Hot on the heels of the most successful Austin Restaurant Week to-date comes FLAVORS of Austin, a year-round weekly event featuring one local restaurant every Sunday through Wednesday, created by Launch787.

“The goal of FLAVORS of Austin is to answer the age-old question ‘Hey honey, where do you want to go to dinner?’ By providing a weekly featured restaurant, we can give diners the chance to check out new places, be re-introduced to old favorites, or test new menus,” said Matt Swinney, founder of FLAVORS of Austin.

As the national and local economy continue to rebound from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Swinney hopes his new food event will help do its part to stimulate Austin's economy and allow restaurants to do things they’ve been doing under the radar - with less risk - by having a marketing partner in Launch787.

“We want to create an opportunity to have something ongoing so each restaurant can build on the one prior. We don’t want restaurants to compete with each other, but instead wanted to create community between them – that’s why only one restaurant will participate in FLAVORS each week, providing exclusivity. We also want to feature all types of restaurants – FLAVORS gives us the opportunity to feature casual as well as luxury establishments,” said Swinney.

Where Austin Restaurant Week primarily focuses on making those "destination" restaurants Austinites love more accessible, FLAVORS can downscale it to a degree and offer people an even greater value. This provides a nice compliment to what ARW already does, and should open a lot of restaurant doors to people who might not otherwise have gone out.

A good example is Frank, the lead-off restaurant being featured this week. A new gourmet hot dog and sausage eatery in the Warehouse District, Frank's FLAVORS menu is just $12, or $28 with wine pairings, and features such items as Gator Boudin Fritters with Hatch Chile Remoulade, Jalapeno Venison sausage or Duck a la Orange, a Foie Gras sausage with orange and Brie.

A portion of every dollar spent during FLAVORS of Austin, will be donated to the Sustainable Food Center of Austin. Austin Restaurant Week also donates a portion of their proceeds to the SFC and AIDS Services of Austin.

"Sustainable Food Center was privileged to have been selected as a beneficiary of Austin Restaurant Week for the first time this fall," says Susan Leibrock, SFC's Community Relations Director.

"Several participating restaurants demonstrate an ongoing commitment to sourcing local food from Austin Farmers’ Market, a project of SFC. It’s wonderful for us to be able to, in turn, support those chefs’ businesses."

"FLAVORS of Austin is a fresh, exciting new concept whereby every week of the year is essentially restaurant week – focusing on one store at a time," continues Leibrock. "I’m proud to see Satay and Primizie among the October partner restaurants, as chef-owners Foo Swasdee and Mark Spedale are long-time supporters of SFC. Restaurant-centered fundraisers are critical to raising awareness of SFC’s mission of cultivating a healthy community by strengthening the local food system and improving access to nutritious, affordable food."

So can Austin support what appears to be dueling weekly restaurant events? According to Swinney, yes.

"FLAVORS isn't about competing at all. The multi-course menu idea is a sustainable one. We will play off each other and help sustain each other."

"As long as Austin has great restaurants," Swinney adds, "this concept will be successful."

The first FLAVORS of Austin event is September 28-30, featuring 5-hot dog and sausage “flights” from Frank.

October 4-7 will feature a $35 3-course farmers’ dinner at Cipollina ($48 with wine pairings). Cipollina will also be introducing their full table service during FLAVORS of Austin.

Primizie Osteria will be featured October 18-21. Chef Mark Spedale will be showcasing Tastes of Sicily, based on his recent trip to his home island of Sicily.

A new restaurant will be announced every week via Launch787.com and FlavorsOfAustin.com.

Austin Restaurant Week happens in two four-day blocks, twice a year. You can find out more at RestaurantWeekAustin.com.

Visit SustainableFoodCenter.org to learn more about Sustainable Food Center.