This past weekend, I headed out to “the country” (ok, so it was only about 25 mins from downtown Austin), to indulge in food, drinks and fun at the 3rd Annual Wine & Swine event, which the Austin Food & Wine Alliance did a great job putting on. 

Twenty-one different chef/restaurant teams put on quite the show for all our senses: seeing whole pigs being roasted, smelling the charcoal fire pits, hearing ourselves ooing and ahhing, getting our hands dirty with all the bites, and of course, most importantly, tasting all the delicious swine-themed creations.

My favorite dishes included: The Carillon’s spare rib, Ramen Tatsu-Ya’s Chili Cheese Ramen, Swift’s Attic‘s Inside Out Pork Tacos, Franklin Barbecue’s South Carolina Style Whole Hog Sammies, Congress’ Brioche Beignet with Banana Pastry and Cream, and Jeffrey’s Deconstructed S’Mores. Unbelieveably and very sadly, we somehow missed trying the winning dish, voted by the crowd, Jason Dady’s Thai-inspired dish.
(Lacking many food photos because I was too busy eating!)

I didn’t indulge in the alcoholic beverages but there was also a wide selection of wineries, breweries and cideries in attendance.

Although it was a short drive out of town, Ceres Park Ranch was a great place to host the event. There was plenty of room, parking was easy, and the pavillion was a beautiful set-up.

The clever décor didn’t go unnoticed. Twinkle lights and chandeliers decorated the ceiling. Country chic bouquets of cotton and wheat, horseshoes and antlers decorated the picnic tables and all had a pizazz of pink to tie in the swine theme.

Completing the event were an awesome photobooth with swine props by Max Photography, a low-key and entertaining band, and a merch table.

Overall, it was a well-executed, seamless event with plenty of delicious food and drink, seating and space and creativity!

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