Friday, May 7, 2010

finger licking good glass prints

otto ristorante is supposed to be one those places to see and/or be seen. thankfully i've already sponged off my barely visible chocolate stains which so rudely ambushed my senses on the cab ride here & temporarily abated my stomach pains with the promise of delicious food/wine & unparalleled company.

i'm not sure that's so relevant in the twilight of its john laws hedonistic days as i carefully manoeuvre myself between tables after the brisk catwalk up the pier to area 8 amongst the fashion week heavy with jimmy choos. luckily i'm wearing rainboots so my stride is more balanced than most. if not a little... less light. 

upon joining my lunchdate with caprioska at the ready, we peruse the wannabe but much portlier karl lagerfields nestled amongst bored bankers & PR moles on the finger wharf. and get down to the serious business of ordering food.

the sensible thing is to start with oysters. sydney rock, some naturale, some gently marinated with 10 year old balsamic & eschalots... perfect.

then he has the carpaccio di manzo. which looks amazing if you like sheer sliced calf, truffle oil, capers, parmesan & baby rocket. me? i'm all about the zucchini flowers a la fiori di zucchina al baccala. this is the third time i've had zuccini flowers in two weeks. one of my preferred seasons of the year. 

this dish is great & the panzella salad divine but i actually prefer my own. it's nice to be able to cook. yet equally nice not to buy groceries & have to clean. zucchini flowers need to be so light they can almost float like tempura feathers on a ricotta blown breeze. still the presentation does kick certain ass.

time ticks by. we eat more. he has the zucchini & i do another entree, pasta this time. which i managed to psych myself out about because the faux bolgonaise sauce with the strozzapreti artisan pasta is just too convincing & my brain can't reconcile calamari mince just is not technically meat. vegetarian phoney.

instead the patate arrosto [chat potatoes in olive oil with rosemary & thyme] became my friends but they were almost cold! had i taken photos too long with my trusty sidekick phone? i content myself to admiring the view of the low bright sun through my grubby finger-printed water glass. my very own. make mental note to use assigned cutlery. chat potatoes are not chips.

and move onto some bad ass dolci in this case the slezione di formaggi which is an incredible cheese plate. the term orgasm comes to mind. hence the smile on my face. noone else seemed to notice. time for tea.

...and a walk back through the gardens trailing the setting sun behind the city to chase trains & return to my hottie [hot water bottle for the uninitiated]. PMT girl kills noone today.


otto ristorante
cowper wharf road
woollomooloo
[02] 9368 7488

1 comment:

  1. great restaurant review, can you next go to "common ground" cafe in katoomba, run by a christian cult called the "twelve tribes", food amazing prepared by slave "jesus" labour, with end of the world literture at hand, and waitress dressed like girls from "little house on the pirie".

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