Otium
Iced Tea
Blue Fin Tuna- Rice – Ginger – Smoked Soy
Sea Urchin – Brioche – Lardo – Pistachio – Truffle Butter
Cauliflower – Grapes – Almond – Cilantro – Sultana
Butternut Squash – Ricotta – Coffee – Pepitas
Falafel – Eggplant – Cucumber – Meyer Lemon – Chickpea
Foie Gras – Funnel Cake – Strawberry – Fennel – Balsamic
Chicory Tart – Orange – Almond – Oxtail Marmalade
Donabe Smoked Guanciale – Apple – Potato – Walnuts
Spaghetti – Cauliflower – Curry – Sea Urchin
Spinach Bucatini – Egg – Bacon – Clam – Crème Fraiche
Anson Mills Polenta – Mascarpone – Black Truffle
Lobster – Truffle – Lettuce – Yam Veloute
Cod – Burnt Onion – Clam – Sea Bean
Duck – Pear – Chocolate – Turnip – Endive – Hazelnut
Banana Cream Grand Macaron
Coconut Sorbet – Salty Chocolate Brownies
Coconut Sorbet – Ginger Crumble
Opened in late 2015 adjacent to The Broad museum there is unlikely to be a more anticipated Los Angeles debut in the next twelve months than ex-French Laundry Chef Timothy Hollingsworth’s Otium, and fortunate to secure an 8:45pm four-top in the main dining room the experience proved to be much like one might expect of a restaurant just finding its legs on the West Coast – a mix of hits and misses for both cuisine and service in a room full of high design.
Assuredly a return to his comfort zone for the 35 year old Chef, his boutique barbeque at Barrel & Ashes a bizarre concept that fails to upgrade the scene in any appreciable way, Otium sits as an ode to Southern California with everything from ingredients to artwork as locally sourced as possible and with plenty of air beneath bumping music the vibe is both sceney and casual – a bit less boisterous than Bestia but not dissimilar, perhaps to be expected given Bill Chait’s influence before leaving Sprout Restaurant Group.
Described by our server, an overstretched young man who was at times careful but othertimes oddly dismissive in the setting of 18% auto-grat, as a “New American fine dining tasting menu served family style,” the idea at Otium actually trends closer to precious tapas made with premium ingredients at a price skewed towards the highbrow Los Angeles arts scene, and making way through sixteen plates plus six drinks including wine, cocktails and mocktails for $569 the meal pacing was admittedly perfect, a self-selected benefit of ordering in rounds.
Cutting some slack as relates to service, iced tea sometimes disappearing and once replaced with cold-brew coffee, while presentations consisted of little more than “This is the Tuna” those wishing to know more about the plates are encouraged to be precise with questions as many are directed straight to the Chefs and possessing a precise hand refined at the elbow of Thomas Keller it was indeed the Blue Fin that started things off, the warm rice cradling tender flesh with notes of smoke lingering after an up-front ginger kiss.
Benefited by the bounty of local markets and a skilled hand for coaxing the most from both produce and herbs, the top of the Otium menu focused on vegetables and raw fish, fans of Michael White may be interested in seeing how Hollingsworth’s Uni Toast compares while those who value their cash should steer clear at $4+ per now-expected bite, the Butternut Squash and *particularly* the blackened half Cauliflower far more dynamic with the the addition of citrus, raisins, and smoky almonds set beside sliced grapes.
Referencing his earliest meals making dinner with family as an invitation to dine in his new “home,” it seems unlikely that Chef Timothy’s childhood focused on falafel or funnel cake, but offering both fried items in highly innovative fashion one would be hard-pressed to decide which was more impressive, the former a salty little pocket balanced between pickles and citrus while the later is every bit as the sum of parts its ingredients would suggest, the mousse actually quite light atop its crispy golden lattice with the Strawberries and Vinegar adding only a touch of sweetness.
Smiling broadly after bites of the buttery tart topped in Chicories and Marmalade that referenced a fine French Onion Soup the Japanese grill-pot was uncapped tableside with a billow of smoke that carried the flavors of pork atop apples and purple potatoes, the follow-up of housemade pastas first riffing on Carbonara with both literal and figurative luke-warm success while the steamy Spaghetti put Sea Urchin to good use with a very subtle hint of curry.
‘Tis the season for Tuber melanosporum and wowed by presentations at The French Laundry as well as Per Se in the past it cannot be denied that Hollingsworth shares his mentor’s generosity when shaving the good stuff over creamy polenta punched up with Hazelnuuts atop a brush of Bordelaise, and although “entrees” trend almost as expensive as the luxury ingredient the Butter-Poached Lobster atop a makeshift Chicken Salad plus potage of Yam is perhaps the menu’s best item, the snappy tail arguable the best prepared I’ve ever tasted from Keller or any of his protegees.
Struck more by the $40 pricetag of the Duck than by the fowl itself and actually outright hating the desirable sounding Cod as a result of a flavor that crossed the line from smoke to acrid and burnt it was just pat eleven o’clock that the table was informed that not only had the Rum Baba been discontinued but that the chocolate torte was “sold out,” a lone dessert, ice cream, and composed cheese plate visibly disappointing more than one at the table considering the 30 or so savories, though the Banana Bread flavored Macaron and complimentary offering of creamy coconut ice cream topped with salted dark chocolate brownies were indeed both nice.
