docsconz

Incanto is a great neighborhood restaurant with some truly inspired cooking.

Hello, i'm a new member of this forum. I'm from Calabria in the south of Italy and i'm very passioned for pizza and bread making with sourdough and... fish hunting and cooking. I joined the forum because the big fish in photo isn't a tuna but a wonderful Ricciola, "Seriola Dumerilii", a "Carangide", named in Italy "la regina del Mediterraneo", the queen of Mediterranean Sea and of South Atlantic for his delicious white fillets. I participated whith friends to capture it, cooked and eated with them near the Jonian sea and i love also the Red Tuna ( present in Italy but required very much for japanese market ). Regards Francesco ← Pitta, Thanks for the information and welcome to eGullet! What other fish do you catch?

It may not be transcendant, but it is satisfying.

While not cheap, Bouley Upstairs is a good value as you say. Was Bouley cooking when you were there?

Soundsd like this could be a pretty good place if going into it with the knowledge learned here.

Wonderful for you, but what made it so? Please elaborate.

Beautiful report, Andrew! There is nothing like the fish markets of Europe in the US. Not only is there an incredible variety, beuatifully presented, they are all immaculately fresh - at least at the larger markets such as Rialto, Ortygia, the Vucciria in Palermo, Boqueria in Barcelona and the market in San Sebastien. The last is the most pristine, but I agree the Rialto is the most beautiful of all the markets I have been to in Europe or elsewhere.

Nice report as usual, U.E. That crab looks absolutely alive fighting to get out of its human imposed soft shell. Next time I am in the Bay Area I will need to make sure I dine at the restaurant if I dine no where else.

Thanks for reading it. While I document meals like this primarily for myself, it is gratifying when someone else gets something from it as well. Your comments and others are appreciated. Welcome to eGullet!

That makes sense. The one downside of sitting at the bar with our group of six was that it was difficult if not impossible for all six to converse with each other. That was also true at Minibar in DC. Since I was in the middle at Avenues, I had the best of both worlds

This was my first experience at Avenues. I have never sat at a table there, but I must say I enjoyed sitting at the bar immensely. It was perhaps not as romantic as a table, but it was a great show. The biggest difference for us food-photo fetishests was the lighting. It was quite decent at the bar, but rather dark at the tables. Much harder to get usable pics that way.

Dinner at Avenues - The Chef's Palate 6-10-2006 Amuse - Liquid filled warm gougere. Excellent mouth feel and flavor. This was a nice start. It seemed as if it would be one thing, but turned out to have a very nice twist. Amuse - This was not specifically listed on my menu. I believe this was tuna with fava puree and foie gras juice, but I can be very wrong on that other than for the tuna. I do remember enjoying it. SCALLOP, fennel, caviar, apple and foie gras custard. This was a nice dish that fared equally visually as gustatorially. ASPARAGUS, bacon, egg, cheese, foie gras torchon. This fine dish had several different kinds of asparagus in it including wild asparagus. The torchon was exceedingly decadent. The combination was a major winner. KANGAROO, lime, eucalyptus, melon, foie gras snow. I found this dish too sweet for my taste. The object according to Chef Bowles is for the sweetness in the dish to play off the spicy coating of the kangaroo. When I mentioned my response to the dish to Chef Bowles, he thought that maybe the balance was adversely affected by decreasing the amount of kangaroo in the dish for the tasting menu. The regular portion has more kangaroo, the richness and spice of which should play off the sweetness better. FOIE-LAVA filo, honey, pistachio, foie gras lollipop Though difficult to eat gracefully, the dish was delicious and decadent. The foie gras lollipop, one of Chef GEB's signatures will be missed. RISOTTO fern, nettles, grenouilles, foie gras emulsion This was the other disappointing dish of the evening for the simple reason that it was underseasoned. Chef GEB explaining the next dish. PEA, yogurt, lavender, marshmallow. This intermezzo was a foie-less palate cleanser. I love fresh spring pea and this did not disappoint. Cherf GEB with the prepared foie gras lobe. Marianne sauteeing at her station. It was a pleasure to watch her and her colleagues cook. They were efficient and professional. ROUGET, polenta, caper, raisin, foie gras vinaigrette The nicely butchered rouget provided a lovely backdrop to the dish's supporting flavors. RABBIT fava, artichoke, violet, foie gras mousse This was one of my favorites of the evening. Each element of this dish was stunning both on the plate and in the mouth. It incorporated different elements of rabbit including loin, kidneys and "bacon". The latter would be the next craze if it was easier to harvest in quantity. The mousse provided a rich foil for the delicate meat. Preparing the next course, a combination of two elements. BEEF truffle, potato, merlot, seared foie gras LAMB, cauliflower, couscous, altoid, foie gras juices This plate artfully combined two courses, both exceptional. The lamb was particularly noteworthy as the balance of the "altoid" was such that it worked beautifully. Any less and it would not have been noticeable and any more would have been overpowering. This was both clever and delicious. FROMAGE beet, almond, honey, foie gras brioche This was a great composed cheese course, perhaps the best I have had since Sant Pau outside Barcelona. The cheeses consisted of a 9y/o cheddar and a couple others that I hate to admit the names of which escape my memory. Perhaps one of the other diners can specify them. S'MORES graham, marshmallow, chocolate, foie gras milkshake While the whole dessert was very good, I loved the milk shake. With all the foie gras permeating the meal, one might have thought that I would have been sick of it by then, but one would have been wrong. MIGNARDISES A nice cap to the meal. I finished feeling pleasantly, but not overly full. The amount of food was spot on for me. I will leave it for the other members of our party to discuss the wines should any be so inclined. In the kitchen with Chef GEB and his staff. We were served an excellent meal worth travelling to Chicago for. It was also a meal that illustrated what Chicago will be missing when the foie gras ban goes into effect.

I have a good friend who quite happily dined there on her own. It shouldn't be a problem.

Here are a few more kitchen photos. I won't be able to get to the dinner for a little while yet. Notice the background. Notice the foreground. Yes, that is a whole lobe of foie gras.

The chefs were clearly busy as they were cooking and in the dining room quite frequently assisting with the service. They are very serious about what they are doing and it shows. They do a lot with very little in terms of space, equipment and personnel.

I have had a busy week and am not quite ready with the dinner photos and descriptions but I will post a few photos of the kitchen now to whet some appetites. More to come in a little while

I am very much looking forward to both!

We ordered the "upgrade" or "premium" pairings. I get there infrequently so when I do, I splurge. They do as fine a job pairing wines as anywhere I have ever eaten. The experience is a true team effort.

The Rite of Spring? Oh, wait -- that's a different restaurant. ← It may be a different restaurant, but if the notes fit...

I had a superb and fortunately early brunch at Frontera Grill last Saturday. I started with Quesadillas Capitalinas - Mexico City-style quesadillas (corn masa turnovers) stuffed with Amish handmade cheese and fresh epazote, with guacamole to daub. These wre delicious. The guacomole was thick and full of deep avocado flavor. I followed with another appetizer, Sopes Rancheros - small corn masa boats with shredded beef, tomato-chile sauce and fresh Mexican cheese. These were delicious. Good Mexican food is something I crave and don't have the opportunity to eat nearly often enough. For my main I had to get mole'. This was Enchiladas de Mole - homemade tortillas rolled around shredded chicken and doused with Oaxacan red mole. It came with black beans. This satisfied that craving. There so many other things I would have loved to have eaten as well, but did not have the capacity for especially as I was anticipating a foie gras tasting dinner at Avenues that night. While I was there I came across information for a special event they were having the next day, The Festival of the One True Taste. I made it back for that. It was a great event, on which I will post separately next week.

Wonderful things, I assure you

I finally made it to Avenues last Staurday night! A group of six of us took up the Kitchen bar for the foie gras tasting menu. We had a wonderful dinner with the added fun of watching the kitchen "perform" directly in front of us. I have a lot of photos from that evening that I have so far been unable to fully get through, but they will be forthcoming along with specific course discussion. What I can say at this point is that I never knew how many different ways foie gras can be successfully used!

I dined at Schwa for the first time last Friday night. With my flight in delayed I had to go directly to the restaurant from the airport. My taxi made it in from Midway in what must have been record time. Fortunately our table in this otherwise Lilliputian-sized but comfortable restaurant had space sufficient for my carry-on bag without inconveniencing anyone. While the space may be small, the quality of the food coming from the kitchen is gargantuan. It is amazing that the limited staff of this restaurant can do so much in so little a space. While not every dish was fantastic, the highs were indeed to the stratosphere. The only complaint I can muster is one relevant only to eccentrics like myself who like to photograph their food. The lighting was not conducive to fine food photography - at least not in my shaky hands. As a result I did not get presentable photos of a few courses , while the ones I am putting here are barely that - so please do not dismiss the food if my photos fail to do it justice. Our amuse of carrot juice with cardamom and a cardamom marshmallow - good though not extraordinary. I did not get any reasonable photos of the beef tartare or white anchovy salad courses. Both were good. I liked the tartare, but the celery taste was a bit too prominent in the finish. The anchovy salad was very good, though I was not as excited by it as some earlier posters. The Spring Salad looked as if it came from a Miro' canvas, but tasted like a Stravinsky score. This was marvelous. The prosciutto consomme wasnovel, fun and delicious - a winner in my book. The quail egg ravioli were everything I had read about and more. These were sublime - atruly great dish. Unfortunately, they are also a very time consuming and difficult dish to make and are no longer available from the regular menu. Scallop with morels, meyer lemon and lavender. This was very good, but a little sweet for my taste. As good as the dish was, I can't help but think I would have preferred it made with regular lemon rather than the sweeter Meyer. The scallop was already sweet enough, I think the additional tartness of regular lemons would have served me better. Sable fish with pineapple, macadamia, taro root and prosciutto. This dish had the taste of the tropics, but once again was a little too sweet for my preference. Others at our table really, really enjoyed this though. Veal sweetbreads with pickled rhubarb, arugula sprouts and Humboldt Fog cheese. Like Ronnie, I thought this dish was spectacular, vying with the ravioli as the course of the evening. The balance of temperature, flavors and textures was nigh on perfect. Beef ribeye with eggs, taleggio and summer truffles. This course was another hedonistic winner, though not quite on a par with the ravioli and sweetbreads. The eggs with truffles were silken decadence. We were given two different desserts. One with strawberries and olive oil ice cream was good, but the better one was the one with chocolate and truffles, especially the truffle milk-shake. Chef Carlson and his crew are indeed extremely talented and quite deserving of the accolades received. I thought the best dishes of the evening were those that displayed his experience in Italy, but clearly he has ability well beyond that. Though not averything was perfect, my criticisms are quibbling especially given the constraints facing the restaurant and the incredible value provided. I look forward to reading about and eating Chef Carlson and his staff's food for a long, long time.

The best place to buy balsamico tradizionale di Modena is of course Modena. Short of that The rare Wine Co. is a good choice. The Acetaia del Cristo and Pedroni balsamici are particularly great.

...and now for the food! I got presentable photos for all but one course. Unfortunately, the zucchini cake with goat cheese and angelica didn't quite make it, although the dish was a good one. HOT POTATO, cold potato, black truffle, parmesan What can I say? This dish is one of the greats. It is simply decadent. If this were the first dish served at most restaurants (as if it could be!) the rest of the meal would be unable to match it and would seem like a major let-down. Fortunately this is Alinea and Grant Achatz and crew do not know how to let down. We drank Krug Grand Cuvee Brut with this. A little bubbly never hurts with a dish as rich as this. SHERRY VINEGAR, sassafras, a variation on an earlier mango presentation, provided a nice segue from the potato. The depth, transition of flavors and their duration on the palate were noteworthy. The dining photographer's challenge is to photograph and eat the dish before it melts TOMATO, fried bread, licorice, basil has the simple look and taste of an Italian classic. The flavors are pure and wonderful with great balance. The sweetness of the roasted tomatoes played well off the fried bread and the herbs. The licorice was quite subtle and should not put off those with an aversion to the flavor. Naiades 2004, verdejo from Rueda was the wonderful accompaniment to this dish. CRAB, peas, yuzu, lavender I apologize for the self-indulgence of so many photos of this dish, but I just love the colors and the presentation...almost as much as eating the dish. As Ronnie said in a post above, this is another variation of an earlier dish and a magnificent one at that. The crab was paired with an unusual white offering from Quintarelli the Blanco Secco "Ca' del Merlo" Veneto 2004. Lovely. I would like to echo YT's sentiments on Joe catterson and his wine program. It is simply outstanding. The dishes that Chef Achatz sends out can be difficult to pair, but Joe and his crew have in my experience always done so in a truly synergistic fashion. LANGOUSTINE, litchi, vacherin, ginger Who says seafood and cheese don't work together? This dish exploded in my mouth with all sorts of wonderful flavor. It was rich, complex and had surprising textural contrasts. This was one of the best dishes I have had in a while and I have been fortunate enough to have eaten very well of late. Particularly amazing given that this is one of Chef Achatz's new dishes that he tried out on us. Wow! R. Lopez de Heredia "Vina Gronia", Rioja 1995, another excellent match. CORN, coconut, cayenne, lime Another winner, this had a magnificent blend of flavors and silken texture. LAMB, akudjura, nicoise olive, eucalyptus veil A dish of mystery hidden as it was under the eucalyptus leaves, the one bite left a desire for more. BISON, gruyere, pumpernickel, ramps This dish reminded me a little of Wylie Dufresne's famous Pickled beef tongue, fried mayonnaise, onion streusel dish, as it was aso a unique approach to familiar flavors. While Wylie's dish may or may not have been an inspiration, the look, mouthfeel and ultimately taste of the dish was all Grant's. This was served with another Spanish wine, Bodega Mustiguillo "Finca Terrazo", El terrerazo, Spain 2003. By this time I gave up trying to photograph the evanescent wine bottles. SWEET POTATO, bourbon, cinnamon fragrance. Talk about "comfort food", this is the epitome. The flavor was surprisingly complex with a wonderful mouthfeel. Sublime. VERJUS, lemon thyme, beet A wonderfully refreshing treat, this not to sweet dish had a beautiful surprise of beet encased in what I can only imagine as a sodiumalginate/calcium chloride concoction. This was a perfect element at this point of the meal. Dashe Late Harvest Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2005 was a lovely accompaniment. ZUCCHINI, goat cheese, angelica, followed. This sweetside dish was a small skewered piece of bright green zucchini-cake with goat cheese as a flavor and textural component and a hint of angelica. While I liked this dish, I didn't love it. SPRUCE, walnut, grapefruit was another dish that I only liked. Maybe by this point my palate was getting a litle fatigued. I found the bitter aftertaste of the grapefruit to linger a little too long for my taste. YOGURT, juniper mango did manage to arouse my palate once again. This item that appeared to be a simple meringue held a surprisingly soft center of fabulous flavor and texture - a great bite. PORCINI, caramelized dairy, bacon, cherry Another new dish, I can see its great potential, but I felt that it needed a bit more tuning before it achieves the greatness it seems destined for. It worked best when all the components were mixed together, otherwise some individual elements were unpleasantly salty. I felt this to be the dish furthest from its final iteration of the evening. It was served with Mas d'en Compte, Porrera, Priorat 2004. ASPARAGUS, egg yolk drops another fine dish was served with a wine varietal that was new to me, Pinot Auxerrois from Albert Mann, Alsace 2004. LOBSTER puffed and seasoned with pollen. Tasty, reminiscent of Shrimp toast. HALIBUT, vanilla, artichoke, pillow of orange air Although a startlingly beautiful dish this was perhaps the one dish of the evening that I did not enjoy eating. I felt it had too much of a good thing with the orange air that overpowered the rest of the dish. The Raymond Usseglio "Roussanne Pur" CdeP 2004 was delicious. KOBE BEEF, honeydew, cucumber, lime rocks This dish showed excellent balance between the various elements. It was paired with Hopler Zweigeit, Burgenland, Austria 2002 an unusual red wine from Austria. FOIE GRAS, hibiscus, licorice, blueberry soda. This dish was simply marvellous. The foie gras located on the fork with its accompaniments was eaten first in one bite then washed down with the blueberry soda in the cup below. It was novel combining the unctuousness of foie gras with combinations that and style that were new to me. The ostensible reason i came out to Chicago was to sample foie gras from some of Chicago's finest chefs for perhaps the final time for the foreseeable future. This dish nor the othe foie preparations I had elsewhere in Chicago did not disappoint. SQUAB, strawberry, oxalis pods, long peppercorn. The squab was prepared and included in a few different ways including breast, leg confit and crisped skin. The star of the dish was probably the caramelized oxalis pods that were both sweet and wonderfully tart. This was well-paired with Cote-Rotie "Les Grandes Places" Jean-Michel Gerin, N. Rhone 2001. CREAM CHEESE, guava, black sesame, tamarind It looked like it would be chocolate, but it wasn't. What it was was spectacularly delicious. Paired with Chateau de la Genaiserie, Coteaux-du-Lyon "Tetueres", Loire 2003. CHOCOLATE, elderflower, umeboshi, green tea Great flavors alone and combined. Nicely paired with Kracher Zweigelt Rose Nr. 1 "Nouvelle Vague", Neusiedlersee 1998. COFFEE, mint, buckwheat, passionfruit Another great presentation and combination. This was served with Toro Albala "Don PX" 1971 Gran Reserva, Montilla-Moriles PEANUT, five other flavors A nice send-off to a fine meal. The morsels were picked off by mouth one by one from the skewers. There is no doubt in my mind that Chef Stupack will flourish at WD-50 as he has at Alinea. The question is what will happen to dessert at Alinea? Who will take the helm? Will Chef Achatz wear both hats or will he bring someone else in? I also have no doubt that Chef Achatz can successfully wear both hats, although as hard a worker as he is, I can't imagine where he would find the additional time for this. I would also have to think that Alinea would be a dream job for an aspiring or established pastry chef with a bent for creativity and exploration. Not having been to Alinea since early December, reading Alan Richman's article in which he called Chef Achatz's cooking "safe" (?) and being aware of personnel movement, I have to admit I harbored a little concern that perhaps Alinea was losing its edge. I need not have worried. This meal was as wonderful as any I have had there and the entire experience was coordinated smooth as clockwork. Despite some turnover of personnel, all the faces I knew are still there and performing as well as ever. Alinea remains my favorite restaurant in the US. I am happy that Chef Stupack, if he has to leave Alinea will be moving to one of my other favorites, WD-50 and that Sam Mason will be opening, what I am sure will be one of the very best places for creative desserts anywhere.