I think you have to taste it to really understand the difference (this is one of the things I love about my local HBS). Maris Otter definitely has a very distinct fresh baked bread quality to it. There's another 2-row that I've tasted that has more of a "cracker" quality to it (like a water cracker). I think it's important for homebrewers to taste the different malts before brewing with them, to get an idea of their character. When brewing something like a Belgian pale or tripel, where you are really looking for the yeast character to shine, you choose less "obvious" malts, etc.
