Of tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes.

We attended Max Restaurant Group’s Chef to Farm dinner last night at Rosedale Farms in Simsbury – an event we’d anticipated for months. Each dinner is themed, with menus centered around certain seasonal ingredients. With just a quick glance at the schedule earlier this year, we settled on the late-August tomato event. It doesn’t get much more summery than that.

The weather was perfect. The cocktails were captivating. The food was innovative, expertly prepared – and plentiful. And the wine? Local, baby. Though not all of Rosedale’s wines are estate-grown, they’re still Connecticut-made.

While other farm dinners bypass Connecticut wines altogether, Max goes the full locavore route. That’s something guests appreciate, a Max staffer told me in a quick chat during the pre-dinner reception.

I shot this photo gallery for the Hartford Courant / ctnow.com. You’ll see the tomato-centric menu in full display, including herb-infused cocktails, a fancy take on grilled cheese and tomato soup, Stonington cioppino, “beefsteak” grass-fed beef, fried green tomatoes and even a flash-frozen tomato gelato, made possible by handy liquid nitrogen.

There are several dinners left on the schedule, should these pictures leave you hungry and inspired. Tickets are $115 a person, plus tax and gratuity. (And worth every penny.) Check out maxcheftofarm.com.

Bonus: The event’s photographer snapped this great photo of me and Rob. Love.