After tackling Alinea, I had hoped to stay home for the rest
of the month and reminisce about the most expensive dinner I’ve had so far. But
my aunt called me and mentioned she’ll be visiting Chicago a week after my
Alinea reservation. So, off to Moto I go. I had my reservations about Moto. I
had previously tried their sister restaurant iNG and thought it was
entertaining but not quite as sophisticated as other fine dining establishments
in town. Was it a good idea to attempt a place like Moto so soon after my dream
meal?
It was a rainy day, and traffic was horrendous, so I arrived late for the dinner. Fortunately I was able to find a free spot nearby,
though I’m sure those evil parking meters will eventually eat up this little
slice of heaven too. In that regard, perhaps it is wise to visit all the fancy,
4 hour-long tasting menu places while there’s still free parking.
My first impression of the restaurant was: cold. Almost
clinically cold. Everything was various shades of gray and black, with no
artworks on the walls. Looking back, I kind of get it. The art is on the
plates. All the colors and textures you see in the dishes popped against the
cold décor. Moto was very successful on that front. I was pleasantly surprised
when I sat down and discovered the purse hooks under the table. This is the
first time I have seen them. A tiny but very thoughtful touch. (Other restaurants,
please take note!)
Since we are going for the tasting menu, there’s no need to
study an actual menu. The waiter waltzed over and asked me if I had any food
allergies. He seemed mildly disappointed when I replied none. Aunt & cousin
said they had already given him a long list, so maybe he was expecting the same
from me.
Our first course: the menu. I kid you not. This long white
plate had 13 little morsels, each of which contains the star ingredients of the
13 dishes we are about to enjoy. Now that’s far more entertaining than your
usual printed menu, no?
The next dish was Blanc de blanc: oil poached mahi, seared scallop, hearts of palm salad and coconut risotto. I remember my first encounter with mahi mahi in Honolulu: dry, fishy, tasteless. This little piece was as different from that as heaven from earth: buttery rich and melt-in-your-mouth tender. I was even more amazed by the scallop: so sweet, with just a hint of smokiness where it was kissed by flames. God knows I haven't had a decent scallop ever since returning to the midwest. The sliced heart of palm beneath these treasures from the sea was crunchy and refreshing, a perfect juxtaposition to the richness of these two seafood items. I was a bit skeptical about the coconut risotto, worried it was another one of those silly little touches that only sounded good, but it turned out a nice surprise: creamy yet with a lightness unlike real risotto. Here the "rice" was actually coconut flesh, reminds me of the young coconuts sold on the streets of Indonesia. Interestingly, this dish was served on two ends of a long transparent glass plate. Since there were only three of us, the other end of my plate was empty. I think it adds a sense of intimacy between diners without actually mixing up their food.
Nightshades was indeed a dark course, though the flavors were bright and fruity. There was red bell pepper gelee and tomato tea vine gelee, pickled eggplants, few drops of 25yr old balsamic vinegar, a dollop of gooseberry sauce, ricotta cheese and a piece of tomatillo. How they got the gelee to have such vibrant color and intense flavor is beyond me, but that's why I'm paying to eat here rather than cooking at home. I especially enjoyed the pickled eggplant: rather than the usually silky texture, it still had some bite and a tartness that went well with the rest of the dish. By this point, cousin and I got into the habit of whipping out our phones for note-taking as soon as we see the waiter approach: every dish seemed to take at least 5 minutes to describe, and the list of ingredients was mind-boggling. Aunt suggested we should just wait for the paper menu, but I had a feeling it won't be as informative.
The next course is named River, and it certainly looks like one. A long glass container filled with river rocks was placed in front of us. A light smoke emanated when the plastic wrap on it was removed. Inside were alternating pieces of applewood smoked trout and olivewood smoked salmon.
We also get a potato blini macaron with lemon creme fraiche and a fake everything bagel filled with cream cheese. Cousin made the connection of that with lox & bagel, which was amusing but I didn't really like the fake bagel. The macaron sure tastes like a real one, with perfect texture and a lemony flavor that paired nicely with the fish, which I loved.
Sticks & stones is yet another dish that looks just as it was named. The sticks were roasted apple and salsify, with fromage blanc snow and pear cream puree. There was also a ball of caramelized granny smith apple and a crispy parsley leaf. I thought the sticks were rather dry, but I guess that made sense...add in the creaminess of the pear puree and fromage blanc, it turned out quite enjoyable.
Farm house was one of my favorite dishes, both in its rustic appearance and taste. An egg sits on top of a pile of hay in a glass jar.
On top of the jar were rabbit roulade, heirloom pumpkin seeds brittle, micro parsnip and carrot and brown butter butternut squash. I loved the rabbit roulade. The micro-root veggies were a wonder: it's as though the flavors of a full-sized veggie went into this mini version. Unfortunately it was a bit over-salted for me.
When the Fallen Log came, I was a bit nervous: am I expected to finish that log? This looks like a big dish. Fortunately the log was just for show (then I started wondering if it were dishwasher-safe...). On the log perched two pieces of Scottish wood pigeon, a piece of quail and seared foie gras. There were also some huckleberries and toasted oats scattered in the butternut squash sauce. I wish there was more of the wood pigeon, it was slightly gamey but had a hint of smokiness that made it so much more interesting than your standard fare table birds. The fruitiness of the huckleberries and the crispy oats offered some counterpoint both in flavor and texture to the main components. This was another favorite.
Terroir sure looks like a little pot of soil. I almost thought this was decoration. Actually, the soil was pumpernickel crumble and duxelle (chopped up mushroom mixture with matsutake and squirrel tail). At the bottom of the pot were some flavorful duck confit. Honestly, this is my second time eating matsutake, the uber-expensive Japanese mushroom, and I really don't understand the hype...maybe my palate just isn't sophisticated enough. I thought I'd love this course when I heard the ingredients, but the pumpernickel was too overpowering for me.
At this point, we're getting ready for serious eating (the previous courses seem more in the appetizer category), so to whet our appetite, we get to snack on logs and raw garlic! Er...just kidding. This was a centerpiece for us to sniff at. Our waiter torched the herbs to bring out their fragrances as we enjoyed the next course.
This Bacon4 is a pork-lover's dream. There was dehydrated bacon, red wine braised pork belly & chicharron, bacon jam & pork face. Other stuff on the plate included aged sherry vinegar, braised raisins and beet puree. While I enjoyed the pork belly and face, it was the bacon jam that won my heart. I'd put that on everything: bread, spoon, finger. The chicharron I didn't care much for. It tasted a bit greasy and seemed to wick away all moisture from my tongue. Very weird.
Next up is the tostada, paired with guacamole. Except the guacamole has been transformed into the shape of an avocado. I have no idea how it's done, nor do I understand why go through the pains of forming it into the shape of an avocado, only to mash it up again, but hey, as long as I'm on the receiving end of this labor of love thing, I'm fine with it. At this point I'm having trouble typing fast enough to catch the waiter's every word. Tasting menus can be exhausting!
The tostada has a big piece of medium rare sirloin, along with some lime and micro cilantro. Unfortunately it wasn't quite bite-sized for me, so I had to wrestle with it a bit before getting it into my mouth. But the sirloin was nice and tender. I like my guac more textured so this was a bit too creamy for me, but the flavors were right on.
The 11th course was a study of venison, and evokes images of fall with all those fallen leaves under the glass. There were 7 types of venison: venison tartare, venison pastrami, venison loin, venison heart (!), venison bratwurst, venison jerky and shoulder braised in brown butter. I was very impressed with tartare: tender and actually mild in flavor, none of that gamey taste I expected. The heart was a bit too much though...not that I'm squirmy about eating offal, but the taste was too intense.
Finally, we're moving on into the dessert phase of the menu. This Paradise dish was aptly named, for that's where I felt I was when I tasted it. Inside the coconut shell were coconut water gelee, shredded coconut and vanilla citrus coconut milk foam. We get to put in a mango lace cookie, which had this lovely sourness that complemented the creaminess of the coconut.
Next up was pumpkin patch with a small dessert cheat sheet. The soil was crumbled chocolate cookie, and the pumpkin was made of pumpkin mousse. It was cute, but I didn't care much for the flavors, probably because I don't like pumpkin, nor mousse.
Then it was onto coffee service...except it wasn't coffee. It was actually foam on top of a layer of coffee jelly, caramelized banana, cinnamon ice cream, candied walnuts and blondie. The two sugar cubes were actually coconut marshmallows. Honestly I was a bit disappointed it wasn't really coffee. Somehow I felt most of the dishes I had were not warm enough, and my stomach was starting to crave warm liquid. Besides, hot coffee/tea would have paired much nicely with the the desserts.
And onto our grand finale, where we get to make our own cookie dough! We get the ingredients, recipe for 1 cookie, and a jug of ice cold Oberweiss milk to wash it down. But remember: looks can be deceiving here at Moto. So of course the egg isn't a real egg, nor is butter real butter. Only the chocolate is real chocolate. The others...well, you'll have to take your own notes.
I have to admit: I NEVER understood the obsession some people have with cookie dough. I think it's much better AFTER it's baked. This one didn't change my opinions about it (though I'm not sure if it'd survive a trip to the oven given that all the ingredients were fake). In fact, it was so sweet I couldn't finish it. The milk was nice and rich though, so I emptied that.
And finally, just as I expected, a very mysterious menu that really doesn't tell you much about what you just ate. Thank god I took notes!
Moto turned out to be only slightly cheaper than Alinea, luckily aunt treated me to this one (thank you auntie!). It seemed to be a bit more tongue-in-cheek than Alinea, and not quite as sophisticated. But it was a worthy followup, certainly a level above iNG. My only gripe with the menu was the temperature: everything was either cold or lukewarm. This paired with the cold decor made me feel less pampered. Surely as the temperature plunges in Chicago, some adjustments could be made to warm the diners' heart (& stomach)? Nonetheless, Cantu certainly knows what he's doing, and I enjoyed the experience. So go check it out!
The next dish was Blanc de blanc: oil poached mahi, seared scallop, hearts of palm salad and coconut risotto. I remember my first encounter with mahi mahi in Honolulu: dry, fishy, tasteless. This little piece was as different from that as heaven from earth: buttery rich and melt-in-your-mouth tender. I was even more amazed by the scallop: so sweet, with just a hint of smokiness where it was kissed by flames. God knows I haven't had a decent scallop ever since returning to the midwest. The sliced heart of palm beneath these treasures from the sea was crunchy and refreshing, a perfect juxtaposition to the richness of these two seafood items. I was a bit skeptical about the coconut risotto, worried it was another one of those silly little touches that only sounded good, but it turned out a nice surprise: creamy yet with a lightness unlike real risotto. Here the "rice" was actually coconut flesh, reminds me of the young coconuts sold on the streets of Indonesia. Interestingly, this dish was served on two ends of a long transparent glass plate. Since there were only three of us, the other end of my plate was empty. I think it adds a sense of intimacy between diners without actually mixing up their food.
Nightshades was indeed a dark course, though the flavors were bright and fruity. There was red bell pepper gelee and tomato tea vine gelee, pickled eggplants, few drops of 25yr old balsamic vinegar, a dollop of gooseberry sauce, ricotta cheese and a piece of tomatillo. How they got the gelee to have such vibrant color and intense flavor is beyond me, but that's why I'm paying to eat here rather than cooking at home. I especially enjoyed the pickled eggplant: rather than the usually silky texture, it still had some bite and a tartness that went well with the rest of the dish. By this point, cousin and I got into the habit of whipping out our phones for note-taking as soon as we see the waiter approach: every dish seemed to take at least 5 minutes to describe, and the list of ingredients was mind-boggling. Aunt suggested we should just wait for the paper menu, but I had a feeling it won't be as informative.
The next course is named River, and it certainly looks like one. A long glass container filled with river rocks was placed in front of us. A light smoke emanated when the plastic wrap on it was removed. Inside were alternating pieces of applewood smoked trout and olivewood smoked salmon.
On either end of the container were two small spoonfuls of different caviars.
Sticks & stones is yet another dish that looks just as it was named. The sticks were roasted apple and salsify, with fromage blanc snow and pear cream puree. There was also a ball of caramelized granny smith apple and a crispy parsley leaf. I thought the sticks were rather dry, but I guess that made sense...add in the creaminess of the pear puree and fromage blanc, it turned out quite enjoyable.
Farm house was one of my favorite dishes, both in its rustic appearance and taste. An egg sits on top of a pile of hay in a glass jar.
The egg was actually hay-flavored custard, with a piece of cured egg yolk and some wonderfully tender braised rabbit shank at the bottom of the egg shell. I have to say I never tasted anything that's hay-flavored. While the texture of the custard was right on, I didn't care much for hay. The egg yolk reminds me of those Asian salted duck egg yolks, and equally salty, if only it were incorporated into the rather bland custard better!
Terroir sure looks like a little pot of soil. I almost thought this was decoration. Actually, the soil was pumpernickel crumble and duxelle (chopped up mushroom mixture with matsutake and squirrel tail). At the bottom of the pot were some flavorful duck confit. Honestly, this is my second time eating matsutake, the uber-expensive Japanese mushroom, and I really don't understand the hype...maybe my palate just isn't sophisticated enough. I thought I'd love this course when I heard the ingredients, but the pumpernickel was too overpowering for me.
At this point, we're getting ready for serious eating (the previous courses seem more in the appetizer category), so to whet our appetite, we get to snack on logs and raw garlic! Er...just kidding. This was a centerpiece for us to sniff at. Our waiter torched the herbs to bring out their fragrances as we enjoyed the next course.
This Bacon4 is a pork-lover's dream. There was dehydrated bacon, red wine braised pork belly & chicharron, bacon jam & pork face. Other stuff on the plate included aged sherry vinegar, braised raisins and beet puree. While I enjoyed the pork belly and face, it was the bacon jam that won my heart. I'd put that on everything: bread, spoon, finger. The chicharron I didn't care much for. It tasted a bit greasy and seemed to wick away all moisture from my tongue. Very weird.
The 11th course was a study of venison, and evokes images of fall with all those fallen leaves under the glass. There were 7 types of venison: venison tartare, venison pastrami, venison loin, venison heart (!), venison bratwurst, venison jerky and shoulder braised in brown butter. I was very impressed with tartare: tender and actually mild in flavor, none of that gamey taste I expected. The heart was a bit too much though...not that I'm squirmy about eating offal, but the taste was too intense.
Finally, we're moving on into the dessert phase of the menu. This Paradise dish was aptly named, for that's where I felt I was when I tasted it. Inside the coconut shell were coconut water gelee, shredded coconut and vanilla citrus coconut milk foam. We get to put in a mango lace cookie, which had this lovely sourness that complemented the creaminess of the coconut.
Next up was pumpkin patch with a small dessert cheat sheet. The soil was crumbled chocolate cookie, and the pumpkin was made of pumpkin mousse. It was cute, but I didn't care much for the flavors, probably because I don't like pumpkin, nor mousse.
Then it was onto coffee service...except it wasn't coffee. It was actually foam on top of a layer of coffee jelly, caramelized banana, cinnamon ice cream, candied walnuts and blondie. The two sugar cubes were actually coconut marshmallows. Honestly I was a bit disappointed it wasn't really coffee. Somehow I felt most of the dishes I had were not warm enough, and my stomach was starting to crave warm liquid. Besides, hot coffee/tea would have paired much nicely with the the desserts.
And onto our grand finale, where we get to make our own cookie dough! We get the ingredients, recipe for 1 cookie, and a jug of ice cold Oberweiss milk to wash it down. But remember: looks can be deceiving here at Moto. So of course the egg isn't a real egg, nor is butter real butter. Only the chocolate is real chocolate. The others...well, you'll have to take your own notes.
I have to admit: I NEVER understood the obsession some people have with cookie dough. I think it's much better AFTER it's baked. This one didn't change my opinions about it (though I'm not sure if it'd survive a trip to the oven given that all the ingredients were fake). In fact, it was so sweet I couldn't finish it. The milk was nice and rich though, so I emptied that.
And finally, just as I expected, a very mysterious menu that really doesn't tell you much about what you just ate. Thank god I took notes!
Moto turned out to be only slightly cheaper than Alinea, luckily aunt treated me to this one (thank you auntie!). It seemed to be a bit more tongue-in-cheek than Alinea, and not quite as sophisticated. But it was a worthy followup, certainly a level above iNG. My only gripe with the menu was the temperature: everything was either cold or lukewarm. This paired with the cold decor made me feel less pampered. Surely as the temperature plunges in Chicago, some adjustments could be made to warm the diners' heart (& stomach)? Nonetheless, Cantu certainly knows what he's doing, and I enjoyed the experience. So go check it out!
945 W Fulton market
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 491-0058
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