"otto" news and stories

I've had the olive oil gelato at Mario Batali's Otto and found it quite good. And I've sampled the lox ice cream at Max & Mina's in my stamping grounds of Flushing, Queens, and found it to be interesting at best. Until the other day, though, I'd never heard of a frozen dessert quite as strange as nicotine and peppermint gelato.

The bizarre flavor created by East Hollywood gelato guru Tai Kim of Scoops isn't a smoking cessation device, although it is made with crushed Nicorette gum. Nicotine and peppermint gelato is part of a lineup of flavors created for a rock-and-roll tour of the Sunset Strip and "other places of subcultural importance, " hosted by Esotouric Tours.

Other flavors include Hemp Oil and Honey, Vanilla and Jack Daniels, Pomegranate and Poppy Seeds, Mint and Jim Beam, Nicotine and Avocado and Beer Sorbet. I've always thought that Ben & Jerry's should make a slightly more countercultural version of Wavy Gravy called Owsley's Orange Sunshine. But enough of my acidic wit. Here's what I'd like to know dear reader, what's the strangest flavor of frozen confection you've ever encountered?

[via Chicken Corner]

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Mignardises are the tiny, bite-sized desserts that follow a meal at high-end restaurants. Often they include tiny cookies or truffles, as well as other edible delights. Vittles Vamp reported that when she ate at Mario Batali's Otto Pizzeria in New York, all of the diners were given a very unusual after-dinner treat: a tube of lip balm. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine/Breath Freshener, to be specific, which is a "mint-infused lip balm [that] provides a glossy high shine with a refreshing cooling sensation" and retails for $7.50. At Otto, which is a mid-range eatery, the balms were gratis with the meal. But why were they given out? Is it a form of product placement or is Batali trying to make some sort of statement in giving out an after-meal refreshment in a more unusual form than a simple mint?

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