Bountiful ideas, bueno wine and bold tapas.
While attending a farming class downstate, we spent an amazing weekend with our dear friends Dan and Sam. When we get together, Elephant Wine Bar in Kingston, NY (a Celtic/Galician-inspired gastro bar our friends Rich & Maya run) is always on the agenda.
Supportive friends with a passion for good food
Fantastic conversation and tapas over earthy wines and ales in a punk rock atmosphere is not something that happens every weekend. Unfortunately we don’t live close to our friends anymore – but maybe that’s why when we do get together the magic happens. Also, like many of our friends, Dan and Sam are very supportive of our farming dream.
Community and Growing the Ranks
We will one day be in a position where we need to grow the ranks of CSA members in our future farming endeavour and I’ve researched ways to put this into action. Dan has some cool plans for growing his community in River Keeper – New York’s Clean Water Advocate, where he coordinates events. He has found success by crafting a message that resonates with people. He articulated to me so well the idea that “your message needs to hit home.” For him the main narrative is about cleaning up the Hudson River, but what really motivates folks is talking more about the goals, like cleaner riverside parks for kids to play in and fresh, local fish that could be harvested for future generations from a healthy ecosystem.
Our own cafe one day?
Sam said that we should open up some kind of cafe because she thinks we good at pairing up different kinds of foods with wine and beer. Maybe after we get an established homestead farm up and running – a good venue to serve up our homegrown produce and passions to would be an eatery of some sort. I do see it as a mutually beneficial extension of the farm -but yeah, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Either way it’s encouraging to hear things like this from close friends.
Buen Provecho
If you’re ever in the Stockade District in Kingston, NY – gather up some close friends and head over to Elephant Wine Bar to start your own conspiracy theories, scheme up clever plans and most importantly, enjoy each other’s company in the journey!
