So how did "Michael" respond when you dropped the OAD name and asked him to cook for you?

This looks like a much tamer menu than last year. Wonder if he's intentionally making the dishes more crowd-pleasing (no more jellyfish pad thai, for instance) or if it's just luck of the draw.

Or was this tamed down because that's what you get when you "ask him to cook for you"?

gleam wrote:So how did "Michael" respond when you dropped the OAD name and asked him to cook for you?

You're not going to suck me into that discussion. No way.

P.S., I neglected to mention the amuse, which was the one deconstructed dish: an evocation of the flavor notes of Henricks gin: with rosewater tapioca balls, cucumber, and tarragon. It did what amuses are supposed to do, awaken our senses. While I would not choose to order tapioca balls, I realize that the goal was to combine smell, taste, color (an absinthe green, perhaps slightly darker), and texture - if it went snap, crackle, pop, it would have it all.

I am not sure that Michael is attempting to be more "crowd-pleasing," but that at a certain point a chef can stop creating ideas for dishes and start creating those dishes.

Great report, GAF; thanks. Interesting reading. I haven't had the good fortune to go to Schwa yet, though all of my chef friends in NY keep asking if I've been.

The meal looks terrific. A minor observation--though pretty, the platings aren't quite as artful as I guess I expected, even though they look good.

I'm hoping to go in October.

You are correct about the platings, and this is characteristic of Schwa. The dishes, while filled with flavors, are not among the most startlingly beautiful around (they do not compare, for example, with those at L2O). It is, I think, part of the choice that Michael has made in having a small kitchen staff is that the plates will not have all of the touches that restaurants with larger staff and in which the cooks are not also servers do. It is either part of the unique charm of Schwa or a limitation - or perhaps both. There is no restaurant quite like Schwa.

Fascinating and makes sense. I can't wait to go.

Schwa was somewhat different than I imagined it. Many of my friends who have been there described it as "punk rock" and I didn't really understand what they meant until I went myself. The food is very cerebral, and I am not afraid to admit that I don't think I fully understand it after one visit. Many of the dishes are based on what I often describe as difficult flavor combinations (like the dish with the home made root beer), which makes it all that more difficult to understand. I thought the best dish was the candied sweetbreads as they were so candied that they nearly transcended their original protein state. I would like to go back again sometime this fall so I can get a better understanding of what's on Michael's mind. Nut if I had to compare it to another U.S. restaurant, I would say that it is closer to WD-50 than to say Alinea.

So how did "Michael" respond when you dropped the OAD name and asked him to cook for you?

You know I am wheat gluten intolerant which the kitchen knew in advance, so some of my courses were different than Gary's. One thing I got for dessert that the others didn't get was a superb sea urchin ice cream. Delicious stuff. I will try and post a photo of it here when I have the chance to.

Steve Plotnicki wrote:You know I am wheat gluten intolerant which the kitchen knew in advance, so some of my courses were different than Gary's. One thing I got for dessert that the others didn't get was a superb sea urchin ice cream. Delicious stuff. I will try and post a photo of it here when I have the chance to.

That's interesting...do you 100% not eat gluten (steer clear of it like someone with Celiac disease might), or can you tolerate small amounts of it? If it's the former and Schwa was able to deliver, that'd be great info to pass on to a friend of ours who has Celiac.

Also, I would love to hear more about this sea urchin ice cream. I've had plenty of sea urchin as-is in the uni context, but somehow never as a component of anything, and certainly not as a dessert.

Khaopaat wrote: That's interesting...do you 100% not eat gluten (steer clear of it like someone with Celiac disease might), or can you tolerate small amounts of it? If it's the former and Schwa was able to deliver, that'd be great info to pass on to a friend of ours who has Celiac.

Also, I would love to hear more about this sea urchin ice cream. I've had plenty of sea urchin as-is in the uni context, but somehow never as a component of anything, and certainly not as a dessert.

I can tolerate small amounts of it.

What made the sea urchin ice cream so good was the intensity of the sea urchin flavor. Typically, when a chef tries to inject the flavor of sea urchin into a dish it ends up being sublte (like seea urchin risotto.)

GAF wrote:Too quickly I responded the pea soup, perhaps because of its being out of season and the somewhat wan quality of the peas, but over the past few days the memory of the dish has grown in pleasure. Today I would say the corn medley (with candied sweetbreads) was least appealing mostly for the texture – popcorn deserves to be served naked with a diaphanous robe of melted butter.

GAF, maybe the chef read your mind or agreed with you deep down inside. The corn medley was not on my 9-course tasting menu at Schwa last night. In its stead, we were served a fantastic dish of chicken liver ensconed in tumeric with rutabaga balls and a beer broth. The liver was super silky and worked beuatifully with other ingredients. The rest of the menu was essentially the same as GAFs.

As another surprise treat after the dessert, we were served a tiny, delicate, creamy, waffle cone topped with a beet sauce and finished off with a drop of BACON BITTERS specially prepared for Schwa by the good folks at the Violet Hour. Wow -- what a way to end the night, with a crunch, creamy moutful, and unctous coating of bacon essence on the tongue.

It was a great dinner that I did not think would happen due to the last minute attempt to gain reservations and I was pleased to find an open door when I arrived. Though, I could imagine that things might have easily turned out different, since Chef Carlson was sporting a black eye that was apparently earned in an altercation. But, I'll spare you those details.

r2g wrote:Chef Carlson was sporting a black eye that was apparently earned in an altercation.

What happened? Did that Plotnicki character try to blowhard his way in?

stevez wrote:What happened? Did that Plotnicki character try to blowhard his way in?

Actually the way the reservation went down was as follows. GAF called and a period of time went by where he didn't hear back rom the restaurant, I then called and left a message for Michael saying I was going to be in GAF's party, and then the reservation came though. I can't say whether my call had anything to do with getting the reservation, nor can I tell you whether the timing was definitive. But, (to use your disgusting characterization) if "blowharding" had a positive effect on the outcome, I'm all for it. It's too bad you don't know how to blowhard. You would probably eat better meals.

Steve Plotnicki wrote:You would probably eat better meals.

I doubt that's possible. I just do it quietly and with respect.

stevez wrote:

r2g wrote:Chef Carlson was sporting a black eye that was apparently earned in an altercation.

What happened? Did that Plotnicki character try to blowhard his way in?

That's hilarious Stevez. If only.

It was comforting and reaffirming that I was able to get a reservation with only two days notice just by calling the number and asking for one, plus I enjoyed an incredible meal, with two "extra" courses, and some very fun anecdotes without having to engage in the any of the behaviors described and advocated by some (one?) in the L2o/L.20/L20/l.20 post, which many have found in poor taste. It's nice to know that one does not have to invariably behave like that to squeeze out from the chef the best they have to offer. I don't doubt that I experienced the best that Chef Carlson had to offer that night without me playing games to see if I could get more. For that I am grateful.

However, there was this annoying and constant cooing sound coming from the kitchen, which sounded like wood pigeons, though I did not see them on anyone's plates.

stevez wrote:I just do it quietly and with respect.

Stevez, that is genius. I think I've been practicing your same technique and it seems to be working. Maybe you should try to make some money off this concept!? I'll support your efforts.

stevez wrote:

Steve Plotnicki wrote:You would probably eat better meals.

I doubt that's possible. I just do it quietly and with respect.

You see that's a class resentment argument. You have no idea if announcing yourself in advance is offputting to a restaurant. In fact maybe the restaurant prefers customers who announce themselves in advance to those who don't But since you don't have the ability to do that, you want to characterize it in a perjorative way, while describing your inability to do it as having respect for the restaurant.

GAF wrote:
Rhubarb-Strawberry Soup with Foie Gras powder

GAF. Did this dish have a white/black pepper ice-cream in the center and some olive oil? If not, then this was also a permutation from your visit. I loved this dessert. The bite and mild heat from the ice-cream, along with its creaminess, worked great with the sweet and tangy soup. This was another of my favorites.

Steve Plotnicki wrote: But since you don't have the ability to do that, you want to characterize it in a perjorative way, while describing your inability to do it as having respect for the restaurant.

Who says I don't have the ability to do that? I just choose to do it in a more organic way.

stevez wrote:
Who says I don't have the ability to do that? I just choose to do it in a more organic way.

Gee you think you're going to be cute and ask me to prove a negative.

Look at it like this. Experienced diners know that restaurants prefer that they announce themselves in advance. It makes it easier for the chef if he knows who is going to be in the house that night. And even if you chose not to do it yourself, it is doubtful you would criticize someone else for doing it differently. So given that background, I doubt you actually have the juice to do it. Of course I could be wrong, but I would stake a wager on it based on what I have seen so far.

Now we're going to start arguing on the Schwa thread? What's next? The Alinea thread?

Steve Plotnicki wrote:. So given that background, I doubt you actually have the juice to do it. Of course I could be wrong.....

In Steve Z's case you would be wrong.

Steve Plotnicki wrote:
You see that's a class resentment argument.

There you go again. Run into this much in other discussions? Nobody here has mentioned that particular word.

You could say, then, at LTH it's not a class resentment argument as much as a lack of class resentment argument.

G Wiv wrote:

Steve Plotnicki wrote:. So given that background, I doubt you actually have the juice to do it. Of course I could be wrong.....

In Steve Z's case you would be wrong.

Hey's it's a function of credentials, not claims. I haven't seen any credentials. All I have seen from him are class resentment arguments which leads me to a certain conclusion.

G Wiv wrote:In Steve Z's case you would be wrong.

Steve Plotnicki wrote:Hey's it's a function of credentials, not claims. I haven't seen any credentials. All I have seen from him are class resentment arguments which leads me to a certain conclusion.

Santander wrote:There you go again. Run into this much in other discussions? Nobody here has mentioned that particular word.

Lets move this to Site Chat please. (Including myself)

Hey guys, I'm not the one who described contacting a restaurant in advance to announce yourself in a perjorative way or something a "blowhard" would do. Steve Z made that position up because it makes HIM feel good about himself. He has no idea if Michael Carlson knew who I was, or how he greeted me when I came into the restaurant. But he has an opinion about it without any actual information. My contrubition to this thread, before SteveZ and others insulted me, was only about the food.

Do you guys realize that I printed up a little OA pocket guide of the recommended restaurants in the U.S. and I sent a bunch to Michael and when I was there this week he told me he handed them out at the restaurant? So even though this was my first time at the restaurant, it wasn't as if I was a total stranger.

Aww, Jeez.

As for the reservation, I would like to believe that having eaten at Schwa a half dozen times, I can get my own reservation, thank you very much. A day or two after my call, I received a call from Michael saying that we had the reservation. End of that story.

As for the Medley of corn and candied sweetbreads, it was not on the menu, but "Chicken Liver, Rutabaga, Tumeric, Beer" was. Whether this change was a function of what was available, the chef's inspiration, or Steve's gluten allergy, I don't know.

r2g, I think you are correct about the ice cream in the dessert IIRC, but it is not in my abbreviated notes.

We also had the waffle cone with beet ice cream and bacon bitters from the Violet Hour. Delicious and a perfect post-amuse.

GAF wrote:
We also had the waffle cone with beet ice cream and bacon bitters from the Violet Hour. Delicious and a perfect post-amuse.

And the sea urchin ice cream was in lieu of the beet ice cream because the cone contains wheat gluten.

C'mon everyone!

Let's not allow the focus of this thread to veer away from Schwa. The personal attacks and name-calling (especially when largely unprovoked and carried over from other threads) are really disheartening. I'd remove them (out of respect for the restaurant) but they're already well-integrated into the discussion, so that would be a tricky task to accomplish without completely screwing up the thread. However, from this point forward, any and all post containing personal attacks, name-calling or other non-Schwa b.s. will be removed from the thread immediately, regardless of what other content they might contain.

Thanks,

=R=
for the moderators

Moving on....

What was supposed to be a dinner last night at Sweets and Savories for my girl's birthday turned into a splurge at Schwa when, after driving by the restaurant on our way to Sweets, I mentioned to her that Schwa was supposedly great ("you read that on LTH didn't you?" was her wry reply) and that a reservation was impossible to get ("you haven't actually tried have you? You just read that on LTH.")

Taking up the challenge, I handed her the iphone and told her to pull up their number and give it a ring. Five minutes she had the chef on the phone letting us know they could accommodate us in half an hour, or early October. Of course we jumped on it without a blink, and quickly canceled on Sweets and Savories (not classy, I know).

Anyways, we had a fantastic meal. I second the best praise that has been heaped upon this gem in this and other threads. The atmosphere could not have been better - convivial, relaxed, urban, and uber-boozy. We walked in with a nice bottle of french bubbly and a french granache/syrah blend, and ended up drinking maybe another half dozen or so wines that other patrons hadn't finished or the kitchen had on hand. I knew we were in a for a good night when the chef eyed our warm champagne before the first course, told us we shouldn't drink it in that state, refused to pour us our red (red wine with an amuse and a cold crab salad?), and proceeded to pour us a fantastic, crisp Spanish white that was perfectly chilled.

The courses were the same as described in the last few posts that actually discussed food. Highlights were the quail egg ravioli (not listed on the tasting menu), butter poached lobster with favas, pickled onions and parsley, and the silkiest, lightest chicken liver mousse I have ever had. The only misstep of the night was sous vide pata negra. I'm sure the beast was fine, but the cooking method rendered it a bit rubbery and flavorless. I think a braise and grill would have been better, but WTF do I know. Whatever the case, it was a minor misstep, and as the ingredient is relatively new to the kitchen (six weeks according to Michael) they will probably play around with it and perfect its preparation.

Schwa is awesome. They played hip hop (Atmosphere, a classic alt-rap outfit from Minneapolis), give us tons of wine, joked with us, and basically earned every penny of the 3 bills* I dropped on the check. My girlfriend loved it. The night began with what was supposed to be a surprise destination for her, and ended with both of us being surprised by scoring a reservation at one of Chicago's best.


*a "bill" is Chicago urban slang for $100.

Habibi-

What, you think this site is about the food?

Great write-up -- sounds like it was a fantastic meal. Now you have an excuse to go out another time to Sweets & Savories.

-The GP