What could possibly be worse than a bad meal at a fancy restaurant? a.Seeing kittens run out the back of a Chinese restaurant you just dined at. b.Finding out your grandma just hit on the head waiter in a fancy restaurant. c.Getting sick in the middle of a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant. For my evening at Otom, a restaurant I was highly anticipating, I got stuck with letter c, and got sick in the middle of a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant. As in, BEFORE the dessert and port. I awoke the next morning clutching myself in a fetal position, chanting, “Why? WHY?” Yeah. You don’t wanna fuck with my food. I’ve been known to cut a bitch. Let me just be clear here–I did not get sick FROM eating food @ Otom, I merely had an inconvenient stomach attack while eating food @ Otom. The little food I did eat there was actually quite delicious. So why the hell am I posting about a meal that I got sick during? Because like my stingy, cheap Indian father, I hate to waste anything. “This is a perfectly good post, beta, vith lovely phodos!” Yeah. When my dad get cheaps, he gets his Indian accent back. Otom is the sister restaurant to Moto, the other popular molecular gastronomy restaurant in Chicago. The style is completely different from Moto. Instead of carbonated grapes, you will find upscale versions of popular comfort food like fried chicken and mashed potatoes. The menu is purposefully priced a bit lower than most, with most mains maxing out around $20 (an interesting concept that I saw and enjoyed at Chelsea Grill). I had nothing but high hopes for Otom, and for the most part, I enjoyed what I ate. In addition to my delicious tomato soup, which deserves another food porn shot from a more interesting angle:
My husband’s delicious salad that I probably should have known the ingredients to but don’t:
This may or may not have been a fried crab cake:
I remember this cake tasting good, but I also remember being upset because the menu description did not indicate in any way that this would be fried, and thus was the start of my stomach attack. I don’t blame the menu though, because it was my stupid ass who forgot at ask how it was cooked, and then ate it anyways. See re: cheap indian father. Mussels also came to the table, which I remember being tasty.
These lamb lollipops were good too, sort of like a lamb kofta on a stick and deep fried with tzatziki sauce.
We had a delicious pinot noir from Austria, which I mainly remember because there was a cow on the label. Or maybe it was a bull. I was sick, leave me alone.
My husband tried the tv dinner for his main, which I believe is a rotating menu item that changes seasonally. This particular tv dinner had fried chicken in it and collard greens, but the current one is a fried duck leg confit, for example.
Another dining mate went with the lamb shank, which he really enjoyed. But then again, you really can’t go wrong with a giant hunk of lamb.
In an attempt to eat lightly, I went with the skate wing. It was everything I look for in a fish dish…not too fishy or oily, perfectly seasoned. Sadly, I did not even make it to the end of this dish.
I also was unable to participate in the sides the table had ordered, a delicious mix of things you are know are bad for you sprinkled with meat. First was the mac and cheese
Then was the roasted root vegetables, which I believe came with chorizo.
And the final dish was sweet potatoes with caramel sauce and marshmallows. I was particularly sad to miss this dish:
As far as upscale comfort food restaurants go, Otom is pretty good. I definitely would like to try it again in a slightly less sick state to make a proper judgement on the restaurant, so until then, suffice it say you might want to try this place. By the way, letter A & B also totally happened to me, but thankfully, not on the night I went to Otom. I’ll never forget the look on those kittens’ faces when they hit freedom and the door. So triumphant and kung-pao-y. Sigh. ~LTG! ************************ Otom 951 W. Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607 312-491-5804 www.otomrestaurant.com
