Banquet

Our banquet on Friday evening, October 30, will be catered by Heirloom Café & Fresh Market, a local favorite of hipsters, locavores, American traditionalists, vegetarians, vegans, carnivores, omnivores, Southerners, carpetbaggers, tourists, and Fine Old Local Families alike.

The venue for our gathering will be Ciné Lab, in our local art house cinema and bar-café, Athens Ciné. This combined theatre, bar, and events space has made its home in a revamped 1940s Art Deco Chrysler-Plymouth auto showroom at 234 West Hancock Avenue, a 10-minute walk north of the Holiday Inn. We will gather there at 6:00 p.m. for drinks in the Ciné BarCafé, to be followed at 7:00 by dinner service in Ciné Lab.

Of particular interest to many: all of the sides will be vegan, and can be combined to form a nicely portioned vegetarian/vegan entrée. Even one of the dessert options is vegan. But carnivores, despair not! A featured entrée will be slow-braised Anderson Farms (see Anderson Farms) pork shoulder with roasted & raw apples and a sorghum chili glaze. Moving right along, we’ll have DaySpring Farms (see Dayspring Farms) wheat berry salad with wilted collards, roasted pumpkin, shaved red onion, sage, and pepitas. Then there’s the whipped sweet potatoes with curry, pecan, & Georgia olive oil; and lightly braised kale with kimchi and breadcrumbs. For desserts, choose from a) sweet potato cake with buttermilk whipped cream, sorghum butter, sea salt candied pecans, and sumac, or b) dark chocolate coconut macaroon tart, with coconut maple whipped cream (vegan, and gluten-free). Non-alcoholic beverages are included. Ciné BarCafé, where we gathered for pre-dinner drinks, is immediately adjacent and will be open to serve as our cash bar during dinner.