rev:text
| - Perhaps the fifth star is because this restaurant is so far beyond most of what is available in Ottawa, but gosh darn this was a good meal!
I had tried to go to Origin before but couldn't get a reservation. Last Thursday I happened to be in the neighbourhood and took a chance on a single seat. I am so glad I did.
The place has an open kitchen right in the middle of the restaurant. The host who seated me could not have been nicer. He even stopped by a couple times during the meal to see how I was doing. (How often does the guy who hang up your coat come by to visit? And since he was my son's age, I'm pretty sure he wasn't stopping by to flirt...)
Seated right beside the prep station, I was enthralled with cooks' attention to detail. The young woman running the station treated each dish as a personal crusade --- sprouts for garnish were repeatedly arrayed on a linen napkin and examined for size and shape as though she was searching for four-leaf clovers. Each oyster was lovingly shucked (and delicately sniffed!) before being bedded on ice.
The downside of dining alone was that I didn't have a partner with whom to discuss the menu and trade bites. Left to my own devices, I veered away from ceviche - a favourite appetizer but since there is actually a mozzarella section on the menu, I figured it would try out one of the four different mozzarella offerings. Mine was terrific - nice slices of crisp baguette, topped with a little honey, poached pears, generous chunks of buffalo mozz, rosemary oil and toasted pine nuts. Yum, perfect combination of flavours and textures.
Second course was chinois duck in fresh made tortillas with hoisin, sriracha, cucumber, and sour cream. Again, a great combination of sweet and savoury, crisp and creamy.
By now, I was getting full -- (small plates are smaller in O Town) but the dessert menu was amazing: caramelized banana, chocolate sorbet, vanilla custard and crunchy hazelnut "cereal" (more like cookie chunks than cheerios).
The bill for one, with a nice glass of tempranillo, was around $60. Money well spent considering the service, floor show and fabulous food.
|