Saturday, June 16, 2012

Moto Chef for a Day Experience – Part 2

Amy and I were right on time for our reservation and did not eat all day so that we were ravenous for the 15 (yes, 15) course meal we were about to enjoy.
I apologize for the quality of the photos.  I took most of them on my phone in the dining room and did not want to use a flash.  I was lucky enough to snap some shots of a few of the courses in the kitchen during the day.  You won’t have any problem figuring out those shots!
Also, I will try to do my best to remember the components, but I know I am missing some major details.  I wish I had a recording of the waiters giving the descriptions.  They were so descriptive and eloquent.
Moto is known for presenting the menu on an edible piece of paper which is then adhered to something.  The first time we ate there it was on a delicious cracker.  They have since changed things around and now your first course is a visual menu, or a Tasting Menu. Each item on this plate represented one of our courses starting from the far left.  Everything was edible except for the coffee bean sachet.  Amy and I were so proud to see our hard work sitting there on the plate! 

Dim Sum – Included a steamed bun, jicama wrapped bundle, and a spring roll.


Crudité – Beet meringues and a dill flavored twist cracker.  Amy was a little obsessed with the crackers!

Reconstructed Corn – This was one of my favorite courses.  I don’t even know how to explain it! The popsicle looking thing is actually corn ice cream with freeze-dried corn kernels stuck on to look like a corn cob.  Each kernel had to be placed on with tweezers.  Below is a photo of the chefs working on the corn earlier in the day.  Also on the plate is a squash blossom and a corn flan, at least I think it is a corn flan.

Ocean View – Soft shell crab on a bed of sea beans, and oysters prepared two ways.  Are those some good looking sea beans or what?!? 

Zen Garden – I am so glad that I got a shot of this course earlier in the kitchen.  The “rocks” are camembert cheese rolled in cocoa powder.  Everything is edible, including the crumbs that looked just like sand and the peach rocks.

Kentucky Fried Pasta – Oh buddy, was this good.  The pasta tasted just like fried chicken and it was served with potatoes and a little biscuit.

Forest Foraging – Again, so glad I was able to take a picture of this in the kitchen.  Morel mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns were served on a beautiful piece of wood with a dusting of spring pea dust.

Cassoulet – Inside the bone was a bone marrow butter that you spread on the toast.  Wow.

Spring Lamb - I wish I could tell you more about this dish.  I blame the amnesia on the wine.  I remember it being delicious.  The amazing presentation definitely left an impression on me!

At this point Amy and I were congratulating ourselves on a job well done!


Coffee Service – This was our first dessert course.  You have to love multiple dessert courses.  This looked just like coffee, milk and sugar cubes, but it was actually a coffee gelee over some other delicious goodness.  You may remember this course was represented by our coffee sachet on the first course.  We felt a special bond with course 11.

Bourbon Barrel and Cocktails – Amazing.  Four mini desserts that all had something to do with bourbon, all served on an actual slab from a bourbon barrel.  The waiter poured our bourbon cocktail at the table from those flasks I so lovingly filled.

Egg Drop Soup – This looked JUST like a raw egg but it was actually a mango concoction over a sweet soup with what tasted like marcona almonds.  It was delicious.

Smell the Glove – For the record, I am not making up these titles, they are the official course titles from Moto.  I don’t even know where to start with this course.  They brought out a glass orb that had a black leather glove inside that was encircled by a weather system of smoke and steam.  You could really smell the leather.  Then they serve a chocolate hand over a scrumptious crumble.


After Dinner Menu – Our adorable waiter, Zane, prepared the final course tableside.  It was the menu written out on a marshmallow slab that was then somehow combined with dry ice.  There was lots of smoke.

We were happy diners!

After dinner Zane brought us back downstairs to the kitchen.  We had a nice chat with Richie and told him how absolutely amazing the meal was.   I could not imagine how tired that staff must be after a dinner service!

We had an amazing day and night at Moto!  The food was out of this world.  It was unlike anything you have ever tasted in your life.  Everyone that worked at Moto was extremely professional and friendly.  Their skills were beyond reproach and Amy and I were in awe.  If you happen to be in Chicago you should add Moto to your bucket list.  Tell them chef Lindsay sent you.* 
*They will have no idea what you are talking about.

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