Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1376329
M id-morning on Saturday, a bevy of w o r k e r s s c u r r i e d through a y e t - t o - b e - completed building on Texas 237, a stone's throw from Round Top, while at the back a wood-fired grill crackled and smoked as line cooks prepared for the arrival of two topnotch chefs. As surprising as it might have been, this bustling scene at The Halles unfolded before sunset into a vibrant dinner tableau. This was the Butcher's Ball Farm to Table Dinners 1.0. The immensely popular feast — a foodie favorite since its founding in 2016 outside Brenham — pivoted for the Spring Round Top Antiques Show from a tasting fête for 2,000 to a series of four elegant al fresco dinners that observed COVID-19 safety precautions. And, if the first quartet of those white-tablecloth dinners was any indication, less really is more. The 100 diners (the most allowed at any one dinner) arrived sporting typical Round Top finery as they gathered in the spanking-new, mostly open-sided Halles. Each had ponied up $125 for the five- course meal and open bar, both of which exceeded the highest expectations. All four of the Butcher's Ball evenings sold out well in advance. Spirits ran high. After all, the 2020 Butcher's Ball had been canceled due to COVID-19, and this was one of the first group gatherings since vaccinations become prominent, not to mention one of the Spring Antiques Show's biggest festivities. Before settling down for dinner, gents in Western hats and boots and ladies in jeans or prairie dresses socialized while sampling Houston-based Highway Vodka, Maker's Mark 46, and the remarkable Desert Door Texas Sotol (move over, tequila). BUTCHER'S BALL ROUND TOP 1.0 Reimagined foodie feast brings top chef power to Round Top. By Shelby Hodge. Additional reporting Catherine D. Anspon. Photography Emily Jaschke and Chris Pierre Bachman. (Continued on page 38) Mark Strange, Melanie & Mace Meeks Robin Berwick Melody Price, Jailyn Marcel, Ben Williams Jim & Zuzana Kastleman Lauren Wills & Colin Grover Elaine Dillard, Jonathan Beitler Cathy Miles, Rick & Denise Pratt Andrea Riebeling, Ashley Marburger, Sylvia Meinen LaVerne Albers, Kathy Mitchell, Linda Haddock Ellen Hart, Scotti Sulak, Katie Kindred 36