My Kat Life

I had been following Outstanding in the Field for a couple years and I finally jumped the gun and bought myself a ticket to experience it! Over the last few years, restaurants have been bringing the farm to the table, but OITF brings the table out to the field. The price tag had been holding me back; a dinner will set you back just under $300. My justification was my upcoming birthday, and I’m happy to report it was worth every dollar.

I checked the dates and locations a couple days after the 2019 tour was published, and unfortunately, the Secret Sea Cove dinners were sold out already! I’ll have to be quick to get a ticket next year. I researched the chefs for the rest of the available dinners and was stoked to see that Alexander Hong of Sorrel would be cooking at one of them — May 12th at Lonely Mountain Farm in Watsonville. The farm also hosts their own smaller-scale farm to table dinners — they’re still yet to be announced, but I’m keeping my eye out for the dates and prices.

When I arrived at Lonely Mountain Farm, I was greeted with a table stocked with wine (by Alfaro Family Vineyards & Winery, a local winery) and cider (by Tanuki Cider of Santa Cruz). I started off with a rosé and walked around a little as we waited for guests to arrive. I didn’t realize they were passing around hor d’oeuvres until I saw the grilled Spanish octopus carried out on a grill top — it was SO DELICIOUS; I should have grabbed a couple more skewers! As we were waiting for the dinner to start, I realized I should have bugged a friend to join me; I didn’t realize the pace of the dinner would be slow and leisurely (definitely a social dinner). I had only arrived ready to eat haha!

Before heading to the table, there was a short welcome from the event director and we were given a little tour by the owner of the farm as we walked down to the table. His two other dogs sat watching us attentively as we listened to him tell us about his farm. He and his wife used to have more sheep and goats, but now that they have a family, they’re now only keeping a couple. I walked to look at the chicken coop earlier in the evening and I envy the fresh eggs they have just outside their house! Our last stop was his strawberry fields, where he invited guests to pick some organic strawberries to eat.

One of the unique things Outstanding in the Field does is ask guests to bring their own dinner plate; it makes each table setting different. I had forgotten mine, so I borrowed one from their stash. At the end of the night, they wash everyone’s plates and guests pick them up before leaving. Guests were invited to find their own seats. Those who were in a large group had their plates placed in advance so they were seated together.

I got lucky and Mark introduced himself and his family to me; I listened in and joined in their conversation here and there throughout dinner. I learned that it’s probably best to keep your car doors unlocked while in the wild in Tahoe. Mark and his daughter have both had their cars broken into by…bears. He told me if you have your windows open, the bear will crawl in, but if it can’t get out, it’ll get scared and break your windows to escape. Apparently bears are adept enough to get their paws under the door latch and will open your doors and leave if they don’t find anything. WILD!

Each of the courses came out separately, paired with a different wine. Both of the first two dishes had me wanting more (talk about whet your appetite!). The first was a white asaparagus panna cotta, cured egg, and caviar; they were pretty generous with the caviar! The second course was a hamachi with rhubarb, Heirloom Organics elderflower, and shiso. I always love a good seafood dish, especially raw fish paired well with other flavors. The third was a risotto with spring onion, Iacopi Farms fava beans, and ramps. There were more peas than fava beans, and I’m not a huge fan of peas, the reason why the dish wasn’t one of my favorites. The risotto itself was amazing!

As we were waiting for the main course to come out, I took the opportunity to go stalk the chef and his team. The tomahawk ribs were HUGE! I’m glad I wandered over to the grills because the action was fun to capture. The team also decided to do a “beef walk” where they took the steaks off the grill and walked it down the length of the table to “present” the food to the guests. It was a nice touch and a fun way for the culinary team to interact with the guests.

The dry-aged rib of beef was served with miso & sake-grilled Zuckerman Produce green asparagus and grilled Star Route Farms little gems, dill, chèvre, and smoked mustard seed vinaigrette.

The meal ended with a black pepper-honey sponge cake with Bavarian cream, pistachio, and Lonely Mountain Farm strawberries. Mark and his family exclaimed at the end of the meal that this was by far their favorite, and this was their fifth Outstanding in the Field experience. I’m so glad I decided to attend the dinner (finally), and I can’t wait for my next one. There are still some dinners available for Fall, take a look here. The team is also expanding their locations outside the US. If I get a chance, I would love to try to catch one in another country just to have a chance to eat food by another chef outside of his/her restaurant and experience the culture in a different way — a dinner with dozens of strangers.