Outstanding in the Field dinners — meals which feature a tour of a local farm and food prepared by a master chef on the farm itself — are famously fabulous, but also notoriously expensive. And two years ago, a few Houston food lovers decided to do something about it: start their own.
Outstanding in My Backyard was born from the idea that you can have all of the benefits of an Outstanding in the Field dinner — local products prepared by talented cooks in a bucolic setting — without shelling out hundreds of dollars.
Soon, OIMBY had attracted a guest list of 100 people for its first dinner, which saw dishes prepared by Houston chefs such as Jonathan Jones, Justin Basye, Michael O’Connor, Hugo Ortega and the now Austin-based Plinio Sandalio.
The meal was only $40, with most of the food donated by places like Utility Research Garden and Revival Market — meaning that most of the ticket price went to charity.
Now, after a two-year hiatus, the backyard feast is being revived by one of Houston’s local food pioneers: Monica Pope of t’afia.
Along with the help of the original two Houston foodies behind the project — David Leftwich and Tara Kelly, who donated their own backyard for the first dinner — Pope will be hosting the revived OIMBY [nearly] every Sunday at 5 p.m. in June and July. And this time, it’ll be in Pope’s own backyard.
Pope promises special guest appearances at each meal, which will still cost only $40 each. Both food and beverages will be provided; guests are only asked to bring their own plate to the feast. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 713-524-6922.
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This article appears in May 17-23, 2012.