Claudia Pop-Up

 

I like to keep track of underground dining in Chicago even if there are a few that I will probably never go to (for whatever reason).  I had first heard about Claudia, an underground pop-up run by Chef Trevor Teich and open only on weekends and doing a fine dining menu, a couple of years ago and while I was very interested, I couldn't bring things together for a night out there.  When I heard that they would be closing and that former Moto Chef Richie Farina would be a guest chef for their last dinners, I said that I had to make this happen.  As it was, I made it to Claudia's last dinner.  I have a special spot in my heart for Moto.  It was the first fine dining restaurant that I went to and they were full on into Molecular Gastronomy, a combination of science and art.  Richie was one of the chefs when I first went, but had risen to Executive Chef by the second time I came.  After he left, he has kind of flown under the radar, so I was interested to see what he would do.  Claudia was located on the second floor of a building in the West Loop, an area that used to be the warehouse district for the local food companies.  The building looked like it had formerly been a warehouse, but had been converted to offices.  Our dining area was small and stark and had two 8 seat picnic tables.  There was a table for the drinks that people brought and two doors, to the room.  The first door was the entrance, but the second led out into a large ballroom area that separated the dining room from the large industrial kitchen.  The diners could wait in the ballroom and socialize with each other and the chefs until dinner was ready to be served.  When dinner was announced, we were told that we could sit wherever we wanted at either picnic table.  I was by myself, so I sat at a corner to give other diners who were dining with other people the ability to dine together.  I sat across from a brother and sister who were both involved in the tech industry and a young man, his female friend, and aunt.  The people that I was around were very interested in technology and science, so the conversations were very interesting.

When we were seated, our first course came out and it looked for all the world like Chicharrones served on a paper towel.  While similar, the "chicharrones" were actually Flash-Fried Beef Tendons.  The texture was similar, very light and crunchy, but the flavor was a little more savory.  The paper towel was also an illusion.  While it looked like a paper towel, it was actually a ceramic plate.  It was very cool and set a great stage for a night of experimentation.

While the Beef Tendons were good, they weren't an official course and were more an Amuse Bouche.  Our first course was about lamb.  It started with Lamb Loin Tartare and accompanied it with Lamb Fat Aioli, Red Carrots, Onion Strings, and as with most tartares, a raw egg.  I like Steak Tartare, this had a more funky and gamy flavor than does beef as might be expected from a dish using a lot of lamb. 

The next course was apparently a classic of Chef Trevor's and was frequently on the menu.  Called Snails in the Woods, it was very much a visual experience.  The plate with the dish was presented first and then water was poured into a vase on the table.  The vase apparently had dry ice because when the water was poured into it, steam poured out to set the atmosphere for the dish.  The dish itself consisted of Tempura Fried Snails, Black Truffle "Dirt", and Herbs.  With the steam (fog), the leafy herbs, and the dirt, the illusion was complete.  The snails were very good.  The tempura crust provided a light crunch to the regular chewy texture of snails.  The herbs and dirt added some nice flavor to the snails.  The dirt tasted of truffles (of course), but it didn't have the overwhelming flavor of some truffle flavored dishes.

Our next course was called Coconut Squid and seemed to be an unusual combination, especially that was what the course almost completely consisted of.  It was a multi-layer course starting on the bottom with Coconut Custard, topped with Squid Ink Marinated Squid.  On top of this was Deep Fried Young Coconut.  This was all seasoned with Togarashi and Nuac Mon Kombu (a Fish Sauce Braised Seaweed).  The dish was a mixture of flavors and textures from soft and chewy to crunchy.  The squid ink marinade did little to the squid other than turn it black.  While all of the individual components were good on their own, if you could get a bite with everything, it was the best, with a wealth of flavors and textures.  I have to think that this was one of Richie's dishes, because I noticed that there is something similar in the Moto Cookbook.

The next course was very pretty and delectable as first presented even in its simplicity.  It started with a couple of Butter Poached Scallops with Cuttlefish, Fennel, and Confited Orange.  To this was added a Red Wine and Scallop Consomme.  The scallops were incredibly tender and flavorful.  The cuttlefish added some texture, the fennel - some flavor, and the confited orange concentrated the orange flavor.  The consomme, was very light, but added flavor to the dish and was all pretty good.

The next course is a classic flavor combination, but the dish was very much an expression of art and science.  It was Beef and Cabbage which you would expect to be simply brown and green which were there, but there were a variety of shades of red and green striped on the plate (from cabbage juice at different pH levels).  The dish consisted of an incredibly tender Red Wine Braised Short Rib and Bacon Braised Cabbage, with the previously mentioned Cabbage Juice, Leek Ash, and Sarsparilla Beef Glaze.  It was rich, tender, savory, and almost as much fun to look at as it was to eat. 

Our last savory course that reminded me somewhat of a Deconstructed Cubano Sandwich.  It was made with a Quick Cured Pork Belly, Pork Loin, Corn Bread, Rye, Carrots, and Mustard.  I will grant that a Cubano has two types of pork, Swiss cheese, Mustard, and Pickles, on Grilled Bread, and this dish replaced cheese with carrots, but the flavors still really reminded me of a Cubano.  It was simple, very flavorful, and very good.

I said that the Pork Belly was our last savory course.  That was sort of true.  Our next course was dessert which was sweet as a dessert should be, but it was also very savory.  It was a Rice Cake with Kombu (seaweed) and Amazake (fermented rice) Ice Cream.  If any dish could be considered a fail, this would be one.  It was mostly ice cream in a flavor I didn't care for.  The rice cake and kombu did provide (savory) flavor, but it added to something that I didn't really care for in the first place.

The first dessert was essentially a palate cleanser, the second dessert was actually fun to eat.  While the menu labeled it Chocolate, it could have just as easily been called Coffee.  It started with Chocolate Gelato, continued with Coffee Espuma (culinary foam, this was thick enough almost to be called a mousse), and Caramel.  It was really good and actually kind of reminded me of a Caramel Macchiato turned into a dessert.

 

Our final dessert was a course in two parts and I have to think that each chef made one part.  Called Embers & Ash, We were first presented with Embers:  Flaxseed Caramels, on individual spoons for each diner, and presented on a burning log.  It was supposed to evoke the image of eating sweets around a campfire.  After Embers come Ash and that is what the course very much looked like, ash.  We were presented a plate of powders consisting of Smoked Creme Anglaise, Dark Chocolate Powder, and Brown Butter.  Before we were allowed to dig in though, Chef Richie came around and dug chunks of Liquid Nitrogen Frozen Chocolate Cake which "smoked" and was meant to look like smoking coal.  When we ate these pieces, because they had been so cold, we would blow a lot of steam out of our noses and mouths.  It was very cool, a lot of fun, tasted good, and was a great ending to a fine dinner.

When dinner was finished, the chefs were in the ballroom to talk, sign menus, and take pictures.  I did all three.  I really enjoyed my dinner, I just I wish I had gone sooner.    

   

Alinea

I first heard about Alinea about 9 years ago when I was out at a volunteer event.  I happened to meet a girl who was a waitress at this new restaurant that had gotten a huge amount of preopening buzz and had just opened.   I had seen a little about it but I really wasn't familiar.  The girl said that the chef had come from a place called Trio in Evanston which I had heard of, and had heard very good things.  I had not gone there but it was on my short list.  I did eventually make it to Trio, but by the that time, there was a different chef.  It was still very good but it wasn't the chef that opened Alinea.  After talking, I decided to investigate and discovered that this was a very high end restaurant that served degustation menus featuring what became known as Molecular Gastronomy.  Coming here was going to be an event that had to be planned for.  Due to circumstances, it took me 9 years to eventually get here.  It could have been sooner but they initiated a ticketing system that made it very difficult for an odd numbered party to go (You have to buy tickets for all seats at a particular table).  I find it difficult to ask a friend to spend the amount of money necessary to go to a restaurant like this so it was difficult to make a reservation/buy tickets.  Eventually though, a friend asked me if I would be interested in going and I said of course.  The restaurant is located in a modern looking charcoal colored 2-flat in Lincoln Park.  There is no sign, but there was a guy standing outside in front of the enormous door.  He opened the door and I entered into a hallway with dim purple lighting that tapered in width as you walked into the building.  I walked back and didn't see anything so I was a little confused until an automatic sliding double door opened in one wall.  I walked through to a host's station where I was greeted.  I noticed the kitchen to my right (further into the building), a staircase in front of me, and a dining room to my right.  As I was telling them who I was, my dining partner came out of a waiting area and we were seated in the small, ground floor dining room which contained 5 two tops.  There are also three dining rooms upstairs for a total of about 60 seats.  We were seated at a corner which was great because it gave me a great view of the room and allowed me to see the action without turning my head.  I was seated against the wall at a dark banquette that had a yellow throw pillow.  Our table was dark, as were the other tables, there was a grey carpet on the floor and the walls seemed to be grey as well with several small modern art paintings for decoration.  The lighting was hidden in the walls and seemed a bit dim, but was sufficient, for the most part, for photography without a flash.  Above all of the tables was a Rhubarb Stem.  It seemed a little odd, but we assumed there was a point to it and that it would come into play later in the evening.  We started out with some water and some Rose' Champagne before our first course came out.  We were presented with a couple of what looked like a couple of goblets with the stem mostly removed.  It would roll on its base if the side was pushed.  Inside was a light, tart, and savory treat.  It consisted of Banana Puree on the bottom which was topped with some Arctic Char Roe, Ginger, and ultimately with Passionfruit Foam.  It was fresh, flavorful, and a great start.

The next course came out in large covered crocks that looked vaguely like coral and had steam coming out of them.  When the server removed the covers, we saw a lot more steam with a large scallop shell in the center of the crock.  When we opened the scallop shell, we were supposed to see that Ceviche had been prepared inside the shell.  There was so much steam in my crock though, that it was difficult to see anything until I blew it away.  The steam was from some dry ice and water under the seaweed that the scallop shell was resting on.  When I finally was able to see it though, it was an attractive visual.  There was Roe, Seaweed, Scallop, a fish of some sort, and Red Onion that I could identify.  The menu that we received at the end of the meal featured Citrus Aroma which came from the Lemon Juice in which the ceviche was prepared, and Thirteen Textures.  With the wide variety of ingredients, there were a variety of textures, but I didn't stop to count them.  I did like the intense sour flavor and the variety of ingredients used, which provided the different textures, though.

The next course visually was a relatively standard fine dining presentation although there were some surprises.  The dish featured Lobster which was fresh and perfectly cooked.  The lobster was set in Carrot Puree on opposite sides of the plate.  Around the plate, were various other accompaniments for the lobster.  At the top of the plate there was a small pile of what looked like roe but what was actually Grapefruit.  Also on the plate was Melon, Cauliflower, Earl Grey Tea, and Coconut, and in the center of the plate was a Lobster Puree.  This was very good and was a lot of fun trying the various accompaniments.

At this point, they brought out a piece of slate with some logs stacked for burning, set it in the middle of our table, and lit it.

They then brought out our next course which seemed to have nothing to do with the fire.  It was an Asian-Inspired Salad with Ebi (shrimp), Celtuce (Stem Lettuce), Sea Beans, Grapes, Wasabi, Carmalized Miso, and Yuzu.  It was a small dish, but it was very flavorful with flavors of brine, shrimp, and Wasabi, with a little sweetness from the Yuzu and Grapes.  It also had a lot of fresh crunch.

After this dish, the server came and put the fire out and removed it to a serving tray he set beside the table.  He then opened a couple of logs, which turned out to contain a slice of very marbled Wagyu Beef  and a Parsnip.  These were presented on a charred log which was used as a plate which also had a Black Trumpet Mushroom covering a Parsnip Puree, and a Kombu (Edible Kelp) Puree.  This was very savory from the beef, the mushroom, and the kelp, with the parsnip providing a moderating element.  The Wagyu was very tender and the parsnip root was very crunchy.  It was a very creative and surprising dish that was also very good.

Our next dish was a very simple palate cleanser.  Frequently, I have seen sorbets used as palate cleansers because they are simple and the tartness does the job.  This dish, while not a sorbet, did fall into the simple and tart category.  It was served in a clear glass dish and consisted of Lily Bulbs, Rambutan (an Asian fruit similar to Lychee), and a Distillation of Caviar Lime (Finger Lime cells distilled).  Palate cleansers aren't meant to be much abut I liked the sweetness and the tart of this and it would have been nice to have more.

 At this point, the hanging Rhubarb came into play.  We were brought out a very cool glass bowl containing a salad containing Celery Branches, Celery Root, and a coating of Licorice along one side of the dish.  The fresh Rhubarb was sliced over the salad.  It was light and refreshing with bitterness from the celery and licorice which was moderated by the tartness of the rhubarb.

 After the palate cleanser and the salad, it could be thought that we were starting our meal over again.  This course was an entree as would be expected, but it definitely looked like we were taking a step down into Chinese Takeout.  I like Chinese Takeout and think there is a time and a place for it, but this was obviously a joke.  While we were presented with a Chinese Takeout Container, and the food that was contained inside was in an Asian Style, it very definitely was not a step down.  The container held Sweetbreads, with Orange, Ginkgo Nut, Mustard, and Cilantro and we ate it with Chopsticks that were actually Cinnamon Sticks that were lit on one end to imbue the dish with a cinnamon aroma.

We kind of stayed on an Asian theme with the next dish but it also kind of had a woodsy, natural theme to it.  We were served a Wood Ear Mushroom with Allium, a strip of Pig Ear, Parmesan Cheese, and Black Garlic.  It was chewy, savory, and very good, and one of those dishes it would have been nice to have a full plate of.

 The next dish was interactive again and the most popular dish in the restaurants history.  It has been on the menu from the beginning or if it leaves the menu, it quickly returns.  It's a small dish in a small round bowl called Hot Potato, Cold Potato.  It consists of a Cold Potato soup in the dish, over which hangs a slice of Black Truffle, a Hot Potato, a Chive, a small cube of Butter, and a slice of Parmesan Cheese which are skewered by a pin that runs through a hole at the edge of the dish.  The trick is the pull the pin, causing everything to fall into the soup, and then quickly pour it into your mouth so you can quickly experience the temperature and textural differences.  It was a lot of fun to eat and it tasted very good too.

 With the next dish, we were given very little explanation as to what everything was but that was part of the surprise.  The main part of the dish was Duck which was served 5 ways: Confited, Pulled, Roasted, and Pate which were served with a Duck Gravy, and a Duck Liver Mousse on a Cracker.  In the center of the table was placed a platter with 60 accompaniments.  Our instruction was to when we took a piece of duck (slice it in two or three pieces), take an entire accompaniment to eat with it.  That way each of our experiences would be individual.  We were not told what was on the platter, it was our job to figure that out ourselves if we desired to know what it was other than whether it tasted good or not.  Some items like the Pecan, the Fried Onion, and the Olive were fairly easy to figure out visually, and some were pretty easy to figure out by taste like the Pea Puree, the Apricot, and the Plum, but it was a lot of fun picking and choosing.  I ran out of duck before I ran out of items to to taste, but that didn't stop my tasting and we did finish everything that was on the platter.

The duck was the last of our savory dishes and we then began with desserts.  We started with a Pistachio Dessert which started with Pistachio Gelato and Pistachios, and continued with a Strawberry Marshmallow, a Black Walnut Gellee, Mascarpone Cheese, and Lemon Curd.  It was bitter, sweet, sour, and tart, with a variety of textures.  It was very good and played back into the emphases of the variety of flavors and textures in each dish.

The second dessert reprised the idea of the interactivity of many of the dishes.  It was a pretty simple dish but it was also very interactive, tasty, and fun to eat.  We were each brought a balloon.  I was then told to remove my glasses because the balloons were a course that we would be eating.  We were told that the best way to eat it was to suck out the top and more or less let it collapse around your face as you are eating it.  The balloon and string were Sour Apple Taffy and were filled with helium.  The whimsical would use the helium to talk funny but that didn't happen with everyone.  I think that I commented that it would be fun trying to get it out of my moustache.  It wasn't that bad, but there was some picking.

 For the final course, they brought out a silicone mat that covered the table top.  Chef Grant Achatz, the Executive Chef and Partner at Alinea, then came out with a round frame and several bottles and dishes and built our dessert on the table which we were to eat off of the table.  The course was beautiful and contained Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Butterscotch, Meringue, Violet, Hazelnut, and Blueberry.  It also tasted very good and was fun to eat.

I am very glad that I went to Alinea.  It is very definitely a world-class restaurant.  The food was very good and was fun to eat, the space was clean and modern, and but for an irritation that was not completely there fault, the service was exemplary.  I can have a tendency to talk loudly when I get excited and I was told that I was disturbing another diner.  I did try to tone things down but I was told a second time.  This is not a church or a library it is a restaurant and a very good restaurant.  Because of this, people will get excited and might talk with an elevated volume.  I was not shouting, so telling me to tone down the volume was an irritation to me.  Other than that point, the service was fantastic, I liked my experience, and I would definitely recommend it to those people that might appreciate it.  

Graham Elliot

While Chef Graham Elliot (Bowles) is very well known and I had had food at his sandwich shop, Grahamwich (now closed), and at Lollapalooza, I had not been to his eponymous restaurant, graham elliot.  Starting with Charlie Trotter and then at Avenues, Graham Elliot became known for pushing the envelope with unusual flavor combinations and presentations.  He announced this year that he would be closing his eponymous restaurant to move to a smaller space and to reconcept.  As I had not been to this Michelin 2 Star restaurant, I decided I needed to get here before it closed.  While I had never been to the restaurant, I had been to the space.  It had been a nightclub before the restaurant, that I had been to several times and I could see the skeleton of the nightclub in the open space of the dining room.  The floor was hardwood and the walls and ceiling were black.  There was a large window that looked out onto the street and while there was some banquette seating which was white, most of the seating was with tables, also white, spread in groups throughout the room.  Because they were going to be closing soon, they reduced their menu to simply a single tasting menu.  Previous menus had had two tasting menus and an a la carte section.  That said, the menu was for a 15 course meal which was laid out similar to a periodic table of elements.  The course descriptions were also reduced simply to major ingredients so there was a bit of surprise and anticipation as to what actually would be coming out.  The first course, essentially an appetizer, was described simply as Popcorn.  What came out definitely did not look like popcorn.  What it was was Truffle Popcorn Gelato topped with a Chive and served with Cocoa Nibs.  The gelato was very smooth and had a strong truffle flavor with a roasted popcorn finish.  There were pieces of popcorn in the gelato to provide crunch.  This was not exceptionally sweet so the fact that it was paired with a chive and cocoa nibs (roasted and crushed cacao beans) made sense.  The cocoa nibs also added crunch.  Even though I am not a fan of popcorn, this was a good start.  It was whimsical and surprising and not too sweet.

While the first course was surprising, the next course pushed things even further.  It was called a Foielipop and the presentation was pretty cool.  It was a Birch Log with a Lollipop mounted in it.  The lollipop was actually a disc of Foie Gras rolled in Watermelon Pop Rocks.  You were instructed, to get the full effect, to eat the foielipop in one bite.  I like foie gras and I like Pop Rocks.  The combination was odd.  The foie gras was good.  It contributed the creamy and slightly minerally flavor that you would expect from duck liver.  The Pop Rocks brought the sweet watermelon flavor which I could see working in concert with foie gras without the Pop Rocks if it was a little less sweet.  The crackling though, kind of threw me.  I will not say that it was bad, but it was odd and it wasn't something that I might choose on it's own.

 The next course featured Prawns with Lime, Cilantro, and Avocado.  It was a complex dish if kind of a sparse looking plate.  The center of the plate had a prawn with fried kale and lime.  There was an Avocado Gelato with a Lime Puree at the front of the pate which was paired on the opposite side with a prawn mousse with kale.  On either side, was an avocado puree with a chip that brought to mind Guacamole.  While there was a lot of variety and combinations, they all played well together and were good pairings.

From the appetizers, the dinner progressed to salad, and while it didn't really look like a salad, that's what it was.  The course was described as Anchovy with Brioche, Romaine, and Parmesan.  These are key ingredients in a caesar salad and while it didn't really look like a caesar salad, it did taste like one.  The dish started with a Romaine Heart that was wrapped with an Anchovy.  This was paired with a smear of a romaine puree with brioche croutons, pepper, and Parmesan Cheese.  It was a very good course that captured what a good caesar salad is supposed to be.

The next course was actually a bit more straight forward and looked like what it was supposed to.  It was described as Kobe with Spinach, Bearnaise, and Potato.  It was a Beef Carpaccio with Bearnaise Sauce, Spinach Leaves, and Potato Chips.  It was a simple dish that did everything very well.  The carpaccio was tender and flavorful, the spinach and potatoes added some crunch, and the bearnaise added a buttery richness.

From salad, we went to the soup.  The prime ingredients in the soup course was Sunchoke with Ham, Sage, and Dill.  I had had a Sunchoke before and I knew that is was a vegetable of some type but I didn't know exactly what it was.  It turns out that it's the root of a certain type of sunflower and is related to an artichoke.  It has the texture of a potato but is slightly sour and looks like a ginger root.  A bowl was brought out containing a sunchoke a ham marshmallow with Fried Sage and Dill.  To this was added a Sunchoke Puree, it was all very flavorful.  It was like a sourish potato with a light ham flavor from the marshmallow that dissolved when the liquid hit it.  The thyme and dill added flavor and a little crunch.

 After the appetizer, salad, and soup, came a palate cleanser before the entrees.  It was a Pumpkin Sorbet flavored with Cloves, with Pumpkin Brittle, and a Kale Chip.  It was simple, flavorful, and cleansed the palate as it was supposed to. 

 Before I went to the restaurant, a friend told me that I had to try the sweetbreads.  As I was having a Chef's  Menu (and there was no a la carte menu), I had no choice in the matter.  Sweetbreads, however, were the first of the entrees.  The menu describes the course as Sweetbreads with Cranberry, Salsify, and Chestnut.  The Sweetbreads were tempuraed and served with Salsify, Crushed and Roasted Chestnuts, Cranberries, Baby Greens, and a Fish Sauce.  The tempura was light and crisp over some very tender sweetbreads.  The the salsify added some crispness, the fish sauce was savory, and the cranberry added a tart finish.

The normal progression in entrees is offal, fish, fowl, pork, and beef and while the next course did follow that progression, it was a bit surprising because it was a twist on something that you might expect for breakfast, lox and bagels.  The menu described the course as Salmon with Caper, Onion, and Bagel.  It was a piece of Smoked Salmon topped with Tomato Jam, a little Cream Cheese, and an Everything Bagel Chip.  It was surrounded with Capers, Onion Jam, and Dill.  While it didn't look like what you would expect of Lox and Bagels, that's what it tasted like and it was very good.

The progression did get twisted a little with pork being served before the fowl.  It was listed as Pork, Pumpernickel, Mustard, and Brussels.  This dish was again a little odd.  The braised pork shoulder (which was under the foam) was very tender and flavorful.  It was topped with a bitter Pumpernickel Foam with sauteed Trumpet Mushrooms, Mustard, and Baby Greens.  This was also very good but unless the baby greens were brussels, I don't know where they were.  The mushrooms were cooked perfectly, the greens added a bit of a vegetal flavor, and the mustard added a nice sour and spicy flavor.

While the next course was listed as Hen with Thyme and Celery, it just as well could have been listed as Rice with Mushrooms and Celery.  The dish was a risotto with a lot of mushrooms made with a guinea hen stock and a small amount of guinea hen.  It was topped with Celery Root and Baby Thyme.  Whatever it was called, it was very good.  The rice was perfectly cooked and stock and mushrooms added a lot of good flavor.

The final entree was technically not beef but like beef, it has a flavor strong enough that it makes the best sense to finish entrees.  It was listed as Venison with Huckleberry, Yogurt, and Wheatberry.  It was a Venison Loin with Bulgur Wheat, Raw Turnip Slices, Cooked Turnip with Huckleberry Sauce, Microgreens, and a Yogurt Sauce.  It was like eating the deer and what it ate and it was very good in every combination.

 After entrees comes Cheese which was served with Vanilla, Pecan, and Quince.  The cheese was a light cheese that was Bruleed like a custard.  The Apples and Quince were cooked together with the vanilla and served with an almond crumble.  It was creative and tasted very good as well.

 For the first dessert, Apple was repeated.  It was the featured ingredient with Coffee, Caraway, and Cider.  It was presented as an Apple Sorbet, and Apple Chip, Pickled Apples, a Cider Gelee, Caraway Foam, and a Coffee "Custard".  It was neat to have apple in many different presentations and it was very good.  Different elements were crisp, sweet, and sour and the coffee and cream added a bitter creaminess.

The dinner finished with Chocolate which was presented with Malt, Parsnips, and Sorrel and an Olive Oil Sauce.  The chocolate was presented in many formats.  The malt was an obvious flavor combination with the chocolate but the parsnip was a surprise and the olive oil added some depth of flavor.  The chocolate was presented as gelato and dark and white solid chocolate.  It was a very good finish to a very good dinner.  I was very glad that I was able to go to Graham Elliot before it closed and I am excited to see what the new restaurant will be like.  


 
    

Opacity: Dinner in the Dark

Would you have a dinner in a place that you have never been without being able to see what you were eating? A friend of mine told me about this because she thought that I was an adventurous eater. She was correct and I dove at the chance to try this. The event is called Opacity and the idea is that you go to the set location, which turned out to be a nice mansion in River North, to eat a five course dinner at communal tables in the dark. The chef listed a link to Clandestino Dining, a premier underground supper club in Chicago so I had confidence that this would be good. The event happened on Fridays so I looked at my schedule and found a date that would work. The event was to go from 8-10 pm and I figured that they wouldn't be able to seat everyone immediately so I arrived a little early. The place looked pretty big from the outside but that was all I saw until the end of the evening. I walked up the stairs to the main entrance and met the hostess in a small alcove. She checked for my name and handed me the blindfold shown above. Before I put my blindfold on, I did notice that the room beyond was dimly lit in a green light but I didn't really see anything. I was guided to my table and was sat at the end which I liked because it gave me the illusion of having more room. The hostess that led me to my chair directed my hands to the water and wine glass, the event was BYOB and I brought a bottle of wine, and gave me instructions on how things were going to work. They poured my first glass of wine and was told that if I needed a refill to raise my hand. I was also to raise my hand if I needed to use the restroom or otherwise leave my seat. I was also told that if the waitstaff was bringing something to me that they would tap my right shoulder and that there was no silverware and all of the food would be eaten by hand. While I was waiting for the room to fill up, I was tapped on my right shoulder and a bread plate was brought to me. They did tap my shoulder but I smelled it when they put it down. It was very good bread. There was no butter or any type of spread but it did have a light sugar topping which was nice. I could tell that the room filled up because the room got pretty loud. It sounded as if there were several tables. The people sitting closest to me were not speaking English and sounded like they were speaking Urdu. This was probably the toughest part of the night. I could tell that there was a lot going on and people sounded excited but I couldn't understand what they were saying. This was very isolating and actually made it kind of difficult to keep my blindfold on. I left it on and dinner soon started. The host first came out and explained that the dinner was benefiting The Foundation for Retinal Research and the point of the evening was to give the diners a brief experience of blindness. The chef was then introduced and she told us that all of the food was local and/or organic and seasonal. She said that she would come out before every course to explain it and to hope that we enjoyed our dinners.

The first course was called the Amuse Bouche and consisted of a black olive clafoutis with an orange scallion slaw. I was actually kind of surprised that I liked this. It was slightly cakey and sweet but the flavor of the olive and the scallion came out and the orange provided a nice tartness to the dish. It was a good start to the meal.

The next course was the salad course although texturally, it was nothing like a salad. It was a carrot and parsley sorbet with a lemon confit served in a slightly bowled ginger cracker. The flavors for this were right on and I liked it as far as flavor was concerned. The texture on the other hand was another issue. The sorbet was soft and as soon as the cracker was bitten into, it was all over the place. We were warned to lean over our plates when eating it which I did but my hands still became very messy.

The first entree was a scallop course. We were provided two scallops and one slice of plantain that were fried in duck fat. There was an avocado and grapefruit sabayon and everything was garnished with a fried basil leaf. I liked all of the flavors of this dish as well although I will admit that it was a bit difficult to find the sabayon. Once I did find it, I ended up running my fingers through it and licking it off my fingers. I had visions of babyhood going through my head after doing this.

The second entree was probably one of the easiest dishes to eat. It consisted of house-made lamb sausage, cardamom-parsnip puree, and a thyme and lavender gelee wrapped in a crisp radicchio leaf. When I first bit into this, I got a sharp taste of bitter which I didn't like. Once I got to the sausage, it was fine but I have to guess that the gelee was the bitter part that I didn't like.

We finally arrived at dessert which almost sounded mainstream. There were two ricotta cheesecake pops drizzled with a peach-rose simple syrup and rolled in crushed pistachios. It was a nice finish to a very adventurous dinner.

When we finished, the host came out and told us that we could unmask ourselves which I did. The room that we were in was large with about 8 - 8 person tables spread throughout the room. As a finish, I will say that while there were elements of different dishes that I didn't care for, the service was excellent as was the experience. While I was told to raise my hand when I needed a refill with my wine or water, they always were there before I raised my hand and my finished plates were bussed without my noticing it. This event was a lot of fun and I would recommend anyone who has a love adventure to try it although I would also advise not to go alone.