Dai Due

10/30/2026

12/20 Anniversary #7: The Cemita Ahogado. We’ve taken some liberties here, replacing the traditional torta (with sturdier bread) with a fluffy cemita roll, but the results have become a guest favorite over the years. Once frigid temperatures in the low 70s arrive, this is our signal to put this soupy/sandwich hybrid back on the menu. Layered with beans, crunchy “winter” vegetables, whatever shredded mammal seems the most fitting/available and some mayonnaise, the sandwich is then baptized in broth infused with probably too much house-smoked chipotle sambal. Friend of the restaurant, Allen, hates soggy food and if you’re expecting us to say that he likes this sandwich, well, you’d be wrong. He hates it, but everyone else seems to love it. Available til it’s not.

10/29/2026

12/20 Anniversary #6: Fried Chicken. We’ve slung a lot of fried chicken over the years. Starting with a kinda different way of cutting (this involves “shoulder oysters” and butterflying thighs), a smaller, well-sourced bird is brined, then marinated in acidulated dairy for a spell before going into a dredge of precisely 11 herbs and spices. We are serious, probably. Anyways, the chicken is then double-fried in beef fat and served with its legally required accoutrements: mashed potatoes, gravy, pickled jalapeños, green beans with bacon (braised greens also allowed) and a biscuit. For logistical reasons, there are just a few orders available daily. As always, available til it’s not.

10/24/2026

12/20 Anniversary #4: Flounder. The most seasonal of fish, flounder hits a peak in October before the commercial and recreational seasons close to protect breeding stocks in the Gulf of Mexico as females head to deeper waters to spawn. We’ve sourced flounder from commercial gigging boats on the coast for years, and especially enjoy them in the fall when the bigger, more stuffable fish present themselves. Traditionally, they’re stuffed with crab, but here we are going with crawfish. Seasonal Gulf seafood, with respect to their movements, conservation and appreciation are all part of this dish (serves 2-4; it’s very large). Available til it’s not.

10/21/2026

12/20 Anniversary #4: the Wild Boar Confit. A menu staple since day one in 2014, the confit is an effective way for us to aggregate feral hogs, which may be of different sizes, fat content and flavor. Essentially, no matter how big or small these invasive and destructive pests are, we can confit them. Confit is probably not a verb, so sorry . We have trafficked in hundreds, if not thousands of pesky wild pigs over the years in many forms. We’ve taught people to hunt and process them at the New School of Traditional Cookery (long form hunting schools and butchery shorter day classes) since our inception and served them every which way in the restaurant. Wild pigs play a huge role on our menu and the ethos at Dai Due; take an invasive out of the ecosystem and you have a win/win/win. You’re removing very competitive non-native species, you’re eating them, and you’re also potentially replacing meats from a broken food system with this incredibly sustainable protein. An employee at Dai Due even wrote a cleverly-titled book about them once. Available til it’s not.

10/20/2026

10/16/2026

12/20 Anniversary #3: Potatoes Caroline. Named for our opening manager and created in her honor, the committee thought long and hard how to capture-in one dish-her favorite food. We soon settled on potatoes with potato sauce.
These potatoes are first boiled, then lightly crushed before being crisped in beef tallow. The sauce is a standard aioli; garlic, olive oil and egg, but we also add smoked potatoes in there too. This side is iconic and the absolute perfect accompaniment to a pork chop or ribeye (with a green salad). Available til they aren’t.

10/15/2026

12/20 Anniversary #2: The boudin noir-stuffed quail. Fraught with DD history, this dish represents a whole bunch of ingredients and producers that we’ve loved over the years. First and foremost is our friend Todd at Texas Quail Farms, who was a fellow market vendor at the Sunset Valley Farmers’ Market when we were slinging biscuits down there (especially during the time we were bravely prevented from selling hot food by the intrepid bureaucrats at the Travis County Health Department). Texas Quail Farms was selling a few dozen of their amazing quail each Saturday, and let’s just say they’ve boosted those numbers substantially since. On another note, their quail was the main course at the very first Dai Due Supper Club dinner in October of 2006. Dang.
The blood for the blood sausage-which Boudin Noir is a euphemistic and Francomaxxed term for-is from another dear friend AND Sunset Valley market vendor: Peaceful Pork. When we first met Leonidas Cartwright IV, he was selling grassfed lamb and overripe Mexican limes for 25 cents each. We are friends to this day and he still sells us lots of pork. The quail is stuffed with a smoked chile-infused blood sausage and served over a puree of winter squash and miso, with a little apple salad. Classically, we would have served it with a puree of turnips but this summer has decided to be neverending and turnips don’t love Hotumn temps in the 90’s, so squash.
We make miso out of local field peas, buy butternut squash in the early fall and look forward to the late summer apple crop every year. This year, notably, was a very poor apple year due to lack of cool temperatures that indicate to the tree when to wake up in the spring and make apples. Anyways, that’s the dish. Available til it’s not.

10/15/2026

Texas received 4 Gold awards in the prestigious 2026 Decanter World W**e Awards!
Join us in raising a celebratory glass to the winemakers and wineries over a 4 course paired dinner on Monday, November 2nd.
Tickets available at the link in our bio.

10/06/2026

12/20 Anniversary #1. For the rest of October, we will be celebrating the 12th (brick and mortar on Manor Road) and 20th (first Supper Club dinner in 2006!) anniversaries with a retrospective of our favorite dishes. First up, the classic roast chicken. A Westfold bird, weighing in a little under 3 pounds, brined and roasted to order. Served with what we consider its highest and best accompaniments: pommes puree, chicken Demi-glacé and just-back-in-season green beans. For years, we bought gorgeous chickens from Jane and Terry at Dewberry Hills Farm, selling them brined and ready-to-cook at the farmers’ market and later, when we had a roof and an oven, roasted and with this exact set. Look out this month for more of our favorites from the last TWO DECADES of business, which may or may not include crab cakes, fish soup and blood sausage. Hell, we might even take requests.