Lizz and I decided to end the Memorial Day weekend - and to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary - by taking a ride out to the "Nautical Mile" in Freeport to see Brian Halverson and Mark Pohl with their new band, Boomerang. We had run into Bill and Claudia Walsh earlier in the day at the community garden and we're glad that they decided to join us. It was a beautiful day, and we set out in the Mini with the top down and headed to Otto's.
I couldn't remember the last time I had been to Freeport. Lizz and I had been there together, probably way early in our relationship, at least twenty years ago. I had most likely never had been there before. As expected, the place was buzzing. As we pulled into the strip, we had the pleasure of being behind a couple of guys on a couple of rice rockets - which I hope is not an offensive term - who felt the need to rev their engines constantly like a couple of caged lions roaring to be set free.
It was hard to get a grip on what exactly the vibe was - mainly because there were many different vibes happening all at once. Some places were packed, music pumping while others, like a nice looking brewery was almost totally empty. Lot's of different cultures on the street, but sadly it felt more like ships passing cautiously in the night than a melting pot block party. But that could have just been my take.
We arrived at Otto's and we had done a bit of prep work, reading the menu and the various on-line reviews. Based on that, our expectations were low. Sadly, they were right on point.
More on that in a bit. The reason we came was to see the band, and they were a lot of fun. A crazy mix of songs including a few that you definitely won't hear at your local bar. If you can say anything about Brian, it's that he's all in, whether channeling Pet Clark or Michael Jackson. Plus, it's always great to hear and watch Mark behind the kit. That was a good time. So was running into Mark Mancini and his lovely fiancee Josette along with daughter Gracie. It was Mark's birthday, so we all had something to celebrate. One of the things that I love about my friends is that we always manage to make the best of any situation - it always starts with just being able to spend time together and builds on that.
But Otto's was just kinda sad. The staff was just overwhelmed even though there were many empty tables. I don't know what was going on in the kitchen, but I'm pretty sure it was full on panic mode. I read a review that was spot on - they said that they kept expecting Gordon Ramsey to pop up, firing people on the spot and closing the place down for a reboot. One could only hope. I mean the place is obviously a gold mine, great location, people willing to line up to get in - why not even attempt to make them happy?
