Angers (Austin's sister city in France) had a brainstorm for the music showcases that Angers would bring to SxSW2013, ably assisted by Angers music venue Le Chabada. Why not bring along a French chef as well, a rising star in Angers, and host (French) food events along with the music? Brilliant. Only problems: (1) where to cook the food at a music venue (The Bungalow) that has no kitchen; and (2) where to source in Austin items that are omnipresent in France on a daily basis but not necessarily readily available in Austin.
This led to some interesting meetings and networking on the organizers' diligence mission in February 2013, including meeting with Slow Food Austin, and its biodiversity head Valerie Broussard, a trained chef, Francophile, and "forager" over at Trace at the W Hotel.
At first I was unclear on the concept of my Angevins friends. I got that the idea that the music showcases would be preceded by a "brunch" by Chef Rémi Fournier, owner of Chez Rémi, a charming restaurant, in Angers. It would be from 10 am to 12 pm, before the music kicked in. I imagined perhaps some pastries. Some sausage. Maybe some eggs.
But when I heard that some interesting pork cuts were needed, and that pork blood also was an ingredient they needed (for one of Rémi's specialties, blood sausage, which I tasted in Angers), all of which they quickly had to re-source from another local producer (Sebastien to the rescue!) a week before their arrival in Austin--when the first one fell through--I started to realize there might be more to the meal than link sausage and maybe some pain perdu to stand in for brunch-esque item French Toast.
Thursday le 14 mars arrived. This was the long-awaited day of so much advance planning, strategizing, logistics (i.e., organizing, and cooking at the Justine's kitchen and transporting the food for a "pop up" brunch off site). I arrived at the Bungalow on Rainey Street at 10h30, after catching some KUTX live music time down at The Four Seasons.
What I saw was not what I was expecting. Not by a longshot. No pancakes. No omelette station.
It was a long table, with row after row of lovely portions of visually stunning food arranged in tiny plates and bowls arranged for mouth-watering effect.
Mussels; smoked salmon and lentils; duck tartare; tiny Spanish sardine bites over French lentils; bright red beet purée garnished with tiny delicate slivers of what looked like watermelon radishes but what I heard was just a lovely beet. And yes, the blood sausage. And more and more little bites.
And there was still more beyond these little feasts for the eyes. Two huge pâtés--one duck and one chicken liver.
And piles of lovely little tart cornichons here and there.
And yes, some lovely cheese, and yes, that is a rich St. Marcellin right there in the center.
And sure, why not a few pains au chocolat and croissants (from Bagette et Chocolat), for good measure.
No coffee, alas. But this did not stop me (and others, to be clear) from digging in.
As 11 a.m. approached, and the duck pâté was crying out to be tasted, I dug in. With a glass of the fresh and almost effervescent organic white wine from Touraine, which they had managed to secure from a local wine distributor, I was set. One bite in and I was hooked. Chef Rémi had indeed pulled off something miraculous and magical under what looked like some pretty uncertain circumstances just a week or two earlier.
Justine's also came through again, providing its cheery wait staff to serve the wine that lovely (late) morning and into the early afternoon.
It is not often that one has such a feast laid out, with pâtés of this quality just there for the taking, on a cool spring day in Austin, surrounding by French speakers from all over France there for SxSW. So I do not regret the copious (and repeated) combinations of pâté, cheese, bread, that I indulged in--which now has me on a boot camp, 6 days a week, for my post SXSW workout/super low carb regime.
I do regret that I obviously have a long way to go before I really learn one great French way-of-life lesson: moderation.
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