Sunday's Taste of the Nation event at Mile High Station hottest ticket in town

Lori Midson

If you attend only one food-centric soiree this summer, make it Sunday's Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation event, where 30 of Denver's top restaurants, including Vesta Dipping Grill, TAG, Argyll, Black Pearl, Elway's Cherry Creek, Duo, Solera, Table 6, Venue, Opus and Marco's Coal-Fired Pizzeria, will dish out delicious foodstuffs to benefit Share Our Strength, a non-profit that raises funds to to end childhood hunger in Denver and across the country.

"It's hard to argue with Share Our Strength's tag line - No Kid Hungry - and I've always believed that so many of our nation's troubles could easily be solved by feeding our hungry children, letting them know that someone is thinking of them and committing to the hard work it takes to make it happen," says Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben's executive chef Matt Selby, who's also the local chef chair for Share Our Strength.

The culinary bash kicks off at 5 p.m. at Mile High Station, 2027 West Lower Colfax Avenue, and includes glorious food gluttony from the participating restaurants, plus beer, wine, a muddle-and-shake cocktail competition led by Steuben's mixologist Sean Kenyon, live music from The Informants and a kick-ass silent auction trumpeting everything from gift certificates to local restaurants and vacation getaways to wine baskets and a Shaquille O'Neal jersey that Selby is already eying.

Tickets are $75 per person, every cent of which is donated to Share Our Strength. To purchase yours, go to www.strength.org/denver/. Bonus: Save $10 off the ticket price by using the code TONCOM10.

For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food & Drink listings.