Tonight, based on a recommendation from a reader, Kim and I headed the five and a half blocks to Otho Restaurant and Street Lounge in Minneapolis. The reader had some interesting things to say about the place including that he thought that the food was their strong point and wanted to know what we thought. Always up for good happy hour specials, we headed out after work and got in the door just after 4:30 this afternoon.

The first thing I noticed was the quiet neighborhoodish location. Honestly, if I hadn’t known better, I wouldn’t have thought we were only a few blocks from the hustle and bustle of Government Plaza. As we were walking, I was saying to myself, “did Google Maps really bring us to the right spot?” Sure enough, we rounded the corner and I saw the sign for the restaurant tucked beneath the condos above. They have a really nice street presence centered on their nice patio which just opened up today. While it was a bit too warm for that this afternoon, I’m sure it must be real nice for an evening nightcap after dark or dinner in the early fall or late spring.

We walked in and found very few people taking advantage of the happy hour specials. We were a little early and while it got a bit busier later, it never got anywhere close to what we have seen elsewhere during happy hour. Being that this location is a bit off the beaten path, I suppose it’s not all that surprising. We took a seat on the side of the bar facing the majority of the restaurant and spent some time chatting with the bartender. Not only was she very attentive and friendly, she was also quite knowledgeable about the restaurant and its menu. While I realize that it’s easy to be all of those things when it isn’t busy, it doesn’t mean that someone has to spend the time to do it. I have had plenty of unpleasant experiences with bartenders that just stand across the bar from you, arms crossed, waiting for you to prompt them for another drink. I also didn’t feel like she was doting on us to get a better tip. She seemed genuinely interested in the restaurant and letting us know it.

We started out by ordering drinks. Kim decided to ignore the B1G1 rail drinks and instead ordered a Southern Peach Tea which included Southern Comfort, peach schnapps, vodka (Absolut because they ran out of their cheap one), rum (The Captain!) and sour. While they don’t list drink prices on the menu, the bartender poured the drink pretty stiff and when I tasted it later, I’m surprised that Kim hadn’t fallen over into the road as we walked back to the 477! I ordered a 312 on tap (taps are $1 off) and then took advantage of their B1G1 bottles (Miller, Bud, and Golden Light). I wasn’t at all surprised with the price of Kim’s drink ($8) but I was a bit surprised to see that my bottle of Golden Light was $4.25. If you think that B1G1 is a deal, you’re wrong. Even the $4 312 was a bit expensive to be honest, especially for the relatively small sized glass (it was probably a 16 oz but shaped as if it were a 22). If you’re not into 312 they also offer Summit, Shiner Bock, Sapporo, and Delirium on tap as well. They had one more beer but I couldn’t read what it was from where I was sitting — sorry.

Our appetizers arrived were presently quite nicely. My New York Strip Beef Tataki, described as flash seared, grilled asparagus, toasted sesame panko, wasabi crème friache, thai chili aioli, and pickled ginger was deconstructed on the plate. While I normally think that any dish done that way borders on retarded, this ended up working out well — especially if you are not a fan of the individual ingredients. While the meat and aioli were pretty good, the asparagus was my only complaint as it was dry and almost twig like. When Kim asked to try it, I suggested she not as I knew she wouldn’t be a fan. Overall, a decent dish and one that I would have again if there had been just a bit more beef. While my appetizer was middle of the road, Kim’s wings were very tasty and obviously homemade. They were presented very nicely and were definitely different from your typical appetizer wing. I was surprised with the seasoning and crispy frying but was just a tad disappointed with the amount of meat. Honestly, with a slight drop in price and a bit more meat, these would be very close to a stop everything and proceed directly to Otho for a nice happy hour treat.

Because my appetizer had so very little to it and even after I ate two of Kim’s wings, I was still pretty hungry and with a couple beers in me I knew I’d need something else. While we had originally planned on only getting appetizers, we went ahead and ordered an entree to split between us as well. We both decided on the New York Strip Beef & Broccoli which was listed for $13 and was the only stir fry to come with a side of jasmine rice (the other stir fry dishes had a $2 fee for rice which would be a bit expensive if it was the same size as the rice we got as part of our meal). When it came out I immediately noticed two things:

1. If the beef in this stir fry was NY Strip, it certainly didn’t look like it. I am not about to go as far and say that they weren’t entirely truthful but they should rethink their choice of beef because apparently NY Strip doesn’t work in stir fry. The meat was gray, tough and pretty much tasted like anything I could have purchased for $4 or $5 at your typical mom and pop shop. Just because the meat is NY Strip doesn’t mean you can cook it to shoe leather, add in some broccoli and expect it to command a $13 price tag.

2. It just wasn’t presented all that well and it really didn’t look like enough to make me think it was worth the $13 price tag (even when split in two for us). While I was pleased that we weren’t charged to split it, the meal was pretty disappointing to be perfectly honest. I had really high hopes after the reader’s recommendation and our appetizer but it was just a blah dish and not one that I wish to ever repeat in the future. You’re seriously better off with a stir fry meal at Lee Ann Chin.

In the end, our bill came to $45.85. If you take out the $13 for the entree, the price drops under $30 and is still fairly steep for the beers I chose and the amount of food I received as part of my appetizer. I realize it’s tough to make it in Minneapolis, especially in this location, but you’re not helping yourselves by having a happy hour menu that really doesn’t lend itself to what I would expect when I’m out for happy hour.

Aside from the limited amount of food and the ho-hum stir fry, I really appreciated the service we received. I overheard Kim talking to her cousin on the phone earlier and she brought up how great the bartender was to us. We can’t say enough good things about her I guess… Even with that, I’m not quite sure I’d be back for another happy hour as there are too many other options closer to where we work that offer more of what I’m expecting. That said, if you happen to be in the area or even live there, you might want to check it out. They have half price martinis on Thursday nights but if tonight’s beer was any indication, that may mean that you end up paying just as much as you would anywhere else…

I think with a little work this could be a great little spot but it’s going to take a lot more than just the great service and nicely presented wings to do it.

Address:
Otho Restaurant and Street Lounge
949 Portland Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55404

Phone:
612-455-1516

See all the pictures from tonight’s happy hour on Flickr here.

On the third day of Challenge, my true love gave to me two plates of “nachos” and a taste test for ye! If you haven’t been good little boys and girls this July and haven’t seen the first two challenges, you should read both Day One and Day Two before proceeding. No worries, I’ll give you a minute…

Ahh, there now, we can move forward — just don’t do it again, ok? Anyway, tonight for dinner I made Steak-umms with sauteed onions, mushrooms and peppers with some dry cayenne spice. After I finished the sandwich I ate some of the leftover veggies with some Louisiana hot sauce on top and because of that I decided to take a few hours before I went ahead with the test tonight. It also gave Kim some time to do other shit than wait on me hand and foot with piles of fat free Saltines and spoons of hot sauce ;)

Anyway, I sat down with a glass of water and the two plates in front of me. I took the requisites whiffs from the spoons and the nachos and knew right away that #2 was a habanero sauce. It not only smelled hot but it had the distinctive hab odor. Unfortunately by process of elimination I knew that this one was very likely the Louisiana Habanero sauce. Honestly, I was a bit apprehensive about swallowing a spoonful of this shit knowing full well that it probably was going to be as hot as shit. While answering a meme on wonderment I agreed to get paid $1000 to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce but if it had been this one, oh fuck me it would have hurt like a bitch and I hadn’t even tasted it yet! Plate #1 had almost no noticeable odor but I’m sure that my nostrils and all the hair inside had been singed and thus any future taste or smelling will be altered.

Well, I proceeded to try the spoons. Stupidly I went with the #2 spoon first which I guess I thought would get the bad news over first. Unfortunately it fucked everything up for the rest of the night. Man, that shit was hot. It didn’t taste very good (straight habanero and not much else) but it got right down it and it got right on top of me. The sweats and the nose blowing commenced with Kim smiling the whole time — brat. I drank a bunch of water and tried #1. It wasn’t enough though and I ended up asking Kim for another spoonful of #1 later.

After more water and a break I tried the nachos. #1 had a much better flavor although had almost no burn — especially compared to #2. The problem with these two sauces was that I liked #1 for the flavor, quite a bit actually compared to #2 and I loved #2 for the burn. There’s nothing better than a good sweat and a bunch of nose blowing when you down some hot sauce. Because of this, I decided that both need to win this time. Yeah, yeah, ruins it or whatever. Well, to the naysayers I say, “fuck you, I’ll run this shit how I want!” ;-) This ends up working out best in the end because it gives an even number for the finals heh.

Anyway, during the reveal I was fairly certain that #2 was the Louisiana Habanero Sauce and it was. While I knew that #1 was a Louisiana style I couldn’t have told you which one of the remaining 6 it could have been. Surprisingly, being that I enjoyed the flavor as much as I did, it turned out to be Crystal Hot Sauce and #2 was indeed Louisiana Habanero Pepper sauce which has a slogan that reads, “one drop does it”. While I had a lot more than just one drop, they certainly “did it”.

The Crystal was the second most inexpensive at .79 for a 6 oz bottle. It includes 135mg of sodium which is fairly average for these sauces and has very straight forward ingredients: aged red cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar, and salt. The Louisiana sauce is in the upper range at $1.49 for a 3 oz bottle. While the price would be in the mid-range for a 6 oz+ bottle, for the size it’s a bit more expensive. It includes a fuck load of sodium at 240mg for the typical 1 tsp serving size. It also has very straight forward ingredients which are habanero peppers, vinegar, and salt. None of that sugar or carrot shit in this hab sauce, nope — this is all burn all night. Sweet.

So, if you’re looking for a decent bottle of hot sauce with almost no heat but great flavor go with the Crystal. If you’re looking to get some overpowering hab flavor (which some people don’t care for) with some great heat, check out the Louisiana Habanero Pepper sauce. I recommend them both tonight.

So, both of these two move on to the finals. We have four bottles left for the first round and I promise that I won’t puss out the rest of the week and will make a real decision for which two will move on :)

See all the pictures from the entire taste test so far here.