Project Dinner Table

It is not every day that I get the opportunity to partake in a community dinner table experience in the middle of a state park. Thanks to Misti Y. and Unilocal!,Eric R. and I ventured from the southeast side to Floyd Lamb State Park (north of the 95 on Durango) for our first Project Dinner Table, the last of the 2010 season.
Sponsored by numerous organizations, including Nevada Bevarage, Bacardi/​Martini and Rossi, Whole Foods, Gilcrease Orchard, Harney & Sons, Colorado River Coffee Roasters, etc., this is a farm-​to-​table type experience at a different location each month featuring a different chef.
Dinner #7 featured Chef Roy Ellamar of Bellagio’s Sensi. We started off with special cocktails in the gazebo, including the Basil Bianco complete with fried basil leaf, and Martini and Rossi sparkling rose with strawberry.
Our meal was paired with Kona brews. The table is looooong, seating between 100 and 200 people. This is a great way to meet other locals. We met some interesting folks. The charity benefiting from this event is Teach for America. We sat across from two teachers in North Las Vegas, which was a real treat. I also met a librarian, a restauranteur, a medical student, a minister, and lots of people connected to celebrity chefs.
Our meal included appetizers (oatmeal-​caramel bites + porky things I avoided), vegetable soup with pumpkin gnocchi (and ham tortellini for everyone else), trail mix salad (with dates, pomegranate, craisins, sesame-​sunflower seed granola, pistachios, and spiced bread croutons), flank steak/​salmon/​tilapia grilled with eggplant, curried cauliflower, and other veggies, then there was a miso pork-​white bean course that I skipped and got the veggie course (curried lentils, okra, and roasted chiles). We ended with goat cheese donuts, goat cheese flan, espresso ice cream and other sweets. The service was great, and we were entertained by a gypsy jazz band and a poetry reading. A truly remarkable, Vegas experience!

What better way to bring the community together than the dinner table. And boy this table is big. I had the pleasure of attending Dinner #6 with Chef Rick Moonen. I had the best time breaking bread with so many new friends.
Looking forward to Dinner #7 (actually brunch) with Chef Roy Ellamar from Sensi in Bellagio.