Only two days left for Culinaria's Restaurant Week in San Antonio! What a great opportunities with these delicious, prix fixe menus to take friends, order at least one of every choice and eat "family style" sharing bites and favorites as you work your way through lunch or dinner.

Hopefully you've spent some of your week visiting San Antonio new or established restaurants and seeing what their chefs can do when let loose in the kitchen. These four restaurants and their sample menus are new and old favorites of mine. 

Click here for the entire list of participating restaurants.

The details: Each participating restaurant is offering at least a three-course prix fixe menu at lunch ($15) and dinner ($35).

Newer places to visit

Tost Bistro Bar. Many of you may know this as a great place to listen to some live music and have an amazing martini, but there is also a lot going on in the kitchen. Tost has held nothing back with their Restaurant Week menu. Check it out: 

What's on the menu: Tost is offering a four course dinner menu for $35 for Restaurant Week.

- First course: Braised pork belly, sweet potato puree and Kimchi OR Crab Cake, Chipotle mayo, red cabbage slaw and corn puree

- 2nd Course: Heirloom Tomato salad, watermelon, bleu cheese, crusty bread, with red wine vinaigrette, OR Soup of the day 

- 3rd Course: Pan roasted scallops, ginger, chili brown butter. corn puree, tomatoes and mushrooms, OR Fish of the Day OR short ribs braised in Shiner Bock beer, slow cooked with mash potatoes and pickled radish & English Cucumber  OR Braised leg of lamb, beurre rouge, bean ragout, couscous and parsley salad 

- 4th Course: Homemade Beignet with a chocolate espresso sauce

My recommendation: The pork belly and heirloom tomato salad, definitely. I'm torn between the short ribs and the lamb, but the lamb wins. A menu this good is worth visiting a second time this week to try the other options.

Bonus: This Friday and Saturday night feature live music with Leslie Lugo trio (Latin, Jazz and Salsa) on Thursday and Theresa singing Soul Funk with "Chocolate City and Vanilla Suburb" on Saturday).

Old favorites of mine

Paloma Blanca and Paesanos (usually the 1604 location). Both are offering lunch and dinner menus for Restaurant Week, but today I'll tell you about their lunch offerings.

Paloma Blanca. Click here for their full Restaurant Week menu.

- 1st course, a cup of crema de agucate, a blended avocado with a hint of poblano and lime garnished with avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro and sour cream (served chilled).

- 2nd course, Pollo Paloma, a grilled chicken breast covered in half Crema Chipotle and Crema Cilantro served with Poblano corn white rice and Esmeralda salad.

- 3rd course, Chocolate Tres Leches Cake, they're famous homemade cake topped with pecans and covered in chocolate milk served with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Paesanos 1604. Click here for their full Restaurant Week menu. Paesano's Lunch menu is a choice of two selections and entree and a dessert. 

- Entree choice of Citrus Roasted Chicken Salad, with arugula, seasonal tomatoes and sweet basil vinaigrette OR Wagyu Burger, with truffle fries and gorgonzola fondue

- Dessert, Key Lime tart with mango rum and coconut cream, OR Summer Berries in Grand Mariner Syrup

My recommendation: Go with the Bs, The burger and the berries.

My ultimate, favorite Restaurant Week selection, for both style and taste is Coco Chocolate Bistro and Lounge.

I love chocolate and chocolate is the main component of this three-course dinner menu:

- 1st course: A bacon-accented chocolate risotto. 

- 2nd course: A chocolate emulsion accompanying lobster, served with polenta, ancho chile and white cocoa.

- Dessert: It's a secret, but it will knock your chocolate socks off.

My recommendation: Leave the men at home and take the girls to this dinner. Pick a designated driver and keep your table stocked in Mexican Chocolate Martinis, Malbec and splits of Champagne. It will be a night to remember...

Happy eating!

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