What an enjoyable evening last Saturday night at the Ron Robinson Theater! Foodies got together for beers, bites, the viewing of Southern Foodways Alliance’s Pride & Joy and a discussion panel comprised of food and drink heavyweights Chef Matt Bell (South on Main), Chef Travis McConnell (Butcher & Public), Sally Mengel (Loblolly Creamery), Ian Beard (Stone’s Throw Brewing), Cody Hopkins (Falling Sky Farm) and Josiah Moody (Moody Brews), and moderated by yours truly.

Things got going at 6 p.m. with nibbles of food in the alleyway provided by Bell, Mengel and McConnell. Truthfully, speaking in front of folks kind of kills my appetite, so I passed on the food. But walking around and listening to others indicated things were well-received.

Before I knew it, 6:50 p.m. had arrived and it was time to grab a Moody Brews beer in the lobby and take my seat for Pride & Joy. This Joe York documentary captures the essence of the Southern food culture by spotlighting icons such as Allan Benton of Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams, Earl Cruze of Cruze Dairy Farm and Arkansas’ own Rhoda Adams of Rhoda’s Famous Hot Tamales, just to name a few. The film proves not only to be informative, but profoundly inspirational and at times funny, as you view one segment after another of passionate people dedicating their lives to food.

After the movie, most of the crowd stuck around and listened to some of Little Rock’s finest talk food, drink, ice cream and causes like No Kid Hungry—a perfect transition as many of their stories were similar to those of the people highlighted in the film and certainly resonated with the audience.

The entire evening only cost $10 a ticket (which included the film and food), an amazingly reasonable price for an evening filled with such culture. Here’s hoping the crew over at Ron Robinson puts together more of these evenings.

Little Rock needs them.