November's Here With Lots To Do
Some food, some drink, some networking, some shopping and don't forget to vote!
We’re well into fall and it’s been a beautiful one here in Rhode Island. There’s been lots of colored leaves for peeping and harvesty-stuff abound, though the warmer weather turned our daughters’ jack-o-lanterns into mush before Halloween. Now it’s the countdown to Thanksgiving and all the December holidays—my favorite time of the year! There are a bunch of events coming up that I’ll be a part of that I wanted to share with you. Lots to read below and I hope you check it all out.
The 10th annual Eating with the Ecosystem Community Dinner is this coming Saturday, November 9th and I’ve seen the tentative menu. Tentative because the fish being cooked is dependent on what gets caught this week! This dinner is always a local seafood extravaganza and a wonderful way to catch up with folks in the community before the holiday rush. Plus, it supports this great cause that I’m proud to be the current president of the board. Eating with the Ecosystem promotes a place-based approach to sustaining New England's wild seafood. I hope to see you on Saturday!
Before Saturday’s seafood dinner, please join me at a multi-event event at The Event Factory in Warwick. As you may gleam from that sentence, there’s a lot going on this Thursday evening, November 7th.
As part of the ongoing RI Night Market, which is an indoor local maker’s market held many Thursday nights at The Event Factory, the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition is having our next Networking Reception. It’s a free reception for members of the Coalition, which you can join for free (or pay for higher membership) if you’re a small business owner. Members receive a complimentary drink and appetizers and the RISBC will have speakers focused on workforce development at this reception.
While you’re at the RISBC Networking Reception, or if you’re not a small business owner, make sure to check out all the local vendors at the RI Night Market in the adjacent hall. The Market is free to attend, but there’s also a ticketed fundraiser going on Thursday night too. RI Night Market & Rhody Foody is presenting the Wicked Best Mocktail tasting hosted by NBC 10’s Temi-Tope Adeleye to benefit the American Heart Association of RI.
As you can see, I’m one of the Wicked Best Mocktail judges so I’ll be wandering back and forth between the RI Small Business Coalition reception and the RI Night Market and hope to see you at some or all of the happenings on Thursday!
Time for a quick PSA break:
Did you vote? Hopefully you’re reading this before the end of voting on the 5th, or maybe you voted early like Brenda and I did last week! Coventry’s early voting was so busy last Wednesday that they actually ran out of “I Voted” stickers. They got more the next day and I got one, which I’ll wear on Tuesday. I hope you exercised your right!
Ok, time for a palate cleanser before I continue with the events and information.
I’m still out here tasting and drinking lots of different wines. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a couple of really excellent tastings lately. One was the Association de Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Émilion tasting down in New York where I also wrote a little piece for another publication (link to come when it’s online). I try not to proclaim anything my favorite but Saint-Émilion is definitely a love for me—Brenda and I even visited the village in 2015. I don’t care what Miles said 20 years ago in Sideways (how’s that for a little Right Bank humor?).
I also really enjoyed tasting through some of the Wine Bros. porfolio at their warehouse a couple of weeks ago. Regular readers/viewers know I love a lot of their selections and encourage you to shop at locally owned wine and liquor stores. If you’re looking for sparkling wine you can’t go wrong with any of the Weingut Steininger wines seen in that right photo.
Most of the wines I’ve tasted are in my Delectable profile (I’ve got over 5400 wines tasted there). They’re scored too, but remember, scores are pretty subjective so take them with a point or 2 in either direction and just drink lots of great wine to find what you like. I’ve also got over 90 wine tasting videos on YouTube along with tons of other food & drink related videos.
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Ok, getting very industry specific here, but I think it’s important to share two items happening within Rhode Island government that require food and drink industry input and I know a lot of my readers are in industry.
The first is a grant, specifically the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act grant of which I’ve been on the committee since its inception and have seen a lot of good money go to great businesses. The 2025 round is open until November 30th and we’ve got almost $500K to give away. So if you think you’re eligible, please do apply!
The other item is a Rhode Island Local Food Brands Economic Impact Survey. The state is spending money on consultants to review branding for local food and drink. Here’s the info from the Commerce department:
Help Measure the Impact of RI's Local Food Brands!
Calling all Rhode Island food industry members! Your input is needed for a crucial study on the economic impact of our local food brands.
Who Should Participate?
Farmers
Fisherpeople
Food retailers (grocery stores)
Farmers market organizers
Food processors
Food wholesalers or distributors
Restaurant owners/managers
Institutional food buyers
Why It Matters: Your responses will help shape initiatives to strengthen Rhode Island's local food system. This study will provide valuable insights on ways to increase the sale of Rhode Island grown, harvested, and caught food. Participate by visiting this link.
If you’re in one of those industries listed above please take a few moments to complete the survey.
One last item before I sign off and that’s to register for free for this year’s ecoRI News Regift Sale on Sunday, December 8th at Flatbread Company in Providence.
It’s always a fun time, plus you save money AND you help ecoRI News. Win, win win!
As always, thank you for reading this far down. There’s news and updates on eatdrinkri.com in addition to stories, links, reels, posts, liquor scores, etc. on my media:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@eatdrinkri
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatdrinkri/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatdrinkri
Delectable: https://delectable.com/@daviddadekian
Web Site: https://www.eatdrinkri.com
I appreciate the support and all the new subscribers that come along with each new newsletter. Please be kind to each other and to yourselves. Thank you again and be well.