This weekend's Platter seems particularly well-suited for autumn. Get offline to enjoy these five CL-recommended happenings featuring food and drink.
Grab locally made goods, dinner and adult beverages during Ferg's Live's Night Market. From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, marketgoers browse items like small-batch foods, beauty products, candles, artwork and clothes, while listening to live music — craft beer or cocktails in hand. (Wanna do it all over again tomorrow? Head to the 8th Ave Party Under the Lights in Pass-a-Grille.) Free, money for goodies. 490 Channelside Drive, Tampa, 813-443-8403.
The Grand Central Zombie Pub Crawl, also hosted on Friday and part of the multi-event Come Out St. Pete, invites regionites to get spooky with booze. Grab a few friends and kick off this Halloween bar hop at Punky's Bar & Grill. A professional makeup artist is planned on-site between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. to help zombie-fy participants. Then the crawl is on. Decked-out drinkers will swarm 10 neighborhood spots — including The Queen's Head, Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe and The Dog Bar — scoring discounted and free drinks throughout the night. There's also a chance to win prizes. Free, money for food and drinks. 3063 Central Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 727-201-4712.
Brew Bus is changing it up on Saturday. Hop aboard for the brewery and transportation service's new Coffee Roasters Tour, which stops by Zeal Coffee Roasters. Starting at 10 a.m., the tour includes an educational rundown of coffee's roasting, brewing and tasting process, as well as a cupping, one free coffee of your choice from The Lab (part of Zeal's operation), and one pint back at Brew Bus's home base. Find tickets online. $32.10. 4101 N. Florida Ave., Tampa, 813-990-7310.
Ring in the season with the Palm Harbor Fall Food Fest. Guests line up for fall-focused bites from food trucks and other purveyors such as Pipo's, I Wanna Wok, Artisan Coffee Company, Sawadee Thai Food, and PB & Jelly Deli. After chowing down, peruse one-of-a-kind vendors or enjoy live entertainment, craft tables and carnival games. Canned goods for F.E.A.S.T. Food Panty are encouraged. Free, money for goodies. 1551 Belcher Road, Palm Harbor, 727-785-7487.
Beginner Jam Making Class + Bomb Grilled Cheese Party brings the weekend to a tasty close. The Urban Canning Company workshop, hosted from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, is accompanied by a grilled cheese demonstration — with jam! — from The Melt Shoppe. Fourteen participants sip on jam soda, taking in topics like local agriculture and nutrition, sustainability and step-by-step canning procedures. A jar of take-home jam is included, and tickets are available online. $65. 1040 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-235-0805.
This article appears in Oct 12-19, 2017.