Hello moto

I'm not a foodie per se, but I do like to eat.  True high-end dining is lost on me as the subtlety goes over my head and when it comes to wine, I'd sweat being able to blind taste test a cabernet vs. a merlot.  Good, well-prepared, creative food with excellent presentation however, is always appreciated, no matter the total on the bill.  Molecular gastronomy however, is the hallmark of moto, where we dined last week for my birthday.

Moto is semi legendary at message boards like Chicago's LTH Forum, a devout food forum in Chicago and rapturous reviews by seemingly every food magazine and non-food magazine that review it.  For starters, you are handed a menu that seems brittle and heavier than the standard cardstock menu you might get at another quality restaurant.  That's because it's edible.  You pick out your level of commitment: five, ten or fifteen courses (the fifteen course menu costs $175 a head and lasts 5-6 hours) and then break off a piece of the menu and apply the pear puree on a plate in front of you and eat your words--literally--they use vegetable-based inks printed on rice paper affixed to a thin flatbread.  Tasty.

How you view that opening appetizer and your tolerance of such whimsy, will have a direct impact   on your enjoyment of the rest of the meal.  Think about it, have you ever had a meal where the bread was the tastiest item you ate?  Did you ever go back there?  That's what I took the whole edible menu as, turning the bread course on it's ear.  The rest of the meal elicited laughs, genuine amusement and some truly delicious food.  I was also on guard a bit, hoping the sheer novelty of the concept wouldn't weigh down the food, making sure the emperor was in fact wearing clothes.  Nearly everything was delicious and I was never overcome with anything being too precious/pretentious. In fact the hash brown portion that was paired with a tender beef tenderloin was the best I've ever tasted and the grouper was outstanding, I wished there was more.

I'm glad Carla remembered how much I'd been wanting to eat at moto after I'd been reading about it everywhere for the past few years.  It was simply the most memorable restaurant experience I've ever had.  If you're an adventurous sort and don't mind quirkiness in food presentation, it's a great special occasion restaurant. Has anyone else been to moto?  Or read about it?  Does this pique your interest?

Comments

[Betty Rocker]

Every once in a while, when my saliva isn't acting up, I remember things you like:)

moto rocked. was expensive, but something i'll remember and i didn't leave hungry.

[Perry/Chicago]

Betty, you didn't leave hungry ?
From what I have read and heard I would have thought for sure you and Ken would have needed to split a 10-Sack of White Castles on the ride home.

Perry/Chicago

[Kent]

I don't think I could do it. I don't have a problem with a restaurant like this existing, but I know that I would not be into it. I've eaten at similar but less 'intense' places and was not overly excited about receiving one soy bean each after ordering edamame. I like more of a 'classic' dinning experience personally. I'm sure I would like it much more if someone else was picking up the tab though.

[Megan]

Um, we talked about this place last weekend, but you failed to mention the edible menu part. That part definitely piqued my interest. So cool.

[Chris M.]

I love that you went here and I'm definitely interested. I've heard tons about it and seen some of what they do in the kitchen on various tv specials. There's lots of liquid nitrogen, which a chemical guy like me can appreciate. I haven't been but I would definitely love to go.

One thing to note is that there is a sister restaurant Otom that is a cool lounge with some scaled down versions of the whimsy you get at Moto. We quite enjoyed both the food and the atmosphere there.