New Duck in Town?

On Wednesday, I had the distinct pleasure of sharing a few beers with Rich - an old friend whom I hadn't seen in over ten years - and his brother, Mark. As tends to happen around me, the conversation frequently turned to food, and at one point, I was waxing philosophical about the unctuous pork belly slider I'd had the week before at Odd Duck Farm to Trailer (which I previously blogged about here).

Also common in my world: talking about delicious food makes me crave said delicious food. So the following day, I found myself at Odd Duck, peering at the menu hopefully (it changes frequently, so there's no telling what you're going to find). Fortunately, the pork belly slider graced the menu that day, so I was soon sidled up to the bar by the grill window with a massive slider and a tomato & melon salad with goat cheese.

I swear to you that I did not skew this image of the slider in any way. They are really that tall (fortunately, they have not proven to be this tall).

The slider of my dreams. Six dolla, no holla.


Swoonworthy salad - vine-ripe tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, and some kind of very light dressing that had a bit of a kick to it, garnished with goat cheese. $4, and really quite perfect. Truly.

Anyway, I'd been hearing rumors that Bryce Gilmore, the mastermind behind Odd Duck, might be opening a new restaurant. Since I was consuming a meal within five feet of where he was working, I asked. And I'm glad to report that the rumors are true! Bryce will be taking over the space where Pie Slice Bakery used to reside and opening a gastropub called Barley Swine. There will be beer. There will be pig. Opening date still in the air, but they are shooting for mid-October.

I plan to be the first in line.

P.S. Never fear - Odd Duck will remain open. Phew!

Read more...

More Trailer Treasure: Odd Duck Farm to Trailer

I've been hearing rave reviews from all sides about the recently-arrived Odd Duck Farm to Trailer. Yelpers love it; my foodie friends on Twitter love it - it was high time to go.

I finally trundled over there for lunch today with my friend Mike, who was gracious enough to relent when I asked to change our previously-agreed-upon lunch venue at the last second. I think all the food bloggers had the same idea this week; we ran into Marshall from Eat This Lens there, I heard that Peter of Tasting Buds had been there too, and after I returned to the office, I saw several other food bloggers on Twitter arranging a meeting there tomorrow. Open the floodgates!

Odd Duck is at 1219 S. Lamar Boulevard;
it shares space with trailer brethren Gourdoughs and Austin Brevita.

Odd Duck Farm to Trailer is the brainchild of Bryce Gilmore, whose restaurant experience includes stints at Z Tejas Grill, Wink, and Moonshine, as well as a number of establishments outside the Austin area. Bryce also probably had some cooking juju in his genes, as he happens to also be the son of Jack Gilmore (the founding chef of Z Tejas, who just opened his own brand new venture, Jack Allen's Kitchen).

Whatever the source of his skills, they are certainly in fine form here. Everything we sampled from the menu was delicious, and Bryce's focus on locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients guarantees that everything is fresh and good for your soul, too.

Portions here are on the small side, so I'd suggest ordering at least a couple of things per person. For the two of us, we ordered two sliders, a salad, a soup, and an order of polenta, and it was just about perfect.

We started with a cup of cauliflower soup ($3) and a grilled romaine salad ($5). The salad was, in a word, groundbreaking. I've never had grilled romaine before, and was completely taken by the wonderful smoky flavor that it imparted to mere lettuce. The goat ricotta was incredibly creamy, and the farm egg was poached just right and oozing with freshness. My only complaint was that the only utensils they gave us to eat this salad with were plastic soup spoons. Laughably inadequate. We ended up just picking up the lettuce with our hands.


Grilled romaine salad with goat ricotta and a poached farm egg.

The soup was also wonderful, although less innovative. At first I thought it was a hair on the bland side, but as we got deeper into the bowl, it got more flavorful. Maybe it just needed a tiny bit of a stir.


Cauliflower Soup.

Next up was an order of polenta with turnips, mushrooms and pulled duck leg, topped with a soft duck egg ($6). Again, wow. This man can cook an egg. And the polenta was smooth as silk and made a delightful base for the smoky duck, the earthy mushrooms, and the soft turnips.



Finally, we each devoured one of these wonderful sliders ($5) - filled with coffee porter braised pork, paprika roasted carrots, and some sort of delightfully garlicky sauce that I think was an aioli. Insert snarfing noises here.



The entire meal for both of us set us back just $23 including two bottles of ice cold Topo Chico. This may sound like it's on the high side for trailer dining, but trust me - it is well worth every penny.

Menu changes daily and is diligently updated on their website, so if you're going with a picky eater or somebody with dietary restrictions, check it out here first. If they decide not to join you, give me a call.

Odd Duck Farm to Trailer
1219 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704

Read more...