OTTO Unfortunately Underperforms

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A recent lunch for two at Otto consisted of the following:

– small octopus salad

–  grilled radicchio with smoked mozz

gnocco fritto (fried dough strips)

– short rib ravioli

– tagliatelle with ham and Spring peas

– ice cream dessert

To make an expensive, disappointing story short, the radicchio was billed as grilled, but tasted so strongly of  kerosene that all nuance (not to mention flavor) was obliterated. (Side note: ELV loathes the chemically-odoriferous scents left on food from gas grills, and wonders why chefs even bother.)  The gnocco fritto were as tasty (and about as complex) as something you’d get at a county fair, and the two pasta dishes were seriously flawed.

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There’s No Niman In Niman Ranch Anymore

Bill Niman used to supply us with our favorite beef and pork products at Trader Joe’s. Over the last year or so, they’ve become increasingly less visible on those shelves — just as Bill Niman gradually became less visible at the company he founded, until he was forced out last year for being a bad businessman. Funny how no one called him that for twenty-five years, as he and partner Orville Schell were building up the company with meat products every chef in America coveted.

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