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What more I say? Last night's pig roast and potluck at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis was awesome. As in, I'm still in awe of the event. The night was really perfect - fantastic weather, delicious sustainable and organic food,and truly amazing people - about 150 of us!

The pig, cooked by my friends Dave Micko and Desmo Don (who constructed - and sells - portable dutch oven/coolers for pig roasting at: DesmoDon(at)comcast.net), was one of the tastiest I've ever had. Brown sugary, garlicky, and soft as butter, its 40 pounds of meat were devoured. The huge turnout meant the pig needed to be supplemented with 10 pounds of pulled chicken from Brasa and another 10 pounds of sausages from Kramarczuks - both delicious. Equally tasty and fun were the scores of potluck dishes people brought to share - canned beets and peppers, apple bars, heirloom tomato salad, caprese salad, sweet corn salad, pasta salads with local basil, Whole Grain Milling Company chips from Linden Hills Co-op, and much, much more. A simple list can't adequately describe the complete joy of seeing row after row of homemade food, much of which was made from ingredients out of people's gardens. In fact, words can't describe much of what made last night's event so special, so I'll let the great photos from Brian Moen tell the story.

This is a look at the spread of food - volunteers Laura Brown and Georgia Rubinstein did a truly amazing job of keeping people moving along, keeping the food, replenished, and finding places for it all. When it comes to things I'm stil in awe of, Georgia and Laura are near the top of the list. Because while the people kept coming, so did the food. Here's a look at the line (which moved quickly, by the way).

The pig, of course, was a big part of the evening. This is Dave breaking down the last quarter of it.

We were thrilled have had a team of people to help pull the pork. Here's a picture.

I'm so grateful to know Mark and Monica Walch (from Dinner on the Farm), who ran all around town with me - picking up ice, preparing the park, getting lemonade from the Birchwood Cafe, and even cooking the sausages, shown here.

I'm also grateful for Steph Pituc of Urban Foodie, who helped with food and setup, and to my friend Sally Niemand, who kindly, generally, and happily spent much of her night checking people in, ensuring the the crowd knew where to go and what to do.

Thanks so much to those of who who came to the pig roast/potluck, brought food, helped out, smiled a lot, waited patiently for plates, and made it a priority to spend the evening eating great, real food with great, real people. You are awesome.