Siun wrote:How many weeks/months will the Scorcese menu run? The trailer is wonderful but then I always love the whole spirit of Cantu!

I believe 6 weeks according to facebook.

The Scorsese menu will be available for 6 weeks. Then we will do something, " a little to the left."

More to the left than this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-WmYaKY ... ature=plcp

Just back from the Red Carpet Scorsese opening night at iNG restaurant. Very fun evening. They literally had a red carpet rolled outside the entrance with paparazzi shooting your photo and spot lights. The entire staff was in wise guy attire and they showed clips from Scorsese films projected onto the wall of the restaurant. Chef Cantu was visible, taking the time to make some rounds and check in with the guests (this is the first menu since Chef Nate Park left iNG to open Baum & Brixe and Chef Cantu himself is now taking lead role in iNG's kitchen). iNG was pretty much at capacity tonight for the Scorsese opening; Chef Cantu has been doing a great job utilizing social media to build hype for the iNG menu themes and experience. Over the past couple of weeks iNG's Facebook page has featured various video clip previews of the menu as well as some contests (with great prizes such as dinner for two at sister restaurant Moto with wine pairings). Tonight there was a fun, festive atmosphere.

Service as always was friendly and very attentive, but laid back (iNG has a fairly casual ambiance despite serving upscale cuisine). General manager Trevor Rose-Hamblin is one of the best in the business. For the Scorsese menu there is a six course option (including six beverage pairings - combination of cocktails, wine and beer) for $80 or a ten course option (same amount of beverage pairings) for $99. This is really a great deal. Overall the food and drinks were quite good, but I did not like them quite as much as some of the other recent menus (since this was opening night, they may still be making some tweaks and it is quite possible the dishes will be even better in a week or two). The Scorsese menu has an Italian theme and the first couple of courses are somewhat traditional dishes (at least as far as you would expect from iNG) but the later courses have the more whimsical aspect typical of iNG and Chef Cantu. My wife and I have made it to every single iNG menu since they moved to the single tasting menu format and have loved watching them evolve and improve (the last four menus have been so much better than the first couple). It is amazing that Chef Cantu and his team are able to roll out such high quality, fun and totally different menus every six to eight weeks. With the last few menus having themes they are starting to remind me of Next, but at a much lower price point and no drama in scoring a reservation.

Here are photos of the 10-Course Scorsese menu and some of the opening night red carpet festivities. Note, one aspect of iNG that is enjoyable is the surprising, whimsical aspect of some of the courses - so if you are planning on dining at iNG for this menu, you may want to hold off on looking at these pictures until after your dinner.

10 Course Menu


Sleeps with the Fishes course with Amuse Bouche on top.


Inside this dish is crayfish rolled inside rock shrimp sitting on a bed of seaweed; smoky aromatics is utilized to infuse additional flavor. This course was very good.


Six Shooter beverage pairing served in handgun shaped mug. Fun presentation but neither my wife nor I cared too much for the taste of the cocktail; this is something I expect they may tweak over the next week or two.


9mm Caponata course, my favorite of the night. Savory Italian crepe with basil puree. So good!


Candle that serves as centerpiece for a while; the wax is butter and is edible and utilized in a course.


The Color of Money - Arancini shaped like a cue ball and a Parmesan flavored piece of pool chalk. This was my second favorite course of the night. Both my wife and I liked this arancini better than the one at Next: Sicily.


Catherine Scorsese's Pasta featuring housemade pasta with mushrooms and butter sauce poured from the aforementioned candle. Nice course, but not quite up there with the previous too.


Savory Cannolis - They look just like the pastry but are veal based with an onion jam. Fun presentation and decent taste, but aside from the cool presentation and concept nothing special.


Dinner in Prison - Featuring pork shoulder mousse with elephant garlic and foccacia bread. This is the only savory course I did not care for; it was good enough that I ate it, but just did not work for me. I think this dish needs some tweaking.


Intermission Intermezzo - This was served with miracle berry powder and featured sugar free cookies and sorbet; once you took the miracle berry powder it tasted just like a sugary dessert. Pretty good course.


Miracle Berry Powder - You let this dissolve on your tongue for a minute or so and it temporarily causes sour/acidic foods to taste sweet. Chef Cantu is trying to use miracle berries to help decrease the need for added sugars and also to help make foods that are nutritious (but do not taste good) be useful. Really fun concept. Some people are more susceptible to the effects than others. After consuming the powder you bite into a lemon and optimally the lemon should taste like lemonade (it works well for me, but I have found the miracle berry tablets iNG used to use to be a bit more potent than the powder form currently being utilized).


Diet Sandwich - This course was an extremely cool concept, but the taste was just O.K. It looks like a small sandwich but the bread is made from pound cake, the meat is turkey ice cream and there is a pumpkin and cranberry sauce.


Taxi Driver - A sampling of different desserts. Another cool presentation, but just O.K. taste.


OCD Bourbon Pairing - Fun presentation of a bourbon cocktail inside a soap dispenser that you squirt into a small cup sitting atop a soap dish; inside the cup is an Earl Gray ice cube. Cool concept and tasted pretty good as well.


Kleenex Shaped Cotton Candy - This was one half of the final dessert. The final dessert was really good and by far the best of the sweet courses. This was the best tasting cotton candy I have ever had; really fun presentation and awesome taste.


The Aviator - Underneath the Kleenex box is a petri dish filled with Devil's food cake and a vial of Kaffir lime to doctor it up to your liking. This was a real nice end to the meal.


Spotlights Outside iNG - Chef Cantu did a great job providing an exciting opening night ambiance between the use of Facebook to hype the opening and release previews as well as having the spot light, red carpet and Paparazzi outside the entrance.


My wife standing outside iNG on the red carpet.

My wife and I returned to iNG tonight and were very impressed with the progress they made in tweaking the Scorsese menu since our opening night dinner. They have tweaked several courses as well as completely overhauled the Dinner in Prison course. Instead of pork shoulder there is now a variety of cured meats (which they are doing in house) and some cheese (i.e. a Charcuterie plate). The texture, presentation and most importantly taste of this course is dramatically improved; in fact it went from my least favorite savory course on opening night to may favorite savory course tonight! The recipe on the veal cannoli is improved and the diet sandwich no longer has the turkey ice cream (a cool concept, but flavor wise it just did not work - the new version is definitely an improvement). The final dessert is now chilled so that it is not messy or difficult to eat; fortunately they left the cotton candy alone as that is still the best cotton candy I have had anywhere. During my review of opening night I commented that I did not like this menu quite as much as the last couple of menus, but with the improvements since opening night this menu is now right up there with my prior favorites. The Scorsese menu is running until approximately mid November (at which time they will roll out their final menu of 2012); now that this menu has been tweaked it is really a entertaining, cool and delicious meal and well worth partaking.

Was the BBC there filming dinner tonight?

iNG is rolling out their new menu - The Nightmare Before Christmas; last night I had the privilege of attending Friend's & Family night. While the menu is still being tweaked, I was amazed out how great already is - it already is up there with my previous favorite menu there (April Showers) and with a small tweak here or there will easily be their best menu ever. Now that Chef Cantu is running the kitchen in person, the food is starting to have a strong resemblance quality and presentation to Moto, but at iNG prices! iNG continues to have some of the best front of house staff as well. Dining here is really a special experience and an interesting culinary journey but at affordable pricing. I am going to hold off on posting a full compliment of pictures and detailed review until after my meal next months as Chef Cantu indicated that he is still finalizing the menu, but based on my amazing experience last night "as is" this is already a phenomenal meal. If you have never been to iNG before, or tried it last several months ago, this is a menu well worth coming for and if you are already a fan of iNG this menu is an absolute must.

Here are a pictures of a few of the courses from last night:








Also, last night Chef Cantu's new television show premiered, Cooking Under Pressure. It is really entertaining:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIe6xlXi ... tu.be&hd=1

iNG started a cool new social media contest where you can win all sorts of freebies such as a free flavor tripping cocktail, free dinner for two, tickets to their New Years eve party, guest chef experience - even a private dinner at your home cooked by Chef Homaro Cantu!

Here is a link to check out the contest - you can sign up and start earning points towards prizes, learn more about iNG and move up the leader board: http://bit.ly/UuR5EG

iNG's latest menu debuted this week and is based on recipe's from Chef Cantu's recently released Miracle Berry Cookbook (promoting the use of a natural berry that makes sour taste sweet and therefore can be used to make healthy desserts and beverages as well as add a healthy sweet component to savory courses). Flavor tripping starts with the very first course and the desserts are all sugar free, but taste like regular desserts because of the effect of the Miracle Berry. There is a six course and a ten course menu option; last night my wife and I partook in the ten course option which is priced at $105 and includes the food as well as eight beverage pairings (combination of craft beers, wines and interesting cocktails - one of the cocktails is great; a play on a lemon drop where they use a balloon and liquid nitrogen to freeze lemon juice the balloon shapes the juice into a vessel that you drink the booze through - as it melts the flavor changes). In terms of the food, the current menu is not nearly as playful or whimsical as the last few menus, but taste wise is at least as good (though the savories are stronger than the desserts). The current menu is best described as elevated, upscale versions of typical comfort foods such as wings, pizza, crab rangoons etc. Here are a few shots from last night's meal:

Crab Rangoon with Dipping Sauce:


Deconstructed Pizza with some really tasty venison sausage; served atop a Woodford Reserve barrel slab - which was cool in theory, but was a bit messy to eat off:


Venison Bratwurst sitting atop some delicious cabbage with yuzu mustard dipping sauce; this dish is smoked and has a great tableside presentation where the smoke is released in front of you so that your sense of smell impacts the taste of this course:


Short Rib with Cucumber Kimchi:


Lemon Tart with Coconut Cubes:


Prickly Pear Sorbet with Yogurt Parfait:


Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce & Fried Dough:


Clove Foam with Chicory and Grapefruit:


I definitely recommend coming in for the current menu; dining at iNG is such a fun experience and for the amount and quality of food and drinks you receive it is a great deal - and the staff at iNG is among the best in the business. The current menu is scheduled to run until mid February.

Maybe there is something wrong with me, but the miracle berry makes almost anything taste a lot like licorice to me, so it's not very enjoyable at all. In the "Wonder Years" menu last night, it couldn't cover the malort-like bitterness of the desserts and their paired drinks, it just made it worse, even for my friends who weren't suffering from the licorice-tongue-disorder. I liked the savory courses though. I don't think Mberry is going to save the world from sugar. At least I hope it doesn't.

It was also a bit depressing to be honest. Nearly empty, but the women's bathroom was in a horrible state of disarray. It felt like a run-down theme park. In the dim light, you could see the red modernist chairs were scratched and a lot of the place just looked like it had seen better days. It felt like an unintentional statement on the futility of food futurism.

The synthetic miracle berries don't do a thing for me, so I have no reason to eat at the restaurant again.

(I think the tide is turning very quickly on gimmicky dining. I'm very curious to see how Next's next season sells. I have a feeling the vegan menu is going to be an easy get. I'm tired of $100+/pp dinners that don't blow my socks off.)

disagree wrote: I'm tired of $100+/pp dinners that don't blow my socks off.)

You and me both...but after a lukewarm response to Fat Rice, I've come to the conclusion that I am jaded. And I have no idea what to do about that.

The thing is, the food at ING could be really good, just on its own. Not sure it really was, the times we've been, but it could be.

The whole miracle berry thing is unnecessary though. It doesn't do anything for a normal dish other than make it taste weird. It's fun to do it with a lemon. Woo hoo. But other than that? Meh.

leek wrote:The thing is, the food at ING could be really good, just on its own. Not sure it really was, the times we've been, but it could be.

The whole miracle berry thing is unnecessary though. It doesn't do anything for a normal dish other than make it taste weird. It's fun to do it with a lemon. Woo hoo. But other than that? Meh.

It's because Homaru has some admirable intentions, which is to use fine-dining to pilot solutions for world food problems. Miracle berry is his solution to the problem of excessive dietary sugar, which is a very trendy problem. Problem is it's a technofix, and science has been looking for technofixes for this problem for quite some time, most of them with some serious problems of their own. I was a certified carbophobe for years. I've tried every "natural" sugar sub in the book from stevia to the aforementioned "miracle" berry. They have some uses, but they are probably always going to be inferior diet food ingredients. They just don't taste good. It's a shame because some friends I dined with said that InG used to just be a really good restaurant without the gimmicks.

By the door there were a bunch of copies of his new diet book, The Miracle Berry Diet, for sale. Like almost all diets, it probably doesn't work. And it's the last thing I want to hear about when having a fine dining meal. I was at the bar at Au Cheval some weeks ago merrily enjoying my delicious meal of fat flavored fatty calories, which is not what I eat for every meal, so it's perfectly OK. A group of men next to me was joking about how they were all going to be so "fat" from their meals. So annoying and not even funny.

The miracle berry does seem to have a more potent impact on some people versus others. Part of it is how long you leave the powder iNG currently uses in your mouth (as well as how much of your tongue is coated by the powder) and part is just individual differences. I do wish iNG would revert back to the tablet version of the miracle berry; while I understand it costs considerably more than the powder, for me it was far more potent.

I do not view iNG's use of miracle berry as a gimmick, but rather as an attempt to be trendsetting and make people's diets healthier. Chef Cantu is hoping to greatly reduce the amount of added sugars people consume, fight obesity as well as enhance the diet's of those with medical problems such as diabetes (i.e. provide them with food options that taste just like the sugary foods they need to avoid, but in a form which is not unhealthy for them). While not every dessert I have had a iNG has worked for me, the current Wonder Years menu I thought had some real winners - the banana split course was one of my favorite desserts I have had at iNG (I have been to every tasting menu they have ever had there). The broccoli ice cream as a component to one of the other desserts was wonderful as well; tasted just like real ice cream, yet was healthy. Chef Cantu is not utilizing the miracle berry as a gimmick to draw people to the restaurant, but he is passionate about having the miracle berry becoming mainstream and doing a lot of good.

The last two menus at iNG I have really enjoyed (and the wonderful people that work there really enhance the experience), but I have preferred last years' menus over the first two of 2013. My favorite meal at iNG was the Nightmare Before Xmas (went three times) followed by the Scorsese menu and the April Showers menu (would be a very appropriate menu for this week in Chicago)! I love that every couple of months there is a brand new menu and concept to enjoy.

While the full 10 course dinner at iNG is not cheap, when you factor in that it includes beverage pairings it is considerably less expensive than most venues that generally fall into the "fine dining" category so I think that needs to be factored in when critiquing iNG. While if cost were no factor I would prefer to have a meal at a venue such as Sixteen, Grace or sister restaurant Moto, I think that iNG is actually a nice value when you factor in pricing. iNG continues to be one of my very favorite restaurants in Chicago.

We had the tablet version. I had the powder at another meal. Both make things taste bad for me. The banana split desserts and broccoli ice cream were pretty unpalatable to me and to a few other diners at the table. It seems folly to rely on the miracle berry if the reaction is not consistant.

When I think of restaurants that do healthy well, I think Kong Hans in Denmark or Tim Raue in Berlin. Those health-conscious Michelin-starred chefs aim to also reduce the amount of sugar. I think the food at those restaurants is much healthier. Sure, the food at InG might be lower in sugar, but there were a lot of fried foods and there were plenty of refined carbohydrates on the menu – which are basically digested like sugar anyway. Maybe chefs shouldn't try to moonlight as nutritionists. At Kong Hans they give you the option to have a dessert with or without sugar, but I wouldn't have a problem having the sugary dessert since the rest of the meal is effectively low-carb. The chef there, Thomas Rode Andersen, is also a bit of a nutrition crusader and I don't agree with all his ideas, but I don't mind if the food is good.

mgmcewen wrote:We had the tablet version. I had the powder at another meal. Both make things taste bad for me. The banana split desserts and broccoli ice cream were pretty unpalatable to me and to a few other diners at the table. It seems folly to rely on the miracle berry if the reaction is not consistant.

When I think of restaurants that do healthy well, I think Kong Hans in Denmark or Tim Raue in Berlin. Those health-conscious Michelin-starred chefs aim to also reduce the amount of sugar. I think the food at those restaurants is much healthier. Sure, the food at InG might be lower in sugar, but there were a lot of fried foods and there were plenty of refined carbohydrates on the menu – which are basically digested like sugar anyway. Maybe chefs shouldn't try to moonlight as nutritionists. At Kong Hans they give you the option to have a dessert with or without sugar, but I wouldn't have a problem having the sugary dessert since the rest of the meal is effectively low-carb. The chef there, Thomas Rode Andersen, is also a bit of a nutrition crusader and I don't agree with all his ideas, but I don't mind if the food is good.

While the miracle berry does not work for everybody, it does work for most people - so I disagree that they should not rely on it; no restaurant can satisfy everybody - miracle berry or not. Most people really enjoy iNG and most people do have a sufficient reaction to the berry. If you provided iNG with advance notice they likely could make modifications so that you could eat the meal without the berry; not 100% certain they would do this but I have noticed them do a great job modifying the menu when I have dined with people who have dietary restrictions.

I also disagree about your comment about chefs not trying to "moonlight as nutritionists" - a popular, well known chef can reach a much larger audience and inspire far more people to consider making healthy adjustments to their dining habits than a nutritionist ever could. They also have the knowledge and expertise to make the food appealing to a wide range of people (though not everybody). Chef Cantu is not trying to serve only health food, so there is some fried items on the menus, but he is trying to combat added sugar.

While it is too bad you and your party did not enjoy iNG, the fact is that most people who dine there have a largely positive experience and I give kudos for Chef Cantu for attempting to make great tasting food without added sugar; so many chefs add all sorts of salt and fats to their food to enhance taste at the expense of health. Sure this is still a work-in-progress but having dined at iNG more than a dozen times I have enjoyed far more hits than the occasional dud. I also greatly enjoy the overall experience of dining at iNG and to me that transcends beyond just the taste of the food.

Gonzo70 wrote:I do not view iNG's use of miracle berry as a gimmick, but rather as an attempt to be trendsetting and make people's diets healthier.

Where do you get the idea that he uses the miracle berry with people's health in mind? Did Cantu say that? The rest of the menu undercuts that assertion.

BR wrote:

Gonzo70 wrote:I do not view iNG's use of miracle berry as a gimmick, but rather as an attempt to be trendsetting and make people's diets healthier.

Where do you get the idea that he uses the miracle berry with people's health in mind? Did Cantu say that? The rest of the menu undercuts that assertion.

See here for one example but he's said it elsewhere, too.

fropones wrote:

BR wrote:

Gonzo70 wrote:I do not view iNG's use of miracle berry as a gimmick, but rather as an attempt to be trendsetting and make people's diets healthier.

Where do you get the idea that he uses the miracle berry with people's health in mind? Did Cantu say that? The rest of the menu undercuts that assertion.

See here for one example but he's said it elsewhere, too.

Thanks - still seems like somewhat of a gimmick given the rest of the menu.

BR wrote:

Gonzo70 wrote:I do not view iNG's use of miracle berry as a gimmick, but rather as an attempt to be trendsetting and make people's diets healthier.

Where do you get the idea that he uses the miracle berry with people's health in mind? Did Cantu say that? The rest of the menu undercuts that assertion.

Yes, Chef Cantu has spoken about if frequently; he has spoken about it in person to me before, has done television spots about it and wrote a book about this. While he is not attempting to create 100% healthy spa-like cuisine, he is trying to significantly reduce the use of added sugars.

Gonzo70 wrote:the fact is that most people who dine there have a largely positive experience.

That's the fact?

disagree wrote:The synthetic miracle berries don't do a thing for me, so I have no reason to eat at the restaurant again.

Miracle berries are not synthetic, they are natural.

New article that just came out about his diet philosophy
http://resto.newcity.com/2013/04/18/sug ... #more-2558

Chef Homaro Cantu can make cheesecake without sugar, fat or cheese. Instead, all he needs is a spoonful of non-fat sour cream, a lemon wedge and a miracle berry tablet. Lemon and sour cream might not sound like dessert, but the miracle of the berry is that it makes these two ingredients taste better than Eli’s Cheesecake.

Not only is Cantu a chef and restaurateur, but he is also an inventor and author. He published a “Miracle Berry Diet Cookbook” in January that he hopes will help wean Americans off sugar. The miracle berry can help diabetics enjoy the sensation of sweetness and even help cancer patients recover their appetites during chemotherapy and radiation. This berry eradicates the need for sugar, but it is also fragile, difficult to manufacture and almost impossible to cook. The federal government, manufacturers, farmers and even chefs can’t quite crack its code.

Non-fat sour cream =

disagree wrote:

Gonzo70 wrote:the fact is that most people who dine there have a largely positive experience.

That's the fact?

Fact: Most people have a largely positive experience at Taco Bell.

Fact: On average taco bell rates more highly than ING.

Fact: Alinea can only match taco bell's impressive customer experience.

PopcornMegaphone wrote:

disagree wrote:

Gonzo70 wrote:the fact is that most people who dine there have a largely positive experience.

That's the fact?

Fact: Most people have a largely positive experience at Taco Bell.

Fact: On average taco bell rates more highly than ING.

Fact: Alinea can only match taco bell's impressive customer experience.

You are taking my comment totally out of context. I was responding to someone else who was opining iNG should not rely on the miracle berry because some people do not have a strong reaction to the berry. As someone who dines frequently at iNG, knows many others who have dined there and has become friendly with a lot of the staff there I am aware that most people do have a favorable reaction to the berry and enjoy their dinner.

Gonzo70 wrote:You are taking my comment totally out of context. I was responding to someone else who was opining iNG should not rely on the miracle berry because some people do not have a strong reaction to the berry. As someone who dines frequently at iNG, knows many others who have dined there and has become friendly with a lot of the staff there I am aware that most people do have a favorable reaction to the berry and enjoy their dinner.

I apologize. It was just a lame joke on my part. I didn't really have a point.

As for the berry itself, I have not eaten one. Reading this thread the miracle berry reminds me of cilantro - it can be divisive and no one can agree on what it actually tastes like.

PopcornMegaphone wrote:
Fact: Most people have a largely positive experience at Taco Bell.

Fact: On average taco bell rates more highly than ING.

Fact: Alinea can only match taco bell's impressive customer experience.

In all fairness, you are comparing ING to what is widely considered to be the Cadillac of Chicago Taco Bell locations

Gonzo70 wrote:

disagree wrote:The synthetic miracle berries don't do a thing for me, so I have no reason to eat at the restaurant again.

Miracle berries are not synthetic, they are natural.

Sugar is natural. But sugar can also be synthetic. And we don't correct people when they offer us synthetic sugar by saying "if it is synthetic it is not sugar". At any rate, I'm guessing you don't want to get into a discussion of rigid designators and theories of reference, so I'll try to explain in a way that hopefully doesn't get you caught up on a word. Here's how it went:

When I ate there they had two different kinds of miracle berry powder. This is the fact.

One type of powder they gave out to everyone. This had no effect at all on me.

After the meal I had a really nice conversation with Chris Jones (who was a super guy even though I didn't like the experience). When I told him that the powder didn't do anything for me, he went and got another type that he told me was "the real deal from Africa" and "from their stash of the real thing". I took this to be a synthetic/natural divide. I am so very sorry if I got that wrong. Whatever the case might be, the latter stuff Jones brought up was imported, whereas it seemed they had themselves made the initial powder. Perhaps one was grown in their basement. I don't know.

Perhaps Cantu can come here and clear this up.

And I am not questioning at all whether you like them. I stick up for my buddies, too.

Really enjoyed iNG's new Street Food menu. There is a new executive chef (Tim Havidic) as well as a new pastry chef and they really put together a solid menu and theme; wonderful pairings as well (as usual a combination of wines, cocktails and craft beers). There has also been some significant front of the house turnover, but they have kept a solid core and hired some good new people. This was one of my favorite menus at iNG and we loved our meal so much we already have made plans to return next month before they move on to another menu.

I believe the new pastry chef may be Natalie Zarzour. Was told by a reliable source that she's working there, although not certain in what capacity.