- Address:
- 951 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, IL, 60607
- Phone:
- 312-491-5804
- Overall User Rating:
-
(30 ratings)
- Hours:
- Kitchen: 5-11 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 5 p.m.-midnight, Friday and Saturday Lounge: Until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
After being given the option of dining at a table, the bar or lounge, we chose the low, cushy seats in the lounge with its low cocktail tables. Techno tunes flowed at a volume that mercifully allowed for conversation. Our friendly server was happy to answer questions, even offering us a complimentary sip of the day's soup ($6), a divine and creamy potato Cheddar.
We stuck with appetizers, including grilled cheese three ways ($12), French, Italian and American. The French version on a baguette with gruyere and Black Forest ham was our favorite with its crispy crust, rich cheese and meat. But the American (Virginia ham and Cheddar) and Italian (on squares of ciabatta with Taleggio and strangely Virginia ham-looking "prosciutto") were not worth finishing. We expected the food to be, if not as innovative as Moto's, at least consistently delicious. Next up was a brasiola salad over arugula, pine nuts and Granny Smith apples. While the lean slices of beef were fine and all the produce fresh, the salad was bland and under-dressed. Only after repeated attempts to catch a server's eye in the uncrowded restaurant, we were able to get lemon wedges to perk things up. We finished our meal with one of Otom's $9 desserts. The banana split -- three chocolate-covered cubes of banana puree on skewers in a pool of caramel, with pineapple and maraschino cherries -- is a cool concept but unexciting flavor combination.
With so much competition these days for high-end comfort food in a lounge atmosphere, Otom is going to have to up its game if it wants to play alongside its big sister next door.
Originally published August 9, 2007 by Chicago Tribune.
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