Cheddar green chile grits, buttermilk biscuits, and rabbit leg, with cocktails. Everything was amazing.
by disgracedcosmonaut1
11 Comments
SufficientSinger6645
👏
Upper-Fan-6173
That rabbit leg looks horrendous, but I’ll take your word for it.
Ballders
I’m admittedly not a rabbit leg connoisseur, but I would think you want more color on it.
Vegetable-Moment-983
What are the cocktails?
cjwidd
Say what you want but those biscuits are delicious
AssaultClipazine
What was the bill?
kemiyun
Disclaimer: I’m sure it was good, I don’t care too much about how food looks and I don’t want to discredit any food based on appearance. Also, I don’t really know how a perfectly cooked rabbit leg looks. Following comment is not meant as a criticism, just intended as a funny remark.
Dude, the first image reminded me of Tyler’s bs from the Menu.
WallyMetropolis
I will probably eventually give it another try, but I went to Olamaie before the star and wasn’t blown away. They had a smoke cabbage that was excellent, but nothing else was particularly good. The server was a bit out of it, and I had an olive oil martini that just left me with an upset stomach.
luksox
Why does this all look so bad ??
BlurredButterfly
Cocktails and biscuits at Olamaie are good, but they charge a 20% “wellness fee” and heavily imply that you’re also supposed to tip at least 20%. And their food is already very expensive. Insanely too expensive.
Shoontzie
I went Saturday. So as not to bombard the sub with posts about Olamaie here is my review:
Firstly, they only have the tastings on Thursdays which I didn’t know. After reading the terrible reviews about the tasting we were happy to order from the menu.
The entrance to the porch is marked clearly enough, but the door to the bar/host stand was hard to find. After telling us we were early they seated us on the porch which made us the de facto greeters for everyone else looking for the entrance. I don’t know why they don’t just move the host stand outside onto the porch. Anyway, it wasn’t that big a deal. We each had a punch and it was delicious!
When we were seated we enjoyed the atmosphere and decor with one big exception: it’s very noisy in there. Hard to hold a conversation. The server came to tell us all about the menu and I personally loved this part of the experience. The staff was one of my favorite things about our meal. We truly loved everything about the service. Some of the best I’ve ever had in Austin or really in the USA.
We decided on the following, and they ask you to order all at once: one oyster for each of us, red rice calas, beef belly, rabbit, catfish, cheese grits and of course biscuits. About this time we ordered another round of cocktails. By the time we finished our meal we had had several different kinds between the two of us and they were all some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had: well balanced and liquor forward which is my preference.
The oysters and the Cala came out first. The oysters were amazing! Being originally from Louisiana I’ve had a lot of variations of broiled or char grilled oysters in my day and these were among some of the best I’ve ever had. If the cocktails and the first course were any indication of where we were headed then this was going to be an awesome meal!
The Cala was ok. The rémoulade was amazing but the dough balls were a little bland. I liked the story behind the Cala immediately so this was disappointing. I felt like Chef Amanda had this project she wanted to undertake with the Cala that just didn’t come through with taste. I would love to see this dish workshopped some more, but definitely was expecting something a little more since it made it to the menu.
The beef belly we added to our order after the server suggesting we order one more appetizer to round things out. We were very glad we did! Although rich, this was the best smoked meat I’ve ever had in Texas. Yes you heard me. Yes I know what a bold statement that is. I stand by it. This appetizer is very rich though, and it could have used some starch with it. Still, I wouldn’t miss this one.
Entree time! There was some cool fanfare with setting the table and that was fun. My date had the fried catfish with étouffée and I had the rabbit with biscuit dough dumplings they called “slicks”. The catfish dish was aces. No notes. So good and hit. The rabbit itself was delicious. I’ve had domestic and wild rabbit and love both. This one seemed to be domestic which means (in case you are new to rabbit) that it eats like a super juicy, extra flavorful white meat chicken. Although I was warned the sauce would “eat salty” it was a little too salty for my taste. This is confusing to me. It could easily have been balanced even by adding more of my favorite part of the whole thing: the “slicks”. Why Chef Amanda doesn’t lean into the strongest thing on the menu: the biscuits, is beyond me. More biscuit dough slicks, please! Biscuits with the beef belly! Biscuits everywhere! Because y’all, the hype is real. Those biscuits are slamming.
Unfortunately, the saddest part of this menu is the grits. Y’all, I love grits. I understand they aren’t everyone’s favorite and I understand why. Most times grits are prepared improperly. Undercooked, under seasoned, not enough fat, not nurtured enough. This dish set grits back. I don’t know how this even happens. Do they use inconsistent ingredients? Was the cheese Saturday dryer and saltier than other kinds of cheese they use? Cause it was so salty it was inedible. Like salt lick make your body cringe salty. I’m pretty sure the consistency was gritty too (it’s namesake I know but nah). It was hard for me to keep it in my mouth long enough to find out. We sent this one back.
We ordered a strawberry layered dessert situation to go. More on this later.
The check came. Only a few bucks off of $300. Compared to other fine dining in this city I think this is a deal especially considering the service was impeccable, we had tons of cocktails and we ate to our gills and still had 2-4 meals left to take home. We tipped 20% on that and were happy to do so. Frankly I think it was a bargain and I would definitely go back to try variations on the menu and to see how Chef Amanda evolves.
The next day we ate our strawberry dessert. They told us this was served on a sponge but the “crust” was more like raw cookie dough? Not sure if i misunderstood or if it just didn’t keep well in the fridge. Either way the rest of the dessert was awesome! All full of strawberry punch in many different ways. Again, why wouldn’t you serve all of this on more BISCUITS!
TLDR, Impeccable service, tons of food, spectacular cocktails, food hit or misses but the hits were creative and out of the park. Watch the salt. MORE BISCUITS!
11 Comments
👏
That rabbit leg looks horrendous, but I’ll take your word for it.
I’m admittedly not a rabbit leg connoisseur, but I would think you want more color on it.
What are the cocktails?
Say what you want but those biscuits are delicious
What was the bill?
Disclaimer: I’m sure it was good, I don’t care too much about how food looks and I don’t want to discredit any food based on appearance. Also, I don’t really know how a perfectly cooked rabbit leg looks. Following comment is not meant as a criticism, just intended as a funny remark.
Dude, the first image reminded me of Tyler’s bs from the Menu.
I will probably eventually give it another try, but I went to Olamaie before the star and wasn’t blown away. They had a smoke cabbage that was excellent, but nothing else was particularly good. The server was a bit out of it, and I had an olive oil martini that just left me with an upset stomach.
Why does this all look so bad ??
Cocktails and biscuits at Olamaie are good, but they charge a 20% “wellness fee” and heavily imply that you’re also supposed to tip at least 20%. And their food is already very expensive. Insanely too expensive.
I went Saturday. So as not to bombard the sub with posts about Olamaie here is my review:
Firstly, they only have the tastings on Thursdays which I didn’t know. After reading the terrible reviews about the tasting we were happy to order from the menu.
The entrance to the porch is marked clearly enough, but the door to the bar/host stand was hard to find. After telling us we were early they seated us on the porch which made us the de facto greeters for everyone else looking for the entrance. I don’t know why they don’t just move the host stand outside onto the porch. Anyway, it wasn’t that big a deal. We each had a punch and it was delicious!
When we were seated we enjoyed the atmosphere and decor with one big exception: it’s very noisy in there. Hard to hold a conversation. The server came to tell us all about the menu and I personally loved this part of the experience. The staff was one of my favorite things about our meal. We truly loved everything about the service. Some of the best I’ve ever had in Austin or really in the USA.
We decided on the following, and they ask you to order all at once: one oyster for each of us, red rice calas, beef belly, rabbit, catfish, cheese grits and of course biscuits. About this time we ordered another round of cocktails. By the time we finished our meal we had had several different kinds between the two of us and they were all some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had: well balanced and liquor forward which is my preference.
The oysters and the Cala came out first. The oysters were amazing! Being originally from Louisiana I’ve had a lot of variations of broiled or char grilled oysters in my day and these were among some of the best I’ve ever had. If the cocktails and the first course were any indication of where we were headed then this was going to be an awesome meal!
The Cala was ok. The rémoulade was amazing but the dough balls were a little bland. I liked the story behind the Cala immediately so this was disappointing. I felt like Chef Amanda had this project she wanted to undertake with the Cala that just didn’t come through with taste. I would love to see this dish workshopped some more, but definitely was expecting something a little more since it made it to the menu.
The beef belly we added to our order after the server suggesting we order one more appetizer to round things out. We were very glad we did! Although rich, this was the best smoked meat I’ve ever had in Texas. Yes you heard me. Yes I know what a bold statement that is. I stand by it. This appetizer is very rich though, and it could have used some starch with it. Still, I wouldn’t miss this one.
Entree time! There was some cool fanfare with setting the table and that was fun. My date had the fried catfish with étouffée and I had the rabbit with biscuit dough dumplings they called “slicks”. The catfish dish was aces. No notes. So good and hit. The rabbit itself was delicious. I’ve had domestic and wild rabbit and love both. This one seemed to be domestic which means (in case you are new to rabbit) that it eats like a super juicy, extra flavorful white meat chicken. Although I was warned the sauce would “eat salty” it was a little too salty for my taste. This is confusing to me. It could easily have been balanced even by adding more of my favorite part of the whole thing: the “slicks”. Why Chef Amanda doesn’t lean into the strongest thing on the menu: the biscuits, is beyond me. More biscuit dough slicks, please! Biscuits with the beef belly! Biscuits everywhere! Because y’all, the hype is real. Those biscuits are slamming.
Unfortunately, the saddest part of this menu is the grits. Y’all, I love grits. I understand they aren’t everyone’s favorite and I understand why. Most times grits are prepared improperly. Undercooked, under seasoned, not enough fat, not nurtured enough. This dish set grits back. I don’t know how this even happens. Do they use inconsistent ingredients? Was the cheese Saturday dryer and saltier than other kinds of cheese they use? Cause it was so salty it was inedible. Like salt lick make your body cringe salty. I’m pretty sure the consistency was gritty too (it’s namesake I know but nah). It was hard for me to keep it in my mouth long enough to find out. We sent this one back.
We ordered a strawberry layered dessert situation to go. More on this later.
The check came. Only a few bucks off of $300. Compared to other fine dining in this city I think this is a deal especially considering the service was impeccable, we had tons of cocktails and we ate to our gills and still had 2-4 meals left to take home. We tipped 20% on that and were happy to do so. Frankly I think it was a bargain and I would definitely go back to try variations on the menu and to see how Chef Amanda evolves.
The next day we ate our strawberry dessert. They told us this was served on a sponge but the “crust” was more like raw cookie dough? Not sure if i misunderstood or if it just didn’t keep well in the fridge. Either way the rest of the dessert was awesome! All full of strawberry punch in many different ways. Again, why wouldn’t you serve all of this on more BISCUITS!
TLDR, Impeccable service, tons of food, spectacular cocktails, food hit or misses but the hits were creative and out of the park. Watch the salt. MORE BISCUITS!