Dining Out Sustainably: Odd Duck Farm to Trailer

It was only a matter of time before the eat local movement and the food trailer trend combined into a farm-to-trailer.  Lucky for us, Bryce Gilmore, son of Austin restaurateur Jack Gilmore of Z'Tejas and Jack Allen's, created Odd Duck, Austin's first farm to trailer food cart.  

 

Located at 1219 South Lamar in a small lot with the Brevita and Gourdough's trailers, Odd Duck offers a nightly menu of a half dozen locally-sourced dishes.  I recently joined several of the other food bloggers to explore the Odd Duck menu which that day included two salads, a cauliflower soup, polenta with braised lamb, a duck, mushroom and turnip quesadilla, and a sandwich with pork loin, mustard glazed ham and sauerkraut.

 

Rarely, have I had so much difficulty choosing from such a short menu, but I finally selected the grilled romaine salad with a poached farm egg and the duck, mushroom and quesadilla.  I had never had grilled romaine before and was surprised how much flavor the grilling brings out of the lettuce, particulary when paired with the ricotta and the nicely poached egg.  

 

I was intrigued by the quesadilla because of the turnip - not your typical quesadilla ingredient.  The richness of the duck and the mushrooms paired perfectly with the turnip and the turnip gave the quesadilla a nice heartiness.  It definitely encouraged me to experiment more with my turnips.

 

The portion sizes and prices were perfect for ordering two or more items and sharing with your friends. (I highly recommend taking friends who share.)  It was easily the best $11 lunch I've had in quite some time, possibly ever.

 

I'm delighted that we now have a locally-sourced trailer in Austin and am even happier that Odd Duck is creating such innovative, tasty dishes.  I'm looking forward to visiting again for dinner sometime soon.