alt Lake’s premier nibble, nosh, sip and swirl evening is back in 2021. Taking its usual care to ensure a safe and high-quality experience, Eat Drink SLC looks a little different this year. Instead of one big gathering, Eat Drink SLC consists of several delightful, intimate, and educational events.
Wine Takes Flight is a monthly entertaining and enlightening series of wine classes hosted by Jim Santangelo, owner and Sommelier of Wine Academy of Utah. Guests start their evening with Jim at Tracy Aviary at 6pm, learning about and tasting through the California Coast (June 17th), Wines of France (July 15th), and Tastes of Italy (August 26th). Fall classes to be revealed. The 90-minute educational and entertaining presentations pair small nibbles of apple, nut and cheese with the evening’s wine selections and include educational wine tasting mats. After the class ends at 7:30pm, guests are encouraged to further explore the happy marriage of wine and food at one of our local partner restaurants. Class attendee’s will be given a $10 voucher to be used at the featured restaurant of their choice. On June 17th, our partners are Manoli’s, Tradition, and FINCA. Tickets are $50 and available through Tracy Aviary’s website. Limited to 21 and older.
From now until July 2nd, Eat Drink SLC offers Dinner and A Show, an opportunity drawing that guests enter simply by patronizing one of many local food and libation partners. Entrants are asked to save their receipt for an amount over $100, go to EatDrinkSLC.com, and add their name and purchase details. Guests may enter multiple times. And what is the prize? A theater performance that comes to them! The winner receives an acclaimed performance called Curbside Theater, produced by SB Dance, an Eat Drink SLC’s organizing nonprofit. A mobile outdoor show with professional production values, Curbside Theater can be performed in your front yard, park, or favorite scenic spot. It is a $1,000 value and a crack at winning requires only eating and drinking. The entry form, list of partners, and more information are available at EatDrinkSLC.com.
In September, Petite Eat Drink SLC are three mini versions of the traditional event. Each takes place from 6:00pm to 8:30pm on Wednesdays September 8th, 15th, and 22nd on Tracy Aviary’s cool, green grounds. Event-goers sample seasonal fare from several of Salt Lake’s leading restaurants and purveyors; sip from a selection of wines from an international assortment of family-owned wineries; taste craft cocktails from locally owned and operated distilleries, and enjoy local beers from award-winning Utah craft brewers. Entertainment includes live music and the evening culminates with a 30-minute performance of SB Dance’s Curbside Theater, nestled in the outdoor greenery of the Aviary. Petite Eat Drink SLC is limited to a capacity of 100 people and a wait list is available for those who want to be first in line to buy tickets, which are anticipated to go onsale to the general public before July. Tickets to one of the three Petite Eat Drink SLCs are $100 and include signature glassware. Details about the roster of culinary and libation partners for each evening will be announced soon.
More than ever before, Eat Drink SLC represents the energetic new urban culture of Salt Lake. The growth of chef-driven and owned restaurants and rise of craft beverages have elevated the city’s palate. “Eat Drink SLC is a delightful, intimate way to celebrate our community’s coming of age as a culinary hotspot and raise visibility for the vibrant food and drink scene with both locals and tourists,” according to Tracey Thompson, President of Vine Lore Wine and Spirits, the event’s Presenting Drink Curator. “We feel that celebrating our eat-drink community is particularly important now as our community emerges from a year wrought with unprecedented challenges.” Thompson notes that Eat Drink SLC marries food and drink in a way not found in other Utah events. “Eat Drink fosters an appreciation of the synergy between food and drink,“ says Thompson “not just one or the other but the marriage of the two.”
Eat Drink SLC is hosted under a nonprofit partnership umbrella consisting of Tracy Aviary and SB Dance. These two organizations represent, respectively, a place and an arts-maker that contribute to the unique character of our community.
In previous years, Eat Drink SLC supported a third nonprofit. Past beneficiaries have included Neighborhood House, Comunidades Unidas, and Race Swami. No small feat while simultaneously developing Salt Lake’s leading food and beverage festival, Eat Drink SLC has raised over $50,000 in collaboration with its sponsors and, notably, with the generous participation of partners from across the culinary industry. In 2021, that industry faces unprecedented challenges. To meet them, proceeds are designated to help compensate Eat Drink’s participating restaurants, bars, producers, and craftspeople and to encourage their future success. We are in this together and we will come out of it together.
Website, tickets, and information: www.eatdrinkslc.com