Temporis

 

I like tasting menus.  They give you the opportunity to try a lot of different flavors and give you an opportunity to see what the chef can do.  There are a lot of restaurants in Chicago that do Tasting Menus and it would be great to be able to try all of them.  Even if that were to happen, there would always be new places opening, so it's a moving target, but I do what I can when I can.  I visited a place recently that is one of the lesser known places, Temporis, though still very good in it's own right.  Located on a side street in Westtown, it has an unobtrusive storefront as do many other Tasting Menu places.  The door opens into a slight passageway that leads to the host station and coat check.  I checked my bag and was seated at the front of the dining room.  The room was carpeted and there was no bar.  The room was very modern and the twisting lines on the wall reminded me of a circuit diagram.  The tables reminded me of conference room desks, with a spot in the middle of the table that looked like it was a place, to plug in a laptop.  I found shortly after I was seated that the center area was for an edible centerpiece which was placed in my table shortly after I was seated.  It contained 5 day Mustard, Radish, and Cabbage Greens that were grown in house, and while I was told that I was free to sample the centerpiece, it would be used in a later course, so be sure to save enough to be used.  I had seen something like this in a couple of other places, so I was both interested and excited.

 

There were two wine lists, a standard list and a reserve list, as well as bottles and cocktails.  I decided to go with the standard list, because while I do like wine, I don't think I have the knowledge to truly appreciate the reserve list.  I would find out about this later.  We started out with bubbles, a brut Champagne, from Reims, that was paired with the Amuse Bouche.  The Amuse Bouche was interesting.  It was a Savory Cheese-Filled Doughnut wrapped in Mangalica Ham (the Spanish version of Prosciutto) with Dill and Kombu.  It was very good.   I liked it a lot and it paired well with the Champagne which, with the bubbles, opened up the taste buds and created a sharper flavor.

 

The first official course was a favorite, but pasta is easy to be a favorite.  It was a Lobster Cappellini with Beech Mushrooms, Champagne Foam, Gooseberries, and augmented with 5 grams of Osetra Caviar.  The wine was a 2017 Eladio Pineiro, Envidiacocchina Tete de Cuvee, Rias Baixas, Albarino.  Other than it being an Spanish white and that it was pretty dry and good, I couldn't say a lot about it.  The Cappellini on the other hand was very savory, had plenty of lobster, and the caviar gave it a briny pop.

 

 

When the next course came out, it initially reminded me of a terrarium.  It was served in a glass dish with what looked like mulch and flowers.  It was obviously not this, but that's what it reminded me of.  When a light colored soy sauce was added, that dispelled any idea that it was a terrarium.  It was a Scallop with Fermented Pineapple and XO Sauce with New Soy Sauce added upon presentation.  The flavors were sharp and tart and the soy sauce, while tasting like soy sauce, also had a brightness to it.  The wine was a 2014 Domaine Thillardon, Chenas Les Biemonts, Cru Beaujolais, Gamay.  It was a savory red and went very well with the course.

As I was finishing the Beaujolais, the wine server poured me a taste of the third wine on the reserve list, a Tempranillo that was just incredible.  It became paired with my next course, a Portobello Omelette with Rye and Sunchoke, that was topped tableside with a healthy amount of Black Truffles.  The omelette was very tender and delicate.  The portobello and the truffle gave the dish a savory funk, which when paired with the Tempranillo, was just incredible.

 

 

 

After the omelette, a server came out and brought what looked like surgical tools.  They weren't explained and my wine server came to bring me out my next wines.  I say wines because in our conversations, I apparently impressed her, so she again brought me a (large) sample from the Reserve list.  She poured me a 2016 Clos Figueras, Font se la Figuera, Priorat, Grinache & Carignan and a Rioja from the Reserve list (I don't have the details from the Reserve Wines other than type, because I didn't have the list).  I will say that the Reserve wines were definitely a step above the standard wines, though the standard wines were very good.  My next course was then brought out and I found out what the instruments were for.  I was served a Rabbit Meatloaf with House Miso, Blue Cheese, Chasseur Sauce (a base demi-glace sauce that often uses mushrooms and shallots), and Pickled Corn.  The server than took the instruments then began trimming the centerpiece (that I had sampled and enjoyed several times), to top the meatloaf with.  The course was very savory and with the blue cheese and pickled corn, kind of funky, but the centerpiece a freshness was added.

 

Our next course was my favorite course.  In fact, it may be one of my favorite courses of all time.  It was simple and referenced comfort food, hitting all of the right notes.  At it's essence, it was Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, but the Toast was Sourdough, the Cheese was Comte, in the bowl was Tomato Sorbet, Balsamic, and Thai Basil, into which was added a Fermented Tomato Soup.  It was incredible and almost brought me to tears.  I don't know if I would eat this for the rest of my life, but if this was the only thing on the menu when I went somewhere, I would happily eat it.

My last savory course was an A5 Wagyu.  A5 is the highest grade of Wagyu and this was like butter.  It was served with White Asparagus, Red Wine, and Nasturtium.  It was savory and rich, but texturally, it was very light and was very good.

After the last entree, as in many multi-course meals, there was a palate cleanser/pre-dessert.  I was served a Meyer Lemon Sorbet, with Poppy Seed, Gin, and a small Buckwheat Pancake on top.  It was light, bright, tart, and very much did it's job as a palate cleanser.

The first dessert was actually kind of surprising because it generally plays on the savory side of the menu.  The course was primarily Foie Gras with Bacon.  It was presented as a Foie Gras Waffle. Foie Gras and Bacon Sorbet, Maple Syrup. and Lemon Balm.  It was very much like breakfast with the bacon and maple syrup flavors.  It was sweet and rich with an interesting savory twist and I did like it.  The final wine pairing was a sweet white from the Loire Valley, a 2011 Domaine Baumard, Coteaux du Layon, Clos de Ste. Catherine, Loire, Chenin Blanc.

 

Our final course celebrated Termporis' birthday.  They had been open for 3 years, so they presented us with a "Birthday Cake".  Presented under glass with a lit candle, it was allowed to build up smoke to infuse a smoke flavor.  The Birthday Cake had many tropical flavors like Coconut, Mango, Pomegrate, and Passionfruit with a Coconut Granita and Passionfruit Creme Anglais,  There were lots of flavors and it was a great finish to a great dinner.  There were a few courses like the grilled cheese that will live in my memory, and I would be happy to return.