CheekyChicago

“Things are not always as they first appear.”

Chef Homaro Cantu, of Moto, is famous for his application of molecular gastronomy. And if those words aren’t part of your foodie lexicon, they should be. The fun of going to one of these meals is sitting back prepared to be entertained – flavor, temperature, texture, presentation… you name it, they’ll mess with it. Cantu is a synaesthestic jokester and after you see some of these dishes, you know he has a sense of humor.

The meal begins with bread – btw, all of these terms are used loosely – and right from the start we’re lovin’ it. The paper thin parmesan crostini-style sheet has the menu printed on it and after you peruse the schedule for the evening, you eat your menu. Just apply the lightly whipped butter, warm sea salt and touch of sweet, reduced balsamic.

The first of two soup courses is “breakfast”, which appears to be scrambled eggs, a fried egg and hashbrowns. What you actually have is a shrimp cake, a vegetable mix and a puffed garlic meringue – when combined, it tastes distinctly like gazpacho. The pasta course seems to be a thick noodle (think bucatini) when it’s actually calamari, cut to resemble a noodle. Was the fish dish instant risotto made from puffed grain and freeze dried peas served with a lovely morsel of bass? Was the meat entree the reuben lasagna? You probably shouldn’t try to categorize, as it’s all enterprising and well played.

I would be remiss to not mention the half smoked cigar sitting in a pile of ash. This piece of art was actually pork shaped like a Cuban made with brioche bread, wrapped in marinated collard greens, dipped in a red pepper puree and angled into a white and black seed mix. Served in? You guessed it – an ashtray.

The final eight courses were all dessert. My kinda meal. The star was the simple and seasonally appropriate “blackberry & corn.” A small caramel-center corn cake was served with blackberries and blackberry puree. Of course, we got a kick out of the Wylie Coyote-style bomb whose fuse burns inside to roast the marshmallow of your encased s’more. Also, the mini one-bite slider that looks like hamburger and tastes like banana split – yum.

Opting for the selected wine progressions is a no-brainer. I wouldn’t recommend trying to pair when you can’t guess what you’ll taste, even when you’re looking at it (!). These were all nicely done with the exception of the Beaujolais – who knows how that made it into the mix. And, yes, we all have permission to be snobby about this varietal if we’re at anything fancier than a concert in the park.

Bottom Line: Moto is one of the big boys in Chicago and is not to be missed. So block out your Saturday night. The 20-course (GMT) tasting menu will last five+ hours (their service tempo is regimented and simply too slow). Or for those with a less dedicated attention span, I would actually recommend the 10-course. All the bells and whistles and none of the back ache. Enjoy!