I have a special place in my heart for the Tuskies Family of restaurants. Kevin Malone has really trusted his chef’s enough to allow them ‘free range’ of ingredients and inspiration for the amazing meals that they produce each day. The Tuskies Family actively supports our local farms and farmers in any way that they can by having an open ‘back door policy’ where the farmers can bring in their fresh picked goodies and sell them to the chef’s at Magnolias and Tuscora Mill. Chef’s Patrick and Mark then create their specials and dishes around the bounty picked that day. There is also a website that farmers can let the Chef’s know they will have a bunch of berries coming in or a great batch of mint. This allows them to create larger batches of sorbets or yummy cobblers, cheese plates or sausage dishes. It is also a way that the farmers can plan ahead and sell their crops. The relationship with these farmers is strong and goes well beyond the sales, these farmers are celebrated and honored during the Local Flavors Farmer Dinners. This is a chance where you can meet the Farmers and really get to know who they are, and experience the magic of their local flavor. I promise that once you meet Walter and tastes his lettuce you will love it even more, then have some of the mint from ‘the mint lady’ you will really understand what I mean. Thank you to Kevin and your passion for good local food and good local wine. There will be two farmer dinners this week, due to the fact that the first one sold out, another testament to the great job that Tuskiesis doing. Call Tuskies today to reserve your spot for the Farmer Food and Wine Dinner. The menu can be viewed on the website but call right now to make your reservation.  Call 703-771-9393 or email angela@tuskies.com to find out the availability.