So, I hate websites like this that give everyone a voice. I think that there are reasons that there are paid restaurant reviewers and people who think that they know stuff and should share. I worked the food industry for almost 20 years. I used to manage 4 star/4 diamond properties; I used to give classes on wine, food and service; I used to wait tables and cut carrots for a paycheck (not simultaneously); now I don't. That said, the people that have written negative reviews that imply that their experience depends on the existence of flies and mosquitos in Austin, outside mind you, on an early summer's eve are just plain stupid. Ya'll are morons.
I went to Foreign and Domestic with a party of 4 on Friday night. I was/am in Austin for the weekend and had the pleasure of joining a dear friend's sister and husband for dinner. Having never met my friend's sister (it wasn't a date) I wanted to impress her and her husband with a great restaurant choice. I chose F&D. I'm from Portland and saw on the restaurant's website that the owner's lived there too, so I had to try it.
We arrived around 8 and the place was still jamming. I think that we ended up being one of the last groups seated which is a great omen for the Elliott's as they've been open about a week. I feel like I should mention this for the sake of Lawrence; I had a bug-bite which I had received on my walk over. I realized that it itched as I stood waiting for my table with my new friends. It was not the owner's fault. We did wait by the way; we waited longer than I would have like too, but it was friday. The servers were amicable, not the best, but they were all pleasant and sweating nominally (a good sign for a new place if anyone cares). They brought me a 'cyclist' as I was waiting and it was super refreshing. Alcohol kept me stable during our wait for a table.
We got seated (inside because I was willing to wait longer to not sit outside) and were presented our menus. Our server was fine. Great personality, not perfectly trained, but super friendly. She answered our questions. She brought our food hot. All positive. We ordered a bunch of stuff. The menu does not reek of pretentiousness, it is rapt with playfulness. The Elliott's clearly want people to have fun. They got me to blush as I told our waitress that I wanted 'that Beautiful Ass,' the beautifully sliced country ham with mustard; so salty, so piggy, so good. We also had the The Poppy Cock, Croquettes, Spinach Salad, Venison Spare RIbs, Garlic Broth, Corn Ravioli, Flat Iron Steak, Chicken (stupid good by the way, especially for chicken) the Ripper!, Bacon Licker (or was it Pig Licker?) and the Coconut thing (their website doesn't have desserts so my search for a name for the coconut thing ceased).
After eating my way through 50 percent of the menu, we did not leave hungry, I have to say there isn't single pretentious thing coming out of that kitchen. The food was sometimes delicate and at other times boldly flavored. It was well executed. It was delicious. It was fun. I don't want to belabor each element, so here are highlights (I could write pages about each item). The poppy cock killed it; salty and sweet; crunchy; pig skins; kick ass. God I love eating with my hands! The spinach salad, for you vegetarians was so much better than the hot and slimy bacon dressed versions that I grew up eating at my grandparent's favorite restaurants; crispy pigs ear, warm spinach and a whole bunch of nonsense (oh wait, the spinach had pig, no love for veggies). The garlic broth and the spare ribs were rocking too. From the larger plates the corn ravioli and the ripper were my favorites; oh corn, that vegetable does not come to Oregon until the very end of summer. Christ were the ravioli good. They were the summers I remember spending in Michigan (prides itself on corn there, not employment, but corn). I could eat a thousand of those things. And finally, The Ripper; that hot mess was Mr. Elliott's final opus. For those of you who don't know, its a nod to the famous friend hot dogs of New Jersey. How I dislike everything about that state, but like every cloud, there is a silver lining; in this case its a lining made of fried hot dogs. This madness was wrapped in bacon to couple the assault flavor wise. Sweet fried pickles. Soft bun. Sausage! Killer.
We shared desserts. The coconut thing melted my heart. Why is the chef not 600 pounds? I don't care if he came from cycle-y healthy Portland. His wife makes this coconut thing and it just begs to be eaten everyday. That my friends is a lucky man. You all can share in his luck and eat that thing. Order it. Seriously, its memorable. The pig-licker, though overload when it comes to porcine delicacies considering what we had already eaten, was also scrum-diddly-umptios.
Portland is worse off having lost the Elliott's. Reasonable prices. Top notch restaurant! read more