Fuel up: New London's Octane Cafe is a winner

July 05, 2017 12:00 am • Last Updated: July 07, 2017 12:10 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

Truffled Parmesan Tater Tots with Spiced Honey Jack-Tomato Ketchup (Rick Koster/TheDay)

New London's Octane Cafe is a winner

We can probably all agree that the stretch of Bank Street from Tilley Avenue to State Street might be regarded as New London's prime entertainment strip — a mostly intriguing amalgam of restaurants, bars, shops and galleries. Southeastern Connecticut goes French Quarter, so to speak. Part of the appeal of such cultural attractions is the cross-pollination of all sorts of demographics and citizenry, and the ability for folks to relax on a balcony, in a courtyard or at an outdoor patio to eat and drink and take it all in.

The Octane Cafe, at the corner of Bank and Tilley right across from the fire station, has the perfect layout for this sort of experience. Located in the building that used to be Frank's, Octane has a main dining room/lounge area with those open roll-up windows looking out onto Tilley, a rear billiards room, and also a garden patio at the corner with a separate, L-shaped open bar, tables, a tall shade tree, draping Christmas lights, a small entertainment stage for frequent live music performances, and wrought-iron fencing. Either is ideal for settling in and spending a little time, with an unending parade of intriguing citizenry passing by. It's an experience made all the more appealing by friendly service and a damned fine menu.

The first thing to do is memorize the daily $5 Happy Hour menu, which is in play from 4 to 7 p.m. Repeat: all items are $5 and range from Polynesian pulled pork sliders and mozzarella sticks with warm marinara to a pair of chili cheese dogs and New England clam chowder. On a recent Sunday on the Octane patio, surrounded by an amiable and diverse set of customers, we feasted exclusively from this menu — and did so in leisurely fashion with no impatience whatsoever from our waitress.

What we tried from the HH offerings:

High Octane nachos — Pico de gallo, smoked pepper jack cheese, black olives, scallions and a Cajun cream/avocado coulis. The host chips were crisp and supportive of the mounds of fresh ingredients, and the coulis elevated this beyond the standard bar-issue nachos.

Octane house salad — Again, above and beyond the norm. Bite-sized greatness from a refreshing mix of cukes, asparagus, green and red pepper, radishes, black olives, organic baby field greens, croutons and a sumptuous, honey-infused Thai basil vinaigrette.

Chicken tenders with bourbon ketchup — Four good-sized slabs of moist, boneless breast meat in a flavorful crunchy batter. Good stuff, though the ketchup didn't seem to have any great bourbon presence.

Truffled Parmesan tater tots — It's probably impossible to get bad tater tots. They are acknowledged by religious leaders across the globe, after all, as "God's perfect food, whichever God you're talking about." The Octane tots are light, with a delicate potato mixture at the core, a playfully battered exterior, and the delicate truffle tease and shaved cheese add a fresh and appreciated component.

There's plenty to like on the lunch and dinner menus, as well. For your noontime pleasure, there are plenty of soup, salad and "snackitizer" possibilities, along with sandwiches, wings and quesadillas and calamari. I tried a South Beach Cuban ($12), which came with a mound of delectably seasoned fries. A fine Cuban relies on the perfect balance between slightly sweet lean ham and the more toothsome roasted pork presence. Check. The shaved pickles and Gruyere cheese add a piquant tang, and Octane gives it all a rich bonus jolt with a "Miami Mojo" sauce as opposed to the normal yellow mustard. It comes pressed in a Panini. It was pretty great, although, for reasons I couldn't figure out, one small corner of the top of the Panini bread was soggy, as though maybe water was spilled on it. Who knows? It was clearly an accident and not a big deal.

For dinner, we were delighted by an evening special of cheese ravioli ($16). Perfect pillows of pasta were filled with ricotta and served in a wonderful sauce of white wine, butter and roasted garlic. Plus, big shavings of Parmesan, grape tomatoes, bites of fresh asparagus and — what?! — grilled celery. The latter was sensational and absorbed the flavors of the sauce in a way we'd not experienced before. Finally, there was a light dusting of a spice so delicate it was hard to identify — maybe nutmeg? A stunning touch, and my wife Eileen literally said, "This is maybe the best ravioli I've ever had."

Monstrously high praise, too, for a platter of Sesame Seed-Seared Ahi Tuna ($24). Four thick slices of beautiful fish arrayed with chilled baby bok choy and delicately rendered glass noodles, bamboo shoots, crisp water chestnuts and tart pickled radish. Sensational, but the triumvirate of separately pooled sauces: Mango, "lemon-ginger soy fire" and a sake-based Sambal Gastrique was a conceptual home-run, stunningly pulled off. To mix or separately explore these distinct sauces with each bite was truly amazing.

There's a nice variety of beers on tap — I particularly recommend the Wolf Pup session IPA from LA's Golden Road brewery — and a full range of wines and cocktails. They actually ran out of Chardonnay on our Sunday afternoon visit, but not necessarily because of us. Also, Octane has an intriguing sushi menu, and we'll try that next time.