austin food and wine alliance wine & swine recap

Out at Pioneer Farms, the air was filled with wood fire smoke and the sweet aromas of roasted pork. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to attend the second annual Wine & Swine event put on by the Austin Food and Wine Alliance, an event dedicated to showcasing local chefs and their skills with our favorite animal. They also showcase local wineries and distilleries, but this year they even had a few breweries in attendance (next year, I bet it will more than double). Breweries included Hops & Grain, Thirsty Planet, and Jester King, each with two beers. Argus Cidery was also there with their delicious farmhouse cider. For me, nothing goes better with pork than beer. The natural sweetness of the pork merries well with beer's bitterness, while beer's carbonation and bitterness helps cut through all of that fatty goodness. Hops & Grain Alt worked magic with the pork.

I can't describe to you how wonderful the food was. Even the 'mediocre' dishes were still quite tasty. I think I would've gone again just to see all of that sweet porky fatty goodness caramelizing on those wood grills. My favorite dish of the day came from Carillon's chef Josh Watkins. He put out several cuts of pork, but the best was this Cuban spiced pork rib. Pardon my French, but it was un-fucking-believable.

Carillon Cuban pork rib w/ Jester King Noble King

Other highlights for me included porchetta sandwiches from Salty Sow and roasted pig from Barley Swine.

When you see tickets go on sale for this next year, you owe it to yourself to attend.

Barley Swine's roasted pork w/ Thirsty Planet Thirsty Goat

Porchetta at its finest

Jake Maddux. The man, the myth, the legend.

Olivia's pork stew w/ Hops & Grain Alt