That Raccoon roadkill dish from the first LTH-Moto dinner brings back such fond memories of Omar and of LTH in the early years (and of Cathy, of course). That dinner was in the golden days of "molecular" cuisine, and Omar was in his prime, figuring out something new and different and exciting. Even his culinary failures (and I am not talking about the business projects that didn't work out) were something special. He was a warm and outgoing man, who genuinely seemed in love with his work and his customers. More than the deaths of Charlie Trotter or Jean Blanchet, Omar's death hit me hard.

If LTH should even have a Hall-of-Fame, Cantu and Moto should be early inductees.

GAF wrote:If LTH should even have a Hall-of-Fame, Cantu and Moto should be early inductees.

^^

stevez wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I met Homaro “Omar” Cantu in 2004, a few months after he’d opened Moto, when I went there to dinner with some sixteen or so friends. One of those friends, Catherine Lambrecht, brought a container of raccoon meat. Chef Cantu, prankster that he was, got a hold of the meat, minced it with spices (there was juniper in there, and perhaps garlic) and arranged it on a plate that had a dotted yellow line running down the center and a few clusters of unidentifiable though edible debris scattered about. On the mound of raccoon meat, Cantu positioned a picture of a raccoon that he’d downloaded and printed on edible paper with edible ink. It was a roadkill tableau that a few weeks later inspired a totally bullshit Time magazine article about an “avid hunter” who brought in the freshly killed raccoon and challenged Cantu to prepare it. It was one of the most ingenious, entertaining and hilarious meals I’d ever been served, and it goes to show that even Time magazine could be taken in by Cantu’s antics.

I have very fond memories of that meal as well. Here's a photo from my files of the aforementioned dish.

Moto Racoon Roadkill

I learned a few years ago, this raccoon dinner and the related publicity came at the perfect moment. Moto was on the edge of shuttering when this raccoon dinner and related publicity allowed it to continue on.

A few times I have recounted the unexpected indirect mention in Time magazine. It was a good story to begin with, then the myth took over and made it better!

That evening is still one of my favorite dinners of my life.

Regards,

Condolences to all of Omar's family, friends and fans. i was so upset by this news that it took me this long to post something here regarding this awful tragedy. i also need to thank pairs4life for the hugs and words of wisdom as i cried like a baby at work the day after

i read that NYT article and saw the question "how often do you want to eat that food?" i wanted to eat there as much as i could! my first visit to Moto happened shortly after it opened. the staff wore black lab coats back then,and i was slightly afraid of what i would be eating. after that first experience, i only wanted to eat there. the amount of fun and weirdness spoke volumes to me and i quickly became a huge fan of Omar. i made donut pancakes and pizza soup at home. my husband and I spent our birthdays and anniversaries there. one night after dinner we hung outside while he and Ben played with their new flamethrower. we became casual friends and got to go to some special in house events there, and at Otom and Ing. when my dad was diagnosed with cancer Omar gave me armfuls of Mberry to help with aftermath of his treatment. he was very good to us, generous and kind. i was, and remain a huge fan, and will miss seeing him at my next Moto visit.

my favorite Moto visit wasn't actually dinner, but one year on my birthday i was invited to come back and have a "chef for a day" experience. like Cathy, i had to sign a NDA, but got to spend the day in the Moto kitchen. my husband and i showed up there in our own chef coats. Omar said we were the first people to ever do that, and proceeded to crack jokes, but more importantly, make the day fun and educational for us! we loved every minute, but when dinner service started, stuff got real! it was a silly, positive yet productive work environment, but surely the stress is inevitable. we it made us really question our day to day careers. seeing how hard they work to perfect their craft was an eye opening experience. much respect to all of you in this line of work, it's tough stuff. (sorry y'all, i tried not to ramble on, but failed!)

Very good read.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/a ... -the-world

spinynorman99 wrote:Very good read.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/a ... -the-world

VERY.

Remarkable life and legacy. So sorry to have lost him.

Wanted to add this well written piece in The Guardian....

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/a ... -the-world

Thank you for sharing this fascinating article about a complicated, remarkable chef. He was not afraid to serve bad food which meant he often served brilliant food unlike anything else. And it was nice to see a picture of the iconic Roadkill dish, even without the Cathy2-LTH backstory.

Not mentioned in the article, but it seems likely to me that inspiration for the road kill dish described in the beginning can be at least partly, if not entirely, attributed to Cathy2, who, on one LTH outing, presented Cantu with some raccoon meat, which he later brought out plated to look like road kill.

Absolutely fascinating; excellent appreciation and terribly sad reminder of how much we have lost.

Thanks for a great read