“Would you serve that to your mom?”
I’ve found this question to be the best way to completely crush a line cook’s soul when they put up a dish that is not up to the restaurant’s standards. Instead of yelling, I lay a heavy guilt with a connected feeling that we all have; that we all owe our mothers the highest level of respect and attention to detail.
I try to think of every customer as someone’s family member and it helps me to stay grounded in what we really are here to do in hospitality.
Having a mother who was raised in New York, and a father with deep Oklahoma roots, I grew up with a very broad understanding of what people eat and how they like to dine. Bagels and lox with Mom, and fried okra with Dad. I love it all.
When I moved to Las Vegas, I immediately knew I didn’t want to work in a hotel, but instead I wanted to know my customers; locals drive me to do what I do. When I created my “Other Mama” restaurant, I wanted a place with no cultural boundaries, so that everyone could come in with an open mind and experience the best we can offer adapted to different tastes.
“But Uncle Jimmy doesn’t eat sushi.” Yes, we have some sushi - the best from my time training in Japan - but we are not a sushi bar. Just show Uncle Jimmy the menu and he’ll see things like grilled Heritage pork with a spicy glaze, prime NY steak with hollandaise and fresh waffle fries, and responsibility sourced seafood. We have vegan menu items for the large increase in Las Vegas’ vegan community and we always buy local when possible. Everything from the oils to the salts, I ask if this is what I would serve to a loved one.
There’s a lot of responsibility being the family member that makes the reservation for Mother’s Day, it’s our goal to make you look good on your choice.
I always dread it when I have to pick dinner for a group. Everyone says they don’t care where, but then they all have an opinion if it wasn’t for them. This is when I usually start getting cranky and need a drink. With more than 10 seasonal cocktails to choose from, you can take that edge off of spending time with some family members that you don’t see very often. We’ve recently acquired the largest selection of Japanese sake on this side of town and with our in-house sake sommelier, we can guide you on a journey through them. Such as our Beatrice cocktail, which is a perfect May drink because of the smell of fresh lemon and chamomile paired with Japanese Shochu, a special distilled beverage made of rice and barely.
Our open kitchen and intimate dining room aspires to create direct relationships with our customers, to constantly be improving what we offer. Relationships are an important part of our business.
“Other Mama” is named after my great grandmother who helped raise my dad and his siblings. This has been something that we learn in life, that a mother’s love doesn’t always come directly from your mother. It’s a certain kind of person, someone who loves, cares, and does everything she can to set you up for success in life. It’s our job to repay that by working hard and being the best version of ourselves. My career is my life and I’m honored to show all moms respect through my outlet, Other Mama. Thanks, Mom, love you.
