More PORKFEST at OLIVIA

Kay and Jim Richardson, talking to the guy who owns the Whip-In Market, which is a local convenience store that serves a huge selection of beer and Indian Food

As I mentioned before, all the courses at PORKFEST featured Richardson Farms Pastured Pork. Jim and Kay Richardson are absolutely the nicest and happiest folks, always cheerful when I see them at events like this one or at the Farmers Market. You get the feeling talking to them that they are just having the GREATEST TIME raising organic pork, chicken and beef, not to mention wheat, corn and millet on their farm. They got involved with the burgeoning interest in pastured, organic meats and grains just at the perfect time to do well and be VERY appreciated.

Their grass-fed beef is so superior, so flavorful and delicious, that I don’t even ENJOY eating beef that they didn’t raise. Seriously. It is THAT MUCH BETTER. It is like the difference between Texas and California peaches! (In my opinion, there isn’t even any POINT in putting a California peach in your mouth. It is DRECK conpared to a Texas peach. But no one outside of Texas KNOWS this, because Texas never exports any peaches….we eat them all here!)

On to the Cuisine!

Caramelized Pork Belly Rillons in Ginger-Apple Butter. THIS WAS SUCH A MEMORABLE COURSE! The Pork Belly Rillons were the best I have ever had, nice and crispy and not overly fatty, and the GINGER APPLE BUTTER WAS AMAZING !!!

Beer-Glazed Spareribs with cucumber and watermelon salad. These were so tender that the meat was indeed LITERALLY falling off the bone. The Watermelon was a perfect foil.

Remember me going ON AND ON AND ON about Texas peaches? The OUTSTANDING dessert was Texas peach ice cream with CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON. One of the best desserts I have ever had! The chocolate covered bacon was so good, I really wanted to send Jim Gaffigan a boxful.

Olivia: PORKFEST

The First Course: Prosciutto, Salami, Guanciale, and Testa, all made at Olivia. Served with grilled Hill Country Peaches and Plums and Green Onion Salad

Tonight I went to a VERY special event: PORKFEST, at Olivia. At a time when higher end eateries are scrambling to issue “groupons” and get folks in the door, Chef James Holmes practically sold OUT this event the first day is was announced. (Also, I should mention it was ONLY $50, which compares VERY favorably to the price of chef-orchestrated wine dinners.)

The concept: Six courses of all natural pastured pork from Richardson Farms, paired with beers from the 512 Brewery, a fledgling brewery here in town (I have to admit I L*OV*E L*O*V*E L*O*V*E the NAME!! It is of course the name of our AREA CODE here in Austin. It is KIND OF like naming your brewery “78704″, but less obvious! GREAT NAME!!!)

Chef James Holmes HAMMING IT UP with a whole roasted pig! I actually SAID THAT OUT LOUD at the event and everyone GROANED because they thought I was saying a PUN I made up! So embarrassing! I didn't realize it was a pun until they groaned

One day recently I figured out that 70% of the meat I eat is PORK (the magical animal! Pork Chops, Bacon, Sausage, Ham!) which is KIND OF SCARY, actually…but anyway, the menu was right down my alley, and the food was DIVINE.

I have to say, I was VERY impressed with the beers and ales as well. They were ALL awesome, seriously. the “WIT”  brew was made with cilantro and grapefruit peel (two of my favorite flavors, and although you couldn’t REALLY taste them in the beer, I just like the IDEA, you know!); the IPA had just an EXPLOSION of subtle flavors, and the Pecan Porter was seriously, better than most Guinness I have had, dark and smooth in a very luxurious way. I would be hard pressed to say which I adored the most; if I am in a bar that serves 512 brews anytime soon, I will probably ORDER THEM! In preference to OTHER beers!

COURSE TWO: An ENTIRE sausage, with a HUGE perfectly cooked scallop. That is a normal size sausage; the scallop really IS the size of a baseball

Upcoming courses: Caramelized Pork Belly with ginger-apple butter (Extremely memorable and awesome); Beer glazed spareribs with garden tomato, cucumber and watermelon salad; Slow Roasted Whole Pig with potato Gnocchi and summer vegetables; and-

HILL COUNTRY PEACH ICE CREAM WITH CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON!!

OLIVIA

ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST TURNS ONE

Olivia Restaurant, located right nest to the Taxidermy place on South Lamar, turns ONE today, having opened just one year ago. But dig this: simultaneously, they have been selected for the honor of being named ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST NEW RESTAURANTS by BON APPETIT magazine!!!! WOW!

Chef James Holmes

So tonight they threw a little party to celebrate, and, being the A-LIST BLOGGER that I am, I got one of the coveted invites. I say, without a trace of chagrin, that getting invited to a soiree of this calibre is what keeps me slogging along.

I interviewed Chef James Holmes a few years ago for the Austin Chronicle in a story about WHO is DOING WHAT for the food booths at AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL. James Holmes and his partner Luke Bibby had a Burger Booth at ACL and in my interview, James talked about how, when the time was right, he was going to open his own place and name it after his daughter, Olivia.

In September of 2008 OLIVIA opened (I think it must have been about 2 years later or maybe three, I don’t know, time goes so fast when you are getting old old old), and if you remember, that was about ten minutes before the bottom dropped out of the economy and we were all plummeted into THE WORST RECESSION SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION OR OH NO MAYBE IT IS THE SECOND GREAT DEPRESSION. I really worried about James and his venture, because, you know, FINE DINING is one of the first things to go when the belt is tightening.

Chef de Cuisine Morgan Dishman

Well, it seems like I needn’t have worried: The place has been doing so GREAT that it got nominated as one of the ten best restaurants in the NATION. One of the many things that CHef Holmes is doing differently than many another place here in town, is he is a TOTAL LOCAVORE and he is sourcing from area farmers and DAMN THE EXPENSE. Now, that is an attitude that I like to see! Most restaurateurs just say “we can’t afford to use local and organic ingredients, it just can’t be done, we are practically bankrupt as it is.” But: the Chefs who ARE locally sourcing and just charging more are pulling in the crowds. Parkside, Olivia, Uchi….these are the places that have a wait.

Justin Visci Behind the Bar

Because the plain as the nose of your face fact is: organic and local TASTE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER and if you are doing Fine Dining, that is what you are selling: an experience. Flavor. Luxury. Memories.

So where was I? Oh yes, I got to go to this awesome soiree, and, I almost couldn’t believe it, but: it hasn’t rained here is I don’t know it SEEMS like a million years, so naturally they planned this party to be OUTSIDE, and today it actually RAINED (THANK YOU JEBUS!!!!) so that was a bit of a problem. Nevertheless, once the Champagne started flowing nobody cared.

Champagne Goddess Cat Brackett pours out The Bubbly

Hors d’oeuvres were passed as the glasses were filled with the Bubbly, and they were some of the finest chow I have gotten outside of in a while. First, Bison Tartare: chilled mounds of seasoned raw bison meat, piled on toasted Bruscetta.

Bison Tartare

Then, what followed I will remember to my grave: Loncito’s lamb, stuffed into a giant Jalapeno (I think they were Mucho Nachos), wrapped in Richardson’s Farms bacon and drizzled with local honey, whilst being roasted. I must have eaten, I dunno A DOZEN?!?!?! Best. Appetizer. Ever.

These actually have a name: Corazon Poppers

Then we were treated to the dish that made it into BON APPETIT: Pork Sugo. Delicate and tender little milk-braised pork thingys, sitting on what I thought was mashed potato but was actually semolina. (Years ago, and I mean 1983, I learned the wonder of roasting pork in milk when I was a line chef at Pecan Street Cafe. It is a wonderful method, and the resulting gravy is splendid.)

Award-Winning Pork Sago

I had a marvelous time chatting with Carol Ann Sayles and her cousin from Boggy Creek Farm, and the folks from Alamo Drafthouse who are also quite serious locavores. The MAD PRESS of FOOD CELEBRITIES was AWESOME; I also saw the photographer guy from Edible Austin and Jennie Chen from Miso Hungry.

MY NEW FRIENDS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA and CONGRATULATIONS and IF YOU HAVEN”T EATEN HERE YET you should TOTALLY GO, and I RECOMMEND BRUNCH (They have lemon curd.)

Mad Press of A-LIST Food Celebrities