Massimo Bottura…quite an evening

We were invited to a special evening at Sotheby’s to sit among the collection that is part of the annual contemporary auction while dining on food prepared by Massimo Bottura.  It was quite the night.  Always a fan of this by the coat room.

To begin we were treated to a hunk of 30 year old parmesean cheese that was served with a 49 year old Balsamic vinegar from Massimo’s private reserve.  The vinegar is flawless.  Massimo noted that it was flavors of tart, acidic and sweet that created the perfect combo.

Oh of course there is the art.  The spider by Louise Bourgeouis.

Hannibal from Basquiat.

A rare Robert Longo with that unique piece of sculpture in the middle creating a triptich that I’d be happy to take home.

A beautiful Richard Serra.

Frank Stella too.

Loved this piece from Ed Rushca too

Then there are the tables set among the art.   Massimo came out and spoke to us before the meal.  He is from Modena where slow food and fast cars reside.  His food is a combination of music, food and art.  Then he went on to describe what each plate we were about to dine on was about.

Autumn in New York.  This dish is elements of the season.  They went to Union Square Greenmarket to pick up the essentials of the season.   Small pieces of perfectly cut vegetables sitting in a rich mushroom broth.  I loved how he laid out each plate to resemble an apple…after all we are in NYC.

Black and White.  This dish was inspired by an artist he loves in Italy.  The risotto was first created by him after an earthquake in Emilia damaged 400,000 wheels of cheese. He reimagined this dish to be like the classic cacio e pepe with risotto.  In keeping with the season there are lack and white truffles served on the top.

Crunchy part of the lasagne.  The crunchy part of this lasagna is an ode to the child in each of us.  How we loved the crunchy part growing up.  Different types of lasagna sheets served crispy with a slightly toasted flavor.  It is served over a light bechamel sauce and underneath that sauce is a meat ragu.  It was divine.

Beautiful psychedelic spin-painted beef, not flame grilled.  This was a nod to Damien Hirst’s iconic spin-paintings.  Although I grabbed this picture in the back and to me Mossimo had turned into Jackson Pollock.

This dish was so over the charts that I could have eaten four plates myself.  All the vibrant splashes of color are different sauces from yellow pepper to beet to potato puree to balsamic vinegar.  On top is served a piece of beef cooked sous-vide.  The beef was so soft that you almost did not have to chew it.

Ceasar salad in bloom.  He said that this was too complicated to explain.  This was very flowerly with flavors of chamomile, lavender and raspberries.  Shame on me but I did not like this dish at all.  After one bite I gave this piece to someone at my table who couldn’t get enough of it.

Oops!  I dropped the lemon tart.  This dish is about building to perfection.  All the ingredients out of Southern Italy, a crazy imperfect yet beautiful place.  Layers of lemon zabaglione, lemon verbena sorbet, meringue and savory bites on the side such as capers, oregano and hot peppers.

After the meal was over Massimo took the linen that was underneath his Pollock moment and signed the piece for the lucky one!

A night to be remembered…for sure.