SENSE-sational- The Foundation for JPS Health Network

Saturday evening Foodie husband and I were invited to attend the JPS Partners for Health benefit at the new Omni Hotel in downtown Fort Worth.  This private benefit is a fundraiser to help the JPS patients unable to afford even basic co-pays for prescriptions and other health care needs during emergency situations.

I thought I would write about this because it is one of the first events held at the new Omni hotel and it would allow everyone to hear what an experience it is just to step foot into this fabulously designed hotel.  If you have not taken the time to "wonder" through the hotel, please do.  They took great efforts to incorporate the Fort Worth decor into this normally posh hotel.

I don't want to spend a lot of time on what the event planner (not employed by the hotel) created inside the space, but do want to mention that we did eat our appetizer's while blind-folded.  EXACTLY!?! What do you say to that?  

The appetizer was Vegetable Beignets with three different dipping sauces - Annatto Seed Mascarpone, Strawberry-Ginger Mascarpone (2nd favorite), and Pesto Mascarpone (Favorite).  Because this course was designed around us being blind-folded - the concept was incredible.  The flavors were fantastic, each sauce was unique and once you looked the plate design was to die for.  I couldn't stop eating.

The entree for all non-vegetarians was Chilean Sea Bass wrapped in French Ham served with roasted fennel and spring vegetables in a lobster bisque reduction.  Foodie's husband (and everyone at our table) could not stop raving about the choice for the main dish.  They wanted to stay away from the traditional steak or chicken - and therefore went out on a limb and created a masterpiece.  The presentation was original, and Foodie's husband ate it all - even the roasted fennel.

The alternate dish for vegetarians was actually vegan as well.  It was almost a lasagna presentation of roasted squash, red bell pepper, zucchini with the roasted fennel and spring vegetables on the side all on top of herbed mash potatoes.  The plate design was unbelievable - I thought my dish looked more appetizing than the standard dish.  Small sprigs of rosemary sprouted from the "lasagna" of roasted vegetables and thyme adorned the plate.  The vegetables were seasoned just enough and cooked to perfection - I would have eaten a plate full of the roasted fennel and the baby carrots if they had put it in front of me.

For dessert they created a Deconstructed Trifle with Flavored Coulis, fresh berries with whipped cream, and assorted garnishes from their pastry shop.  I was slightly underwhelmed with this idea.  The items to create your own trifle were placed on the tables on large trays and we had to pass them around and try not to get into too much of a mess.  On the creative scale this might have been a little overboard.

Overall the staff was fantastic, the food was excellent and I would recommend that anyone go and check out the Omni - even if you don't stay in a room or eat & drink from any of the restaurants.  Bravo - it is like a small Vegas style hotel and conference center in the middle of downtown.