Photo by Jessica Jameson
Two iconic Arizona institutions have teamed up to bring a one-of-a-kind dinner series to the desert.
Cloth & Flame creates temporary venues for events that combine culinary innovation and community involvement. Though the Phoenix-based event company puts together pop-up dinners in unexpected places, it’s ongoing partnership with Arcosanti actually makes perfect sense. Both enterprises honor the design, art, food and community that set the Grand Canyon State apart and aim to foster meaningful connections. So, setting up its signature communal tables and trademark string lights under the vaunted vaults at the art and architecture co-op about an hour north of central Phoenix seems inevitable.
C&F is hosting a series of spring and early summer dinner experiences featuring al fresco dining and entertainment staged on Arcosanti’s lauded landscape. The kickoff event took place on March 18 and 19, and the next installment will occur on April 15 and 16.
Here’s what to expect: Arrive around golden hour for a welcome reception where guests can meet and mingle over signature craft cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. As the sun sinks below the saguaro-studded hills and valleys, the event comes to life. Beautiful place settings pave the way for a creative multi-course menu prepared by guest chefs. March’s dinner menu included a salad featuring pickled celery and smoked blue cheese, white bean bisque with cornbread crumble, braised short rib and stone grits, plus buttermilk panna cotta and olive oil cake for dessert, courtesy of The Good Food Table chef Devan Cunningham.
Cloth & Flame is known for its communal dining tables, which aim to bring people together over good food, wine and conversation. You will be seated next to strangers that, by the end of the night, might become close friends.
The series includes an intimate post-meal concert in Arcosanti’s cozy outdoor amphitheater, where rugs, pillows and blankets encourage lounging and lingering. The March event brought sultry soul singer Fana Hues to the stage, who crooned under twinkling lights and a crescent moon. April’s event will feature Phoenix-based indie pop act Sureson.
The ticketed experience ($195 per person) supports The Cosanti Foundation as well as the culinary and beverage partners, food purveyors and local performers that make the evening so memorable. To learn more or purchase tickets, visit clothandflame.com.
