People started talking aboutOld Major
long before Justin Brunson opened his farmhouse-style restaurant in late February. And the talk continues: Some people love the food, some people think it's all over the place.See also: - Review: People have gone hog wild over Justin Brunson's Old Major - Is nose to tail a time-honored tradition -- or a faddish trend? - Photos: Behind the scenes at Old Major
Philo99, for example, who says::
Fried Walleye to Foi Gras, catfish and cavier, BBQ beans and fresh oysters. Their menu is all over the place.
It's like Paula Deen got piss drunk and snuck into a 3 star kitchen. The inconsistencies of menu carried through to the plates. Some were exquisite and some looked like they were thrown together by a Parkinson patient.
But opinions about Old Major are all over the place, too. For example, there's this from Cap Hill Cowboy, in response to a query about the nose-to-tail trend embraced at Old Major:
I don't think you can say that Nose-to-Tail dining--or using the whole animal--is a fad akin to molecular gastronomy, TV Dinners or flavored martinis. It would be like saying good journalism is a fad of the Cronkite era. Brunsen is right. By places such as Old Major, Il Mondo Vecchio, the new Western Daughter, the Truffle Cheese Shop, Oliver's...etc. embracing a more traditional approach to how we look at dining out, or how we eat at home, they are setting the stage for what should be a long lasting attempt to end our dependence on factory farming. In order to educate the public, we have to better our establishments and expose America to cooking done right. With every Old Major-type success, another Applebee's-type chain loses revenue, and that is certainly a very, very good thing. The whole beast movement is not a flash in the pan, it is a step away from the corporate era of feeding the American public.
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Have you been to Old Major? What do you think of the place? What did you think of Gretchen Kurtz's review?