Otom has a new chef and based upon my meal there last night, I'd say he's turning out some pretty decent food. But unfortunately, I'm not sure there is anyone really running this restaurant and thus, Otom is a runaway train that better be careful before it completely runs off the tracks.
Last night, Otom wasn't just running out of food . . . it was running out of wine, wine glasses and the paper towel dispenser in the men's bathroom was even out of paper towels (although dozens were overflowing from the wastebasket and many were scattered on the floor). We were even told that they had to run to Moto for some wine glasses. And when you have only approximately 6-7 red wines on the menu and you run out of your lightest reds, you've got a big problem. Hello? Is there anyone in charge?
And we've yet to talk about the excessive wait. Arrive at 8:20 for an 8:30 reservation, you're told your table is not quite ready, you order a cocktail at the bar, it takes 15 minutes to deliver the cocktail and without an apology. Perhaps it would be a good idea to hire a second bartender? Otom is leaving a lot of money in their guests pockets by being unable and unwilling to serve up alcohol.
On the plus side, Otom is serious about their cocktails and they were excellent - a very good Manhattan and an excellent cocktail with jalapeno-infused rum with muddled cilantro, pineapple syrup and lime.
The next problem was that we were not seated for our 8:30 reservation until 9:00. Hardly an apology for the seating delay. But then the pacing of the meal was also glacially slow. We ordered two more cocktails, two glasses of wine and an iced tea and it took them 25 minutes to deliver these, which was also well after we ordered dinner. And nearly 35 minutes after sitting down, and well after we had ordered dinner, we were all given a piece of average sourdough bread which looked like it had been cut by an extremely busy parent preparing dinner for several starving children. We then had to remind the waitress to bring us the olive butter which she had nicely described before she brought us the bread.
As for food, quality was pretty good although it seemed like a few items had been sitting for a while.
Appetizer of
potato chip gnocchi with blue cheese, a parmesan tuile, champagne grapes and pine nuts was tasty and the gnocchi well cooked, although I only had a couple of bites (not sure where the chips came in). It delivered a nice blue cheese flavor although the tuile lacked the crispness it should have delivered if freshly made.
A
caesar salad was generally well executed, but boring. The only element which interested me was the whole white anchovies which were tasty.
As for mains, the
pork chop with a bacon bread pudding, haricot verts and an olive-caper current sauce was very nice, although the pork chop had become lukewarm (probably sitting too long in the kitchen) while the rest of the plate's components were hot. The bacon bread pudding delivered a rich and delicious bacon flavor without being overwhelming. The sauce was a very nice complement to the pork.
I only had a small taste of the
chicken and waffles but that one taste was appealing. The chicken breast was nicely fried and moist and served atop a sweet potato waffle (a bit mushy but still good).
A couple of sides we ordered were excellent. First,
mac & cheese with truffle, bacon and white cheddar. The macaroni had a nice bite to it and the cheese sauce was very creamy and delivered great flavor. The
grits with barbecued brussel sprouts were very creamy and delicious. If you go, I highly recommend these sides. Each one would be perfect for two people to share.
We were given two complementary desserts after we indicated that we were too full for dessert, although we did mention that one person in our group was celebrating a birthday. They brought the desserts out as an apology for all of the waiting (not only were we seated 30 minutes after our reservation time, but it took us close to 2 1/2 hours to finish 3 courses, sans coffee). The first was a
chilled chocolate dome with peanut butter nougat, chicory caramel, pretzel brittle, cream soda fluff and sea salt. All of the components were very flavorful, but this dish needed deeper, darker chocolate for it all to come together. As it was, I'd say it was decent. The other dessert was some sort of
apple, oatmeal crumble which I thought was very good. It was served with what I recall being like a very tangy yogurt mousse and it was served in a cast iron pot.
I've always liked the atmosphere at Otom, and the food last night was good enough to make me want to return, but all of the problems - multiple menu items unavailable, multiple wines unavailable, running out of wine glasses, having to wait a minimum 15 minutes even for a glass of wine, a filthy men's room which nobody cared to clean (perhaps for the entire weekend) and just very slow service throughout the evening - will leave me to rely upon others to tell me how Otom progresses. Otom needs more than a chef, a bartender, a host and a few waitpersons - it needs someone who runs the restaurant . . . that seemed to be sorely missing last night.