Rolling Stone – October, 2005

The chef who turned his kitchen into a chemistry lab

by Lauren Gitlin

Eating at the Asian-accented Moto is a combo Charlie and the Chocolate Factory joy ride, science experiment and space odyssey. Menu items change often. A recent “Caesar salad” consisted of a single spoonful of green pellets – pureed romaine lettuce frozen with liquid nitrogen – sitting atop a shallow pool of dressing and topped with a single crouton. Another dish, titled Maki in the Fourth Dimension, featured a seafood-and-rice stuffed sushi roll wrapped in soy-based edible paper that had been run through a vegetable dye equipped inject printer, seasoned and decorated with a pattern of sushi images. Yes, it was delicious. For all his playfulness, Cantu’s main goal is still to create cuisine that’s not just edible but enjoyable. “It’s all a game unless the food tastes awesome,” he says. “People can say, ‘You know what? That maki roll looked like a turtle, but it was so delicious I couldn’t believe it.’ That’s the idea.”