Last Thursday was a busy day. Courtney and I had some work to do together that day (part of the reason why she and Robert came to town), and when we finished, it was a dash home from work to the condo, barely enough time to freshen up, then hopping in the car for the five of us to head downtown for dinner and a concert at the Disney Hall.
Dinner was at Otium, a restaurant that had a lot of buzz when it opened years back and still seems to be popular thanks in no small part, I am sure, to its prime location up on Bunker Hill in among the museums and performing arts venues. Conrad and I had gone there with friends several years ago, and while I recall liking the food, the service made me so angry that I had not wanted to go back again. And so we didn't. But Van had never been and was curious about it. And when last we went to our Disney Hall standby, we found it had not come through the pandemic very well, and now it's dropped off our list (I won't name it - if you go there, you'll form your own impressions, and I dislike slagging restaurants in this blog for the most part).
Otium was loud, I cannot deny it. That's awful for Conrad. It's long been a problem, but now that he wears hearing aids, it's almost worse. They amplify not just what someone speaking to him says, but amplify all the din surrounding him. A sea of noise. It was a relief to be at home the next night, I know. But the Otium space is pretty cool. And the menu has some good things. I didn't get a photo of the bucatini, which was my favourite dish, nor of the chicken liver mousse, which was so smooth and silky. I did photograph the beautifully cooked salmon collar, though.
And it's not as if the other dishes were at all bad: I liked the lobster ravioli
and the pork chop
and the shaved chicories.
Everything tasted good, the service was fine, and we left satisfied.
Outside the restaurant, we took a couple of photos of the neighbouring Broad Museum,
then headed the block over to the Disney Hall. I love that space,
and I can't wait for more concerts there this year. We had a Schubert symphony before the intermission and a Beethoven one after. I preferred the latter and drifted, eyes closed, during the former.
Van drove us all home, and that was an excellent Thursday under our belts.
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