Sweet of the Week: Tiramisu at Nico Osteria

Tiramisu is just one of those things I never really think about or crave. Like creme brulee, it's a dessert too often mired in mediocrity that any semblance of comfort or nostalgia is entirely lost. That being said, one of my favorite kinds of desserts is the kind that adept pastry chefs tackle and reinvigorate, putting their own distinct and imaginative stamp on a woebegone classic. The tiramisu at Nico Osteria is a prime example, which I recently enjoyed as part of the Thompson Hotel's new in-room dining experience, wherein guests can order off the regular Nico menu and enjoy a restaurant-caliber dining experience complete with service staff. The dessert is the handiwork of pastry chef Leigh Omilinsky, someone I came to admire during her tenure at Cafe des Architectes. Her move to Nico could only mean incredible things, and it's indeed proven fruitful if her crafty interpretation of this Italian classic is any indication. 

 

The perfect fitting finale to an elegant Italian meal at this Gold Coast stunner, Omilinsky's tiramisu is far from your average coffee-soaked trifle often peddled at red sauce Italian joints. Rather, the chef gives tiramisu the dutiful upgrade it deserves, honing in on each and every ingredient, texture, and layer to ensure a flavorful, memorable dessert experience worthy of nostalgia. What you get is a delicate, aromatic medley of mascarpone cream, mescal, espresso crunch, and creme de cacao, strewn together in a creamy-crunchy dome of deliciousness. All the familiar flavors of tiramisu are present and accounted for, albeit brighter and more luscious. By taking each common component a step further — whipping up a mascarone cream, crafting an espresso crunch, and utilizing a creme de cacao, for example — Omilinsky is able to achieve richer success than the standard hodgepodge of mascarpone, cocoa, and espresso-soaked ladyfingers. 

- Matt Kirouac