Fifth DISHES a sold-out success!

The fifth DISHES dinner was a great success with plenty of delicious food and drinks to go around, great music, and fun and inspiring presentations and conversation.  Our $1,000 mini-grant was awarded to the Forget-Me-Nots, a chorus for persons with dementia and their caregivers!  And...we surprised the audience by awarding a second place $250 prize to Westside Walks! 

Thanks to all who attended , volunteered, helped, presented, supported, and donated - we're so grateful! We also want to wish the best of luck to the other presenters- we know they are also going to contribute to Syracuse and accomplish great things.  

Photo by Allison Gates, allisongates.com

Photo by Allison Gates, allisongates.com

DISHES is TONIGHT!!

Are you excited yet?! We sure are. DISHES is tonight!! Our chefs are already working hard in the kitchen, decorations are up, and presenters are getting ready. We can't wait!!  Thanks everyone for another sold out dinner. See you tonight!

Thanks to our Local Farms!

Our incredible chefs are cooking up a rustic, hearty, farm-to-table style menu for tomorrow! In fact, they are already in the kitchen getting food prepped as this is being written. As usual, we'll have delicious options for our gluten free/vegan guests. And for the carnivores, we're cooking up creative dishes too!

Our chefs wouldn't be able to make the amazing food they do if it wasn't for the generous support of many of our local farms and businesses.  We thanked several of those farms two weeks ago, but we want to give a special thanks to the rest of them. 

Common Thread Community Farm has generously donated yellow onions, green cabbages, beets, and watermelon radishes! If you're hungry for some gorgeous fresh produce in your life, sign up for a 2014 CSA share with them and pick up your produce weekly at the Syracuse drop off site.

Di Lauro's Bakery and Pizzeria have donated ten loaves of bread for our dinner! They are right around the corner from the St Clare Theater.  Di Lauro's is a great Italian bakery that has been there for over 100 years!

Horsford Farms has provided some delicious potatoes and onions that are being sliced and diced this very minute!

Grindstone Farm has generously donated several all natural, pasture raised, free-range chickens and turkeys. Grindstone offers a variety of ways you can order directly from the farm, year-round, and they offer a variety of produce, dairy, meat, and other products. 

Main Street Farms has given us 15 pounds of delicious tender greens! They are an urban aquaponics farm, organic plant nursery, and education center, located in Homer, NY. Thanks Small Potatoes Sales & Marketing for connecting us with them! 

Serving Wagner Valley Brews and Wines!

We want to give a great big thanks to Wagner Valley Brewing Co for providing beer AND wine this year! If you haven't been to their Winery & Brewery on Seneca Lake for beer and wine tastings, well, what are you waiting for?!?  Briana and Raymie (our co-director and co-chef!) had a great time visiting last summer, taking in the amazing views, and of course, the amazing wine!  We are so grateful for Wagner's generous donation to this year's dinner and for supporting the DISHES effort since the beginning.

Sponsor Spotlight: 40 Below!

We want to thank 40 Below for generously sponsoring our 5th DISHES dinner! 40 Below was created to connect, engage, and empower young adults in Central New York.  The organization aims to make CNY a more vibrant place, restore pride in our community, and harness the collective strength of our communities to make positive change. Hard not to see why they make such a great partner!

There's always something happening with 40 Below, like their annual New Year's Eve party, Speed Networking Events, and the recent Food Truck Festival.  They also have the Civic Engagement, It's All Here, and Public Arts Task Forces.  And if you're an entrepreneur or freelancer, you should stop by their CoWorks space downtown.

Check out their facebook page or sign up for weekly emails on their website to keep up with what's happening. Or join one of their Task Forces to get more involved! 

Buy Your DISHES Tickets!

Tickets for DISHES are now available for purchase HERE! They'll be available online today through Friday, February 21st, but are likely to sell out quickly as only a limited number are available. Cost is $15-$25 each, sliding scale. Got questions? Email us! Saltcitydishes@gmail.com

Thanks Again Cafe Kubal!

We're so grateful to Cafe Kubal for once again providing coffee for our DISHES diners! And we're excited to hear that this local favorite is growing and spreading across Central New York.  In addition to their cafes downtown, in the eastwood neighborhood, on the hill, and at the airport, they just opened a new location in Camillus.  Check out their facebook page for more!

Many Thanks to Our Local Farms!

One of the wonderful things about living in Central New York is the abundance of local farms just minutes away from Syracuse that offer a variety of great products. And we are especially lucky that so many of these wonderful farms are ready to support the DISHES effort!  We're eager to see what our great team of chefs (meet them here!) come up with using this year's donations. 

DISHES would not be possible without the generous donations of many of these farms, including:

Gianforte Farm for the 15 lbs of cornmeal they have offered. This incredible farm produces up to 13 different organic food grade grains and beans and is located in Cazenovia, New York. Their website features a number of recipes, including buckwheat gingersnaps and three layer corn bread.

Fruit of the Fungi for their donation of shiitake mushrooms. They are a great family farm committed to growing the finest gourmet mushrooms in Central New York. Learn more about them on their website, including where you can find their mushrooms. 

Wake Robin Farm for donating a wheel of cheese - the Mona Lisa! If you you're a regional market regular, you're probably familiar with their amazingly delicious maple yogurt or have tried one of their yummy cheeses. If you can't make it to the market, stop by the Syracuse Real Food Co-op, Skaneateles Bakery, or their farm store in Jordan to find their products.

Owen Orchards for the tasty apples they're donating. They offer a variety of their own, and other local goodies at their store in Weedsport. Including apple cider and apple cider donuts!

Stones Throw Farm for their generous donation of root vegetables. They grow a diverse array of specialty produce, herbs, and flowers on their farm just south of Syracuse. Check out their website for some wonderful recipes. And they're now accepting new members for the 2014 CSA season!

And there are more! But we'll save the rest for another day. 

Tommy Connors Performing!

Our dinners always feature live music and on February 23,Tommy Connors (http://www.tommyconnors.com/) will be performing, playing a mixture of covers and original songs. Big thanks to our Music Coordinator, Andrew Greacen, for working out all the details. We can't wait!

Delicious Desserts Await

We're excited to be offering 83 & Company's delicious mini-cheesecakes at the 5th DISHES dinner on February 23rd.  And to top if off, they will be vegan and gluten-free.  Along with cheesecakes 83 & Company bakes up a variety of delicious cupcakes and they create custom cakes.  In fact, just this past weekend they made an amazing looking Dome-shaped cake for the SU vs Duke game.  Check out their facebook page for photos and to catch their latest creations.  

And if you just can't wait till DISHES to try their desserts, stop by their new location at 115 Green Street, in the Hawley-Green neighborhood for a box lunch combo which includes 2 mini-cheesecakes! 

Your Lucky Tummy!

Rounding out our dessert menu is the My Lucky Tummy effort, providing DISHES with two delicious and worldly sweets: 

• Kunefe by Muna, from Iraq: toasted, rose water-steeped vermicelli over homemade cheese with crumbled pistachio on top and
• Shole Zard by Somayyeh, from Iran: saffron rice pudding with almond, pistachio & cinnamon garnish. 

At DISHES, you'll get to hear more about the My Lucky Tummy effort, but If you find your mouth watering over those descriptions, you should purchase a ticket to their event this Saturday! $20 buys you a taste of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Mohawk Nation, South Sudan and Iran. Vegetarian options aplenty.

Check out this month's Today's CNY Woman Magazine and Syracuse.com for more details.