In the past I have enjoyed the "chemical" aspects of some modern
chefs, yet I fear none compares to the likes of Chef HOMARU CANTU who
calls home MOTO (945 West Fulton Street-www.motorestaurant.com) in a
neighborhood just to the west of the loop that is basically deserted
in the evening and can be a bit scary. Again, I had the opera at
730pm, so I sat down at 5pm for what I thought would be a choice of a
10 or 20 course meal. They have eliminated this option and now only
serve a 15-course meal ($150) and this comes with an option of 6 wines
for $45 or 11 for $85. I took the former knowing I had to head to the
opera.
I did manage to finish most of the meal, but 2-1/4 hours is not really
enough, and that was my own first mistake. It was another cold night
and MOTO does not offer much warmth with large cold gray granite
tables, similar colored walls with some wood panels and each table
having only 2 water glasses on it when you are seated. Some of the men
have earplugs a la Secret Service, which I thought was funny. The
chairs are comfy velvety and in the front (choose the back if its cold
out as a draft comes in with vengeance as the door is opened) there
are huge high private booths. The music seemed to go from loud
mindless to soft to Middle Eastern to everything and really should
have been toned down a bit.
The menu is delivered in the form of a sheet of GARLIC BREAD with
Garlic Butter, Balsamic and a Roasted Garlic Clove in the bottom of
the bowl. The bread has all 15 courses printed on it (the bottom says
"our menus are baked fresh daily") and gets you off to a funny start
as the waiter says, "Did you enjoy your menu this evening?" A glass of
very bubbly and very yeasty J. LaSalle Premier Cru IMPERIAL PREFERENCE
Brut from Chigny Les Roses was a treat. All the wine is served in
Riedel, and everything is tasted by the sommelier or server as each
bottle is opened.
The server announces breakfast nest as SCRAMBLED EGGS & MUFFIN which I
adored. it was a scrambled eggs looking GAZPACHO of tomato, cucumber,
lemon and onion on one side and a "muffin" of Garlic Meringue with
Vegan Corn Butter on top. On the side was a "tater tot" which was
really a crunchy tempura style shrimp.
The key here is to fool the diner.
The 2nd wine was a Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc from J. SABON 2008 "Clos
du Mont Olivet" that I adored which was very soft with lots of fruit
and more minerality as it warmed up. GRUYERE & ONIONS was next which
was a bowl with a spoon of Caramelized Onions and a swath of Gruyere
Puree on top which Onion Soup was poured and a large shrimp toast like
standing Onion Chip. The soup needed to be hotter, but the dish was
quite nice.
LOADED FRIES was one of my favorites all evening and was really potato
puree with bacon, jalapeno, Wisconsin cheddar and sour cream on top of
which were some tiny fried shoestring potatoes. The server took the
votive candle that had been placed on the table with my menu and
drizzled the wax (really made of fat) over the dish. While it was
really just glorified mashed potatoes, it was the concept that was
fun.
Luis Plato, PREMIERA ESCOLHA 2000 from Beiras in Portugal was a new
red for me made from the Baga grape that was oh so smooth. I would buy
this vintage if available now!
SEARED BUFFALO HOT WINGS had a packet on the side which was explained
an edible paper with the spice from a hot wings dish that I could bite
as much of as I liked to add or remove spice. The dish itself was a
CAPON LEG CONFIT with slice of breast of capon over the top in a sauce
of CAMBRAZOLA (Camembert and Gorgonzola) Cheese with Celery Root Puree
and PEQUIN CHILI for spice. It was rich and divine and a big hit with
me. I laughed as I read the patent on the spice paper and munched it a
little with some of the capon.
CO2 PINEAPPLE & JERK was the least exciting dish all night with a ring
of Carbonated Pineapple in the bottom of a narrow bowl (making it very
hard to cut) and a small plastic testtube like thingie filled with a
liquified jerk chicken with ginger and cardamom. The broth was
interesting and seemed to be ebst poured over the pineapple, and oddly
the red wine went very well with this.
The next wine was a SOTER NORTH VALLEY Pinot Noir 2007 from the
Willamette Valley in Oregon that was also very smooth with a nice
lasting finish for a young Pinot.
My top favorite dish was next for presentation as well as taste-CUBAN
Cigar was a smoked pork in red pepper and habanero coulis wrapped in
collard green complete with edible Cohiba Cigar wrapping. It was
served on a small metal ashtray and in the tray was a black & white
crushed sesame powder with soffrito that made the cigar look like it
had burned down a bit. I picked up the "cigar" and dipped it in the
ash and have to admit, it was the first and only cigar that has
entered my mouth and I LOVED IT.
RUEBEN Lasagna was made with corned beef in between slices of
Sauerkraut "pasta" with caraway, Swiss cheese melted on top and a dill
pollen chip (like a pickle flavor) on the side.
SHABUccino was a slice of prime rib (almost tartare) with Edamame,
truffled potato and a compressed white truffle powder cube (looking
like a sugar cube) and a mushroom beef broth. A small pitcher of white
foam on the side completed the "cappuccino" effect. I missed one
"fermented" ingredient somewhere, but the dish seemed to be a bit flat
for me.
The next red wine was a TRUCHARD Napa ZIN 2005 from a winemaker I
have personally known and loved for years. This was the perfect wine
with the MEXICAN CANNOLI, another attempt at fooling us into believing
this was dessert. The filling was chili braised duck leg wrapped in a
crunchy corn tortilla and served on a mole sauce with roasted pumpkin
seeds, sour cream and a fairly mild crushed jalapeno powder. By this
time I was getting tired of the repeated powders, even though they
were tasty. The crunchy "cannoli" was lots of fun and truly delicious
though, as was the sauce.
RAINBOW SPRINKLES was another hard to guess ahead dish. Compromised of
Lentils, a Foie Gras Mousse Cupcake and pistachio crunch topping on
the cupcake, a slice of seared Foie Gras and a Blackberry-Sherry
Vinegar Gastrique it was really two separate items served on a wild
two tier dish that is simply impossible to explain. The cupcake was
difficult to eat as it was mousse in a cupcake wrapper (that I was
warned is NOT edible). I should have just picked up the wrapper and
eaten it rather than attempt with the fork. The foie gras itself was
superb.
ANTS on a LOG, another truly odd choice of names was two small
chocolate-looking ants (about 1 inch long each) made from frozen
raisin puree (like sorbet) sitting on a pale greenish log which itself
was frozen grape and celery sorbet. It was meant to be a palate
cleanser and was quite refreshing, but a bit too large of a portion.
The three desserts all arrived together and were listed on the menu
as:
PUMPKIN PIE
MILK CHOCOLATE FORMS
&
BANANA SPLIT.
What came was actually four items all beautifully arranged and
displayed.
The Pumpkin Pie was a small cake with liquid caramel center, graham
cracker and pistachio powder.
The forms were really a mousse with Chai Tea Ice Cream, Orange Cream
and Malted Milk Powder. The Split was the most adorable of the
desserts and looked like a mini-cheeseburger. Almond Peanut Butter
Macaroon made up the bun and inside was a burger looking Chocolate &
Banana concoction with Maraschino Cherry "ketchup" and a piece of real
lettuce for crunch. It was quite tasty and again a great "trick."
The extra surprise dessert was their version of SMORES, which I was
told to eat in one bite. It was a Chocolate mini-bomb with dehydrated
Marshmallow and a small wick protruding which the server lit and let
burn down to the chocolate. Of course, it did not explode, well, not
at least until I put the whole thing in my mouth and the liquid center
erupted in my mouth for what had to be one of the most fun grand
finales to dinner. A glass of Sutton Cellars VINO GENEROSO PAGAN
VINEYARD, Russian River Valley 2006 Fortified Zinfandel was a bit too
strong (port like) for the flavorful desserts. I think a Monsanto
might have been more appropriate.
Would I go back to MOTO? Probably not, but not because it was not a
wonderful dining experience; the reason would be there are so many
wonderful places to eat in Chicago, I would prefer to try them first,
then maybe return to Moto.
ALAN back home
