A great Alabama restaurant’s opening a new location inside an amphitheater

The same folks who cooked for Stevie Nicks, Snoop Dogg and other stars when they were at Orion Amphitheater to play concerts are now cooking for fans there, too. Odette, one of Alabama’s must-do eateries, now has a location inside Orion, one of the state’s must-do live-music venues. The Odette/Orion team-up amounts to, in rock-band parlance, a supergroup of Alabama culture.

Odette’s Orion location, inside gate A of the Huntsville amphitheater’s lower concourse, debuts tonight during a 6 p.m. concert featuring Houston rap icons like Scarface, Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Z-Ro, and local talents The N.E.I.G.H.B.O.R.S. and Zilla.

Odette executive chef Josh Quick says the food menu for their Orion location is inspired by the fare at the restaurant’s downtown Florence mothership.

“There’s a very popular cheeseburger featuring Bear Creek beef from Tennessee that will be offered as a slider,” Quick says. “We’re using pork in a variety ways like the crispy pork tacos that have an al pastor marinade and finished with grilled pineapple salsa, as well as our fresh fried pork rinds, seasoned with our brown sugar barbecue sauce spice, which is served with hot sauce mayo.”

The Odette/Orion menu also gets into cornmeal-dusted fried Gulf shrimp and Malaysian chicken thighs with rice noodle salad. Most larger menu items are served with potato wedges. Dessert options include strawberry-lavender hand pies, served with citrus cream cheese dip, and warm chocolate-chip cookies. Prices range from $8 to $19, Quick says.

In addition to catering for artists performing at Orion, which opened in spring 2022 in Huntsville’s MidCity District, Odette has also done pop-up dinners at the venue, served right onstage.

Orion first connected with Odette by recommendation from a certain Grammy-winning north Alabama native.

“One of the key factors that drive our reputation with artists and crews here at The Orion is our thoughtful and well-executed catering,” says Orion managing director Ryan Murphy. “Knowing that we needed not only one of the best chefs to highlight the cuisine that reflects north Alabama, but also someone who understood the touring and music industry, I reached out to our friends with ShoalsFest and Jason Isbell’s team to see who they recommended.”

After Orion began working with Quick and Odette, Murphy says, “We couldn’t be happier with the level of execution and elevated hospitality he brings to the table here.”

Checking in from the artist dining room inside Orion’s back of house, Quick reminisces about some of the artists he and his Odette team have catered for. In addition to the aforementioned — including cooking for Nicks on Quick’s birthday — there’s been Phish, Ja Rule and, twice, Widespread Panic.

Menus vary based on artist requests, Quick says: “But some of the themed menus have been my favorite, including dinner for the Weezer show, which featured Tamari-glazed New York strip steaks, sesame-marinated Simmons Farm catfish and super-tasty molasses-ginger glazed sweet potatoes.”

Another of Odette/Orion greatest hits: Grilled pork steaks with Alison Krauss’ cornbread recipe for a 2023 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss show at the amphitheater. Catering for Lana Del Rey’s Orion concert included items like citrus-brined pork loin, seared tofu, grilled okra and zucchini salad, grass-fed beef chili and roasted butternut squash soup. “I like to start with local food items and ideas,” Quick says, “and incorporate creativity.”