Outstanding in the Field

"Outstanding" is an understatement when it comes to this event!! For those that don't know, Outstanding in the Field is a traveling restaurant that attempts to guide eaters back to the origins of their food. Jim, the founder, had such an amazing idea to bring farm food to the dinner table. Basically, Jim works with different local farmers around the world to create an "out of the norm" experience. Our event was held in Santa Margarita, about ten miles from San Luis Obispo (4 hours south of SF). It was at Rinconada Dairy Farm which specializes in goat cheese. Jim also works with local chefs to secure his/her team will be able to cook with all this fresh farm food on the night of the event :) Our chef was Chris Kobayashi from Artisan Restaurant, who was excellent by the way. The experience is set at a higher cost than a typical dinner out but the outcome was beyond any monerary amount I could put a price on. 

Jim the founder

Rinconada Dairy Farm Owners Christine and Jim Maguire

Once you arrive & check in, the staff has a drink ready to start the evening. Ours was a local beer from Firestone. It was SO fresh it was just bottled only 3 days prior to this event!! As we enjoyed our beverage, Greg and I checked out the growing veggies and live animals. 

Greg and I had never seen an Asparagus plant!

While everyone enjoyed the beer and the view, the appetizers slowly started to come out. Clearly the theme was cheese inspired because we were on a dairy farm and let me tell you the cheese was A-MAZING!! First up was goat cheese, obviously made onsite, served atop a baguette... plain and simple BUT right to the point. The cheese was ridiculously smooth! Second appetizer was Arrancini, Italian for rice ball.. need I say more? Third was grilled artichoke hearts with bacon hollandaise sauce. Artichoke, double yum, however I could have done without the bacon hollandaise- little too heavy for Booty Foodie! There was a standard salumi & cheese appetizer as well but as fresh as it was, it definitely hit the spot. Lastly, a spanish style quiche with roasted peppers & romesca sauce. I am not familiar with romesca sauce, however, I think it was too smokey for my taste. Everything was excellent though!! 

After everyone had their fair share of appetizers and beers, it was time for the farm tour!! We met so many animals and really enjoyed the knowledge of farm life! The farm owners were extremely passionate about HOW they raise and keep their animals. Not only did they care for them but created a home environment as well. They even let us watch the goat's get milked. 

lined up to be milked! 

sibling wrestling

Our table was beautiful. One long table for about 150 people. This has been a "bucket list" item for me. My ideal dinner party would be everyone sitting at a long large table discussing various topics but sharing the same food and drink :)

The guests sat down and right before they served us, our wine was poured. Adelaida Cellars paired our dishes with whites & reds! No glass ever reached empty status... so lovely! I have to be upfront and state that from here on out the food descriptions and pictures speak for themselves. It was the best meal I can say I have had, definitely the freshest, and it made me want to own a farm LOL! The items come out in a family style setting. For every 6 people, they brought a big platter to share. It really was more than enough! As we ate and chatted, the wine maker and local farmers that provided some of the produce walked around to educate the guests. 


First course wasn't even an appetizer. I consider it the nibbles before an appetizer. It consisted of bread & olive oil, nuts, and marinated olives. Following this was a platter of salumi, cheese, and rabit liver pate which is definitely more of the appetizer. Next is salad... better yet a BEET salad mmm! Arugula with a black pepper vinaigrette. Best part though.. Rinconada's sheep's milk feta... one of the best feta's I have ever had. It was more creamy and smooth than most feta's which they said was because it came from a sheep. So if you don't like goat feta, which is the typical feta, maybe try a sheep's milk feta? 

After all those starters I could not fathom what else they could possibly put on our table. The next course was a braised lamb ragu (which came from the farm) over green garlic gnocchi with fava beans and Rinconada's flagship cheese, pozo tomme. MMMMM!!!! I was convinced this was the main course cause of the meat and the pasta... I was wrong.. next course was grilled grass fed beef chuck rib with baby carrots. This came alongside french onion potatoes. I swear this was the most inventive thing I've ever had-- it is french onion soup but with potatoes...could it get any better?

Clearly the last course is dessert. I have to admit I am starting to appreciate dessert more and this sweet concoction is one of those reasons why I am changing my mind. I'm not sure what made this dessert amazing...was it because the cheese they used was SO fresh or because this chef is absolutely phenomenal in the kitchen?! Him and his team served us a bing cherry tart with Rinconada Sheep Milk's Fromage. It had a honey almost crust and was paired with a bay leaf infused ice cream. Magnificent!!

After looking at all the pictures, I hope you put together the idea of what Jim tried to create here. Fresh produce from either the farm or a nearby farm prepared right onsite for your enjoyment/dinner. I highly recommend checking out the website, http://outstandinginthefield.com/,  & consider treating yourself to one of their events :) I know Greg and I will be back!!!!! Best meal and experience <3