Tonight: Harvest week wine dinner with monkeys at Avenue Grill

While close to forty members of the Denver Independent Network of restaurants are rolling out menus offering locally sourced products through Friday, September 18 — the last day of Harvest Week — a few restaurants are also celebrating the state’s allegiance to the locavore movement with special dinners. At 6:30 p.m. tonight, Avenue Grill, Andrew Lubatty’s place at 630 East 17th Avenue, will partner with Ben Parsons, winemaker and founder of the Infinite Monkey Theorem, a Denver urban winery that’s generating a dedicated swell of grape stompers, for a six-course local product-driven dinner that spotlights the same number of wines from Parsons. The evening is priced at $75 per person (excluding tax and gratuity), and reservations are essential; call 303-861-2820 to make yours.

While you’re waiting for dinner, here’s a menu preview:

Eat: Asian buns filled with char su portabella mushrooms
Drink: 2008 IMT riesling

Eat: Sauteed Colorado striped bass, red carrot bisque, roasted fennel crème fraiche
Drink: 2008 IMT sauvignon blanc

Eat: Local chicken with pineapple sage, walnuts, tomatoes and lemon
Drink: 2008 IMT chardonnay

Eat: Slow-roasted pork tenderloin with spiced blackberries
Drink: 2008 IMT cabernet franc

Eat: Star anise BBQ buffalo short ribs with buttermilk mashed potatoes
Drink: 2008 IMT syrah

Eat: Dark chocolate budino with spearmint gelato
Drink: 2008 IMT, Petite Syrah