HOUSTON – Complete honesty will result in being freed from this epic food-writing fail. Almost zero dish details from dinner at Osteria Mazzantini are available. For the last two hours I’ve tried to figure out how this could have happened. After blowing this tasting big time, I deserve to be locked in a dark closet without my iPhone for no less than 2 days.
We aren’t talking about a chain, people. Chef John Sheely and Osteria Mazzantini are a big deal. Did I forget details from dinner at Bone Daddy’s? No. Did I arrive to Wolfies in The Woodlands stuffed? No. Yet, we meet with one of the most admired chefs in Texas— stuffed, tired, and mentally finished.
Living in Dallas while still writing about Houston translates into cramming five or six food-writing events into one day before spending the night in Houston and returning to Dallas the next day. On this particular visit, my friend and I scheduled five tastings in Houston, which hurt my stomach’s feelings in an award-winning way. Unfortunately, Osteria Mazzantini was the last stop of the day.
All parts of my brain were fuzzy with thoughts of food failure. As each dish arrived, it was like being on the front line in some kind of necessary war. We needed to fight this battle. Eating everything was the right thing to do— something we wanted to do, but our bellies were the enemy. We ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and drank and ate and drank and ate and ate and ate and ate all day long. Who does this? This is not working out for anyone. People who think this actually works need to know it does not. Pinky swear.
Maybe readers need to guess details of each and every dish sometimes. Why does the internet get to have every single food description handed over whenever they wish? Sometimes food writers need to relax during the fifth tasting of the day.
_____________________
Osteria Mazzantini
2200 Post Oak Boulevard #140
Houston, Texas 77056
(713) 993-9898
osteriamazzantini.com
_____________________