Olamaie melds Southern comfort food with a homey atmosphere - Review - Austin - The Infatuation
"If you’ve only heard one thing about Olamaie, it probably has something to do with the biscuits—a not-very-well-kept secret menu item from the first few years Olamaie was in business. These days, the biscuits are readily available on the menu, and they’re every bit as good as you might guess—warm, flaky, and probably made with more butter than we’re comfortable imagining. And they’re just the start to what will probably be one of the most impressive hours you’ve had in a while, packed full of modern fine-dining takes on Southern comfort food. photo credit: Richard Casteel Just north of the Capitol, Olamaie looks like it was plucked off the cover of Southern Living magazine. The renovated 1930s bungalow is complete with well-manicured hedges, white wood paneling, and a cute patio where you can sip sweet tea from a mason jar while chatting about the weather. Parts of it feel frozen in time, but the dining room is decidedly more modern. Start with a round of biscuits and let them whisper soft sweet nothings directly into your arteries while you mull over the menu. If you’ve spent time in the South, you’ll see familiar-sounding dishes like butter beans and red rice with Gulf shrimp. But you’ll also see things like smoked beef belly with cane-syrup glaze, or Hopi blue corn hushpuppies with caramelized onion dip and trout roe. They feel like Southern classics that are dressed up a little and made more modern. Look to your left to see a perfectly cooked piece of blackened fish over a bed of decadent blue crab rice, while to your right, another plate holds a heaping pile of savory beef tartare on a creamy spread of sous vide egg yolks. The pork chop—brined, thick-cut, and coated in a honey rye glaze that chars up nicely—is among the best we’ve ever had. photo credit: Richard Casteel Cocktails lean toward light, refreshing flavors—with ingredients like cherry tomato-infused vermouth or persimmon liqueur—that all further contribute to Olamaie’s old-school-meets-new-school approach. A dinner at Olamaie is more than just excellent food and cocktails. It’s an all-around comforting experience, with service that feels inspired by the tenets of Southern hospitality—warmth, kindness, and good cooking—all wrapped up in a fine-dining package. It won’t be long until you’re the one telling your own stories about biscuits to anyone who will listen. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Biscuits These might be the best biscuits we’ve ever had. They’re fluffy, rich, and incredibly buttery, and they’re served with a side of honey butter that adds a great sweetness to it all. We could make an entire meal out of these. photo credit: Richard Casteel Beef Tartare This is one of those times where Olamaie does a modern riff on a classic. The beef tartare is as savory as you’d expect, but with a bit of apple and mustard seed for some tart sweetness that balances it all out. And instead of an egg yolk, there’s a sous vide yolk sauce on the bottom that you’ll want to wipe clean with a biscuit at the end. photo credit: Richard Casteel Grilled Pork Chop We’ve had dreams about this pork chop. It’s thick cut, brined, and glazed—as a result, every bite is sweet, salty, and incredibly juicy. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself instinctively reaching for the bone at the end to scrape off any last lingering bits. photo credit: Richard Casteel Blackened Dayboat Fish The fish changes from the time to time, but what you can expect is a perfectly cooked filet over a mountain of Carolina Gold rice with blue crab sauce. It’s rich, decadent seafood on seafood, and it’s absolutely worth ordering. photo credit: Richard Casteel" - Nicolai McCrary
