San Benito farm hosts some of Valley's finest dining

In the twilight of a breezy summer evening, small candlelit lanterns seemed to dance in the trees. Near a white tent in the center of a grassy farm, chickens wandered and pecked at the ground.

More than a dozen people from around the Rio Grande Valley congregated at the long tables decorated with red and white checked cloths and vases of wildflowers, herbs and small peppers, all picked from a nearby field.

Large barbecue pits with glowing coals stood a few feet away from the guests at the table, ready to take whatever the chefs threw at them.

Most of the visitors to Buckeye Farms in San Benito didn’t know each other but they shared a common interest — food, specifically locally grown and prepared food.

This summer, Sulema Ortega and Ralph O’Quinn began offering an exclusive opportunity to enjoy dinner on their farm. The six-course meal included wine and entertainment, and it cost $100 per person.

“It’s so everyone can experience the restaurants that serve our products and to be able to see them work outside of the area,” Ortega said. “And to be able to come and enjoy other people’s company, enjoy the farm, enjoy nature, enjoy the fresh air, watching the sunset and be able to see, not only the food that you’re eating, but where it’s coming from and knowing how it’s being raised.”

Executive Chef James Canter of Alhambra, a restaurant in McAllen, prepared the elegant meal for the Valley foodies.

The local chef strayed from his typical Mediterranean flavors and presented what he called a cowboy dinner.

“I brought my travel experiences to the table,” he said. “And I put the Texas cuisine, as well as local vendors (Buckeye being the main headliner), at the forefront of what we’re doing.”

Kate McSwain of Harlingen has attended farm-to-table dinners in Austin and Seattle, so she jumped at the chance to enjoy a meal outdoors and also to support a local farmer.

“I love Chef James, and he is an excellent chef. And I love the meat that comes from Buckeye Farms. And I love that (Canter) is really committed to local produce. So I knew that the three of those things, the chef, the meat and the produce would be a great meal.”

Canter’s first offering was a colorful plate of large Gulf shrimp grilled with citrus, seasoned with tangy sumac and served with apple cider-flavored yogurt, cucumber and mango relish and topped with local honey.

“The size of the shrimp was kind of intimidating because they’re so large,” McSwain said. “But I really liked them. I also liked the cucumbers. They were really mild.”

Stimulated appetites were met with the second course, which was local lamb osso buco (an Italian stew usually made with veal leg shanks) with garlicky demi-glace, a rich French brown sauce, and wild mushrooms.

Canter encouraged the dinner party to set aside proper table etiquette so they might fully enjoy the experience by picking up the cleaned bones and extracting the indulgent marrow.

“The lamb, of course, was delicious. I definitely sucked the marrow out,” McSwain said. “I love the lamb because it’s really mild-flavored. Often people will say, ‘Oh, I don’t like lamb.’ But all they’ve ever had is frozen New Zealand mutton, so they’ve not really had lamb.”

A lighter plate was served next. Cubes of juicy Texas-grown watermelon, Greek kalamata olives, bright red and yellow grape tomatoes and locally-produced feta cheese were served on a bed of organic greens and drizzled with lemon-oregano vinaigrette.

Before the third course was finished, the chef and his assistants were laying massive rib-eye steaks across the hot grill grates and the scent wafted lazily in the dying wind to the welcome noses of the diners.

As darkness set in and the wind died down, conversation and wine flowed at the tables.

The feast continued with the fourth course of stewed tequila chicken stuffed into roasted jalapeños wrapped with bacon. The spicy packages were served atop a mound of creamy “cowboy caviar” — a flavorful black-eyed pea salad — and a sweet corn salsa.

The dinner was a first for Brownsville resident Letty Fernandez, though she was aware of similar events in bigger cities.

“I would read about these in cooking magazines,” she said.

It’s an experience she was sold on before the night was over.

“You learn so much out here, and I love to eat,” she said. “And I think this is a neat concept — to come out to a farm and sit out here and you get to meet some new people and get a great meal.”

Finally, the steaks were served over potatoes and garnished with a grilled lemon.

Since no dinner is complete without dessert, the final course fulfilled those craving a sweet ending to the meal.

Canter smothered homemade sweet biscuits with a bright mixed berry compote and generous quenelles of vanilla ice cream.

Buckeye Farms raises grass-fed lamb, beef, pork and chicken. O’Quinn and Ortega sell their farm-fresh products at farmers’ markets in McAllen and Brownsville.

The local farmers are planning to host more dinners in the future, perhaps every other month.

“If you love food, you need to come to one of these,” Fernandez said.