Knoxville Restaurant Week is upon us! Yum.

The new restaurant, C&C Bistro, located on Clinch Ave., offered these pork rillettes at the launch party last night.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent some quality time today “smiling and dialing,” as they say. Why? Because the eateries participating in this year’s Knoxville Restaurant Week were announced last night in an event at The Emporium, and I want to be sure I get in on the great deals at establishments I love. You should go to the event’s website (click here) and snatch up your own reservations before all the good time slots are taken!

Knoxville Restaurant Week, in its fourth year, is a fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.

From March 2-7, Knoxville diners will be treated to a special week of great meals for this great cause. Three-course meals will be offered at a special fixed price of $25 or $35 at the participating local restaurants.

Knoxville “foodies” can now make reservations at their favorite dining spots. Guests are encouraged to make reservations early, as popular restaurants fill quickly.

Parkside Grill brought shrimp cocktail with a spicy horseradish sauce last night.

“I hear from people who look forward to Restaurant Week all year. You can’t beat the fine dining cuisine at great fixed prices,” said Elaine Streno, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. “Every year, Knoxville Restaurant Week keeps growing, and last year, we doubled the number of participating restaurants. I am grateful for everyone who participates – from our sponsors and restaurants to the diners.”

Restaurant Week fans will be glad to know that past favorites, including Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Fleming’s, The Melting Pot, Chesapeake’s and The Orangery are returning with sumptuous new specialty menus. There are also several new participating restaurants, including Parkside Grill and C&C Bistro.

Diners can go to the newly revamped Knoxville Restaurant Week website, http://www.knoxvillerestaurantweek.com, to view the full list of participating restaurants and browse menus. To make a reservation for this special week, restaurants should be contacted directly, and contact information is listed on the website.

My favorite things last night were the stuffed mushrooms from Parkside Grill.

In addition to the great deals offered to local diners, Knoxville Restaurant Week benefits the East Tennessee region in three key ways. First, it drives traffic to restaurants at a typically slow period for the dining industry. Second, Knoxville enjoys increased economic activity by residents and visitors going out to eat. Third, Second Harvest Food Bank receives donations to feed the hungry and help the one in six East Tennesseans living in poverty.

Last year, Restaurant Week raised more than $49,000 that provided meals for more than 147,000 needy East Tennesseans. Since its first year in 2011, Knoxville Restaurant Week has helped provide meals for more than 250,000 East Tennesseans.

“Knoxville Restaurant Week benefits everyone involved,” Streno said. “This event feeds thousands of hungry East Tennesseans, while providing an excellent dining experience for patrons and driving sales and economic impact to the restaurants. That’s why this fundraiser is so much fun.”

Pilot Flying J is the presenting sponsor of the event. Other sponsors include more than 30 leading Knoxville restaurants, KaTom Restaurant Supply, US Foods, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, Greater Knoxville Hospitality Association, the Knoxville News Sentinel and Moxley Carmichael

Knoxville restaurants may still register to participate by visiting the website or calling Elaine Streno at 865-243-8216.

Tonya Hill and Tonetta Dibrell stopped by to sample the goodies at the launch party at The Emporium.

Knox County Commissioner Dave Wright chatted with Elaine Streno, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.

Here’s the chocolate macadamia-coconut bark Ruth’s Chris brought. Holy cow!

T.J. Saunders and Shawna Frazier did a great job representing Ruth’s Chris at the event.

Rhonda Reger saw an invitation to the event published in the News Sentinel and dropped by. She liked the chocolate!

Bobbye Edwards, left, and Kathy Reilly enjoyed the samples.

Jaydie Smith is the catering coordinator for Parkside Grill.

Austin Ferver, representing C&C Bistro, preparing the rillettes, which are a lot like pate.

Eldon and Pam Mitchell spent a little time perusing the C&C menu.

Megan Venable, the People and Parties columnist for the News Sentinel, dropped by and visited with Elaine.

Here are Gay Lyons, left, and Kimberly Pettigrew of Knoxville Magazine, which will debut next month.

Ed Marcum, left, a business writer for the News Sentinel, comparing notes with Scott Bird of Moxley Carmichael.

Lauren Christ, left, and Amanda Shell also worked the event for Moxley Carmichael.

Ruth’s Chris brought some nice koozies.

The Emporium Center for the Arts was a great place for the event and we couldn’t help but  notice some of the interesting art on exhibit.

I loved this photograph. It’s called “Clint” and is by Jeffrey Stoner of Kingsport. It is for sale for $445.

Probably because we do so much work for the Knoxville Utilities Board, this piece called “Wired” caught my attention. It’s by Lil Clinard of Loudon, Tenn., and is for sale for $300.

“Torso with Jeans” is an oil by Scherry L. Samuels, also of Loudon. Price: $720.

Alan and I are planning a trip to Paris, so this watercolor of Sacre Coeur by Lil Clinard was intriguing to me. It is for sale for $700.

Finally, you are never going to guess what the next piece is. None of us could figure it out without looking at the label.

It’s called “Uterus Puppet,” if you can imagine. For $2,000, it can be yours! It actually won a Jury Citation and is by Mindy Herrin of Johnson City. Go figure!

See you in the dining rooms! Now, go make those reservations!