Sometimes Las Vegas surprises me. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve always had a love / hate relationship with it. Of course when I was of the legal and maybe not so legal drinking age I loved it but now that I’ve turned in a granny and all I want to do is make jam and cook and read and go to dinner parties I’ve somewhat lost touch with the city of sin that I live. I’ll often complain that there is no culture here, people aren’t friendly and no one has a desire to cultivate art or the community but slowly and surely Las Vegas is proving me wrong!
Case in point – Project Dinner Table. I fell in love with it the first time I saw their ad in BVLDS magazine. It is similar in style to Outstanding in the Field but with a Vegas twist. Here is an excerpt from their website:
The idea is simple enough…re-connect with the dinner table, bring back meaningful conversation and feed ourselves with local goodness. This is what the small collaborative group called the “Kitchen Cabinet” has set out to share with others.
Project Dinner Table is a series of seven dinners where we gather in unique locations. We dine at one long table with a white tablecloth setting that seats at least one hundred people. We will feast family style, over six courses that are inspired by local and regional purveyors. Our purpose is about local artisans, building community and giving back.
Sounds pretty awesome doesn’t it? For the most part it is. Steve and I were lucky to attend the dinner in August. We weren’t exceptionally blown away by dinner – except the homemade Twix Bars (!!!) Steve ate three and had a stomach ache the rest of the night – but the event was wonderful. We experienced a part of the city where we never venture (downtown), I bought a pair of fantastic vintage sunglasses, we made new friends, had great conversation all while contributing to a local charity. All in all it was a B+ and I would recommend it to anyone.
Have any of you been? Do you have something like this in your town? I would love to hear about it!
*** photos were taken with my new Diana…the Holga and I split up. It was a one-sided relationship that was more work than fun so I ditched him! The Diana uses film and you never know what to expect.
wow. that sounds like an amazing experience. i would love to find something like that out here. and those pictures are so beautiful and mysterious. i keep wanting to dabble in film, but i have a hard time letting go of the “control” i have with digital. plus film is so expensive. but there’s really nothing like looking at real film is there? it has so much more depth, somehow. take care :::
Hi Tifanie! Aren’t you in LA? Outstanding in the Field has events like this in your area. You should check them out! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I love my Diana but it’s always such an experiment every time I use it but I guess that is part of the fun!
Thanks, Chassie! That is a good kick-in-the-pants for those of us that live in amazing food meccas (like we do here in Cowichan). My first response to your blog post was..”well..that is just Saturday night in Cowichan Valley”..as there is always something casual, cool and culinary happening here. But really, I don’t get out of my box very often..and projects like Project Dinner Table sound fabulous. It is so inspiring to read about these events in urban places. There may be hope for this planet yet!
Of course you have these wonderful events every weekend in Cowichan! ***If you are reading this you seriously need to plan a vacation to Cowichan. It is a little slice of Heaven!***
Chassie,
We are so grateful you shared in the experience at project dinner table. You are right it’s not one thing, but many things we all crave that end up collaborating for one night. Thank you for coming and we hope to see you again.
Thank you Gina! The October event looks amazing! I hope to make it! Thank you for putting this great event together 🙂