De La Terre, an Austin Supper Club
I love a good tasting menu. It takes all the decision-making out of the equation and gives a chef the opportunity to serve you dishes that will really show off his or her skills. So I was really excited when our friends Laura & Shane invited us to the soft opening of De La Terre, a new supper club that's held every Monday in the space at Foreign & Domestic (which is closed on Mondays). The brainchild of chefs Lori Bergeron & Anthony Nicaj, De La Terre serves 10-12 course tasting menus focusing on local produce (including many foraged ingredients). The results are beautiful and delicious.
Chefs Bergeron & Nicaj introducing the meal
Here's a peek at what we ate:
Strawberries, ripe tomatoes, shiso, crispy chicken skin, and farmer's cheese
(paired with Groiss Austria Rosé Sommerwein 2015)
Oyster with wildflower mignonette pearls and bachelor's button
House baked sourdough with house butter and dewberry jam
Carrot "tom kha"
(paired with Boulevard Brewing Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale)
Scallop with prosciutto, hazelnut, asparagus and bull briar
(paired with Domain Ciringa Sauv Blanc)
Pork belly pupusa with carrot chimichurri, curtido, & onion flower
(paired with Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA)
Black garlic gnoccetti (these looked freakishly like pupae but tasted wonderful)
with maitake, shumeji, and quail egg
(paired with Fork Machine Central Coast Pinot Noir 2014)
Under blade with dewberry, sorrel, pesto
(paired with St. Bernardus Abt. 12)
And the creme de la creme, a peach beignet with duck egg ice cream, honeysuckle, and lavender
(paired with Moscato d'Austi)
We've been lucky enough to enjoy a lot of tasting menus, and this held its own amongst the best. They had a few kinks to work out when we went to the soft opening in mid-May, but with a month of Mondays under their belt, I'm guessing they've ironed those out by now. Even with the minor kinks we experienced, this was an outstanding meal and experience. Congrats to Chefs Bergeron and Nicaj on their exciting new venture!
De La Terre
Monday nights at Foreign & Domestic
306 E. 53rd Street
Austin, TX 78751