Allow me to pull back the curtain again on what we're trying to do at Food as a Verb + The Table.

Let's rewind to Monday, early evening.

Thirty or so of us gathered at Calliope's upstairs dining room.

It was our Evening of Amaro event with Raven Humphrey.

She greeted each of us with a spritzer of very special - and secret - limoncello.

"It is my authentic Nonna's recipe," she said. "It has been aging since December 2024."

And that was only the beginning ...

Since 2023, Food as a Verb has published multiple stories about Calliope, Chef Khaled Albanna and Raven, the co-owner and bartender extraordinaire.

In fact, we're about to celebrate a pair of milestones: some 200 stories published over the last two years.

And, this month: our second anniversary.

Twice a week, we publish stories - each delivered freely to your inbox - about our local food landscape.

That's Food as a Verb. Our storytelling media unlike any other in the region.

But can we get closer to the people and places in our stories?

Can we build events that let you connect with chefs, farmers, industry leaders and each other?

Earlier this year, we launched The Table for that very reason.

We host events that allow our readers to meet and enjoy the people and places in our stories.

It's like the first cousin of Food as a Verb. For $10 a month, you join our new community and gain access to all our upcoming events.

Like book clubs. Speaker series. Farm tours. Chef's dinners.

And Raven's amaro class. (We've got another one coming soon!)

On Monday, Raven was the finest of teachers: engaging, delightful, funny, clear. She told stories, taught history and offered four different tastings of amaro, the digestif rising in popularity around the world.

"My favorite thing is amaro," she said.

We started with an amaro called Montenegro, then Cynar, Averna, Braulio.  All paired with small bites. All for $20.

Some of us came into the night knowing very little and left with plans to stop by Imbibe for a bottle the next day.

"The longer it takes," she said, referencing one amaro's motto, "the longer it lasts."

Hmmm, we like the sound of that.

The longer it takes ... the longer it lasts.

Our vision is to continue to build a growing community through storytelling and original events.

This is our form of Slow Media. Nothing fast or jittery. Takes a long time.

Lasts a long time.

Along the way, we're hoping to have loads of fun with you. (Otherwise, what's it all for?)

Join the party and subscribe to The Table for more info on all upcoming events. (We're got something really special in the works for late fall, too. A new form of content that's gonna soar.)

Events coming soon? All members of The Table will get an email later this week with info on:

• Our upcoming book club on The Catcher in the Rye. (It'll be awesome, not phony.)
• Our Women in the Industry speaker event with Amanda Niel and Raven.

And ... three big events coming this fall.

• Our annual party at Cherry St. Tavern
• Our first annual Food as a Verb asado
• Our collab event with Monospace

What's Monospace?

Glad you asked.

This Sunday, we'll show you the answer.

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.

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