Plate & Pitchfork

The Scene: During peak summer months since 2003, founders Erika Polmar and Emily Berreth have held a series of dinners at working farms within striking distance of Portland. Chefs, many of whom hail from Portland’s top restaurants, set up makeshift kitchens amid the crops. After a tour and tasting with a local Willamette Valley winemaker (think spicy Pinot Noirs from Argyle), guests sit down to long banquet tables adorned with meadow flowers for a parade of family-style dishes made from the freshest ingredients, like zesty salads featuring just-picked tomatoes from surrounding vines.

Hot Plates: Peach-tarragon soup; grilled lamb with a tomato-cinnamon sauce; warm Gravenstein apple crisp with crème fraîche.

The Lowdown: $90–$150; three dinners per week, July and August only; 100 guests.