I finally successfully made my boyfriend love fine dining and it all started with Chicago. In Chicago, we ate at a 3-Michelin star Alinea’s by Chef Grant Achatz. Right after our trip from Chicago, my bf incidentally found The Final Table that aired in November 22, 2018, where we watched Chef Timothy Hollingsworth win, who also worked alongside Chef Grant Achatz at The French Laundry. My boyfriend wanted to try Otium, so we went for brunch and lunch menus twice already… And then I saw that Otium was hosting for NYE so we’re like… WE WANNA GO!!!! Sure it is a little pricey but I just passed my boards and we’re going through an Otium fanatic phase so… why not for once in a lifetime.. for the third time for dinner..a very late one! We made reservations for 1030pm so that we would already be there for countdown!
so we went and we did and we enjoyed! And we got to meet Chef Timothy himself!
Here is our drink ticket for our glasses of Dom Pérignon to toast for the New Year! So what was fascinating about Otium was that as we walked towards the restaurant we saw that the normally enclosed second floor was decked out in perfectly round and shiny silver balloons!! We immediately got excited!! Maybe for once, we are allowed to go upstairs?!
Left: Baroo. Michter’s Eye, Aperol, Passion Fruit, Salted Cacao. This was my drink! Very sweet and sour.. there is no taste of alcohol and the fresh mint leaves made it minty fresh!
Right: Salt’s Cure. Woodford Reserve Single Malt, Toasted Oats, Maple, Red Eye Bitters. This was my boyfriend’s drink. I love the gold rim decor on the glass.
Rivera. Mezcal Mal Bien, Ancho Chile, Bell Pepper Agave, Sunomono, Ginger. This was my boyfriend’s second drink because one wasn’t enough for him. It reminded me of the Mexican tamarind candy.
Happy New Year babe! Cheers!
Ossetra Caviar with Green Apple Aguachile and Serrano Ham. The waiter brought over some small Amuse Bouche for us that we were supposed to just pick up from the plating and pop them in our mouths immediately! I love the fresh and natural terrain. Have you guys ever had the hamachi apple aguachile from the brunch menu? The flavoring is exactly just like that!!! Sour and tangy, sweet and refreshing, mildly cold. The cover was a soft crunch! 😉
Foie Gras Terrine with Satsuna Mandarin, Almond, Périgord Truffle, and Brown Butter Emulsion. Wow so when they served this plate to us, we were like, “Is this dessert already?!” But it’s not! It is made to look like dessert. There are layers of the foie gras in between like cake layers. It was incredibly creamy and smooth. The string aromas of truffle was an addition I loved that complemented the foie gras well. The brown butter and mandarin was a subtle dry sweet flavor that contrasted with the lightly salty.
White Polenta Tortellini with Matsutake Mushrooms and Charted Scallion Consomne. THIS WAS INCREDIBLY GOOD! I wish they gave us a bigger portion. It immediately took me back to a nostalgia theme from Alinea. It was so comforting and warm to eat that made my tummy warn. The white polenta inside was creamy. The mushrooms were delicately thin and crunchy. The scallion consommé was like a fancy salty broth! So delicious.
Snake River Farms Calotte with Red Wine Braised Salsify, Nate’s Carrots, Cipollini Onion, Yukon Gold Fondant and Sauce Perigourdine. Wow. Can I even begin to describe this dish? I am so glad we picked this dish because the meat was so tender and soft and lightly chewy. The deep red was very vibrant and inviting with juices oozing out. The red wine sauce was even better but the meat alone was so good, you can just eat it by itself! The potatoes were soft and light as a feather.
Creamsicle Float with Blood Orange Sherbet, Vanilla Bavarian Cream, and Orange Soda. Wow! So fun to eat! And very light too! It felt like a palate cleanser to me!
Chocolate Torte with Pomegranate, Blueberries, Brown Butter and Cashews. The texture and presentation of this dessert reminded me of a chewy nut bar! the cookie on top was light, thin and crispy and topped with 24K gold.
Thank you Chef Timothy for taking a picture with us! I really wanted to talk to you more but I was star strucked and also felt bad for pulling you away from your family and friends! 🙂
We went upstairs and it was so elegantly and glamorously decorated!!! The balloons were so cool! Some people were also able to take some balloons home with them!
The hallway leading up to the upstairs party room. There was also a photo booth that we took pictures with! Had a little fun with the Dom Pérignon champagne! The waiters gave us party hats and party favors right before countdown and also counted down with us! The environment was amazing and fun! All of the cooks were having a blast too!
Here is some of our photo booth fun!
