The New Mado

Well, it seems like the best way to log forum feedback to Mado sans Allie and Rob is to start a new thread. If the moderators disagree, ok. But the new place is different in chef and in concept, in ambition and in tone.

We live very nearby and have been longtime regulars at the old Mado, which we have cherished for its clean, bright flavors and deceptively simple preparations and presentations. It is perhaps inevitable that we'd be somewhat disappointed in the new place. But we went with open minds, and we will go back. Nonetheless, we have a number of disappointments to report.

As chronicled here and at Grub Street et al, the turn over was fast. That likely accounts for some missteps like the paint colors, which are sorely ill-advised in both the dining room (shrekish, cheap chartreuse that terribly clashes with the exposed brick and the cherry leather chairs leftover) and the bathroom (slaughterhouse red, not a good way to memorialize the craft of butchery that used to reside here). As well the new waitstaff has a much fussier aura (too much airy pumping of the menu, too much checking in to see how every course was). But these are the less important points.

Much more important is the food. Baltzley is clearly ambitious, and the idea is much more involved than the original Mado. Last night there were, I think, 6 small plates, 3 salads, 2 pastas, 6 entrees, and 3 desserts. Notably, nothing that I recall emphasized the pedigree or provenance of the veg, proteins etc. So locavorism doesn't seem to be part of the angle.

We had a beet salad, which was truly beautiful in presentation. The beets were cubed, and arranged on a rectangular plate with a few clusters of beet greens (shredded, wilted, and salted); a few microsprouts; pickled beet stems; and dots of a puree described as beet and (I think) turnip. Pretty, precious, and decently tasty. Interesting that the greens and the stems and the beets were all present in some application.

Next was a scallop app, with cauliflower puree, pickled radishes, and cocoa butter. The two scallops were quite large (it was quite generous for $12), and really very briny. They were perfectly cooked in the inside, though given their size a bit more caramelization on the sear might have been nice (and though they had very coarsely ground peppercorns in large chunks). But as evidence in the method of spoon-swirling streaks of two sauces next to the scallops and arraying the radishes around, the dish didn't really harmonize into a single note. And the cocoa butter slick was truly odd. Who wants rich goop on top of already rich scallops? Our other app was lamb neck which had a nice sear and was tender.

Entrees: pork cheek with roasted pear and an apple-turnip puree. Very rich, largely successful -- roasted pear was tasty and refreshing and still crisp; puree had good flavor. A fine dish. The salmon was much less successful. It was advertised as coming with cauliflower panna cotta, smoked roe, and potato, and I was surprised that it arrived with a large swoosh of the same cauliflower puree that was on my scallop plate. I was also surprised by the size of the piece of fish. For $24, I would have expected more than a 2x2.5inch square. But the bigger issue was that the fish, served skin side up (though not really crispy) was just totally unseasoned. Perhaps this was to counteract the smokey roe and the salty panna cotta, but it just wasn't a nice enough piece of fish to taste to be untreated. The potatoes were thinly sliced rounds of new (I think) potato, and they seem to have been smoked with rosemary - coming out interesting, if rather strong. And then the largest element was that unexpected repeat of the puree. LIke the scallop dish, this dish just lacked balance and integration.

Dessert was also a miss. An exceedingly molten chocolate cake modeled on a Dark and Stormy, with two different ginger treatments swirled next to it - one ginger syrup, the other a ginger foam. On top of the cake was a mint flavored chocolate sauce. Flavors were all fine and the concept was compelling, but there was a serious lack of texture problem - basically 4 elements on the plate, all goopy, none creamy, none crunchy. It also took quite awhile to come out, which our server explained as the fault of a large party ahead of us, but given that the place was only half full, it seemed (understandably) as though things were still getting their stride.

We loved the old place, and we appreciate the new place's ambition. They've been working fast, and will likely smooth out kinks. And they remain BYOB. So we'll be back eventually to see what's taken root. But we can't wholeheartedly recommend it.

I'm willing to give anyone a fair shake, and since I have 2 unused Groupons will probably be there soon.

But I do question, given the extent of change described here and elsewhere, the decision to keep the Mado name. This is a brand that established a very clear point of view. Love it or not (and I am among those mourning its loss), it stood for something very specific. Keeping the name while completely overhauling the philosophy and approach seems to be nothing more than cashing in on Rob & Allie's hard work, and has the potential of backfiring by disappointing those who come in with expectations of simple, farm-to-table food.

Is this an unreasonable -- or naive -- point of view?

bfolds wrote:But I do question, given the extent of change described here and elsewhere, the decision to keep the Mado name. Keeping the name while completely overhauling the philosophy and approach seems to be nothing more than cashing in on Rob & Allie's hard work...

I would think if they didn't want the name for that reason they would have not used it or just looked for an empty location. For Rob & Allie, selling the name added value and brought a better return than just a place with equipment. Sounds win win unless there was a different agreement in regards to how the place would be if the name stayed.

My speculation and opinion only of course.

ETA Oops...I (wrongly) figured that Rob and Allie owned Mado. Sorry for the confusion.

annak, thanks for this early "appreciation." I think it makes sense to start a new thread as this is really a new restaurant with an old name. And, honestly, the old thread entitled "Mado Opening"has for some time seemed a little off.

If I was in the position of the new management, I'd probably keep the Mado name to gain some traction right out of the gate, plus coming up with a new name so quickly would be tough (I understand the chef designed the menu in days -- which is pretty remarkable).

jvalentino wrote:For Rob & Allie, selling the name added value and brought a better return than just a place with equipment. Sounds win win unless there was a different agreement in regards to how the place would be if the name stayed.

It's my understanding that ownership of the restaurant has not changed...only the chef and staff. Havng said that, I think a lot of people who have casually heard about Mado and are finally getting around to going there might be in for a surprise.

Don't restaurants change chefs and menus all the time? Maybe not usually quite so suddenly and radically, but...?

We ate at the new Mado (minus the Levitts) on Saturday night. My goodness, how things have changed- and not for the better. I must have been hiding under a rock, but I hadn't realized that Rob and Allison were gone. It was apparent from the time we walked in the door.
When were seated, our waiter asked if we had eaten there before. We told him that we were something short of regulars, but had been big fans. The menu is still divided into soups, salads, small plates and large plates. When we tried to order soup, 2 salads and 2 small plates, the waiter told us that the chef wanted us to order everything at once so we needed to order our large plates too. Given how much we were already ordering, we told him no. We would assess our appetites after the first 3 courses. He was shocked but allowed that this was "OK".
We were served an amuse bouche of a sweet panna cotta type disc topped with raw hiramasa and a citrus zest. It was bad. The fish had no acid component and the bite had no textural differences. It was a sweet, soft bite of food with the bitter zest leaving the aftertaste. I was disappointed but was hoping for better. It didn't get better.
We had ordered soup(pozole), a couple of small plates (maple crisp lamb belly with apple and a duck pot pie with chocolate and caraway) and 2 salads(beet with beet greens and a winter mixed greens with white anchovies). We were not served anything for 45 minutes after the amuse. Nothing. Nada. Then, we were brought the 2 small plates and the soup together. At this point, we had finished a bottle of champagne and were opening as bottle of rose. Our waiter did not offer to open the bottle nor did he offer new wine glasses to replace the champagne flutes. We had to ask and he agreed to retrieve them.
While awaiting the wine glasses, I tried the pozole. I should have known better. It was about 1/4 cup of brownish-red liquid with two clumps of chorizo in it sitting at the bottom of a deep soup bowl. After noting the modest portion and it's unappetizing presentation, I tasted it. It was cold and it tasted of chile, and nothing else-not a balanced spicy chile, more of a bitter (think guajillo) chile. Yuck. Room temperature bitter broth is not what I had envisaged when we ordered the soup. We sent it back when the waiter appeared with the wine glasses. We sent back a wine glass too. As the server set it in front of me, I noted that it was so dirty, the glass was opaque. This resulted from a very bad washing and no effort to wipe or inspect the glass. I had to point this out to the server and he left with my wine glass and the soup. The small plates were not bad, but they were not good. The duck pot pie was a muddle of flavors taken hostage by the chocolate and saved only by the inclusion of 2 crispy pumpernickel croutons. The lamb belly was properly gamey but tough, and stacked like a napoleon, it was difficult to eat.
Next, we received a visit from the chef. He apologized for the soup and asked about the amuse. I was honest and he explained that the (orange)zest provided the acid counter to the sweetness of the panna cotta. Our palates were clearly different.
On to the salads. The beet salad was delicious and the best thing, by far, we ordered that night. It was little cubes of pickled beet, served with hot and cold greens and a balsamic based reduction. The salad of winter greens and white anchovies was inedible. The greens were dressed with lemon juice and the salad was so bitter that this bitter-greens-loving diner couldn't take a second bite. We sent it back, whereupon we were lectured by the chef about the concept of winter greens: they're supposed to be bitter. Yes, I replied but not inedibly so. I responded that the dressing or other flavor components should balance the bitterness, not add to it. I don't think the chef appreciated the comment.
We should have known better and left then. We didn't. We shared a large plate: pork cheek served over a celery root puree. Not bad, not great. Stewed pork cheek is one of those foods that should be memorable. Luscious, fatty, flavorful and rich. This was not cooked properly; it was not tender enough. It also lacked the developed flavors of a properly braised piece of fatty pork. The puree was good. We were still hungry so we were willing to try dessert. The server didn't offer a dessert menu. We asked. The server said "We're out of dessert". Huh? Yes, they were out of every dessert. I can't tell you what there may or may not have been on the dessert menu. They were out of everything. We asked for the check. The bad news: prices are higher than the original Mado. The good news: they didn't charge us for the soup and the winter greens salad. My dining companion and I have rated this experience as a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. We won't be back.

bfolds wrote:I'm willing to give anyone a fair shake, and since I have 2 unused Groupons will probably be there soon.

Or you can email Groupon and ask for a refund. They have a very generous return policy.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:

bfolds wrote:I'm willing to give anyone a fair shake, and since I have 2 unused Groupons will probably be there soon.

Or you can email Groupon and ask for a refund. They have a very generous return policy.

Already did it-credit deposited back in my account that hour.

Really good to know. I'd posted an inquiry about the possibility of a refund on the Mado discussion board and hadn' received a reply. I'll definitely email them directly for a refund.

Thanks for the tip.

In response to these posts i just would like to say we are still honoring the groupon. The owners of Mado are still the same hence the name not changing which i really had nothing to do with. A lot of the posts directly describing the food are just plain inaccurate. We will never repeat an ingredient in out menu. We do not like menu conflicts. Also i would like to keep fresh in everyones mind that i had 48 hours to pull together an entire staff front and back of the house, write a menu, execute that menu to the best of our ability.

It is a different restaurant now. I highly respect what Rob and Allie do. It's just not my thing. We welcome everyone in to the "new" mado to try for themselves. I am happy to be here in Chicago, even if it seems like everyone is out for blood before we even have a chance to settle in.

i had 48 hours to pull together an entire staff front and back of the house, write a menu, execute that menu to the best of our ability.

Just wondering why you didn't close for a couple weeks/months and do it right then?

It was not my choice. I was hired on that tuesday... we got our product on thursday and opened friday. I would love to close down for a month and catch up but from this side of things we dont have that luxury all of the time. If anyone has come in recently they would know that things are already different. We have a great new winter menu. Yes, two full menus in three weeks. We are starting a more "simple" brunch this saturday and we have already began a 7 course tasting menu with hidden goodies for only 70 dollars.

We are a young crew. We love what we do. And we do what we can. We are here 7 days 16 hours a day. There are four of us. We are not trying to fill any shoes.We would rather make our own.

Hey, thanks for showing up and giving us the view from the new crew. It can't be easy to take over a spot with so many loyal fans - so I appreciate you engaging with us here.

Siun wrote:Hey, thanks for showing up and giving us the view from the new crew. It can't be easy to take over a spot with so many loyal fans - so I appreciate you engaging with us here.

Agreed, thank you for coming on to share what's going on during the changeover! Welcome to LTH and here is hoping you have much success on your new endeavor!

BrandonBaltzley wrote:It was not my choice. I was hired on that tuesday... we got our product on thursday and opened friday. I would love to close down for a month and catch up but from this side of things we dont have that luxury all of the time. If anyone has come in recently they would know that things are already different. We have a great new winter menu. Yes, two full menus in three weeks. We are starting a more "simple" brunch this saturday and we have already began a 7 course tasting menu with hidden goodies for only 70 dollars.

We are a young crew. We love what we do. And we do what we can. We are here 7 days 16 hours a day. There are four of us. We are not trying to fill any shoes.We would rather make our own.

brandon, thanks for posting. i've looked around online for your new menu and can't find it. any chance you could post a link to it, and to the new brunch menu? i understand that you probably will be changing it often, but it'd be helpful to get a sense of your style (and prices). i'm confident that most of us wish you nothing but good times ahead. allie and rob are off doing their thing, and we all want mado to keep cranking out delicious food. justjoan

Hi Brandon,

I want to echo the thanks for coming here and posting. I am very much looking forward to trying the new Mado, though I never had the chance to check out the old. Like many others here, I'm wishing you only the best. I can't even imagine how tough it must be to pull together an entire staff and new menu in 48 hours, so kudos to you for working long hours and making the best food you can.

As far as the menu goes our new website is under construction. I can see about posting a temporary one up on our site.
As far as prices go they are relatively the same with a few higher priced items that are well worth it due to the nature of the product, think wagyu zabuton and white truffles from Alba. Our highest priced "main" is 34 dollars. Our lowest priced dish is 8.

Brunch will have a mexican/south american flair being that my Exec. Sous Chef Emmanuel Cadengo will be heading it up.
Entrees will be 14 and under and we will have starters and sides.

I think we might make an awesome bloody mary mix for your vodka as well.

Thanks for the kind words and we hope to see you soon.

Looks like Baltzley (the new chef) is gone and Mado perhaps as well. http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2010/12/08/brandon-baltzley-and-team-leaving-mado-over-money-issues.php

I have a Groupon still for Mado and I suppose many others might, too. According to the Groupon FAQ...

What if the business for my Groupon closes down?

If anything happens that makes it impossible for you to redeem your Groupon, we'll make sure you get your money back.

AlexG wrote:Looks like Baltzley (the new chef) is gone and Mado perhaps as well. http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2010/12/08/brandon-baltzley-and-team-leaving-mado-over-money-issues.php

I have a Groupon still for Mado. Anyone know if they have a refund policy?

yes, groupon will give refunds. all you have to do is ask them.

Thanks, just saw that. Interestingly, Groupon also says that businesses will honor expired Groupons as gift certificates for the original purchase price. Might be a hard argument to make with a manager, but worth it depending on the Groupon. I suddenly have $10 for dinner at Manny's and $4 at WASC.

very sad, i bought a gift certificate for mado from 3oclockclub and all sales are final
no refunds, boo

Does anyone know how many groupons or 3 oclock club coupons (love the alliteration) they sold?

The soap opera continues:


http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Dish/December-2010/Dish-Flash-What-Happened-at-Mado/

I like this story. I enjoy hearing about the back of the house every once in a while.

If anyone is interested we will be doing a pop-up dinner at delicious on friday the 17th. two seatings, one at 6 and 9.
We can only serve 25 ppl per seating. 50 dollars for 5 courses. Possible wine tasting for sale as well. Definate wine list.

Reservations can be reached at 773-914-2622
If no answer please leave message and we can get back to you.

Hope to see you there.

im not sure why but the number for reservations for our pop up dinners keep being erased from every forum and blog. It is (773)914-2622

BrandonBaltzley wrote:im not sure why but the number for reservations for our pop up dinners keep being erased from every forum and blog. It is (773)914-2622

It doesn't seem to be erased here.

Lest chefs forget that history repeats itself, let them be reminded of the Mantou Noodle Bar fiasco.

Kennyz wrote:Lest chefs forget that history repeats itself, let them be reminded of the Mantou Noodle Bar fiasco.

Awesome link, Kenny. I'd completely forgotten about the Mantou fiasco, even in light of the recent Mado happenings. I wonder what drama is in store for Bluette, Richards' new place in Wilmette.

=R=