danimalarkey wrote: Schwa's service has struck me as a little 'in the know'-driven. Which is completely understandable -- every restaurant will comp a dish here or there, toss in a free cocktail, etc. for any number of reasons, and most of the time I doubt anyone else dining realizes.

I would suggest bribing them with a few bottles of Belgian beer. It worked for us.

Uh oh...quail egg controversy...

The wife and I had been to Schwa several times before they closed. I'm not sure if that gave us "regular" status or not but we're always appreciative and inquisitive whenever we're there (which goes along way when dining at any restaurant)...sometimes that results in an extra course sometimes it doesn't (at Schwa or most other restaurants). We definitely tipped accordingly to repay the generosity.

I sincerely hope this doesn't turn into an issue. Of course, people love the quail egg ravioli, but Carlson's had it on his menu for two years. You have to let the guy exercise his creativity and let the menu live and breathe.

Dmnkly wrote:I sincerely hope this doesn't turn into an issue. Of course, people love the quail egg ravioli, but Carlson's had it on his menu for two years. You have to let the guy exercise his creativity and let the menu live and breathe.

Exactly. I certainly did not expect (or ask for) the ravioli. If I set that up as an expectation for anybody, I apologize.

Schwa and Frolic

I have been waiting to post about the Great Neighborhood Restaurant award presentation at Schwa last Saturday. At some point I might post my own photos although, given difficult lighting, they are by no means exemplary (and I do not have the pictures of the award).

Six of us (GAF, Cathy2, Jyoti, edc, French Baguette, and CrazyC) represented LTH. Typically Schwa limits its tables to parties of four, but on Saturday Michael Carlson called and informed me that because of cancellations, we could expand our table. We embraced his generosity.

I have been to Schwa four times, and have enjoyed my meal each time, but I felt that this evening Chef Carlson was at his most assured and confident and his happiest. There were fewer missteps, and – dare I say it – he looked more relaxed: more ready for beachwear than a hospital gown. This is how a career should be. While the interactions were never unpleasant, tonight there was a joy that had not been evident previously. Fatherhood does that (for awhile) and a few (four) friends.

Chicago boast numerous consummate chefs: kitchen artists who can create stunning meals: Trotter, Nahabedian, Liccioni, Bowles, Achatz, Tramonto, Bayless, Stegner, Joho, Kahan, Cantu. Michael Carlson is among that elite dozen. But his restaurant is not like any other. Unlike David Chang or Jose Andres, he does not pass food across a counter, but cooks and serves and scrapes the pots. I feel myself blessed to visit Naha, Trotters, Frontera every few years, but I want to visit Carlson each season. The fear at its opening was that Schwa was a mirage, a culinary unicorn: it couldn’t exist, and that someday – soon – I might kick myself for not making that last reservation. I kicked last October. Perhaps every chef wants – in fantasy – to do it all, but this is also the hope of the diner. It is nice to be greeted by Chef Trotter, but it is something else to show Chef Carlson that the parsley is misplaced (no parsley tonight!). Schwa is a divine chimera. If I had to choose a last meal in my chill cell, perhaps it wouldn’t be Carlson’s dishes I would first salivate after (except his canonical lusty quail’s egg ravioli), but if I were given a one-night reprieve it would be Schwa that I would visit, and explain to Ashley Dupree that I was engaged. What is remarkable is the creation within that small space on Ashland of a single, momentary community of cooks and diners. I like and admire servers, but let it be me and the stovemen. (I never fantasize about coolly-precise servers, no matter how cute, as long as there are hot cooks about).

I was struck by how carefully Chef Carlson separated and calibrated his flavors and textures. Carlson is less a chemist in the style of Cantu or Achatz than a literary critic: he likes to consider, rearrange, and interpret ingredients as they create a “dish.” His style is not precisely molecular, but it treats a dish as a text to be sliced and diced.

To start at the end. Desserts have been the weak link at Schwa. Pastry chefs have a language that most chefs speak only in pidgin – and the translation between the two accents may be rough as Sam Mason came to realize after receiving pastry encomiums at the sweet genius at wd-50, he was crucified when first opening Tailor in New York. With the small staff at Schwa, desserts seemed – well – half-baked. Not tonight. Dessert was sweetened candied veal sweetbreads with ice wine vinegar caramel, passionfruit culis, lavender foam, and a dehydrated parsnip chip. Although deconstructed dishes often have the disadvantage of being “a little of this, a little of that,” forcing diners to reconstruct the chef’s ideal in their clumsy way, this dish was compelling it its separation, not even considering the literary conceit of the punny sweetbreads.

Dinner began with a complex and refreshing amuse of grapefruit vesicles (cells) with honey sorbet, chamomile agar and black truffle shaving. (I credit both “CG” and “wino66” for these borrowed descriptions – the Schwa menu is telegraphic, as is the rage at molecular restaurants: this dish is labeled “amuse”). Here was a lovely combination that was sufficiently robust that the truffle was overpowered. The flavor was dominated by melodious honey sorbet and tart grapefruit. The meal began and ended with the kitchen’s sugary touch.

The first course was notable for a brioche that will reside in any bakery hall of fame. We were served pickled Jonah Crab, a slice of dehydrated banana (the dehydrator works overtime at Schwa), batons of celery, celery root and a celery root puree. What was heroic, however, was an unprepossessing cube of brioche injected with hot banana liquor that didn’t just melt but exploded like Carnival. It is a challenge to explain a sensation that is as much tactile and olfactory as gustatory, but it was stunning: doubly mouthwatering.

This appetizer was followed by soup: a potent rich and salty beer cheese soup, made from Chimay washed cheese, served with a freshly made soft “pretzel hole” and a dehydrated mustard chip and an herbal smear. If not as stunning as the previous course, it was intense and intensely satisfying.

Now Chef Carlson returned to a trio of greatest hits. First, Pad Thai: jellyfish with thai flavors. It is a cute conceit and certainly flavorful as a small bite, but it was not a dish that I craved a second time, even though I had enjoyed it previously.

This was quickly followed by the Schwa Pine Cone (I am not certain if I have had precisely this recipe): sea urchin ice cream on a maple syrup flavored cone with some pine essence. The uni ice cream was a lovely palate cleanser, even if the cone was sweeter than necessary and needed a more dramatic pine essence.

Finally the quail egg ravioli. Still fantastic after all of these months. Brilliant. Erotic. Tampopo.

The artic char roe with pumpernickel coins, Meyer lemon puree and rutabaga consommé has been criticized for being out of balance with too strong a pumpernickel presence. Perhaps Chef Carlson has dialed back on this pungency or perhaps I just enjoy marked tastes, but I found the flavors and textures compelling and well-modulated: a remarkable take on caviar-and-blini. This deconstruction revealed true culinary bravado.

Kona Kampachi sashimi with galangal crisp, Lime gelee, maple mousse foam, salsify batons, and daikon disks was wonderful in all ways that a dish can produce wonderment in our firmament. Another deconstruction, this Japanois-inspired, and a very fruitful – reprising the candied mid-March maple-syrup theme of the meal: not too sweet (although the meal was more heavily weighted toward sweetness than some chefs might have dared).

The greatest revelation of the evening was the liver and onions. In a city in which liver has come to mean foie gras undercover: Chef Carlson presented a simple preparation with a disk of calves liver perched on a scoop of onion risotto. What not to like? With liver this sweet and rich, why pine over foie gras? Why duck into liver speakeasies? A dill smear decorated the side of the bowl with small cubes of bayleaf gelee, crispy shallots and pickled cipollini onions. Liver and onions rules!

Our final main course was antelope loin and leg, served sous vide, with butternut squash and white chocolate foam. Perhaps this dish suffered by its placement after the superb kampachi and amazing liver. The antelope was pleasant, the chocolate foam was well prepared, but by this course I wanted a miracle, not pleasure alone.

Our cheese course – once a memorable one-bite pungent (epoisse) cheese risotto, a signature dish of Chef Carlson - was tonight a small wedge of Humboldt fog goat cheese (with a truffled ash layer) and graham cracker crust. It tasted like Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese. Let the kitchen take a breather. And then to dessert.

This was not only the most triumphant meal that I have had at Schwa, but the most fun. I revere the Jonah crab appetizer, the Kampachi, the liver and onions, and the Candied Sweetbreads, and, always, the ravioli. But I will mostly prize the experience of being served by a staff that seemed at their ease, having fun, and playing with their food and their admirers. Each hour of joy is a benediction.

Schwa
1466 North Ashland
773-252-1466
www.schwarestaurant.com

(Hopefully photos will soon follow.)

Vealcheeks

GAF and Michael


Menu


Amuse Bouche


Quail Egg Ravioli


Pinecone

More pictures from the dinner can be found here

GAF wrote:
The greatest revelation of the evening was the liver and onions. In a city in which liver has come to mean foie gras undercover: Chef Carlson presented a simple preparation with a disk of calves liver perched on a scoop of onion risotto. What not to like? With liver this sweet and rich, why pine over foie gras? Why duck into liver speakeasies? A dill smear decorated the side of the bowl with small cubes of bayleaf gelee, crispy shallots and pickled cipollini onions. Liver and onions rules!

I heartily agree - even though I've been a life-long L&O fan, this was truly inspiring!

March 15, 2008


Amuse


Stone Crab
bananas, celery, coriander



Beer Cheese Soup
chimay, pretzel


Pad Thai


Pine Cone (off menu)


Quail Egg Ravioli


Arctic Char Roe (off menu)
pumpernickel, lemon, rutabaga



Kona Kampachi
galangal, lime, maple


Liver & Onions


Antelope
butternut, white chocolate


Cheese


Dessert

Photos proved to be a challenge (except for Cathy2's beautiful amuse).

Here is another image of the Beer Cheese Soup.



and one of the Stone Crab.



and one of the Arctic Char Roe.



and the Kona Kampachi.

At the risk of sounding ignorant, I have to say it!
Those dishes look hard to eat!
For example, the beer cheese soup - that green sauce smeared on the plate - how/what does one eat that? Lick the plate?
And the Kona Kampache - there's food all over the place!

I guess I'll have to stick to my Johnnie's beef sammich. No question about how to eat that, ha ha!

Can anyone tell me how these folks are with dietary restrictions? I've got a reservation for May 31 to do the 9-course menu. I just found out that one person in our party is severely allergic to seafood. I've been unsuccessful getting through to the restaurant thus far to let them know, but I thought I would throw the question out here to see if anyone knew if this would mess up the kitchen.

Thanks very much.

John

John Danza wrote:Can anyone tell me how these folks are with dietary restrictions? I've got a reservation for May 31 to do the 9-course menu. I just found out that one person in our party is severely allergic to seafood. I've been unsuccessful getting through to the restaurant thus far to let them know, but I thought I would throw the question out here to see if anyone knew if this would mess up the kitchen.

Thanks very much.

John

I'm allergic to scallops, which were featured in one course during our visit. They happily substituted monkfish, which my wife tells me was very unfortunate for me, as it was perhaps the best scallop she's ever eaten. They were very gracious, though. If the seafood allergy is so expansive as to knock out several courses, or to prevent an appropriate substitution, it might be more problematic. Can you leave a message for the restaurant to help guard against catching them unaware?

Aaron Deacon wrote: If the seafood allergy is so expansive as to knock out several courses, or to prevent an appropriate substitution, it might be more problematic. Can you leave a message for the restaurant to help guard against catching them unaware?

Yes, I'm trying to contact them now, but the mailbox is full again. I'll keep trying and if I don't get them in the next week, I'll send them a letter!

This guy's allergy to seafood is total, so they wouldn't be able to do what they did for you. They would have to substitute a meat or veggie course. That's typically not a problem for places like Trotter's, Tru, and their like, but I know these guys are small so I want to give them plenty of notice. If they can't handle it, then that guy's out!

I think that this is a matter of degree. If your friend is allergic to shellfish or some species of fish, arrangements can be made. However, if he is highly allergic to all seafood, it is not really fair to him or to the chef, particularly given that the meal included Kampachi, Sea Urchin, Char Roe, Stone Crab, and perhaps other dishes relied upon fish stock, etc. Better in a case like that is to select a restaurant where one doesn't order a tasting menu, but can select off a larger menu. Of course, the decision is really the chef's, but eliminating all seafood might be difficult for a restaurant like Schwa.

I'd feel safe to say that the kitchen can make the needed adjustments. I would not say it's unfair as another poster has mentioned. Dietary restrictions are something good kitchens are typically happy to accomodate. And Schwa is a good kitchen to be sure.

I will say however that it would be polite to call ahead to le them know. I'm sure it will be fine.

I dined at Schwa a year ago with a friend who is a vegetarian who eats fish but is allergic to shellfish. She let them know at the time of the reservation and they seemed to have no problem with making some substitions. They were wonderful and gracious about it.

I realize that I'm not contributing anything new here...but I ate at Schwa last night and felt the need to put something in writing about it. After securing reservations twice last year and having to cancel, anticipation barely scratches the surface of what I was feeling.

It was worth the wait. The effort required to get a reservation is worth it. The expense is worth it. It was the absolute pinnacle of my dining experiences in Chicago so far. If it was socially acceptable, I would have licked every plate before allowing them to take it away. Now that I think of it, I should have thrown social graces out the window and just done it.

I am not one who has dietary restrictions, but a woman at the table next to us ate no red meat, and I pitied her because she wouldn't be eating the antelope. Granted, I eat everything, but if I didn't, I would have given up food restrictions and risked allergic reactions to eat the meal as it was presented last night.

We went on 3 April with 6 people and had a great time. The food was fantastic, you could really tell how excited they were to be there and cooking (one guy was so bubbly, it was really cute) and the atmosphere lent itself to really enjoying the meal. We had the 9 course, plus they added in the uni cone and the quail ravioli. I can't even say which was my favorite, the crab maybe, or the antelope. Or maybe the kona kampachi. I liked the top of the uni cone, the ice cream part, but not whatever piney thing was in the middle so much. And usually I am not an uni fan. Didn't like the liver part of the liver and onions, but I normally HATE liver, so that was expected.

Definitely a phenomenal birthday meal

ps - We were taking about Mexican on Western between Armitage and Fullerton, and Chef Carlson commented that he eats at Arturo's a LOT.

The Schwa experience is like no other. I had the pleasure of dining there this past week with my fiance -- Chef Carlson and his crew greatly exceeded our high expectations. An amuse and 12 courses (quail egg ravioli, pine cone, and birthday bite extras). It appears the liver and onions have been replaced by an incredible combination of morels and fluffy lamb brain pillows. Our server commented that the kitchen was particularly excited with this course (sorry, I do not take pictures but appreciate those who do). Other current standouts are well-documented above -- stone crab, Chimay cheese soup with the insane mustard crisp, and the antelope (the sous vide portion was more than spectacular).

I think there is a lot of truth to the statement on Schwa's website that "it is a state of mind." The moment I walked through the door the energy hit me between the eyes. Hard. The passion of the kitchen is overwhelming, our glasses were never close empty, wines properly paired, and each course was explained with precision.

The only disappointment of the evening was the foursome sitting next to us who complained to the sous chef about the service not meeting their expectations. Perhaps they were not aware of the fact that this guy and the others were also busy cooking. They could not be so oblivious, so I actually ended up feeling sorry for the foursome. I simply believe they did not approach Schwa with, although it sounds trite, a sensible state of mind. The service and, of course, the Atmosphere is markedly different than the other spots in town preparing food of Schwa's caliber (Trotters, Alinea, et al.). I think this is what makes Schwa so special. So, if you're expecting a quiet evening of conversation and being catered to at a moment's notice, Schwa is probably not the place for you.

Yes, the reservation system is not ideal. However, when you finally get through the doors on Ashland, you will quickly forget about how many times you had to call and all of the unreturned messages. Sit back with an open mind, bring a lot of wine, and Chef Carlson and company will take care of you.

We are really fortunate to have Schwa in Chicago.

alexi612 wrote:The passion of the kitchen is overwhelming, our glasses were never close empty, wines properly paired, and each course was explained with precision.

The only disappointment of the evening was the foursome sitting next to us who complained to the sous chef about the service not meeting their expectations. Perhaps they were not aware of the fact that this guy and the others were also busy cooking. They could not be so oblivious, so I actually ended up feeling sorry for the foursome.

Alexi, I'm trying to better understand what you're saying about the service. Are you saying you found the service to be everything one could desire (the first paragraph above strongly suggests that), or are you saying that allowances need to be (and should be) made for the service given the kind of place Schwa is (which the second paragraph seems to suggest)?

I think the latter point of view is highly defensible, but the service you received sounds like it could not have been more attentive. If so, then either the table next to you did not receive the same level of service you did, or they were complaining about nothing. But you don't seem to say they were complaining about nothing, so I'm confused.

alexi612 wrote:The passion of the kitchen is overwhelming, our glasses were never close empty, wines properly paired, and each course was explained with precision.

Let me add another question. Since Schwa is BYOB, I'm a little puzzled by the notion that the wines were "properly paired." If it's BYOB, you brought them. Do you mean that they were properly paired in that you brought the right things? And/or that you brought what the restaurant recommended? Since we're going soon and are in the midst of making our own selections, I'd be curious to know if I'm understanding you properly. Thanks--and thanks for the report.

In reverse order from my experience way back at the beginning of this thread:

1) I brought a bunch of wines; our waiter/chef/whatever made (thoughtful) recommendations from that group for which should go with what courses.

2) Although unconventional, the service at Schwa when I went there was better by conventional measures than at almost any other restaurant I've been to in this town in 20 years. Only if you're determined to be a jackass about things like the (lack of) stemware does it seem possible for you to be put off by the service (allowing for the possibility anywhere of an off night, admittedly).

A friend had his third annual Schwa birthday dinner there on Thursday, and came back raving about the lambs brains. Said they surpassed even the quail egg ravioli. He was very happy with the service, too, with Chef Carlson bringing out many of the dishes personally.

I'm tempted to make a reservation in the hopes that they'll still have it in two months.

Mike G wrote:In reverse order from my experience way back at the beginning of this thread:

1) I brought a bunch of wines; our waiter/chef/whatever made (thoughtful) recommendations from that group for which should go with what courses.

That was our experience, too. We brought several different wines based on a phone conversation as well as those people had commented in this thread plus a dessert wine as well as some sparkling water. At their suggestion, the staff decided which wine came with the courses and kept our water glasses filled as well.

A visit to Schwa is a very fulfilling experience. I recently went to a lunch at Trotters that cost a bit more than what I had at Schwa for a lot less. It paled in execution and service to Schwa. In addition, you had in total less than a minute of Charlie Trotters attention and vastly more of Michael Carlson and staff.

Regards,

Mike G wrote:Only if you're determined to be a jackass about things like the (lack of) stemware does it seem possible for you to be put off by the service...

That's kind of where I thought alexi's post was headed, but then it headed off in a whole 'nother direction, leaving me befuddled.

I'll go with your assessment (which agrees, by the way, with my own) and just mentally set alexi's post aside--unless and until he/she clarifies his/her meaning.

I just had my birthday dinner at Schwa and my word it was the best dinner I've had in a long time, if ever (my boyfriend and I are arguing about whether Moto/L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon/Spago is better). Anyway, the 4-top next to us was composed of 3 normal diners and one obnoxious girl. The girl in question thanked her host for making the reservation at Schwa and said "it's not as snooty as I expected." More importantly however, we overheard the girl in question getting grossed out by a frogs leg dish. Now, we watched their table closely and the only extra dish we believe they had was the quail egg ravioli (as did we). She turned her nose up at the dish, and said EW frogs legs?? Chef Carlson, who was presentgn the dish, did not seem impressed. My question is, what frogs leg dish did she have? She mentioend later on that she was a "vegetarian" at which point her boyfriend said, no you're not, you eat bacon! But Im' wondering if she told Schwa that she didn't eat red meat and she got frogs legs instead of antelope??? Anyone had a frogs leg dish at Schwa? I was intrigued...

Also, the entire night was amazing. Amazing.

Let me clarify, please.

First, our service was nothing short of spectacular because I knew what to expect. Amazing. Everything I could desire, Riddlemay. As succinctly stated by Mike G, the service is unconventional like everything else at Schwa. I think there are probably two reasons my experience differed from the table less than two feet away: (1) I expected and welcomed the unconventional service and, to borrow an appropriate phrase, (2) I’m not an Ugly American (I think). Now, I can only assume the table next to us received similar attention-- they also received the quail egg ravioli and pine cone as extras. Could this be a flawed assumption? Of course. However, I highly doubt we were the darlings of the kitchen. Other than their complaint and internal discussion regarding the gratuity (“if any”), I turned my head only to look at what they were eating and what they were drinking. I’m a curious individual and the anticipation of what was coming out of the kitchen was killing me. They were about thirty minutes ahead of us, but went with the three course menu. In my opinion, they were “complaining about nothing” using a “conventional service standard.”

So, here’s my point and it’s certainly not new news to most: leave your conventional fine dining expectations at home when you go to Schwa. Please. I think if my neighbors would have done so, their experience would have been closer to mine and I would not have had to listen to their awkward discussion with the sous chef.

Second, with regard to my wine pairing comment, I brought four bottles for two. When we sat down, Chef Carlson quickly grabbed all four bottles with two hands and remarked “nice selections” and was off. I never gave any libation direction whatsoever. I believe a graduate of Wines 201 could have matched them up, but nonetheless I thought this was a very nice touch and I gave the fourth bottle to the house. For those who are fortunate to have reservations in the near future, I would strongly recommend a champagne (brut blanc de blancs) or something else that sparkles and is not sweet, a gruner, and an earthy red burgundy (or a fruit light pinot noir) for the morels/lamb brains and antelope. I think Schwa’s stemware is just fine, but I may bring some flutes for just the sparkling wine on my next visit. Hope this helps.

I recently went to a lunch at Trotters that cost a bit more than what I had at Schwa for a lot less.

Cathy2, I've read this sentence several times now, and I can't figure out what you're trying to say. Please clarify.

Trotter's cost more for less food, or an inferior experience.

Trotter's cost more for less food, or an inferior experience.

Cathy2, you've changed your handle?