Turnbull and the Odd Duck
Our favorite winery is Turnbull. We are members, they occasionally ship us wine. On special occasion (or sometimes just a Tuesday) we open and consume them. I received an invitation from the owner, Zoe, that they were in town hosting a Happy Hour. We did join them at Winebelly.
The wines were amazing, but we knew that ahead of time. They also provided a cheese and meat board. Kat and I both enjoyed the fried pig ear strips.
Funny, a couple near us was wondering what they were (as the husband chewed). I tried my best to explain "pig ear". "But what's it MADE of?" they responded twice... Their faces just about fell off as I made it as simple as I could "it's made from PORK! Pigs are pork. This is the EAR part of a pig, fried, cut into strips and marinated".
So we picked up a few bottles they were selling there and the Winemaker (Peter) and Owner (Zoe) signed the bottles.
A cold front had just blown in and that back patio at Winebelly was getting COLD. It was still early so Kat and I took the opportunity to grab a table at Odd Duck.
Everything we had at Odd Duck was creative and delicious. We started with soft boiled duck egg with broccoli stem puree, mustard seeds and fish roe (shown above).
We also had pretzel sticks stuffed with ham served in mustard béchamel as well as, beef tongue and goat cheese quesadilla.
Kat especially liked the giant fried whole fish head. She cracked it open and a plume of steam shot upward (seen below), it was dramatic. I hate getting my hands in my food. The waiter assured us he'd be bringing warm towelettes by and Kat dug right in. She helped supply me with such tender and delicious meat. Without her guidance, this dish would've been wasted on me.
Our final selection did not disappoint. Naan stuffed with "pig face" and a curry yogurt sauce.
So... if I were to recap things I ate that evening, it would go something like this:
Pig Ear
Pig Face
Cow Tongue
Fish Head
Duck and Fish Eggs
Oh, and a really stinky blue cheese.