Moto
945 West Fulton Market
312.491.0058
www.motorestaurant.com
ITLC's Overall Rating: A
Cuisine: A   Ambiance: A   Service: A

Nothing at Moto fits the stereotype: high-end dining in Chicago's warehouse district; a restaurant without a bar; servers in black lab coats; minimalist environment in colors of warm whites, chocolate and cinnamon. It all serves as foreshadowing of what's to come at table: food creations that continue to break all stereotypes and bend the rules in extreme ways. The diner's full enjoyment of this avant-garde place requires the suspension of pre-conceived notions of how foods are combined, prepared and served. Joe DeVito, owner, said it best: "I thought some of it was too off-the-wall, but he (Chef Homaro Cantu) won me over with his passion and his creativity." That's what it's all about-throwing out the rule book, thinking outside the box while holding on to one inviolable rule: it has to taste good.

After doing several stages on the West Coast, Chef Cantu went to work for Charlie Trotter, becoming sous chef during his four-year tenure there. It's clear that he's one of a new breed of chefs who has abandoned the meat, starch and veggie plate at table. One thinks of places like Chef Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in Yountville, CA and Chef Grant Achatz at Trio in Evanston. Cantu shares with all of them the passion to create truly unique combinations and tastes at table, to keep the palate alert throughout a multi-course tasting menu, and yes, even to have fun while doing it.

One of the tastiest things on a recent menu (which changes daily) was Cantu's version of apple pie à la mode-a pipette (remember high school chemistry?) filled with intensely flavored Granny Smith Apple juice, a little sweetened cream and a smidgeon of graham cracker crumbs. A signature dish is a fillet of Pacific bass baked tableside in a polymer box filled with boiling sea water beneath the perforated platform on which the fish rests. Hokey? Not after you taste the most succulent fish you've ever eaten! And there was an exquisite pear soup with kalamata (olive!) ice and, yes, really, prosciutto cotton candy. Tasting is believing. Every course is unique, playing with the diner's head while scoring big time on the palate.

Moto offers fixed price tasting menus only. Four courses at $50, seven at $85, ten at $100 and the gtm (gastronomic tasting menu) at $160. Portion size is adjusted according to the number of courses served. Moto is also very vegetarian and vegan friendly, and advance notice to the restaurant is helpful. Highly recommended wine pairings for each menu are $30, $50, $60 and $80 respectively. Great care is taken in the pairing of wines with food, global perspective rules and only Austrian crystal is used. Moto is smoke free and cell phone free. Fasten your gastronomic seat belt; it's going to be an exhilarating ride.

Monday-Saturday 5:00pm-10:00pm
Reservations Recommended