Caviar Courses in Chicago?

Only within the city of Chicago. To be more specific, loop or near north side generally. Who is offering really nice caviar courses right now?

Does Tru still do the staircase?

JLenart wrote:Does Tru still do the staircase?

They do, we're actually eating there next Saturday I believe.

jpschust wrote:

JLenart wrote:Does Tru still do the staircase?

They do, we're actually eating there next Saturday I believe.

It's a gussied-up presentation (kinda tacky, I thought), but it's a fairly conventional caviar course.

I can't speak to whatever he's serving at the moment, but over at Schwa, I think Carlson's caviar courses are a big strength. The two I had were both unconventional but wonderfully effective. Here are photos along with what I wrote at the time:


Next up was an Illinois sturgeon caviar, sitting atop an avocado puree, a sweet and slightly sour cauliflower cream, and a small pile of miniscule cauliflower florets. I will admit to not being a caviar expert. I've eaten quite a bit, and I can certainly tell a good one from a bad one, but I'm not well-versed on the fine points. So I was delighted to discover that we apparently produce some pretty damn fine caviar right here at home. The cauliflower was such a perfect accompaniment to the caviar, I can't believe I've never seen it before. It worked in similar fashion to a more traditional crème fraiche pairing; a light, creamy puree with a natural sweetness that was made more interesting by the vegetal quality. The avocado rounded out the flavor and added another layer of richness, and the florets added more textural interest. It was a very unusual caviar treatment that worked spectacularly well.


One of my favorite dishes from our last trip was a caviar course, and I enjoyed this one even more. In keeping with my string of firsts at Schwa, this dish was my first impression of arctic char caviar. Though it seems corny to say so, I think the best way I can describe it is to say that salmon : arctic char :: salmon roe : arctic char caviar, which is to say it's reminiscent of its pinker and more intensely-flavored cousin, but more subtle. Here, it was mixed with a chilled celery root and pear puree, and topped with a pink peppercorn and sugar tuille. The tuille effectively mimicked a torched sugar crust, allowing the dish to evoke creme brulée sensibilities without requiring the use of a torch, which would undoubtedly do unfortunate things to the delicate caviar below. Again, Carlson is playing with savory and sweet, taking dessert-like creams and sugars and playing them off a bold, salty, fishy caviar, then throwing in some intense spice for good measure. This was really a beautifully composed dish, both in terms of flavors and technique, and it was probably my favorite of the evening.