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Living & Working in Great Places
Outstanding in the Field
Last night we had the great fortune of attending one of the most interesting and scenic meals out in Carnation, WA. The dinner was put on by a group called Outstanding in the Field, founded by Jim Denevan. Outstanding in the Field, to quote their website, "is a roving culinary adventure - literally a restaurant without walls." The food is locally grown and is eaten at a very large table in a field. It was AWESOME!
They have a complement of seasonal staff who cook and serve the dinners, so if this looks interesting to you, there is more information available on their employment page. One of the waitstaff at the dinner last night was a gentleman who had waited on me at some Seattle restaurant in the past. Of course, he didn't recognize me, ha, and that's understandable considering by his quick math that he has served approximately 250,000 people in his 20+ years in the service industry.
The food was excellent and including the following menu of yummyness.
whistling train pig in its own jelly with pickled red onions, gooseberries
2007 Cor Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Milbrandt Vineyard
billy astot tomatoes & cow's milk yogurt cheese with chicories & zucchini
2006 Cor Cellars Momentum
grande aioli with local roots farm cudites, cold clams & mussels from taylor shellfish, chilled washington sockeye & halibut
2006 Syncline Syrah Columbia Valley
stuffed, rolled & tied leg of lamb with artichokes from jason & siri's neighbors & bluebird grain farm's farro
2006 Syncline Syrah McKinley Springs Vineyard
washington apricots, estrella cheeses, amaretti
It was a perfect evening capped off with checking out their cool tour bus. Nate and I were both tour guides for Gray Line so we're true bus geeks at heart and offered our temporary services to Ben the bus driver should he need a break. : )
Bottom line, if Outstanding in the Field comes to your town, go, go, go! The food is local, delicious and the company is fabulous.
You can find a few more photos in my Flickr set for OITF.
They have a complement of seasonal staff who cook and serve the dinners, so if this looks interesting to you, there is more information available on their employment page. One of the waitstaff at the dinner last night was a gentleman who had waited on me at some Seattle restaurant in the past. Of course, he didn't recognize me, ha, and that's understandable considering by his quick math that he has served approximately 250,000 people in his 20+ years in the service industry.
The food was excellent and including the following menu of yummyness.
whistling train pig in its own jelly with pickled red onions, gooseberries
2007 Cor Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Milbrandt Vineyard
billy astot tomatoes & cow's milk yogurt cheese with chicories & zucchini
2006 Cor Cellars Momentum
grande aioli with local roots farm cudites, cold clams & mussels from taylor shellfish, chilled washington sockeye & halibut
2006 Syncline Syrah Columbia Valley
stuffed, rolled & tied leg of lamb with artichokes from jason & siri's neighbors & bluebird grain farm's farro
2006 Syncline Syrah McKinley Springs Vineyard
washington apricots, estrella cheeses, amaretti
It was a perfect evening capped off with checking out their cool tour bus. Nate and I were both tour guides for Gray Line so we're true bus geeks at heart and offered our temporary services to Ben the bus driver should he need a break. : )
Bottom line, if Outstanding in the Field comes to your town, go, go, go! The food is local, delicious and the company is fabulous.
You can find a few more photos in my Flickr set for OITF.
Comment
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Comment by wineaddict on January 9, 2009 at 3:41pm -
I found two other groups that do something similar but you need to live in LA or at least California!
http://www.roomforty.com/Welcome.html
http://www.tableoneevents.com/default.aspx
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Comment by Kari Quaas (Q) on November 14, 2008 at 3:36pm -
Hey Troy,
Thanks for sharing your story. Your menu also looks amazing. We hope that we'll be able to go again when they come back to the Seattle area. Yummy!
Are you a food lover / food critic / chef?
Kari : )
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Comment by Troy on November 14, 2008 at 2:19pm
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We experienced our first Outstanding in the Field dinner recently which was held October 25th 2008 in Napa, California. My expectations we somewhat low given that it wasn’t until the last moment we were told the menu would be vegetarian. Well, this wasn’t an issue. Chefs Jeremy Fox and Deanie Hickox-Fox of Ubuntu did a great job of bringing what remained of the summer garden to the table.
Overall the staff and hosts were great. The garden was awesome and the weather was great. I look forward to making it to another event soon. I just hope I can score tickets in the first few hours before they sell out!
Read More….. http://www.foodgeektv.com/?/blog/post/58/
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Comment by Kari Quaas (Q) on July 23, 2008 at 10:46pm
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Hey Keith ~ The weather was perfect, almost too perfect. Thankfully they do advise hats and sunscreen so I was ready. The Sauvignon Blanc was good. I personally prefer a nice Chenin Blanc, but it was a great wine for a hot day. The Momentum was a red blend - if I remember correctly - of cabernet franc, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon. It was very tasty. That, and the single vineyard (McKinley Springs) syrah, were my favorites. Wine tasting and enjoyment is a fun hobby. Keep trying them until you find some you like. If you want to learn more about wine, a fun and entertaining way to do is by watching Wine Library TV with Gary Vaynerchuk. Check it out.
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Comment by Keith Larson on July 22, 2008 at 5:19pm -
It looks like it was a lot of fun, and the weather cooperated. I've been getting more interested in wines. How was the Sauvignon Blanc? What style is Momentum?
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Comment by Cathy on July 21, 2008 at 3:08pm -
Well this sounds absolutely great! And what a different idea and experience !
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