POTS and Pans: Osteria Francescana

Yup. We went to Osteria Francescana for my mommy's birthday dinner last Thursday night. It is ranked as the third best restaurant in the world right now. I am aware that I'm INCREDIBLY lucky.

First, we got to choose our wine for the night. Dad got this massive menu and was so intimidated that he didn't get past the first page. He also didn't realize that the first page was just the table of contents.

That was a fun surprise when one of our many waiters came to take the wine order. He had to help dad turn to page 84 when dad asked for white wine.

We eventually got some kind of wine. Happy Birthday mommy!

Some pictures of the menu. There are some great choices on there. My personal favorite: "Think Green: an evolving landscape through the seasons." I really want to know what that means...

We all went with the first tasting menu: Traditions.

They first brought their house-made bread accompanied with Tuscan olive oil.

Then the "Memory of a Mortadella Sandwich." (That name still makes me giggle.) It was a piece of thick focaccia with whipped mortadella, accompanied by crumbled pistachio and a cream of some kind that I don't remember.

They kept bringing out bread. It was all super fresh and delicious.

Next was the plate with prosciutto, salami, and some kind of candied orange that was slightly spicy.

It was served with "focaccine," little rolls of warm focaccia.

This next course was not on the original menu, but the chef--Massimo Bottura--added it for the night. Oh, I forgot to mention that the chef comes out and talks to all his clients and takes orders.

He swore we would love this next dish.

It is one of the craziest, most incredible things I've ever eaten. It was five versions of parmigiano reggiano, all at different ages, temperatures, and textures. You see this spoon of foam right here? That tasted like a spoonful of parmigiano. Insane.

Next, traditional tagliatelle with a meat ragù.

Then traditional modenese tortellini cooked in broth and served with a light cream sauce. I cannot get enough of the fresh pasta in Italy.

What we thought was the last course were these short ribs. They were slow cooked so that you could press them lightly with your fork and they would fall apart. Topped with balsamic vinegar and served with creamed potatoes and celeriac.

The chef also added this dish to the menu for the night.

Millefoglie: A thousand leaves. It was all different leaves like basil that were candied and served with creamed hazelnut and chestnut and all kinds of other stuff.

Then they brought out my mommy's birthday cake! When I made the reservation online, the restaurant asked if I wanted a special cake prepared for my mom's birthday. Well, duh. Of course I did!

The chef presented the cake and then took it away to plate it.