fare, down-home cooking, and healthy-food specialists.
“Each year, the variety within our dining scene grows, and it is exciting to celebrate,” Pam Williams, Culinary Month coordinator for the HCVB, says in the news release. “Being home to Redstone Arsenal, Marshall Space Flight Center, and global companies attracts new residents from all over, and their native flavors come with them.”
Here’s a peek at a few Huntsville Restaurant Week participants and when they offer their specials:
Dinner ($14): Hoisin peach glaze chicken wings with sticky ginger barbecue and wasabi dipping sauce.
Lunch: House or Greek salad with a bowl of house-made gumbo ($15), or shrimp po-boy with fries ($13).
Dinner ($30): First course is house salad; second is a choice between shrimp alfredo and roasted chicken over garlic mashed potatoes and broccolini; third is crab clusters with sausage, corn, and potatoes, tossed in house sauce.
ChillaBay Dessert Bar (Madison)
All day ($8) Peach cobbler specialty shake.
Breakfast ($9, Saturday and Sunday only): Cinnamon bread French toast, with powdered sugar, butter, and syrup.
Dinner ($40, nightly): Fried Scallops Dinner Special with garlic dill aioli, zucchini casserole, coconut jasmine rice, and house salad with lemon zest vinaigrette.
Lunch ($15): Two tacos with rice, beans, chips and salsa, and soft drink.
Dinner ($40): Trio dip (salsa, queso, guacamole), taco flight, and tres leches or crème brulee.
All day: Mexican street corn ($4); Chicken, pork, or rajas tamal ($5)
Dinner ($30): Grilled watermelon salad; artichoke-lemon ravioli with cream and basil pesto sauce, and a small gelato.
Lunch ($15): Grilled peach caprese salad with summer peaches, house-made mozzarella, luna sweets, shaved prosciutto, and tomato vinaigrette. Second course is a lobster roll with minced celery, lemon garlic aioli, and chives.
Fruity Peach Arnold Palmer Ice Pop ($4), Lushy Lemoncello Cream Ice Pop ($5).
