One Avant-Garde Meal.

Hey everyone-

Long-time lurker, first time poster.

I'm a college student at school in New Orleans, but originally from Chicagoland. I'll be home for a few days around Easter, and my goal is to hit a few places that just can't be had in NOLA. My main goal is to get to Schwa, which I'm on the wait list for. Otherwise, lots of ethnic foods, i.e. Thai, Italian, whatever.

If I don't get into Schwa, though, I'd love suggestions on comparable avant-garde restaurants, excluding Alinea, Avenues. and Moto.

Also, suggestions on Thai food or other Asian foods would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Mike.

Mike,

I suggest you check out the list of Great Neighborhood Restaurants. There are lots of great recommendatins there and every one of them is a....well...Great Neighborhood Restaurant.

Moto would be the most avant-garde of the restaurants you listed.

In terms of ethnic, a good place to start is the list of Great Neighborhood Restaurants.

Sorry, not sure if I made myself clear...

I DON'T want to go to Moto, Alinea, or Avenues.

I've been to Avenues, I'm waiting on Alinea, and and don't really have an interest in Moto, as it seems a little too 'science for the sake of science,' rather than for the sake of taste.

So I'd really like a suggestion that is NOT one of those three. Thanks!

OK, I think you're far off the mark with Moto. I'd suggest at least stopping by for a drink. Otom, their sister restaurant, incorporates a lot of the MG into their current menu if you want a taste of it.

We ate at the kitchen table at Tru on Saturday and there was a bit of the avante garde going on there.

mikehartnett wrote:I've been to Avenues, I'm waiting on Alinea, and and don't really have an interest in Moto, as it seems a little too 'science for the sake of science,' rather than for the sake of taste.

How did you arrive at this view of Moto?

I would agree with jpschust. I went to Moto fully prepared to dismiss it as science for the sake of science. But you know what? I came away really enjoying my meal. So much so that we're going for the Wife's birthday on Saturday night. I would urge you to give it a try.

And apologies for my Monday morning lack of reading comprehension skills.

Let me also throw this endorsement behind it. I've eaten at Moto for 4 full meals now- 2 10 courses and 2 GTM's. I felt so strongly about the quality of service, food, science, etc. that I got engaged to my fiancee in their kitchen.

At the risk of turning this into a thread where we rehash the old Moto disagreements, put me in the camp that feels there's too much form over function at Moto. I don't mean to suggest Cantu doesn't have his successes, I genuinely like the guy and I'm all for wacky ideas and techniques. But unlike Alinea where I understood the exact purpose of every unusual twist served, too much of my two meals at Moto was completely scattershot. And the funky techniques got in the way of the ingredients more often than they helped them. In meeting him, it's clear that Cantu is an idea man with incredible energy and if those ideas were more focused and purposeful, I think it'd be a whole different story. But as it stands, I feel like there's too much throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks. If that's how your mind works, that's great, but then do that in the kitchen and limit the menu to the successes.

That said, I fully support trying it sometime and forming your own conclusions. I just wouldn't put it ahead of a lot of other options.

With all due respect to Dom, I'm in the Moto lovers camp. I wish I could articulate the subtlety of Chef Cantu's combinations, but you have to try them yourself.

As for the question posed by the OP, the GNR list is indeed a good place to start. My personal favorites from the list are: Spoon Thai or TAC Quick for Thai, Tank Noodle for Vietnamese, Khan's BBQ for Pakistani, Hae Woon Dae for Korean BBQ-- a great late night option. Search all of these for threads with specific recommended dishes and pictures to guide you.

I don't understand what you're looking for. It sounds like you're looking for something that's avant garde but not too avant garde.

I apologize. Let me make this a bit clearer.

I'm looking for an avant-garde restaurant that does not put science over taste. I've already been to Avenues, although it fits the bill. Alinea, I am waiting for another occasion to experience. I have heard that Moto is scientific to the point that it is more important than the food, and that's not what I want.

So I'm looking for somewhere else, for these reasons, which is unique and avant garde, but not at the expense of taste.

Is this clearer?

nsxtasy wrote:I don't understand what you're looking for. It sounds like you're looking for something that's avant garde but not too avant garde.

No, just avant garde but something other than the big, obvious three (if I may put words in the OP's mouth ).

mikehartnett wrote:I'm looking for an avant-garde restaurant that does not put science over taste. I've already been to Avenues, although it fits the bill. Alinea, I am waiting for another occasion to experience. I have heard that Moto is scientific to the point that it is more important than the food, and that's not what I want.

Based upon your parameters and definition of "avant-garde," I think your only option is TRU, which is avant-garde-ish, but it's also jacket-and-tie (or did they loosen that restriction?), which may not be avant-garde.

mikehartnett wrote:I apologize. Let me make this a bit clearer.

I'm looking for an avant-garde restaurant that does not put science over taste. I've already been to Avenues, although it fits the bill. Alinea, I am waiting for another occasion to experience. I have heard that Moto is scientific to the point that it is more important than the food, and that's not what I want.

So I'm looking for somewhere else, for these reasons, which is unique and avant garde, but not at the expense of taste.

Is this clearer?

Let me ask a little more pointed question- do you want avant garde in terms of molecular gastronomy? Because if so, you're probably going to need to look elsewhere. If you're looking for unique combinations then you might think about Blackbird as well.

Not necessarily molecular gastronomy... places like Blackbird (which I've been to) would be excellent. From what I've seen, Schwa isn't molecular gastronomy, just interesting combos...

Well, I think the most obvious candidates for avant garde food are Alinea, Avenues, Moto, Tru, Charlie Trotter's, and Schwa. As discussed above, I would agree with others that they also produce food that tastes exceedingly good; in fact, I don't think they sacrifice taste at all. If they did, they probably wouldn't be considered among the very best restaurants in the city (along with Everest and Spiaggia, neither of which is all that avant garde compared with the previous group, but are still excellent and among Chicago's best).

I really don't consider Blackbird avant garde at all; it's simply delicious food, in a contemporary vein. (Maybe that's a better word for what you're seeking, rather than the leading edge that often involves molecular gastronomy?) If you enjoy the food at Blackbird and are looking for something similar - sinfully outstanding food, in the same contemporary genre - then I would start with one sixtyblue, and then quickly add North Pond, Aigre Doux, Sweets and Savories, Custom House, and Spring. If you would consider restaurants in the suburbs, then also consider Vie (Western Springs), Michael (Winnetka), Tallgrass (Lockport), Oceanique (Evanston), and Chef's Station (Evanston). If you enjoy contemporary Italian, then consider Cafe Spiaggia, Coco Pazzo, Vivere, Trattoria No. 10, and Pane Caldo in the city, and in the suburbs, Va Pensiero (Evanston), Gabriel's (Highwood), and Bacino's Trattoria (LaGrange).

I haven't been to all of those you listed, but in my opinion, Tallgrass and Custom House are strikingly different from a restaurant like Blackbird, both in presentation and type of cuisine. I find Tallgrass and Custom House to be more classic fine-dining (with Custom House obviously having a more contemporary setting.), while Blackbird pushes boundaries in both presentation and taste.

One sixtyblue may be the closest then. And then maybe Vie.

I think Blackbird is probably your best bet. Although I would still urge you to give Moto a try.

I think "progressive" may be a better word for what you're seeking.

I know that you have been to Avenues, but you may not have realized that Graham Elliot Bowles is leaving the restaurant in early April.

Curtis Duffy, former chef de cuisine at Alinea, is taking over the reins from in mid- to late-April. Obviously, it's too late for your trip, but it's worth noting.

http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Dish/Ja ... w-Avenues/

With regard to Thai, you will see a thread for TAC Quick on the Great Neighborhood Restaurant Awards thread. It's a must-visit. You can't miss with anything on the specials board, particularly the duck curry. Try the crispy en choi.

Very quickly: don't dismiss Moto . . . the food really is outstanding. Now let me move on.

Spoon Thai is about as good as it gets for Asian in Chicago. Check out this thread for links to some pictures and the translated menu (they do keep an abridged version of the translated menu at the restaurant).

If you don't want to go to Blackbird again, then Vie might be your next best choice.

Has anyone been out to Fahrenheit in St. Charles. I gather that it has an experimental cuisine.

I think that I've decided on Vie. The copious amounts of pickles did it for me. I'll report back, probably around next Friday.