You can tell that the weather is warming up by how crowded the culinary event calendar is becoming. As more folks start to head outside after winter hibernation, there are all sorts of good reasons to dine out and give back at a few fun upcoming events.
The first is the Food for Thought Dinner coming up on Friday, March 24, at the Nashville Farmers Market. Troy Smiley is a stalwart at the NFM, manning his produce booth under the shed and serving as one of the best guides to what is currently in season. Smiley is one of the organizers of Food for Thought, a benefit for Benton Hall Academy, a local private school with a mission to be a place where “children who learn differently are educated with compassion, where children who struggle academically and socially are inspired to discover their strengths and maximize their potential, and where children who have been on the outside looking in are invited to belong.”
The event will run from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m. as a tasting walk-around where guests can sample from a host of local restaurants, ranging from down-home to upscale. Here’s the current list of who will be handing out the small plates:
- City House
- Margot Cafe and Bar
- 404 kitchen
- Buttermilk Ranch
- Fat Belly Pretzel Deli
- Mama Yang and Daughter
- Angel's Kitchen
- Monell's
- Nobl's
- Dozen
- Christie Cookies
- Meat Sweats
- P. F. Chang's
- O Charley's
- Ellie's Doughnuts
- Smiley's Produce
Food for Thought will also feature silent and live auctions, plus a wine pull and a whiskey pull, in which participants can buy a ticket to pull a cork and receive the bottle that corresponds with the number on the cork. They promise the value of the bottle will be more than the cost of the ticket, so that sounds like a grand idea!
General admission tickets are $75 in advance and $85 at the door, and reserved tables for four or eight are also available at the event website.
International Women’s Day is Wednesday, March 8, and two local businesses are hosting special events with markets to commemorate the occasion. The first is on March 8 at White Limozeen at the Graduate Hotel. Taking over the rooftop from 2 until 6 p.m., the festive event will feature two specialty cocktails designed for the occasion by White Limozeen’s beverage director Demi Natoli. Sip on a “No Scrubs” or a “Play Like a Girl” while shopping from female-owned businesses at the marketplace set up inside the restaurant. Proceeds from the cocktails will go to Play Like a Girl, an organization committed to nurturing young women into pursuing careers in STEM.
DJ Rodeo Starr will be spinning tunes, and the festive event is free to attend!
At Southern Grist’s brewery and taproom in the Nations at 5012 Centennial Blvd., they’re waiting until Saturday to celebrate International Women’s Day, since really, the whole month of March is set aside to recognize the achievements of women. (And honestly, the other 11 months probably should be too.)
From noon until 4 p.m., Southern Grist will set up a showcase in its parking lot to support local women-owned businesses. Of course, they’ll also be serving some of their delicious beer and food from L by Lauter.
The event is free to attend, and all ages are welcome.
