Outstanding In The Field

Just attended the event in cayucos at the abolone farm… there were 4 of us in our party. Most of the food was uncooked, which might have been exceptable for uncooked fish canapés, but cooked courses were cold, like the luke warm fish soup, and warm raw salmon that was mushy and should never have been served. We sent it back to be recooked and it came back in a warm pan and was still raw. The desert was meant to be some kind of biscuits with icecream in between, but there was no icecream, just a bit of white liquid. Being at an abalone farm, we expected abalone steaks, but all there was was unidentifiable bits of abalone in a few dishes, but I take there word for that as I identified none. Lots of wine though, but hardly worth the $ 215 X 4 that we paid to be here. I would not recommend this event.

Just attended the OITF event in Thermal CA. Since this was our first event, our expectations were that the food was going to be outstanding. Well, the food was good, the experience was a better and it was really unique. I don’t know that we would go again but it was a good experience. I don’t feel that the value for the price is there, but they really are providing an experience that others have not. It’s a novelty… a pricey one.
If you read the reviews, most of the bad reviews are because of the cost relative to what you get. I agree. It’s a choice to attend one of these events to experience something different. We met some great people and that’s not something you typically do when going out for an expensive meal. That provides value in a different way.
Maybe someone will copy this model, advertise on grupon at a lower cost and be a hit. Until then, OITF seems to have marketshare for this type of event.

I’ve known about OITF for a few years now, and have wanted to go for just as long. This year I decided to take the plunge, and paid for a ticket. I live in Austin but opted for the event outside of San Antonio, since I hadn’t been there before and I expected a more rural setting (really the table in a field).
Well, then Patricia decided to hit. The drive there was an adventure in itself! I ended up leaving later than I should have, and called the farm to let them know. Someone promptly called me back and explained that the 2PM reception time lasts an hour, to allow guests enough time to arrive and mingle. Yay!
Obviously, due to the torrential downpour, the event was moved indoors; in to a lovely little barn on the property. The farmer actually built the barn (and the home) himself and it was a great little venue. Because of the rain, they had about 20% no shows, so the rest of us lucked out. We got their wine and food! So, while other reviewers comment on the portion size, I have no complaints. There was plenty of food to go around.
Our menu was Mexican cuisine and from the hors d’oeuvres to the entrees it was excellent. The farmer’s wife actually has a pie making business so they supplied some great pecan pie. There was one dish that I, and a few of my table mates, did not enjoy and unfortunately that was the final savory dish. Apparently it was very authentic Mole, but I just couldn’t enjoy it.
OITF staff tried to make the event as enjoyable as possible, in the downpour, and they did a great job. There was no farm tour but the owners did get some time to talk about their farm, their passions, and their life. Wine and beer were generously refilled, both from local places. The Chefs were friendly, approachable, and talented. My tablemates were fun, lively, and interesting.
Overall it was a great experience, and I’m glad it wasn’t cancelled even with the rain. Worth $ 200? In this case, yes. I left beyond stuffed and happy. Plus, understanding there are the OITF people to pay, in addition to the winery/​brewery, chefs (and cooks), and farmers — there’s a lot of money going around here. Yes, of course they’re making some money. But how often do you get to do something like this?
I would say do it, you make the experience what it is.

Prior to this experience, my wife and I have been to two of their events (Seattle and South Haven), and were extremely satisfied with the experience that we had. However, after this years event in South Haven, MI, this will be our last experience with this organization. We looked forward to the food and chef on hand (from Fat Rice in Chicago) which turned out to be the most overpriced, uninspired, and flavorless meals we’ve ever eaten. The review of 2 stars is the balance between previous years/​events which were great, and this year’s complete and total let down. I would recommend that you spend your money ($ 200+ per person) elsewhere going forward. It’s obvious that the organization has either lost its inspiration, or they no longer care about the food as a part of the experience. For what you pay, the experience better not be «hit or miss» based upon the location or the chef. It better be memorable.
The first thing we noticed was that this year there were no wineries, distilleries, or breweries represented at this reception. We were served either a white Sangria (meh), or a Fig based bourbon cocktail (better but not amazing). Last year, at this same event we had a local vineyard and Goose Island on hand which kept the drinks flowing and the experience much more memorable with what was being served (including some of Goose Island’s limited edition brews). With a vast amount of local vineyards in the surrounding area, and even a few micro breweries, how did they not get a single one to represent at this event???
We received only two flavorless appetizers during the reception (a piece of raw okra with a sardine on top, and a grilled pepper with what was supposed to have cheese in it?). A real let down, but looking forward we had the main courses to look forward to… right?
Table location was fine, the farm owner was great, but we noticed that this year they tried to accommodate an extremely large party which took up what appeared to be over half of the table. My wife and I were forced to play musical chairs at the organizer’s instructions to get these people to sit together. No big deal, but in the scheme of things, this was not well organized.
The following courses were all very forgettable. Bland, flavorless, and uninspired. Portugese wine was paired to the courses, which was alright. You were lucky if you got more than a glass per course (and in a small wine glass). While the produce was fresh and from the farm, there was simply no substance nor flavor to it. However, the icing on the letdown cake was the fact that the chef served us Chicken Thighs as the main course. Chicken thighs? For $ 200/​person? No better than what we have gotten in the past at whole foods. Come to think of it, this chicken was really the only protein we were served the entire evening the sardine on the appetizer doesn’t count. I had to scramble to get two pieces and then ignore everyone at the rest of the table because there were not enough for two pieces for everyone.
We will forgo future OITF events and spend our money elsewhere, in the restaurants where our money will definitely go farther and the experience will be remembered. It’s too bad that the experiences at the OITF events are now hit or miss with regards to quality, quantity, and value.

Been going to outstanding in the field events for past few years. Yes you are sitting in a field and if you are not into a bit of nature uncertainty you would hate it. Bring shades, hats for the day and coat for evening and wear shoes as if you are going to a farm/​field.
For me there is always plenty of food between the pass around appetizer main courses and dessert. It is a shared family style serving at the table and you can ask for seconds. I have never left hungry.
The long table is the signature of the event. Be friendly and get to know people at your section. This isn’t Michelin dining, you will get friendly service and a great time and learn something about farming and food coming to your table.
Oh and if you find using a porta potty at a farm dinner offensive, don’t go to a farm :)

I was lucky. I was the guest of someone who got the tickets for free. We got lost and showed up «late,» which ended up still being too early. The setting was lovely, the food good. There were several empty seats at our table and lots of bread, so we had enough food although we emptied every plate. Yes, not enough food and put us in the awkward position of serving ourselves less than we wanted. The host is a bore and a boor who only thinks he’s charming and can wing-​it giving a speech. Embarrassing unprofessional.
It was a very hot day but nice in the shade. I don’t drink but it’s easier to get a cool glass of wine than water. The water on the table was roughly the temperature of bathwater. We happened to overhear someone order some sparkling water so we did too. We had to ask for refills many, many times. Really?
As fun as it looks, the long table is dumb. You’ll get plenty of selfie opportunities if that’s what you’re looking for. The table next to us, as the sun moved, was too hot to sit at. But you can’t move the table to the shade.
It’s a good deal for $ 50. Unfortunately, that’s not the price. I’m glad I went. I would not do it again nor every pay the asking price ($ 190).
Today I read the Unilocal comments and am delighted to see I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed. And they obviously do not learn or care to learn.

Attended our first and last OITF event in Santa Cruz on Sunday. Very disappointing.
First off the company left little to be desired (mostly arrogant, obnoxious people surrounded us), second the food was not great and the portions were tiny. There wasn’t enough entrée to go round and we had to ask for extra. From that extra I managed to salvage a tiny piece of cold, bland salmon. The other two courses were salad and vegetables.
We skipped dessert and made a sharp exit. Never happier to leave somewhere, get in a warm car and go home and eat.
Not worth ~$ 240 /​ticket at all.
To give a little balance, the setting was pretty and the bread was good.

Markegard Family Grass Fed Ranch
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Do you know where you food comes from? Thank you Jim Deneyan for orchestrating local chefs and food sources and plate up such an important message and an excellent experience!
Amazing how a little research makes one well prepared for dinner in-​the-​field. Ate a little sometime beforehand so I wasn’t starving by the time dinner was started, brought a coat in anticipation of the cooler evening weather, but forgot to bring a flask. Turns out it would have just been extra weight, the wine and beer flow was generous pre-​dinner and during dinner the wine continued to flow. The food was amazing and unless one wanted to load up on one particular course or someone at your table had limited manners, all the family style plates served were definitely well proportioned. Personally, I could have easily enjoyed the entire salad and fresh ricotta plate and had less beef. It mostly worked out that someone different was able to finish off each plate before it was cleared. No one, except once, seemed to over-​indulge.
From all the reviews the one thing I tried as best as we could, to steer clear of the «art & wine festival» types since we were just not in the mood for loud last night. Any other time, not a problem and happy to join in. So we ended up next to an older group of couples that were wonderful and engaging, a very cool couple across from us, a young couple with baby (from Fifth Crow Farm) who were incredibly sweet, and two women and a guy that seemed to prefer to keep to themselves. Keeping to yourselves is fine but when you sign up for a family style meal/​serving it would really help the table if everyone tried to join in a little or at least notice what was going on with the shared food. Because. the young couple with the baby between us had to leave after the salad course for a bit to nurse and take care of their beautiful baby girl. While they were gone we asked our server, I’ve forgotten her name but her and Seth were incredibly accommodating and very nice, if she could take care of them as they were missing the chicken course, she quickly brought another plate of food just for them. Unfortunately, before the couple with the baby came back, one of the three people at the end of the table took that plate of chicken and generously helped herself to seconds so that when the couple with baby came back it was mostly greens, the poor husband was hungry. This must be one example of why some people comment about not having enough to eat.
Our host, Jim Denevan, came by to see how his guests were enjoyed the evening. He started with the group of three at the end which was interesting to watch. I am not the best at socializing, and maybe I’m tired of know-​it-​alls, but it was sad to see the older woman personalize his first comment on his favorite movie. There is a fine art to listening, but it does make it easier to figure out quickly who to avoid in a social setting. Then again, maybe she was completely out of her element, I don’t know them and we all show up with different ideas and expectations. Then Jim moved along to the rest of us at the table to say hello and we collectively were able to engage him for a solid 15 minutes. He lives quite a unique and interesting life, his conversation with the four of us left at the table was fun and, personally, one of the highlights of my evening.
One last note about an event like this, it does work in your favor to sit near women who wear limited amount of clothing or those that dressing to attract, it can get very cold late in the day/​early evening this time of year. The serving crew was thoughtful to offer blankets to those who came clueless or underestimating the weather. So because of that and random other reasons by the time the beautiful, light dessert of strawberries, meyer lemon curd and meringue arrived it quite generous between four of us who stayed ’till the end.
Go for the experience of dining in the field, try fresh local dishes inspired by the location, dress as though you’re glamping (layers!!) and try to find people you’d be happy to sit near, talk to and share a meal with for a couple hours. We’re definitely going to try going to another OITF dinner either in wine country or on the beach.

This year will be our 3^rd year with OITF!
Our first year we attended with friends. We chose a local dinner in North San Diego with Schaner Farms. The second year we joined the table at Farmer Leo’s newly established farm in Encinitas with beer service from Saint Archer in San Diego, wine pairings from Milagro Farms in Ramona and chefs from Whisknladle in La Jolla.
This year there is NO dinner site in San Diego County (which is surprising since we have more small farms than any other location in California)! We will be heading to Riverside for our third event.
A typical event begins around 4pm:
4:00−4:45 Beer, Wine and/​or Cocktail Hour (A chance to mingle)
4:45 to 5:30 Introductions by the OITF team and Farm Tour (An opportunity to learn)
5:30 Obtaining Your Plate, Seating and Wine Pours (A tradition with OITF)
6:00-Approximately 9:00 — The Farm Dinner (A family style experience w/​wine pairings).
The cost per dinner varies by location and is between $ 195 to $ 245 per person.
I will admit it is a bit on the pricey side, but there is a cost to running an event in a field/​farm too! OITH must pay for those tables, chairs, tablecloths, glassware, flatware, tents, station set ups, wash/​clean up, staff, transport, etc… I think they are doing ok, but this is a high maintenance business folks and if you compare it to other things you can spend money on… such as hotel stays (where you pay for an overnight and sleep most the time and don’t get the value of a 24 experience)…or…today’s music festival that charge a few hundred dollars for a pass… it’s not that bad!
I have enjoyed food at some amazing places… such as the Inn at Little Washington (which has been in the Top 50 restaurants in the World like forever) to Jose Andre’s Gastronomy 24 course tastings. Each experiences different from the other and I believe OITF lives up to the standard of a local, high quality food experience. I am sure they try to source everything locally as best they can, in addition to items that come directly from the farm or event location! If it’s not available they will look elsewhere — just as I would as a consumer!
I enjoyed the food at both wine dinners immensely — lots of flavors and items prepared in new ways. The presentation is always lovely with the colors of the season.
Be prepared to share family style platter between 4 – 6 people at your table. There has always been just enough to go around (people have been polite to date on sharing)!
The wine pours pretty freely. The staff make sure your glass has something in it (you don’t have to hunt them down). Prior to dessert, the chef’s and winemakers speak (a nice touch).
I love the tradition of bringing your own plate (OITF cleans your plate for you to take home at the end of the event). My husband and I pick a new plate and purchase before each dinner, we are not creating a plate wall to commemorate our experiences.
I will update my review after our summer dinner…

I tried them out for the first time at Coachella on Friday, April 17. I had been tempted last year, but this year took the plunge and paid the $ 225/​person for the 4 course meal in the Rose Garden. Each night, they have celebrity chefs create menus for this event. On our date the chefs were James Trees of Hutchinson Cocktails & Jason Fulilove of Malibu Pier Restaurant.
They had 2 seating times (5:30pm & 7:30pm). We chose the 7:30pm seating time.
At about 7:10pm, we went to the Rose Garden (located by the Sahara Tent) to check-​in. The Rose Garden is a VIP area, but there is a table out front for guests attending the dinner and they check off your name and give you an armband to enter.
Since we were there a little early, we had a drink. At 7:30pm, we walked over to the grassy area that is marked off for the dinner. After entering the Rose Garden, they had a table with drinks being handed out: Crow’s Nest: Jameson Irish Whiskey, Citrus Shrub, Hard Apple Cider, Bitters & Fresh Mint. Looked good, but I don’t like whiskey, so my husband got 2 of these.
Next, we headed to the table. They had a long table with white tablecloths, clear wine glasses and an eclectic collection of plates (meaning mismatched) and lights strung above you. Very cute look; however, as we approached the table we saw that the seats were quickly taken. My husband and I realized that there were no seats left. But there were probably 15 of us standing there with no seats. Staff rushed and grabbed 2 – 3 more tables and set it up quickly. However, I had to question their organization since they did not know how many people were going to be there.
The menu?
1. fresh & smoked salmon rillettes, sweet peas, radishes, toasted country bread paired w/​J Pinot Gris, Sonoma-​The salmon rillettes were great to start and a big hit with many around me.
2. grilled Spanish octopus, County Line South beets three ways, black srirarcha paired w/​Château Timberlay Bordeaux Blanc, France-​My favorite. I loved the spanish octopus & beets. Very flavorful & unique.
3. Colorado lamb w/​ras el hanout, almond cous cous, apricot hibiscus harissa, raita, spiced flatbreads paired w/​Chalone Pinot Noir Monterey– okay. I thought it needed for flavor and it was a bit dry.
4. Lemon thyme mousse cakes, strawberries, crème fraîche-​Pass. I thought parts of it tasted frozen.
The wine? Great. I thought they chose good quality wines to pair with the food.
For $ 225 per person I expected more, but it was a unique experience.

I have been to two events — one in Kentucky and another in Maine. Both times myself and some friends have made a long weekend around this trip. Both times the venues have been beautiful.
The event in Kentucky (Woodland Farm), I went to in 2013 and would give five stars to. The food and drink was flowing, the hosts were really engaging, the venue was great, we had a great server. Got a great local theme throughout and felt you got a good flavor of Kentucky
However my second event in 2014 was in Maine (Winter Point Oysters). Again the venue was great, over looking a oyster bay. The Oysters were great and I loved the pairing with the local Allagash brewery. In general I had a few complaints, which I emailed OTIF, but never got a response, which is annoying due to how much the meal cost. High level issues:
— The main course, they ran out of, meaning our section of the table didn’t get any… extremely annoying… We clearly got a inferior substitute
— Wine was limited, we seem to keep on having to ask/​negotiate/​pleed for a bit more wine! As soon as desert was served they said there was no more (except the big opened boxes of wine I could see)
— Our server seemed uninterested/​not engaged. We felt unlucky as you could see better servers around
— The local farmer didn’t give a talk about the farm, instead his wife did, who although very nice, by her own admission didn’t really know much about the running of the operation
I think overall the event is great and I am willing to spend the money, but this can’t be a lottery of whether you have a good event or not. I expect some consistency in serving and please keep the wine going! I am not sure if I will go again 2015.

Just attended the 12÷6÷14 event at Pie Ranch in Pescadero.
* This event won my WORST food ever award (like ever ever)
* Horrible organization (planning)
* Total waste of time and money
Summary: You can roll the dice with this event, or just take your money to a Manresa or Saison. I suggest you do the latter.
From what I can see, there are 3 entities involved to put on these events.
First, I would like to thank Pie ranch for hosting and doing what they do in the community. They just supply the local food.
2^nd, the team that’s been running these for years? Pompous disorganized bozos. Others have pointed out some of this.
3^rd, the guest chef that made the food (Robin Song? of Hog and Rocks). WORST food ever. It’s hard to fail on every course (ok, the raw oysters were fresh). Well, an epic fail was achieved this night.
*The Organizers*
It’s been raining here in Norcal for a week now. The ranch and surrounding areas are muddy and slick. They don’t warn you about the mushroom walk or tell you to wear appropriate shoes, just ‘comfortable’ ones. People were slipping and falling all over the place in shoes they wore to a $ 250 dinner.
Time table they gave for when food would be served was hours off. Many, including a pregnant woman just left before food was served. Luck them!
Organizers didn’t oversee the mushroom walk guide, so he kept folks out too late and they had to walk back in the dark on the muddy paths.
Like Ana M pointed out, the OSITF host gave a talk, and it was just random musings about how much fun they’re all having crisscrossing the US. He just stood around drinking most of time. Good organizers at these events are running around making sure each aspect goes well. I saw no one doing that here. They were pretty relaxed.
The venue, a cool old barn. You pack them in like sardines to the brim with hungry people and the place is rock concert loud. You pour lots of cheap (bad) ‘pairing’ wines and it gets even louder. The cheap uncomfortable fold up chairs don’t help either.
And yes ladies, your favorite. Porta Potties. The one by the appetizers was GROSS! The only place to wash your hands? Inside the porta Potties. Also, most of the stalls by the main dinner hall were locked. WTF? ‘Oww, they forgot to leave us the keys’. Way to go, organizers. You’ve been doing this for how long? Keep patting yourselves on the back.
*FOOD & Drinks*
Some guy was serving a mixed drink using wine and bitters? No one I talked to liked these. It either had no flavor, or it was way too bitter. What was this thing?
Appetizers
Boiled white potato rolled in salt and green herbs. Looks cool, but taste like salted potatoes.
Eggplant Crostini. The bread it came on was neither soft & fresh or crunchy like crostini should be. It was stale. Eggplant had no flavor. The jarred eggplant from Costco in my frig is better.
After hours of waiting, ‘dinner’ was finally being served.
Beet salad. How do you screw up a beet salad? Beets came with a lemon ‘chutney’. The chutney was a pile of diced lemon rind. Way too sour. Do the people in the kitchen taste this stuff?
2^nd course came with kale chips and kimchi. I love kimchi, but this stuff was just sour sour sour. No balance of flavor was accomplished and nothing else in the dish to balance against the extreme sourness.
Main course part 1. Whole ‘pickled’ turnips with beans. Yes, was as appetizing as it sounds. The turnips were served very natural with its long greens attached which my knife could not cut through. Turnip was too salty and sour once again. I feel like we’re being experimented on here.
Main course part 2. Whole roasted pig. While that sounds good, what we got appeared to be just DRIED OUT sliced loin. No sauce or glaze, no other parts of the pig was served, just loin. Why call it whole roasted pig? No wonder Hi-​Lo BBQ on 19^th went belly up. Feels like the chef phoned this one in.
Dessert was suppose to be PIE. Being that this was pie ranch, I had high hopes. Plus, the pastry chef should be a different person. NOPE. First, deconstructed pie is a cop-​out. AND, if you can bake the fruit and crust separately, the amount of control you have is *colossal*. Both the crust and fruit should be perfect. Well, it didn’t happen here. The crust was mostly of the under baked bottom crust you find in hydrogenated Pillsbury products. Pale and tasteless. Did I mention the wait between courses was waaaay to long? Emblematic of this was the one chic beating whipped cream by hand for the dessert course. You are serving 300 people! Break out the Kitchenaid mixer and ‘whip it’ and get ahead of the game!
As others have pointed out, there was simply not enough food. They put down a family style dish among strangers on the table and you battle for what you can get. If this was a self served buffet, food would have run out half way thru.

Last year I was watching a PBS series called Moveable Feast which showcases chefs cooking for dinner parties in sometimes unique venues away from their own restaurants. In one particular episode, they featured Jim Denevan of Outstanding in the Field and one of their events on a remote beach near Santa Cruz. This, I said to myself, I want to try. Well, the opportunity came with Jamie W.‘s upcoming birthday since it conveniently coincided with the next Santa Cruz event. As everyone mentions, the price was steep for participating ($ 260 per person), and I was thinking of bypassing it altogether. But foodie that I am, I figured at that point that I was accountable for the cost of my experience and the organizers were responsible for the value.
It was tricky finding the turnoff driving along Hwy 1. In fact, I turned off too soon because I was lurching onto a private road until I finally saw the handwritten sign that said «Farm Dinner». A woman pointed us to the direction of a large green where fancier cars than mine started to organize in rows. It was a quick stroll to a clearing where the staff parked their signature bus and set up the prep and serving tents, the grill and the restrooms. A funny quirk of the event is that customers are requested to bring their own plates which I did, my fancy Heath stoneware plates. I’m so competitive. The reception officially started at 3PM and lasted for at least a couple of hours as the masses gathered.
The staff served three appetizers — fresh Halibut Ceviche (photo:
), Crushed Snow Peas and Peppered Ricotta (my favorite — photo:
); and Chilled Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho (photo:
). They served the first of several wines from the local Birichino Winery, the 2012 Malvasia Bianca. It was a good start as everything was refreshing and suitable for the great outdoors as the wind was gusting a bit. At about 5PM, everyone gathered to listen to Denevan speak of the OITF history and how he makes his living as a sand artist. Hans Haveman of H&H Fresh Fish spoke about the local seafood since he provided what we were having.
Staffan Terje of Perbacco provided the menu, but he kept mostly to the background throughout the evening. Once the speeches were done, it was a land grab to get seats at the long, snaking table with the beach sand quite engulfing with every step (photo:
). Jamie and I landed at a good spot in the middle looking out toward the big bonfire that was to be lit later. We were luckily surrounded by convivial people who were nice to us, though I could well imagine the family-​style set-​up could be a dicey proposition with the wrong group. For instance, someone brought his own drone and irritated all of us by making it hover over us throughout dinner. I’m guessing he came alone. Bread was broken with rustic rolls and a butter made with kelp coupled with a buttery 2012 Grenache.
The salads came next. First came the Cured Local King Salmon and Roasted Beets with Scattered Herbs and Horseradish Cream (photo:
). A nice mix of freshness. Then came the Grilled Squid with Olive Oil Crushed Potatoes, Shaved Radish & Fennel, and Salsa Verde (photo:
). I don’t think I’ve seen squid that big before, and the contrast in textures and flavors was well executed especially with the 2013 Chenin Blanc to wash it all down. The entrée finally arrived, a hefty slab of Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Mixed Greens and Nectarine Slices (photo:
). It came with a side of Charred Young Onions in an Almond-​Tomato Pesto (photo:
). Perfectly grilled pig, really delicious with the 2012 Pinot Noir (photo:
).
Dessert came in a jar, Beach Trifle with buttermilk cake, lemon curd, cream and lots of summer berries (photo:
). Too sweet for my taste, but I liked the Muscat Canelli wine. The bonfire was starting to roar as the sun was setting (photo:
). Waves did splash the end of the table like they did on the TV show which made fellow diners scurry away. It was around 8PM by the time we decided to leave having genuinely enjoyed ourselves with food most satisfying. Do I think it’s worth the price tag? For us, sure. It was a special occasion for us, but if you’re hemming and hawing about the price for more than five minutes, I suggest you make that much-​postponed reservation at French Laundry.
FOOD — 4 stars… very satisfying with fresh ingredients, family-​style portions were not a problem… if presentation is your thing, you may be disappointed
AMBIANCE — 5 stars… gorgeous setting with the famous table following the contour of the beach
SERVICE — 4 stars… it takes a village to serve 200 and they did it well
TOTAL — 4 stars — a unique locavore experience the provides satisfying portions & an unbeatable setting… steep price will give you instant foodie cred

I attended the Outstanding In The Field event in Petaluma on ⁶⁄₁₈.
The Pros:
–I had a marvelous time with two of my best friends on a random Wednesday afternoon.
–The wine (Donkey & Goat) is a favorite of mine. Around $ 25-​$ 35 bottle retail, not exactly a splurge but good.
–The wait staff was very attentive.
The Cons:
–The host. I can’t remember his name, but instead of thanking us of for spending $ 250 + tax per person to attend, he spent the time extolling his rise to fame, from being discovered by Range Rover (and paid 6 figures! OMG really?) to being interviewed by the NYT, etc. Who cares. Please thank us and feed us a delicious meal instead.
–The food. It was plentiful, fresh and tasty. Definitely worth $ 75. Plus, I’m a vegetarian. My ‘meal’ was a product of 2 recycled appetizers + mushrooms. For $ 250 a person?
–The location. A dilapidated farm in Petaluma.
–The outhouses.
–We were asked to bring our own plates.
–Lack of heat lamps. When the sun went down it got COLD. I’m guessing this is their way of getting guests to leave and saving on wine.
Next time I’ll take my $ 250 + tax and go to Gary Denko.

Adore the concept but the execution should be much more dialed in at this point. Had it been $ 100/​ticket that would be one thing but a $ 500 night better kick ass… And it didn’t. Highlights were meeting the fisherman, founder and seeing unexpected friends.
The lows we’re return on investment, food portions, flow. These are table stakes for an event that’s been around for a while.

I had been dreaming of attending an Outstanding in the Field event for years, and finally the stars aligned and I was able to enjoy one of their dinners at Devil’s Gulch Ranch. Kim Alter of Plum/​Ume was the chef. It was phenomenal.
They had buses to take us from the parking lot up to the ranch. It was a beautiful drive, and the driver was friendly. Upon arrival, we were immediately guided to a station serving gin-​strawberry cocktails and riesling. Both were delicious. They also passed a number of appetizers: rabbit terrine, bean salad on rice crackers, and chicharones topped with Wagyu tartare. I had indicated in the reservation that my husband doesn’t eat rabbit, and upon check-​in they warned us that one of the apps contained rabbit so he could avoid it, and they plated a whole separate salad for him using mushrooms instead of rabbits.
After a half hour of passed appetizers and admiring the view, the farmers gave an introductory talk and introduced their staff and the other folks at the dinner who had contributed to the products we’d be eating. Then they walked us down to see their pigs, including a whole bunch of newborn piglets! We ended up at our table, set in a valley in the middle of the vineyard.
The folks we sat next to had been to five of these dinners previously, so you can see they’re worth coming back for! Upon the guests being seated, the wine recommenced pouring, and our server definitely took our hint when we asked her not to be shy in coming back for refills, haha. Our server was super friendly and attentive, and she told us all about the dinners she had worked the previous year.
The food was absolutely gorgeous in presentation and full of flavor and fresh ingredients. We had a salad of rabbit confit, grilled peaches, baby lettuce, and smoked ricotta; a warm beet salad with quinoa, chocolate, and ramps; and a whole grilled lamb, with carrots, greens, and vadouvan spices. Dessert was an unbelievably good chocolate cake with cherries and tarragon – totally worth breaking the diet for.
As for those who say there wasn’t enough food at their dinners, even the men at our table were stuffed (and pleasantly intoxicated) by the end of the meal. There was plenty of food on each platter – we had to force each other to take one more serving so that the leftovers wouldn’t go to waste. Maybe Kim just made more food, or the OitF people read the past reviews and adjusted the quantities.
We happened to have gorgeous weather – 75 degrees and sunny. Before dessert the sun went down and then it did cool down fast, but they brought around blankets, which was lovely. Definitely dress in layers! And choose your table-​mates wisely. :-)
I honestly do not understand the previous negative reviews. Our dinner was everything I could have hoped for, and worth the value for a once-​in-​a-​year meal.

So there was a week left until Coachella, and all the tickets were sold out, and Stubhub was going for above $ 600, when I spotted legit tickets still available, but paired with an Outstanding in the Field dinner for $ 375 (ticket) + $ 225 (dinner) = $ 600. No brainer, right?
I picked the Friday dinner for the first weekend, with Casey Lane, from Scratch Hospitality and The Tasting Kitchen, based on the Unilocal reviews of the Tasting Kitchen. On the day of, they said we could check in anytime, and we would get wristbands to enter the VIP area. The check in was smooth enough, and the guy up front was friendly, but due to some mix up the wristbands did not come for another 2.5 hours. I hung out near the Sahara stage and the VIP Rose Garden area in the meantime.
Anyways, as the time came, I checked in 10 minutes early. But they were running a bit late, so I ended up sitting on the grass for 20 minutes before I was let into the dining area.
Onto the meal! I got too distracted by food and conversation to take photos of anything but the beginning cocktail and the menu, oops. The courses were Italian themed while the wines were from all over.
Lemon vinegar tunnato — Like a tuna salad with artichoke. Decent I guess?
Paired with a rose wine, which was light but with a very fruity flavor. Good pairing!
Radicchio salad — Was curious as to how they would do radicchio, because it is hard to get the bitterness out. The answer was that it was still a bit bitter, but not too bad. It was a salad. Okay?
Paired with a Sancerre from Henri Bourgeois from France. Good white
Main course! I saw them roasting the porchetta from a distance.
It wasn’t that warm when it came out. Pretty good, rich and fatty.
Paired with a Chardonnay from Monterey. Good pairing for fatty pork.
Dessert: Panna cotta with black walnut crumble. Pretty good. Very small cup though. Paired with a Moscato, which was sweet and good.
LIKED:
–Legit tickets to Coachella for less than what scalpers were selling it for. Didn’t need to worry about being scammed
–Infinite alcohol: We started with a pre-​dinner ginger beer and honey whiskey cocktail, which was delicious. I grabbed another one and chugged that. Then came the wine pairings for each course. I literally could not drink fast enough to keep my cup empty before they came around again to refill me. Wow, was I drunk afterwards.
–Sitting next to cool people! Music lovers, foodies, famous designers, engineers at famous internet companies
–Portion sizes were just right. For those complaining about portion size, perhaps you were unlucky or you eat A LOT. I wasn’t totally stuffed, but not hungry either. We shared the dishes family style among 5 people on a table with 6 seats. My neighbors couldn’t eat enough so I was taking the remainder
–Beautiful setting on a beautiful day
DISLIKED:
–No personalized touch. I heard there was more of a personalized touch with these dinners, where the chef or farmer would explain things, but all we got was the staff coming by to say hello. No deep explanation of the food at all
–On that note, it could have been more intimate. There were plenty of seats, and people just spread themselves out. Felt a little lonely until I found some nice people to sit with.
–The Rose Garden VIP area was lame. Nothing that screamed I AM A VIP, except for maybe legit bathrooms in trailers, compared to the porta-​potties outside.
–Even though I wasn’t hungry, I was expecting a more substantial meal for $ 225. At least like another main course. Also, the food wasn’t fancy at all. I could make the same thing myself. If I’m paying this much I want to eat things that I would normally not cook. Like I dunno, some fancy meats/​seafood or truffles. It was more homey than fancy.
Was it worth $ 225? Not really. I’ve had AMAZING meals for much less, say at like Ad Hoc. Was it worth $ 600 to get a legit wristband, a dinner, and unlimited alcohol? Yes, but I probably would still buy just the wristband early next time and save some money.

Sitting here with our friend, Bloody Mary, trying to recover from the excess of food and wine at OITF at Jolie Vue Farm yesterday. Of course, the setting couldn’t be beat — except by the beautiful sunset. From appetizers to the melon sorbet topped with balsamic reduction, it was all superb. The wine flowed too easily, and went down the same. My husband prides himself on his gumbo, but he stands in awe of the smoked pork and purple hull pea gumbo we were served. We even asked for (and were happy given) seconds on that. Beef and pork short ribs fell apart, but the spicy creamed corn stole the show. We found meeting other people at our table to be part of the fun. Our waitstaff was charming and attentive (and my husband says pretty).
If you left hungry from this one, you only have yourself to blame. Can’t wait for next year.

Belated review for the July 5 Santa Cruz event, was reminded to write this review when I got a marketing message from Outstanding in the Field this morning advertising more Winter events… never again…
Main gripe: NOT ENOUGH FOOD, a problem exacerbated by the fact that everything is served FAMILY STYLE (minus the soup). There was this awkward dynamic with each course where I wanted to make sure I took enough food to fill up and get my money’s worth, but where I also didn’t want to take too much and look like a total jerk in front of the strangers I was sharing the food with. Result: Our table licking each plate clean but everyone still leaving the meal hungry — I ended up going to In n’ Out afterwards with my boyfriend. There is a problem when my $ 4 animal-​style cheeseburger was more filling and satisfying than a $ 300+ meal. If you’re going to charge that much, and then serve the food family style, you better make sure that there’s more than enough to go around for everyone. Additionally, none of the food was cooked, all of it was cold… lame.
Also, we didn’t end up getting a tour of the farm, and no farmers spoke to us, which was supposed to be part of appeal and draw of the event. Apparently the farmer canceled last minute — no advance notice was given, no partial refunds were offered… false advertising.
Lastly, another customer at the same dinner left similar feedback to what I wrote above on the company’s Facebook page, which they promptly deleted without any response whatsoever a few hours later. I found this disingenuous, to only leave up the positive feedback — not all customers are going to have a positive experience, and to me, the best businesses are the ones that aren’t afraid to respond to negative feedback and get the customer to give them another chance. Unfortunately they cannot filter their many negative reviews off Unilocal,and hopefully you will not make the same mistake that we did by overpaying for this event.

I’ve been to two of these. Although I like the concept, both times I received minuscule portions and not enough wine. I’m not a big eater, but a piece of meat the size of my little finger? Really?
I did love the setting and the communal eating, but I should have to drop a few hundred bucks and then go grab dinner afterwards!