White truffles, eggs and cream

A friend is in town from Taipei, and wanted to try Otto e Mezzo after reading my blogposts.  I was of course only too happy to oblige, as I love the place and eager to have some more delicious white truffles while they are still in season.

I wanted to drink a little, so I took a glass of Michele Chiarlo Gavi Le Marne but forgot to note down the vintage.  Ripe nose with marmalade and mineral and banana notes.  Highly floral and aromatic, but a bit heavy on the oak.

I kept to a simple selection of dishes, and started with scrambled eggs with shaved white truffles.  Chef Bombana came in and gave me a generous heap of white truffle shavings, and my friends' eyes just popped wide open.  The fragrance of the tuber instantly filled the room. I happily slurped up the contents in the bowl, and discovered a nice little chunk that the chef dropped into the bowl.  Quelle surprise!

Thanks to a friend's suggestion, I asked the kitchen for a bowl of spaghetti carbonara.  This was absolutely lovely, and so very different from the run-of-the-mill carborana out there.  No runny, watery sauce here.  Instead it was thick and viscous in a golden hue, with a heavier portion of the flavors coming from eggs instead of cream.  There was a good degree of bite to the pasta, and the delicious pancetta had just the right amount of smokiness.  In short, perfection.

I skipped dessert as I was already satiated.  And from the looks on my friends' faces, I think they were pretty happy with their meals, too.  As I've said to people on numerous occasions, that Colorado rack of lamb just can't be beat...