Lunch Ladies: Oteo offers great food, friendly service
The Lunch Ladies, including a guest Lunch Lad, enjoyed a visit to Oteo in Lindon.
Daniel enjoyed the Pork Molote at Oteo.
Empanadas were on the menu for Jennette at Oteo.
Janell opted for Tacos at Oteo, and was delighted with her choice.
Happy New Year! As we begin 2016, I hope that you heed my advice from last year, try new places, and expand your palate.
The first week of the New Year is complete. You have successfully survived the first week back to a normal schedule. I hope that your New Year is starting off with fascinating discoveries, and I wish you luck on your resolutions, if you chose to set them.
Our first lunch of the new year brought us to a new restaurant in Lindon. Oteo is a quaint environment with employees who welcome each guest as members of the family. Featuring all corn tortillas, Oteo makes for a great location for friends to gather.
Oteo is also a location that will provide you with a different take on what you might call Mexican food. We were seated in the back and felt like we were in our own little world. The staff was friendly and very attentive to us and our food needs. This location is the best for small or even large parties (someone was lucky enough to be celebrating their birthday). Oteo is a family-run restaurant that can provide you with an opportunity to try new and amazing flavors. I would encourage everyone to take the time and experience the hand-prepared food by the family at Oteo.
Now you might notice that we are missing one of our Lunch Ladies. Gabrielle Harris is currently away from Utah as she spends time with family and friends. Though you do not need to worry, for Jennette and I have found a suitable (temporary) replacement for Gabrielle. Daniel Benavides has willingly agreed to step in and share his opinions with us during the month of January. For the month of January we will welcome Daniel to be a Lunch Lad. So even though we will miss the wise words of Gabrielle, we will not let you down with places to eat and new locations to try. On that note, let’s see what Daniel had for lunch and what his thoughts might be.
Daniel: Pork Molote — $10
Where do I even begin? Oteo is by far some of the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. Period. We got a recommendation to try Oteo from a coworker who knows everything when it comes to food, so I knew we couldn’t take this recommendation lightly. The menu is slightly confusing when you first take a look, but once you have it explained to you a few times by some of the nicest wait staff in the county, you’ll get the hang of it. We started our meal with the Queso Fundido which is just a fancy name for queso dip and it deserves the fancy name – some of the best cheese I have ever tasted! I decided on the Pork Molote for my entrée, and I can’t wait to go back for more. The pork was so delicious and tender and melted in your mouth. The black bean puree that it was served over was an excellent touch and tasted even better. The Fried Masa Dumpling was also excellent — it was fried, but not too fried like you would be used to. I can’t wait to try Oteo again, and did you know that the restaurant does breakfast on Fridays and Saturdays from 9-11 a.m.? Chef’s choice — hope to see you there!
Jennette: Empanadas — $9.75
Can I just say that the staff at Oteo are the friendliest and most helpful staff I have had at a restaurant in a really long time? We received a rundown of the menu and then suggestions for which meat (or protein as they like to call it) goes best with which entrée. I love empanadas so my choice was easy. I went with the recommendation of choosing the chicken and was not disappointed with the Lime-Flavored Shredded Chicken. These empanadas were not the fried dough pockets stuffed with meat, they were a light crispy corn shell topped with cabbage and dripping with a tangy sauce. Delicious! Oteo does serve Coke and Pepsi products, a rare thing here in Utah Valley.
Janell: Tacos — $11
When it was suggested that we go to Oteo, my first thought was, “What is that?” So I went into this experience with no expectations and no idea what I was getting into. Our small group was seated quickly and had the attention needed. We all perused the menu, and I chose to get Tacos. It was recommended that I try the Steak (Hanging Beef Tender seared, served medium rare) and Avocado. So I took that advice and tried them both. Each taco was delicious. So regardless of your preference you can find a taco that best fits your tastes. The tacos come out on corn tortillas and the steak had shredded apples and jalapenos. The avocados had cheese, slices of beats, and other veggies. The steak was juicy, thickly sliced and provided me with just enough steak to enjoy my appetite. I enjoyed the queso and though I am not a corn tortilla lover, I really liked the combination of flavors that were put together to create this uniquely, savory taco.
Well that is what we had for lunch. Hold on to your resolutions, you can do it. The above items are just a few of the items offered at Oteo.
– Oteo: 139 S. State St., Lindon. (801) 999-0341. Oteolindon.com. Hours — 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.