Wild Mushroom enters KRLD Restaurant Week

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August 2, 2012

Wild Mushroom enters KRLD Restaurant Week

Sally Sexton CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Thu Aug 02, 2012, 08:00 AM CDT

WEATHERFORD — Fine cuisine and charities will come together to celebrate the 15th annual KRLD Restaurant Week Aug. 13 through 19.

More than 125 restaurants in the North Texas area, including Weatherford’s The Wild Mushroom Steakhouse and Lounge, will be participating in the event, which donates a portion of profits to two charities — Lena Pope Home and the North Texas Food Bank.

“People across North Texas love this event because they can dine out as some of the great establishments and discover great food, but at the same time, we try to reiterate that they’re also helping support two great charities,” Colleen Peterson, who is in charge of marketing for the event, said.

The week-long festivities include participating restaurants providing gourmet three-course dinners, for $35 per person. Tax, tip and drinks are billed separately.

For the first time since the event was organized, select restaurants, not including Wild Mushroom, are also offering three-course lunches for $25 per person, through the Cadillac Lunch Experience.

For every dinner purchased, $7 will go to the charities, while $5 will be donated for every lunch sold.

Wild Mushroom, in its third year of participation, is offering a preview weekend to customers, from Aug. 10 through 12, and will extend the event through Sept. 3.

“Our promotion will be three weeks long,” Wild Mushroom owner John Shepherd said. “Last year, we were one of the top restaurants, as far as dinners, and we received an award from the Lena Pope Home.”

The special menu includes a choice of Waldorf Salad or Jalapeno Soup for Course 1, the option of Tandoori Skirt Steak, Chicken Kabab or Herb-crusted Salmon for Course 2 and Cheesecake, Apple and Pear Tarte Tatin or Mascarpone Ice Cream/Chocolate Brownie Sundae for the final course.

Diners will also have the option of an additional course, Coconut Curry Infused Clams, which can be purchased for an additional $7.

“It’s a great charity event that brings a lot of new people out,” Shepherd said. “We just like to do stuff that’s fun and different and we work with a lot of local charities, but we enjoy doing ones that serve the entire Metroplex as well.”

Registration began Monday, and anyone interested in reserving a spot should contact the establishment and request a KRLD Restaurant Week reservation, or log on to CBSDFW.com.

“Restaurant Week is incredibly important to us, because our mission is to help create opportunities for families and children and we do that through a variety of programs that focus on counseling and communication,” Todd Landry, executive director of the Lena Pope Home, which has an office in Weatherford, said. “This is a great way for people to go out to some of their favorite restaurants, or find some new ones, and get an incredible three-course meal.

“Those dollars then go into serving our kids and families in Weatherford and across North Texas.”

Last year, diners across the area helped raise nearly $695,000 for the two charities. This year’s goal is to reach $750,000.

“This is our 13th year participating, and it's Wild Mushroom’s third year,” Landry said. “We want to give them a lot of credit because between the first and second year, they had one of the largest percentage increases in the amount of dinners sold.

“That’s a 279-percent increase from 2010 to 2011.”

Reservations are filling up fast, and Shepherd is encouraging everyone to reserve a table, either online or by calling 817-599-4935, as quickly as possible.

To find out a list of all participating restaurants, go to http://dfw.cbslocal.com/krld-restaurant-week.