Every year, the Hot Luck Festival–brainchild of Aaron Franklin, the Mohawk’s James Moody, and Mike Thelin of Portland–brings a boatload of chefs and their creations to Austin for four days of culinary debauchery. It’s both over-the-top and simply perfect.
The Sunday event is called “Camp Sunnyside” and after having engorged oneself the night before, it can be a slog to get back to it. But if there’s one event worth strapping on the proverbial feedbag, it’s this one. It’s brunch done right, with none of the pretension of that term but all the tastiness. This year was no exception.
First Course: Breakfast
Siobhan and Taylor Manning - Cafe Olli (Portland, OR)
Breakfast Arancini: with smoked ham, white cheddar, “secret sauce”, and chive oil
S’mores Cookies: with marshmallow, dark chocolate, and Golden Grahams®️
Ian Thurwachter - Poeta (Austin)
Piloncillo Pancake Sandwich: with jalapeño sausage, egg, and cheese
Cheesy, rice-y goodness. Some early sweetness. The fanciest of McGriddles. What more could you want? If I had this triple threat every Sunday for the rest of my life, I’d be good.
Second Course: Lunch
Renee Erickson - The Walrus and the Carpenter (Seattle, WA)
Wild Sockeye Tostie: with jalapeño jelly and ikura roe
Ashley Christensen - Poole’s (Raleigh, NC)
Fried Oyster Benny: English muffin, whipped béarnaise, smoked tomato, leek ash
Earnest Servantes & David Kirkland - Burnt Bean Co. (Seguin)
Tijuana Chicken: with street corn queso
The Walrus and the Carpenter, from the very hip Ballard neighborhood in Seattle, is one of the best restaurants in that town, and this salmon sandwich showed why. Christensen is a long-time participant in this party and knocked it out of the park with an oyster bite to end all bites. Burnt Bean has made a name for itself in the barbecue world, and this chicken leg was no joke.
Third Course: Second Lunch
Fermín Núñez - Este (Austin)
Tostadito de Snapper: with hazelnuts
Kevin Fink - Fife & Farro (San Antonio)
Mozzarella: with mortadella and focaccia
Sarah McIntosh - Épicerie (Austin)
Ham & Cheese Croissant: with cheese whiz
By this point, hunger is a distant memory and fullness is a constant companion. Still, anything from the crew at Este has to be sampled, and I was glad this was a tostadito and not a full tostada. Hazelnuts with snapper? Sure. And Kevin Fink might do business in San Antonio, but he’s an Austinite that brought it with that mozz concoction. Finally, it might have been near 100 degrees, but with Sarah McIntosh involved, it was a little bit Paris, too. Mais oui!
Fourth Course: Dessert!!!
Paola Velez - author of Bodega Bakes (Washington, DC)
Sweet Plantain Sticky Buns
Fiore Tedeseco - L’Oca D’Oro (Austin)
Cinnamon Toast Bacon Crunch Cannoli
Joanne Canady-Brown - The Gingered Peach (Lawrence Township, NJ)
Ooey Goey Cinnamon Buns
And here’s where the second wind kicks in: the sweets! The two cinnamon rolls were competing in a battle with no losers, even if they were carpetbaggers both. And Fiore Tedeseco took breakfast cereal up molto notches with this amazing cannoli. What a way to finish!