My thoughts going into last night's dinner were similar to happy_stomach's. I don't tend to like places this glitzy, but conversations with Chef Mendez, tastes of his food at public events, and praise in this thread made me optimistic. The meal was even better than I expected, and I was most impressed with how little the chef seemed to hold back when it came to big, bold flavors and serious spice.

Before our meal and between all courses, Chef Mendez and Casa Noble owner Jose (Pepe) Hermosillo said a few words about what we were about to be served. One of things I appreciated most was when the Chef said, "When I think of Casa Noble, I don’t think of tequila. I think of Pepe." The point he was making was that to him, foods and drinks taste infinitely better when you know the people who make them. That's why he likes to be so open to his guests and the public at large, and it's why he's most passionate about serving stuff made by people he's met, most of whom happen to be local farmers.


Pear-Ginger Margarita:

This terrific cocktail was made from fresh local pears that were pureed with ginger and mixed with Casa Noble Crystal tequila. The edible flowers were a pretty garnish, if not as tasty as the delicious, multi-colored melon balls. I liked that this refreshing drink tasted of pure fruit and good tequila rather than excess sweetening.



Yellowfin Tuna with Aji Amarillo:

The tuna itself is still making my mouth water. It was perfectly seasoned and seared, and had a rich, powerful, meaty taste. Simply fantastic. I keep a bottle of aji amarillo in my fridge at all times, as I love the stuff. Here , it was combined with crema or something else that muted the aji flavor. That disappointed me at the time, but in retrospect, it was probably exactly what allowed the tuna to shine so brightly, and even enhanced the flavor of the fish.



Blue Marlin Ceviche:

Just the way ceviche should taste, with fresh fish that's kept its textural integrity despite plenty of flavor-enhancing acid. Fresh, crunchy red onions and diced chiles were great, as was the extra dollop of habanero puree on the left side of the plate. Chef Mendez had warned us about the intensity of the heat. It certainly did pack a punch, but was well balanced by the addition of what I thought at the time was melon puree, but ended up finding out from the chef that it was actually passion fruit.



Braised Duck Crepe With Corn Puree and Chile Cascabel:


Crepe, Opened Up:

Another very tasty course, where the corn was the highlight for me. I can understand Sharon's point about it being very sweet. It was indeed almost candy-like. Welcome to the new world, where even small local growers like Three Sisters Garden are producing corn from Mirai seeds. I think the dark sauce was just pure cascabel puree, which was fruity, smoky and peppery, with just a little heat.



"Cochinita Pibil" with Sweet Potato Puree:

I put the name in quotation marks because Chef Mendez described this dish as reflecting a little bit of his Puerto Rican heritage rather than being a pure rendition of the Mexican classic. That's why it was served as a whole piece rather than shredded, and it might also be why I thought it was missing the pleasant sourness I usually associate with the dish. On another thread, I think an LTHer opined that when you get a good, fatty pork shoulder, you're already 75% there, not needing to do much else. This was even better: an already-85%-there pork shoulder: rich, fatty, and very piggy. Great stuff. I also liked the puree a lot, which lacked the insipid sweetenings that often make sweet potatoes taste like baby food.



Baked Apple:

I thought this was the perfect end to a meal as rich as this. Barely adulterated, delicious apple with raisins that were plumped with Casa Noble tequila. Full as I was, I would have happily eaten another portion.




I'm not sure how much, if any, of the dishes we ate are currently or will ever be on the Carnivale menu. However, they were all reflective of a Chef whose style of cooking is right up my alley. Mark Mendez just might be the chef I'd most like to ask to simply "Cook for me." Last night, it was as if he did exactly that.

I was honored to accompany KennyZ and happy-stomach to the Casa Noble tequila dinner, and all I can say is ...

damn you.

Do you realize how hard it is to post something that actually adds content to this thread, beyond agreeing with everything they've said.

I guess I can say that I'm not really a spirits guy, but it was fascinating to try the progression of the straight tequilas, from the subtle jet-fuel power of the Casa Noble Crystal (which I assume is best for mixing) to the rich, complex sip-only flavors of the Añejos - especially the 5 year.

I'd had Chef Mendez's food on other occasions, but I'd never been to Carnivale before. As Sharon/happy_stomach said, it's not really my kind of place. But he gets out and cooks at a lot of events outside Carnivale; I'll be on the lookout for his stuff.

happy_stomach wrote:I've also lately become very curious to learn more about larger, flashier operations like Carnivale that have demonstrated real dedication to local, seasonal ingredients.*

Thanks, happy_stomach, Kennyz and nr706, for posting back. (I was following your dinner via happy_stomach on twitter.) But, I have to ask, is there some reason why there's an assumption that larger, glitzier operations cannot be dedicated to local, seasonal ingredients? It seems like they have to budget to support it. Also, a lot of restaurants were ordering from Mick Klug before it was cool to advertise that they do so, and a lot of them were exactly the sort of glitzier places you've eschewed. What I'm saying is that there is so much PR surrounding this cause and I think this is one example of it, but they must be doing something right because Kleiner Restaurants managed to get 3 non-believers to go to one of his restaurants in the name of sustainability. Anyway, what I thought was interesting about all of your comments is that you seemed to like Mendez's cooking more than the sustainability aspect, which says to me that you probably would have liked it before it became associated with sustainability as well.

I'm not one to ding a restaurant based solely upon scene (seems a bit unfair to this Libra) and while I never went in for the sceniness at Carnivale, years ago, I'd find myself there occasionally at 5:00ish for Latin-inspired appetizers, maybe dinner, and a creative cocktail or two at the bar and I always enjoyed it (the food and cocktails, that is). (I haven't been in some time; I guess my routine changed.) Anyway, I always recall there being some cocktail that included seasonal fruit. I find that amusing because this was before Mendez associated himself with seasonality, and even before seasonality became the word of the day when dining, so I guess that's why I definitely smell some PR at work, and as I say, good for them, if only because, in the process of making money, the restaurant is turning its focus toward a good cause. But, there's a reason why Kleiner is so successful.

aschie30 wrote: is there some reason why there's an assumption that larger, glitzier operations cannot be dedicated to local, seasonal ingredients? ... they must be doing something right because Kleiner Restaurants managed to get 3 non-believers to go to one of his restaurants in the name of sustainability.

Wendy,

I think you misunderstood my comments. I don't shy away from glitzy restaurants because I think they lack sustainability; I shy away from them because I tend to feel more comfortable in places that I perceive as more humble. I'd prefer a local neighborhood toy store too, even if it carried products identical to the Disney Store, and a local sports pub over ESPN Zone, even if the latter has the same games on better TV's. My hesitancy has nothing to do with sustainability or lack thereof.

Kenny

Perhaps I misunderstood you slightly; but I think you misunderstand me: I'm not saying that you (or anyone else) shied away from Carnivale because it was both (a) glitzy and (b) lacked sustainability, but that maybe it was just too glitzy (or lacking humility, in your eyes). However, did the focus on sustainability help you to overlook that and get you in the door? (And this question is not just directed at you, Kenny.)

I agree w/ aschie's comments. I went along with a group of friends with the mindset that it was going to be a large touristy emporium(the type of place I don't normally enjoy) with okay food. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and I would go back. The cocktails were a big hit at our table. It's impressive that a such a large establishment can put out consistently high quality food. I hope this trend continues. I love those huge colorful light fixtures too!

aschie30 wrote:Perhaps I misunderstood you slightly; but I think you misunderstand me: I'm not saying that you (or anyone else) shied away from Carnivale because it was both (a) glitzy and (b) lacked sustainability, but that maybe it was just too glitzy (or lacking humility, in your eyes). However, did the focus on sustainability help you to overlook that and get you in the door? (And this question is not just directed at you, Kenny.)

It certainly wasn't a front-of-mind factor for me. One big factor was that I'd tasted the Chef's food at a couple of events, and really liked it. I'd also read the reports in this thread, which intrigued me. But by far the biggest factor in this case was the dinner's Casa Noble Tequila theme. I'd tasted Casa Noble at Frontera a few weeks ago (posted about it in the Frontera thread), and I loved the stuff. When I heard about this event, I was excited to meet the tequila maker and taste more varieties. That dinner turned out to be outstanding, and that the chef shares many of my philosophies about food... those were much welcomed bonuses.

Kennyz wrote:But by far the biggest factor in this case was the dinner's Casa Noble Tequila theme. I'd tasted Casa Noble at Frontera a few weeks ago (posted about it in the Frontera thread), and I loved the stuff.

Not that I could have gone (as I'm out of town), but had I known about the Casa Noble dinner (and it's very reasonable price), I definitely would have gone. I agree that Casa Noble tequila is wonderful, wonderful stuff.

aschie30 wrote:Perhaps I misunderstood you slightly; but I think you misunderstand me: I'm not saying that you (or anyone else) shied away from Carnivale because it was both (a) glitzy and (b) lacked sustainability, but that maybe it was just too glitzy (or lacking humility, in your eyes). However, did the focus on sustainability help you to overlook that and get you in the door? (And this question is not just directed at you, Kenny.)

What got me in the door was: (in order)

1) An invitation from a food friend (i.e. someone whose food opinion I trust and someone who I assumed wouldn't gather friends for a congenial dinner in a larger, flashier place unless there was good reason)
2) An interest in trying several Casa Noble tequilas at one time (and learning more about tequila in general)
3) What I've read online directly from Chef Mendez about local eating and sustainability (sometimes content not really linked to Carnivale specifically...and in my mind, Chef is not inextricably to the restaurant since he first came to my attention via Twitter, and his tweets are often very generally about just food)
4) Carnivale food I've tasted at different events

I decided to attend the dinner before I went to the Locavore Town Hall Meeting at the nature museum early last week, but as I footnoted in my first post about the Casa Noble dinner, hearing from Rick Gresh about the local farms he and his team at David Burke's Primehouse pull from made me--for the first time-- curious about Carnivale specifically.

stevez wrote:That's always been my understanding as well, due to the high incidence of cigutera. Marlin ceviche is something I'd never order.

If you're worried about ciguatera you should consider avoiding grouper, snapper, mackerel and amberjack too.

According to the Centers for Disease Control's web page on Ciguatera Fish Poisoning, "Barracuda, black grouper, blackfin snapper, cubera snapper, dog snapper, greater amberjack, hogfish, horse-eye jack, king mackerel, and yellowfin grouper have been known to carry ciguatoxins."

The CDC doesn't mention marlin, unlike the Baylor source you cite. I'm not sure why the discrepancy. From what I understand ciguatera toxicity is mainly a problem with predatory warm-water reef fish, not so much with deep-water dwellers like marlin. For what it's worth, if you Google ciguatera marlin most (but not all) of the hits claim marlin isn't a problem. Still, it doesn't hurt to play it safe (though you probably take greater risks driving to the restaurant than by eating a portion of marlin ceviche).

Rene G wrote:If you're worried about ciguatera you should consider avoiding grouper, snapper, mackerel and amberjack too.

According to the Centers for Disease Control's web page on Ciguatera Fish Poisoning, "Barracuda, black grouper, blackfin snapper, cubera snapper, dog snapper, greater amberjack, hogfish, horse-eye jack, king mackerel, and yellowfin grouper have been known to carry ciguatoxins."

My avoidance of Marlin is based on several years of leading scuba diving expeditions throughout the Caribbean. At just about any island you go to, the locals avoid eating Marlin because of all of the anecdotal evidence of cigutera poisoning. No such cultural taboo exists for any of the other fish mentioned in any of the articles linked to. That's good enough for me and is the reason that I avoid Marlin, but none of the other species.

JeffB wrote:I guess I'm surprised that someone who appears to approach ingredients so thoughtfully would have blue marlin ceviche on the menu.

teatpuller wrote:Maybe it is from the Hawaiian fishery, in which case it is not an endangered species (more speculation).

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/S ... x?s=marlin

Ding, ding, ding! teatpuller wins. I got a call from Chef Mendez in response to me asking about the blue marlin choice. The first thing he said was that, according to Seafood Watch, wild-caught blue Marlin from Hawaii is "supposed to be" safe. Chef said that he/Carnivale works with Fortune Fish, a company that knows that he tries to use sustainable fish whenever possible. He said that they "do alright" about 90% of the time in this regard. Ten percent of the time it can be tough. The blue marlin was a special case where Chef called the purveyor, asked what the best fish was that day (got blue marlin as the response) and thought it would make good ceviche.

This explanation and the manner in which it was delivered only make me respect Chef Mendez more--for the food he makes and for his candor in trying to use local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible.

happy_stomach wrote:He said that they "do alright" about 90% of the time in this regard.

That's a remarkable percentage -- I doubt if most restaurants have as high as 20% sustainable choices on the menu.

That's good to hear. Since much of the marlin sold in restaurants supposedly isn't from HI (and maybe isn't even marlin, but that's a different issue), I'd want to be informed (which I am, now). I was interested to notice the other day that Costco has source information on all of its ocean fish so one can be informed about these things.

I was in recently for a quick bite at the bar and this appetizer was amazing.


Camerones al Ajillo, with roasted garlic, guindilla chile, lemon and garbanzo puree.

Wonderfully sweet jumbo shrimp, savory but not too spicy sauce, and the garbanzo puree was smooth as silk. Well worth the $14.

I didn't care for the scene, but we blew a $50 gift certificate here last night on some a cheese flight and some jamon iberico and left pretty contented. Now, anyone can throw someone else's product on a plate--albeit a rather exquisite log of tree--but the ham, cheese, and accoutrements were carefully chosen and harmonized quite nicely. Standouts: the jamon had that amazing grassy essence you can only get with acorn-fed pigs; the Mount Enebro goats milk cheese was subtle and elegant and just perfect when paired with some pig, quince jam, and flatbread cracker.

Why I'll never return to Carnivale: When I walk into a restaurant with an 8pm reservation, I accept that things might be moving a little slowly, so when they told us that it would be about 15 minutes for our table, we didn't mind one bit. But at 8:30 when our table was still not ready, we asked and they said it would be just another "couple" of minutes and that they were getting our table ready. We were eventually seated at 9pm, one hour after our reservation time. I'm always considerate of restaurants and call when I'm running a few minutes late, and I can't imagine how a smaller restaurant would deal with a number of customers applying what I'll call the "Carnivale approach" and just showing up an hour late for their reservations. I suspect Chicago would be left with a number of large dining halls in cheap rent neighborhoods that can handle no-shows and late-shows.

Having to hold onto the Cheesecake Factory-type large buzzer for the hour did not take me to a happier place either. Nor did the fact that the restaurant is so large that there really is no FOH, but rather a whole bunch of FOH.

When we were eventually told our table was ready, I asked them to comp us some drinks and appetizers for having to wait an hour past our reservation time. They merely comped us two apps: guacamole and ropa vieja, which I acknowledge many would acknowledge as being sufficient. And once we were seated, service was very good, except for a brief out-loud spat between our server and a senior server.

It's too bad the evening got off to such an awful start - and make no mistake, I will not visit Carnivale again - because the food was quite good. It's almost as if two totally separate businesses are operating out of the same location: a factory assembly line and a gourmet kitchen. And the assembly line part of Carnivale made me feel like I was lucky to be invited in and given a tour, rather than trying to ensure that I had an enjoyable evening. But on to the food.

While I wouldn't necessarily say the ceviches were authentic in preparation, I will say that the quality of the seafood (tuna and salmon, separately) was outstanding. And the flavors complemented, but did not overwhelm, the fish.

Other appetizers were also quite good. We all were impressed with the slightly spicy, well seasoned and chunky guacamole, although the chips were greasy and many were ground pieces of chips as if they had been dumped from some large canister without paying attention. Beef empanadas were delicious, particularly the flaky and delicious crust. I thought the ropa vieja was just ok - I liked the tenderness of the meat, but found that the flavors were nondescript and that the dish was too sweet.

Entrees were all well received. My seared rare tuna was just beautiful, served with a lightly dressed salad and topped with a type of olive tapenade which nicely accented the tuna without detracting from the beautiful quality of the fish. The Arroz con Mariscos was as good as described elsewhere here, and I was impressed that the shrimp didn't suffer from overcooking (which I find is too often a problem in this type of preparation). I also thought the beef tenderloin was quite good, and the meat even a little more flavorful than the typical beef tenderloin.

We finished by sharing the ice cream cake which was huge and very good. I most liked the guava ice cream, and didn't like the texture of the pistachio ice cream which really didn't come together well. But overall, the food at the factory known as Carnivale was quite good.

Wow, that's a pretty rough experience -- having to wait an hour with reservations in a place that seats 600+ is ridiculous, and it's certainly never happened to us. Actually, we've always been truly impressed by the FOH staff at Carnivale -- on our first visit, our waiter was tied up when we sat, so one of the floor managers took care of us until he seamlessly handed our table to the regular server after the appetizers arrived. In general, the feeling we got was of a very well-oiled machine. I understand the assembly line/factory comment, but the factory has never let us down

Some pictures I neglected to post after our last visit (11/09):

pata negra amuse @ carnivale, chicago


nantucket bay scallop ceviche @ carnivale, chicago


peruvian chicken @ carnivale


ribeye @ carnivale


blueberry tres leches @ carnivale

Chef Mark Mendez, one of my favorite local chefs, is leaving Carnivale at the end of August with a plan to open his own restaurant. He has a desire to open a "casual wine bar focusing on authentic Spanish food".

See the full story on his blog

I'm very excited for the next chapter in Chef Mendez's career.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:I'm very excited for the next chapter in Chef Mendez's career.

Boy, as am I! As much as I loved Carnivale under chef mendez, I can only imagine what he can do with total creative control.

gleam wrote:Some pictures I neglected to post after our last visit (11/09):

Those are fantastic! How do you manage that kind of lighting/exposure in there?

i<3pizza wrote:

gleam wrote:Some pictures I neglected to post after our last visit (11/09):

Those are fantastic! How do you manage that kind of lighting/exposure in there?

fast lenses wide open, and not being afraid to use iso 3200, basically.

gleam wrote:

eatchicago wrote:I'm very excited for the next chapter in Chef Mendez's career.

Boy, as am I! As much as I loved Carnivale under chef mendez, I can only imagine what he can do with total creative control.

And, hopefully, a few hundred fewer seats!!!!!

We went here to celebrate on Friday and had a really good time. The decor should be appalling, but it wasn't -- it was great. Somehow they got it just right. All of the food was really well prepared as well.

having never been to Carnivale, Mrs Willie & I decided to give it a try prior to seeing "Linda Vista" at the Steppenwolf (go by the way, Tracy Letts has done it again)

Started out with drinks on the patio as it was near 80 degrees, just crazy warm. I had PISCO PASSION - Pisco brandy, passionfruit, fresh lime juice, egg white. I'd order again easy. Mrs Willie the RUNNING OF THE BULLS - Pinnacle vodka, pink guava puree, fresh lime juice, Red Bull Yellow Edition, this is not the type of drink she or I normally order, it was good but the Pisco was much better as was the OLD CUBAN -
Flor de Caña 7 year rum, fresh mint, lime, angostura bitters, cava, which I had later during the meal.

Started out with the CEVICHE TASTING
MIXTO -Poached shrimp, calamari, octopus, glass noodles, poblano citrus sauce, peanuts
BLUE CRAB - Avocado, key lime, red onion, cilantro, aioli, soda crackers
TUNA - Cucumber, red onion, cilantro, beech mushrooms, coconut, fish sauce, ginger, tostada
SHRIMP - Lightly poached gulf shrimp, watermelon, gochujang, basil, sesame

We really enjoyed these ceviche with the star being the Tuna & the shrimp

SPANISH OCTOPUS - Garbanzo purée, crispy potatoes, frisée, Spanish paprika, Kalamata olives

Very skimpy on the octopus serving, cooked perfectly though, very good.

EMPANADA DE VERDE - Crispy green plantain crust, artichoke, spinach, mushroom escabeche

Empanada was all grease, not good at all, ate less than 1/2 of it. Mushroom escabeche was quite tasty. Server was very nice & took this off the bill for us as we clearly didn't enjoy it overall.

ARRACHERA - Wood-grilled skirt steak, rice and beans, bacon sofrito, sweet red onion, chimichurri sauce

Steak was oddly cooked, some just barely rare and other parts near well done. The few pieces that were MR were quite tasty. Rice & beans were not that appealing.

So overall we had a good time and enjoyed, we'd go back for the ceviche and to try some other items, just won't be in hurry.