duck duck...odd duck!

If you were to judge a book by its cover with Odd Duck Farm to Trailer, you would miss out on some world class food from one of the best new chefs in America, Bryce Gilmore. On the outside, Odd Duck isn't much to look at. It's a trailer in a gravel parking lot with a bunch of picnic tables. Food trailers is the new fad in Austin right now. If trailers in Austin were Mean Girls, they would be so fetch. Odd Duck happened to be one of the first food trailers to pop up in Austin, but it remains one of the best.

All kidding aside, Odd Duck Farm to Trailer lives up to its reputation as a world class trailer serving up local and sustainable gourmet food. From the grits to the pork belly slider, everything here is spot-on. Check out the menu. Small menu = quality food.

The great thing about Odd Duck is the 'Small Plate Offerings' mentality. These portions are not meant to get you full. Instead, they are meant to satisfy you and nourish your well-being as a foodie. Trust me when I say some of these small plates will transform you to another place. You could be talking to somebody but once you take your first bite of the pork belly slider, you're a goner.

The tomato and spicy melon 'salad' was deliciously light and fresh, with just a hint of spice from the chili pepper. I want you to look at something though. Look at that bread. Just an ordinary piece of grilled bread, right? Nope. It's grilled perfection. Such a simple product, yet it was transformed into something amazing with great technique.

The cheddar grits were creamy, salty, and delicious. Something took this plate over the top though. The soft boiled egg lent its creamy interior to an already creamy dish. However, the yolk's rich flavor cut through that saltiness and gave the dish a layer of flavor it would have lacked without it.

This next dish was my personal favorite. 1/2 quail over texmati rice with cheddar, julienned apples, and arugula. Let me first start off by saying the quail was cooked to a juicy perfection, and the skin was amazingly crispy and salty. Screw bags of chips, give me a bag of that skin and I'll be a happy man. The texmati rice mix was a light mixture with a lot of flavor, especially with the crisp apple flavor and the peppery arugula. Combine the salty quail and the bright texmati mix and I guarentee you'll have a flavorgasm.

Last, but definitely not least, was the pulled pork on a baguette with pickled onion and a mustard aioli. The pulled pork was perfect, with little bits of charred bark. There was a brightness to the seasoning I couldn't quite pinpoint, but it really did add to the overall flavor profile. The baguette was again crispy and perfectly grilled. The pickled onions were acidic and delicious, and the mustard aioli was tangy, garlic-y and creamy. Add all of those together and you have one hell of a 'sandwich.'

You owe it to yourself to go check out Odd Duck Farm to Trailer. I dare you not to like it.