CiCi's pizza buffet.

CiCi’s Pizza has opened a location at 2335 S.W. Military Road.

The new south San Antonio location will employ 40 people, while offering patrons an endless pizza buffet for $5.49 a person.

CiCi's Pizza Italiano

“We’ve been a part of the San Antonio community for years, and we’re excited to bring yet another CiCi’s location to the area,” franchisee Tommy Marlin said. “CiCi’s endless buffet offers so many choices, there’s something for everyone in the community, and every family member to enjoy.”

CiCi’s offers a variety of unique pizzas, including Macaroni & Cheese, Mexican Pizza Olé and Spinach Alfredo. The latest is the Italiano, a thin-crust pizza with several cheeses, sausage and a special spice blend.

Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Click here for more information.

Didn’t get to visit enough restaurants during Restaurant Week? Then check out one of Jason Dady’s places.

The chef and owner of the Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills and Bin 555 among others, has announced that he’s continuing his specials through the end of September.

The menus will change weekly, he says, but three-course lunches will be offered for $15 and three-course dinners for $35. The specials will be available at the Lodge, 1746 Lockhill-Selma; Bin 555 at Artisans Alley, 555 W. Bitters Road; Tre Trattoria, 4003 Broadway; and Restaurant Insignia in the Fairmount, 401 S. Alamo St.

For more information, call 210-349-8466.

Bruce Auden of Biga on the Banks, 203 S. St Mary’s St., also reminded us that his restaurant has a three-course dinner special every evening for $37.

The official Restaurant Week concludes tonight. For more information, click here.

In other restaurant news, Freebirds World Burrito has opened a new location. It’s at 125 N.W. Loop 410 in the Plaza del Norte center.

Big’z Burger Joint, 2303 N. Loop 1604 W., is hosting a fundraiser tonight with several San Antonio social media clubs to raise money for the children of fishermen affected by the oil spill in the Gulf.

The event, part of a nationwide effort, runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

All money raised will go to Catholic Charities of New Orleans, which will, in turn, benefit the education of the children of fishermen hit hard by the oil spill, says Jennifer Milikien, who is working on the fundraiser. “Jennifer Navarrete (@epodcaster), Colleen Pence (@colleenpence) and Luis Sandoval, Jr. (@luissandovaljr) are all actively involved in this event, and Social Media Club, Social Media Breakfast of San Antonio and TweetBabes are all organizational sponsors of the event,” she says.

The theme of the evening is Bingo for the Beach, and Texas Tide will be playing beach music and old favorites during the evening. An oil-themed bingo game and other events are scheduled during the evening.

The cost is $10 a person, which includes a bingo card as well as admission.

For more information on the national event, click here.

A couple of notes from the city’s restaurant scene:

• 

  Party food from Godai Sushi Bistro

  Godai Sushi Bistro, 4553 N. Loop 1604 W., is now open for lunch and dinner. For more information, call (210) 492-9262.

• Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders, 6044 FM 3009, has closed, according to the rumor mill. The phone has been disconnected. If the story is true, it would be a loss for those who lived in the area and enjoyed the toasty grinders that they served as well as the great ice cream dishes.
• Also, Restaurant Week continues at a host of restaurants. Specials include three-course, $15 lunches and $35 dinners. Click here for more details.

Becker Vineyards invites you to join them for their 14^th Annual Grape Stomp, Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 4-5.  This event is complimentary; no reservations required.

Oak barrels will be cut in half and people can stomp for fun. You can also purchase T-shirts and put your own “stomp prints” on them as a souvenir.

Concessions will be by Fired Up Wood Oven Baked Pizza.

Hours for the stomps:  Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. ;  Sunday, Noon-6 p.m. Becker Vineyards is 11 miles east of Fredericksburg off U.S. Hwy. 290 at Jenschke Lane .  830-644-2681.  www.beckervineyards.com

Wine lovers can expect a pleasant surprise on Wednesdays at Fogo de Chão, 849 E. Commerce St.

Through Sept. 29, patrons will receive a free bottle of wine with the purchase of two adult lunches or dinners. The choice is between two Chilean favorites from Casa Lapostolle: the Cuvée Alexandre Merlot or the Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines regularly sell at the restaurant for $60 or more.

Reservations are required. If you make them online at fogo.com, then mention “Wine 2010″ in the comments box. If you prefer to make your reservations over the phone, call 210-227-1700 and mention the promotion at that time.

Scott Cohen, founding chef of two new San Antonio restaurants, is now teaching aspiring cooks and chefs at Austin’s Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

Cohen created the menus at Pavil Restaurant and Bar and Watermark Grill. Both restaurants are owned and operated by the Watermark Hotel Company. Formerly he was chef at the Omni La Mansion del Rio Hotel, on the River Walk.

Cohen brings more than three decades of traditional French culinary experience and a resumé that includes training in New York and France to inform his teaching.  Cohen will continue with Watermark Hotel Company’s two restaurants as the Company’s Culinary Creative Advisor and a member of Watermark Hotel Company’s Board of Directors.

Watermark Grill and Pavil Restaurant will continue day-to-day operations with chefs Tyler Horstmann and José Yanez respectively, according to owner Patrick J. Kennedy. Cohen will continue to assist with menu and staff development.

Located in the new Plaza Las Campanas mixed-use development at the southeast corner of Huebner Road and Loop 1604, Pavil Restaurant and Bar serves classic Parisian brasserie fare. Watermark Grill, at the intersection of Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway (northeast corner) offers fresh sustainable seafood and a large, fresh raw bar.

A second Big’z Burger Joint is being planned. It should open in the Highway 151 area near Sea World, says Lauren Stanley, one of the

Bigz Burger Joint offers plenty different cheeses and toppings for their burgers.

owners.

The new Big’z “is currently in the permitting stage with the City of San Antonio,” she says. “Our time-line for construction/opening is dependent upon how long that process takes …”

The restaurant will be located next to Classic Miniature Golf. Plans are for the building to be 11,000 square feet, which will include a private party room plus a roomy deck area and 25,000 square feet of play space for kids in an backyard carpeted with artifical turf.

“We’re so excited to be a part of the growth in Westover Hills,” Stanley says.

The original Big’z Burger Joint is at 2303 N. Loop 1604 W.

Want to win a hat autographed by George Strait and help a woman in need at the same time? Then head out to Texas Pride Barbecue, 2890 E. Loop 1604 S., on Aug. 21 for Hope Fest, a benefit for Patricia Jansky Quick, who was left paralyzed after surgery and finds herself in need of a new home.

Six bands will perform at the event, which runs from 1 to 10 p.m. There will also be auctions, including that hat signed by Strait.

Quick is the younger sister of Clifton Jansky, the country music artist who recorded “Amarillo by Morning” before Strait and is the winner of multiple awards from the Christian Country Music Association.

According to a press release on the event, “Quick became paralyzed from the waist down after surgery in December for scoliosis, or curvature of the spine. She could move her toes and legs after the nine-hour surgery, which included the insertion of two titanium rods to straighten her spine. Two days later, she was paralyzed, and her doctors could not explain why or whether she will ever walk again. The doors in her mobile home, where she was helping rear her 6-year-old grandson, were too narrow for her wheelchair for her to go to the bedroom or bathroom. So she stayed in the living room. Her brothers Clifton and Galen Jansky brainstormed about building her a small home and contacted friends and businesses. Volunteers and donations – including the concrete slab, framing and plumbing and electrical work – poured in, and she moved into the modest, 1,100-square-foot house earlier this summer. But Quick needs $20,000 to pay for the remainder of the bills.”

The bands performing are the Rankin Twins, Mario Flores & the Soda Creek Band, Road Home, Jack Higginbotham, Freddy Scott and the Landon James Band.

Other items in the auction include a suite at the AT&T Center for a Rampage hockey game, home accessories, wine and liquor baskets and paintings by Texas artists.

Tickets, which include a barbecue meal, are $15 online or $20 at the door. For more information, to buy tickets or to make donations, click on www.texasmissionofhope.com.

Monetary donations to the Patricia Quick – Special Fund may be made at any Security Service Federal Credit Union branch office. Checks may be made to Patricia Quick – Special Fund and mailed to 1826 Pipestone Drive, San Antonio, TX  78232.

COCO Chocolate Lounge, 18402 U.S. 281 N. in the Legacy Center, is joining with Grande Communications to help raise funds for the San Antonio Food Bank.

From 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, the bistro and bar that celebrates all things chocolate will offer appetizers, a drink, a chocolate fountain, a DJ and more in exchange for a $20 contribution at the door.

For every dollar raised, the Food bank can buy 10 pounds of food.

For reservations, call 210-320-3245.