Chicago Magazine – November, 2004

The 2004 Dining Awards

You don’t just eat chef Homaro Cantu’s food. You gape in disbelief as you are instructed in how to handle his offbeat creations with even more peculiar utensils: The whole thinking is like a three-star science lab. It’s a bizarre combination of calculated whimsy and somberness from the wait staff in the minimalist dining room, even as they intone, “The idea is to play with your food.” Oddities like prosciutto cotton candy with pear soup and Kalamata olive ice shavings are delicious, because behind all the gimmickry is an imitabel chef who is a whiz at matching flavors in often revelatory combinations. I loved my sashimi with kumquat-soy soda. Ditto the quail, with a mini syringe used to squeeze tastes of sherry, liquefied chard, and porcini into your mouth between bites. Lately Chef Cantu has introduced an edible menu – don’t eat it before you read it.