🍽️ Bites & Brews 🍺🍻

Healthy Harvest of North Iowa will host Bites & Brews on Thursday, Sept. 17, bringing together chef-crafted dishes, Iowa-made beer, wine and spirits, and locally sourced ingredients for an evening celebrating North Iowa’s food culture. 🌽🍺🍷

The event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 S. 4th St. in Clear Lake.

👨‍🍳 Chef Beto Omaña, a Le Cordon Bleu Grand Diplôme graduate specializing in Venezuelan, French and global cuisine, will prepare an exclusive five-course tasting menu featuring ingredients from regional producers paired with specialty spices and flavors from around the world.

🌎 Five-Course Pairing Menu

🥟 Argentine Beef Empanadas with Fresh Chimichurri
Golden handmade pastries filled with seasoned local North Iowa ground beef, peppers and caramelized onions, served with fresh chimichurri made from local herbs, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar.

🍺 Featured Partner: Worth Brewing — Northwood

🌽 Sweet Corn Polenta with Pork & Mushroom Curry
Creamy polenta cakes made with peak-season Iowa sweet corn, topped with an island-style pork and mushroom curry simmered with local seasonal vegetables.
Gluten Free

🍺 Featured Partner: Fat Hill Brewing — Mason City

🍅 Heirloom Tomato Caprese with Local Cheese & Basil Pesto Aioli
Vine-ripened local heirloom tomatoes paired with fresh cheese from regional dairies and finished with basil pesto aioli.
Vegetarian • Gluten Free

🍷 Featured Partner: Lazy Acres Winery — Northwood

🥔 Crispy Potato Taquitos with Green Mole
Golden-fried local corn tortillas filled with seasoned whipped potatoes and topped with green mole made from roasted tomatillos, toasted pumpkin seeds and cilantro.
Gluten Free • Contains Nuts • Mild Spice

🍺 Featured Partner: Limestone Brewers — Osage

🍓 Seasonal Fruit Pavlova
A crisp meringue shell with a soft pastry cream center, topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruit.
Gluten Free

🥃 Featured Partner: 173° Craft Distillery & Lake Lemonade — Clear Lake

Organizers say Bites & Brews is designed to showcase the people behind North Iowa’s growing local food scene by bringing together farmers, chefs, brewers and community members in one setting. 🌾🤝

The evening will also include craft drinks and raffle prizes inside the Clear Lake Arts Center.

Healthy Harvest of North Iowa is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to connect and educate people in support of a stronger and more resilient local food system.

📅 Date: Thursday, Sept. 17
⏰ Time: 5:30–7:30 p.m.
📍 Location: Clear Lake Arts Center, 17 S. 4th St., Clear Lake
🌐 More Information: healthyharvestni.com