Otsu, the latest restaurant by Jesse Newmister and Margaret Stolfi opened in the Mill and Mine last week, bringing a new twist on Asian-fusion restaurant offering a generous menu of dumplings and other Japanese and pan-Asian favorites. While its in the same family of cuisine with their ever-popular Kaizen, the staff described it as a “cousin” rather than a sister restaurant. Urban Woman and I had a recent opportunity to enjoy a meal there and I followed up with a conversation with the owners and staff.
Co-owners and managing partners Margaret and Jesse who share ownership with a small group, included GM Erica Schmidt and Chef Erin Parrish in a conversation about the past several years as they worked through the pandemic and out with Tako Taco before taking time off and shifting gears into the next concept. The ups and downs of the last several years have produced a wonderful new restaurant they are all keen to share.
Jesse said the concept for the restaurant developed organically as they did pop-ups over the last several months.
The most popular one we did was dumplings. We did two and they were both wildly popular. We did one with Lawrence at Potchke that sold out in ninety minutes. It was a really great reception, feedback was great, but it also felt good because (Chef) Erin and I are both passionate about food from the Asian diaspora. Before we even knew each other, we were in Thailand the same year for food travel. Erica (who is of Japanese heritage) has a deep knowledge of Asian culture and and drinks. It made sense.
Margaret said there was some hesitance at first to have two Asian restaurants, with concern about confusion between the two. “The more we dug in to what we really wanted to do, this restaurant is very different . . . it has its own personality. It really faded as we fully developed what it was going to be.”
Chef Parrish said she’d worked in food service, but not in the kitchen before she came to Tako Taco. (Both she and Erica as well as two others have been with this group from the beginning of Tako Taco.) Wanting to be in the kitchen, she heard about Jesse and Margaret and Tako Taco. She worked as a dishwasher there, while also working at Paysan and, later, at Kaizen. Eventually she became a line cook, growing her experience there, though she’d cooked her whole life, starting with her grandmother. “Food is Life, from a very early age.”
Her work as a line cook began in 2019.
I was willing to do things that other people were not willing to do . . . I was willing to step in and make desserts and other things . . . If there is something that needs to be done, I’m willing to give it a go . . . When we closed Tako Taco, Jesse and Margaret spoke with me about opening up (the new restaurant) and asked if I would be interested in giving Chef a go. I said, yes.’
She said she’d done pop-up menus, but developing a menu for a longer term felt different. She had to consider the everyday preparation as opposed to a one-off. Margaret added that she and Jesse recognized the passion and natural talent in Erin. “It was what we wanted going into a period where we didn’t know exactly what we were going to do and we needed someone with patience and creativity to figure that out . . . we’d seen both natural talent in the kitchen and leadership qualities. We wanted to invest in her. The restaurant staff makes the dumplings and the skins by hand and Erin and Jesse collaborated to get the technique and taste to the quality level they desired.
Jesse said developing the menu was “intimidating, but in a good way.” They decided early that they wanted “four to five core dumplings,” and laid out the sections from there, which include core dumplings, veggies, not veggies, and Konro Grill. Jesse was adamant about the grill, which is all grilled over Japanese charcoal. “We set the template and Erin just ran with it. She and Suis Chef Aiden did the research and development during the down time. We used the down time to our advantage.”
Erin said she hoped to have dumplings that, while traditional, might be less familiar to diners. “I also wanted to focus on having some vegan options.” The current menu is the result of the work of the last months. The menu should be stable for a while, though the group plans to introduce daily specials as soon as possible. For now, Jesse said they are looking for consistency across the menu items.
The restaurant is currently open four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday, and Jesse said part of that is due to the labor-intensive preparations for the dishes. “The menu is so labor intensive. We only knew it to a certain degree until this past week . . . The Saku Sai Mu takes, by the time you prep it and cook it, a couple of hours. Then you have to portion it and make tapioca and wrap them . . . It’s pretty much that way with all the dishes.
GM, Erica Schmidt has been “in the service industry since college.” She studied athletic training, but bartended through college and realized she made more money doing that than she’d make as an athletic trainer. She also loved the constant learning that came with mixing drinks and working in restaurants. She moved to Knoxville in 2010, bartended at Ruby Tuesday near Jefferson City. She shifted to Cocoa Moon on Market Square, eventually working at at Sapphire for five years, and then moved into management at Preservation Pub and Oodles before shifting to Public House, running their bar program for four years, from 2014-2018.
She joined Tako Taco in 2018 as the Beverage Program Manager. “It was a natural progression through COVID, where roles had changed. Matt focused on Kaizen and Margaret and I focused on Tako. We played to our strengths given the environment we were in.” She became general manager of Tako in 2020, though she’s quick to point out she’s done everything from the dishes to every other job. She and Erica have enjoyed working together on the drink and food menus. “We’re all here for the same reason: To make good food and good drink, make people happy and have a good time. We’re all having a good time.” Jesse added, “We want to give everyone a spark of joy.”
And our experience? We loved it. The space is beautiful, both inside and out on the wonderful patio. Tony Cheatum with Artifact Custom (located inside Able Trade) did the woodwork, including the beautiful panels on the patio. Each panel took over 1500 cuts. He made the screens, glass enclosure, stained-glass effect above the bar, the table tops and the booth and the bench. It sets the bar high for the food and the food delivers. Erin said, “We wanted to have a place where you felt transported,” and they’ve achieved it.
As you can see from the photographs, we enjoyed a wide range of dishes, sharing as we went. The pork belly and duck enoki were perfect tastes to share a bite or two for each person. The Duck and Egg drop soup was delicious. Our favorite among all the dishes surprised us: The Saku Sai Mu, which we ordered only because it was gluten free, turned out to be the taste sensation of the night. Described as a “steamed dumpling with tapioca pearl ‘skin,’ sweet and salty pork and peanut filing, fried garlic, lettuce for wrapping,” the dish is amazing. Jesse and Margaret said it has been a dark horse favorite for many diners.
You can check out the full food and beverage menus here (just scroll down). The restaurant is open 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm Wednesday through Saturday.