Noble Pig: Local Market Dinner

posted by johngl

I’ve been a bit of slouch over the last couple of weekends. Go ahead, beat me up, call me names, whip me into submission with a wet noodle, do all of those things. I haven’t been holding up my end of the bargain on getting posts out at my usual rate of two per week. It makes me sad.

However, what doesn’t make me sad in the least is that Chef John Bates, formerly of Asti fame and now firmly entrenched as Austin’s Sandwich King at his Noble Pig eatery, is offering monthly “Local Market” dinners. Better yet, I managed to score a couple of seats at the first general-public offering held Jan 8, 2011 (day 110) — all thanks to some quick work by my good friend and fellow food snob, BigDMcC.

I realize that this may sound a little odd:  dinner at a sandwich shop. Noble Pig is no ordinary sammich stop. The small, down to earth eatery transforms into a kind of trendy, cool-looking, dinner venue with just a few minor changes.

Since this is a reserved seating only sort of soiree, tables are bumped together in clusters just large enough to seat the particular parties.  Add in some wine glasses (Noble Pig is BYOB), a few candles and cloth napkins, and they’re good to go.

If you need a wine bucket to chill your bottle of bubbly or a nice Riesling, it’s not a problem. The folks are Noble Pig are happy to accommodate.

The opening of the dinner was really quite pleasant with Chef Bates saying: We don’t have dinner menus. This is more like I’ve invited you over to my house for dinner and I don’t do menus for that.

The offerings for this nights gathering:

Warm winter vegetable salad with a bagna caoda dressing, white truffle oil and hazelnuts

Simple, yet quite wonderful on cool evening, this warm, nutty, salad paired with the freshly house-baked bread, offered everything a developed palate could want: crunch from the nuts, sweetness from the beets, slight bitterness from the greens, acidity from the dressing, and fat from the truffle oil.

To make the salad even better, BigD’s wine offering was outstanding:

I’d never tasted a Verdeca varietal before so this came as an absolutely marvelous surprise. On the nose there were notes of floral and honey and, in the mouth, its velvety viscosity was punctuated with a citrus acidity. Apparently, this is difficult to find here in the States, so I thank BigD for sharing.

Next up:

Duck tortellini with shaved duck pastrami and a Parmesan-egg sauce

Unreal. That is the only word I can use to describe this dish. The duck pastrami is made in house and it’s cured saltiness combined beautifully with the Parm-laced egg sauce.  Chef Bates is a master at balancing flavors and textures.

BigD reached into his well-stocked wine tote a second time and pulled out another wine I’d never tried:

The 2004 Bressan Schioppettino is an other-worldly type wine.  It’s as though someone spiked it with black pepper. I’ll call it explosive. The in-your-face fruity aroma, smooth mouth-feel, and peppery finish paired beautifully (if not miraculously)  with the duck.  I’d love to try it with wild game.

I managed to look up from my plate a time or two and managed to catch Chef Bates at work plating up the next course. His passion for food is unmatched and there is something really cool about a chef-owner that literally has his hands in everything.  From bread to pickles, John is right there in the thick of it, tweaking and tasting to ensure he’s put out excellent product.

Pork and Beans: Corned pork belly, roasted loin and crispy trotters with white beans, edamame and Russian kale

Pork and Beans. Right.

Chef Bates’ understated style comes out all over this dish. The “crispy trotters” could be a meal in themselves — like a self-contained pork pot pie. A beautifully crunchy exterior gave way to smooth and creamy innards. The tenderloin was perfectly cooked and the belly’s creamy, fatty richness made for a really happy mouth. There was a lot going on here, that is for sure, but oddly, it didn’t seem overwhelming.  It was great fun taking a bite of the trotters with some kale, then another bite of belly with the beans.

And finally, dessert!

Rustic apple tart with crème friache-apple granita and spiced caramel

John nailed it again with this hot-cold, sweet-sour, crunchy-creamy, spicy-mild apple tart. Everything was well balanced: the hot temp of the tart offset by the cold temp of the granita; the sweetness of the apple in the tart offset by the tartness of the apple in the granita; the crunchy texture of the tart’s crust offset by the smooth caramel; every point had it’s counterpoint.

These monthly dinners could become habitual. We’re already signed up for the next one on Feb 5 and I am tempted to put in a standing order for two at every one of them. At $55 a head, this is easily the best bang for your buck in all of Austin. Chef John Bates has a smash hit on his hands and is developing a loyal following. Buy early, buy often!

I may have been a slouch on the home-cooking front, but there was a reason for it.  I guess I’m not all that sad about missing a post or two after all.