It's not for everyone - this is not a normal restaurant by any means....I compare it to dinner theater really. Our twenty courses meal with fourteen beverage pairings exceeded the five hour mark. Luckily, the chairs are comfortable and the room is not so quiet you're afraid to to talk, but not so loud you need to scream.
If it's before July 2011, and you're planning to go to Moto - take my advice and stop reading this. Go, have a good time, but stop researching it - you'll enjoy yourself more if you don't know what to expect. This is a spoiler alert.
---
The menu doubles as a deconstructed peanut butter sandwich. I didn't take a photo of the flipside, but there is also a ten course option. We had the Grand Tour Moto - 20 courses not including the menu.
--
What to drink with a twenty course meal? There's the list. I won't be commenting much on the pairings - mostly because with names like Shafer, Kracher, Laurent Perrier, and Goose Island you know everything is going to be solid.
---
"SNOW man" - Yep, that's a snow man made of foam on top of raw tuna.
--
"ROSE bush" - the rose was dehydrated beet (and tasted kind of bacony), micro greens, macadamia nut, with a parsley/goat cheese stem.
--
"GOLDEN twist ale" before
-
"GOLDEN twist ale" after. The liquid came out of a beer bottle that I swear the waiter uncapped at the table, the cap looked like a Three Floyd's cap...very odd. The broth tasted vaguely like a pretzel.
--
"CHICKEN noodle soup" - a dumpling made with half chicken flour. Chicken flour. Weird.
--
"MISO soup" before.
-
"MISO soup" after. That's a piece of seared foie gras in a miso broth. I normally don't like my foie gras cooked, but this was awesome.
--
"POTATO & leek" before.
-
"POTATO & leek" after. Skate, potato, leeks, with a powder dipped in liquid nitrogen. What the powder is...I don't recall.
--
"EGG3" - I don't know how to superscript on here, but that should read "Egg Cubed." Two types of fish egg with some micro greens and an egg bread.
--
"CAPON & corn bread" - liquid corn bread along with capon prepared two ways. A capon is...sigh...a castrated rooster. It's lack of sex hormones give it a unique flavor.
--
"BASEBALL snacks" - quail breast, a home made deconstructed Cracker Jack, plus some cherry flavored Cracker Jack inspired paper.
---
"CUBAN cigar." Yep. That's a cuban cigar served in an ashtry. The ash is ground sesame seeds, the wrap is collared greens, and the cigar was stuffed with pork.
--
"NUAC man" - pork belly with mushroom...that big piece of mushroom is actually pureed mushroom, formed into the shape of a mushroom, and fried to give it some texture. Yep. Why is this called Nuac man? I do not know.
--
"ALLEY-yum" - Onions presented five ways plus venison.
--
"MAI tai" - that's a brandy soaked maraschino cherry with two pieces of carbonated pineapple. That's right, carbonated pineapple.
--
"COOKIE monster" - cookie crumbs are under the spoon, on the spoon...well, the waiter came out with a grill dipped in liquid nitrogen and squeezed some sugar cookie batter on top which "cooked" the cookie on the spoon.
--
"FRITES, frozen & fried" - shredded sweet potatoes. Both crispy sweet potatoes and shredded sweet potato ice cream. Yep. Shredded ice cream.
--
"GREEN CURRY lime" - a palate cleanser, that's not a real lime, it's lime jelly with a thai basil "rind."
--
"BANANA split" - the squiggley thing is banana ice cream, the three pipes include cherry, caramel, and chocolate sauces.
--
ACME bombs" - they bring out what looks like a cherry bomb, set it on fire at the table, and when the wick completely burns out you pop it in your mouth and you get a chocolate explosion.
--
"COOKIE crumbs" - that's earl grey infused chocolate moose, early grey infused graham cracker crumbs, and earl grey ice cream. As a fan of earl grey, this ruled.
--
"SODA du jour" - that's an edible packing peanut with soda (that was somewhat fufu berry like) served in a beaker.
--
There you have it. Moto is a must visit restaurant - go for the grand tour, take your time, sit back and enjoy the five hour meal. Yes, it is expensive, but it's an incredible, unique experience that you should try at least once.
No comments:
Post a Comment