Hello! Do you like meat? Then read on, dear friend, for my tale of meaty delights. Does that sound filthy? All the more reason to read on, you dirty bird!

Andy and I had, as always, an incredible time at the annual National Puzzlers’ League convention, which was held in Seattle this year. No small part of our fun was experienced at Salumi, a restaurant specializing in artisan cured meats (big smile!). Our dear friend Artistry (quick side note: everyone in the NPL uses nicknames (noms) instead of real names, because we’re really cool. My nom is Expelliarmus, because it contains my real name (Arielle) and is an incantation in the Harry Potter books, to which I have sworn my undying love.  Andy’s nom is Bonus, because our last name, Arizpe, anagrams to “A prize”.  Fun huh? Right? Anyway, back to the story at hand) was able to secure one of the elusive private lunches at Salumi, which is owned by Mario Batali’s parents.  Eight of us gathered around a tiny table in the back of the tiny restaurant, and were treated to an absolutely brilliant lunch.  Here are the pictures!

This picture ended up being an assault on the eyes, what with the myriad reds and whites, but this was one impressive plate of meat! I didn’t take any notes, so I haven’t a hope of telling you the names of the different things on this platter, but they were all delicious.  My very very favorite one was mole-flavored! Who’s ever heard of such a thing?

Here’s an extreme closeup for you:

Also on the table were some really tasty olives, marinated in a beautiful tomato sauce, complete with thin slices of lemon.  What fun!

I ate 40. Next- fantastic meatball crostini, topped with hand-pulled mozzarella.  The picture really doesn’t do it justice- it was magical.

And look at this next one! Even the vegetables here are covered in meat! This is broccolini wrapped in salami and a green bean and tomato salad dressed with pesto and parmesan.  That broccolini might have been my favorite dish.

Short ribs! Cut thin and grilled.  These were fly, and Andy’s favorite dish. I ate mine with my fingers.

Ok, I forgot- this next dish might have been my real favorite.  House-made sausages on top of the most amazing black lentils.  The combination was brilliant.

Next we had a really crazy palate-cleanser course.  Though it looks really tame, this was packed with flavor- the clear broth is actually a pepper consomme of sorts, with a clean crisp jalapeno-y flavor.

Now the real magic begins.  This is a pan full of a fontina polenta, topped with crispy guanciale.  I could have eaten these crispy bits by the fistful, and the polenta was a creamy, cheesy dream.

Our main course was another high point of the meal.  Chicken thighs, browned and braised with a ton of leeks, wine, and butter on top of homemade pappardelle .  It was a simple dish executed perfectly.

And that takes us to the last dish, which the chef informed us was a happy accident.  We were supposed to be served some fairly standard wine-poached pears, but he had put them in the freezer to cool off slightly and forgotten about them.  He was afraid he had ruined the dessert, but then tasted it and found out that slightly-frozen poached pears are awesome! We all agreed- the texture was smooth and icy, and the flavor was amazing.

So that was it! Our amazing lunch at Salumi.  And all this for $40 a person- isn’t that unbelievable? It was really extraordinary.  Huge thanks to Artistry for setting it up- yahoo!

Friends! How I’ve missed your shining faces! But here I am, back again for my monthly blog post.  Really, I have dozens and dozens of pictures of food just waiting for me to paste them into a blog post, if only I could drag myself from the delights of Netflix Instant (namely the classics, i.e. Look Who’s Talking and Ren and Stimpy).

Anyway, back to the task at hand! I’m here to tell you about the perfectly lovely dinner Andy, his parents (Art and Mary) and I had last month courtesy of the Dai Due Supper Club.  Dai Due is a group that hosts dinners at farms around central Texas.  Our dinner was their summertime Seafood Feast at the beautiful Springdale Farm in east Austin.  (Side note, because I think it’s pretty: the name Dai Due comes from the Italian phrase: “Dai due regni di natura, piglia il cibo con misura” ~ “From the two kingdoms of nature, choose food with care.”)  Everything we ate was sourced as locally as possible, and the seafood came from the Texas gulf. It was a really fun and delicious experience.  Here’s what we had:

This is a Chilled Potato, Leek and Crawfish Soup.  Oooh, it was tasty! It was so hot outside, and this cold soup was a refreshing kickoff to the meal. It was light and creamy, with perfectly cooked crawfish and a flash of dill. Also, please note the adorable burlap table cloth.  It was a very charming table (or tablescape as Sandra Lee would say).

I might as well tell you now- the rest of the courses were served family style, and I photographed the dishes after I’d served myself a portion.  You will notice that my plate gets less and less photogenic as the night wears on- a thousand pardons! This dish might have been my favorite of the night.  It is: Smoked Triggerfish Terrine with Tomato Salad, Pickled Onions, and Grilled Bread. Um, hells yes.  That smoked triggerfish terrine was held together with a delicious cream cheese-like substance, and the tomatoes were those perfect early summer ones we’re so lucky to enjoy in central Texas.

This was a lovely dish (though you might not know it from my picture)- Triggerfish Escabeche with Marinated Cucumbers.  In case you were wondering (I hadn’t happened upon this dish before) escabeche is a Spanish term for poached or fried fish which has been covered with a marinade and refrigerated for at least 24 hours.  It was lively and refreshing! Also, I thought it was really clever of them to start us off with three cold dishes while the sun was still blazing.

Feast your eyes on this! Nice photo, aye? I’m aware this looks disgusting, but I really loved this dish- a Shrimp and Cabbage Tart.  I gotta tell you, I have a thing for cabbage that has been smothered in this manner.  A few months ago I made a tremendous Smothered Cabbage Risotto that this tart really reminded me of.  Yes. Smothered cabbage is the new black.

Look at this guy! This is Grilled “Mother-in-Law” with Green Bean and Potato Salad and Garlic Vinaigrette.  Isn’t that the best fish name ever? One site oh-so-helpfully informed me that this fish is so named because it’s “ugly and has a big mouth”.  That seems pretty harsh to me (especially because I enjoyed this particular fish with my very lovely and not-at-all-big-mouthed mother-in-law), but name aside, it was a really delicious fish.

More astute readers will notice that the sun went down somewhere between this course and the last one.  This is a plate of Grilled Softshell Crab with Green Tomato Salad and Roasted Corn.  This was super fly and unquestionably the best softshell crab I’ve ever had.

Beloved cheese. This is an assortment of local cheeses served with homemade bread warmed over the fire.  What’s not to love? After this, they served a lovely Plum Sorbet with Poppyseed Cookie, but it was too dark to take a picture.  It was a classy end to a really beautiful meal.

My dear sweet friend Rebecca hipped me to House Pizzeria, a swell restaurant near 51st and Airport.  The outside of the building is, shall we say, unassuming, but it’s adorable inside, where they are kicking out some terrific Neapolitan-style pies.  I can say unequivocally that this is my favorite pizza place in Austin.  I wouldn’t presume to call it “the best pizza in Austin,” because I know people are fiercely devoted to their own pizza proprietors, whether it be Home Slice, East Side Pies, or ahem, Mr. Gatti’s. 

Anyway, here’s what we ate!

Yes! Yes! I say, to roasted olives. This little ramekin of assorted olives and olive oil is plopped into the pizza oven until the oil is bubbling fiercely, and then they deliver it to your table along with a warm sourdough roll.  I loved it a healthy amount.

This is Helen’s mixed green salad.  Yes, it is enormous.  Sister-of-my-life thought it was tasty, but what wouldn’t be with strawberries/goat cheese/walnuts on top? I guess a few things…  I didn’t try this, because I had already eaten an impressive amount of olives and bread, and still had a whole pizza to eat. On to the star attractions!

Helen’s pizza! She got the Potato and Goat Cheese.  This was mighty tasty- they par-roast the potatoes so they’re crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside.  So many places don’t handle potato pizzas well, but they did a swell job.  I think they might have been a bit heavy-handed with the rosemary, though. (And I love rosemary! So much so that I plucked several needles from the garnish sprig that accompanied the roasted olives to eat along with the bread (until one needle got lodged in my throat-I am very graceful and sophisticated, if you didn’t know)).

“Poor predictable Bart, always picks rock.” “Good ole rock! Nothin’ beats that!”  Andy always, always orders pepperoni pizza.  House’s version is a real winner, though.  I mean, look at it! Not too cheesy, not too saucy.  Andy decreed it to be his favorite version in Austin!

And here’s my pizza! I ordered one of the daily specials (I think it was called “The Noble”) which featured all of the flavors of the classic appetizer devils on horseback: sliced dates, goat cheese, and a really delicious melt-in-your-mouth pork belly, plus some arugula for good measure.  It was truly wonderful- I do hope it becomes part of their regular menu. The flavors were just perfect together, and the crust on these pizzas is my idea of perfect- thin in the center and pillowy and chewy on the outskirts.  Well done, House Pizzeria! I’m happy to know you 🙂