Acadia, Chicago

Acadia, Chicago, 5/10/2017 (5-Course, $115 excl. Taxes & Grat.), American Progressive, Michelin 2-Star

Acadia is a Michelin 2-Star restaurant in the south loop of Chicago. Going thru the list in alphabetical order, it is the 1^st Michelin 2-Star that I came across. Chef Ryan McCaskey focused mainly on American Progressive theme. The place is elegantly decorated, however, without open or see-thru kitchen.

I ordered a 5-course tasting menu. I started with Amuse Bouche.

1). Lobster Roll -  Fine quality lobster from Penobscot bay in Stonington, Maine, served with mayonnaise and chive sandwiched in a bite-size bread. The cold and clean water of Penobscot bay is the perfect environment for producing the sweetest lobster.

2). Fried Head Cheese – with aioli cream drop on top touched with a sprig of parsley leave.

3). Truffle Cookie -   this cookie dough also had Parmigiano cheese and thyme. It was served like a sandwich with truffle Bavarian cream in between. It was bite-size, but I would not mind to have a few more.

4). Beef Heart – Beef heart was slightly seared and grilled to get the flavor. It was almost raw, served with ponzu sauce, hoi-shin sauce, chopped peanuts, white onion; adorned with Thai basil, mint and broccoli leave. 

1^st Course – Truffle Croissant

I noticed the croissant had 2 different colors on the skin, it was made with 2 types of dough and twirled together at the final stage before baking, the darker color dough was the one with chopped truffle and the lighter color was the one plain. It was accompanied by egg custard foam (lighter than egg custard) made of whole egg, vanilla and truffle. I dipped croissant into the custard foam and could not quite find any better terms to describe the taste and flavor besides “It was like in heaven”.

2^nd Course – Columbia River Salmon, Fava Bean

Salmon, from Columbia river, was poached to perfection, tender and medium in the center. To complement the flavor, the dish also included fresh radish, toasted granola, tangerine leaves, fresh dill, pickled orange peel, cute pansy flower and lemon yogurt cream.

3^rd Course – White Asparagus, Iberico Ham, Farm Egg

I was happy that white asparagus was on the menu again. White asparagus, from Holland considered the best quality, was served with Iberico Serrano ham from Spain. Egg from Slaga farm south of Chicago was low-heat poached en sous-vide to a condition that the egg was barely settled, but not soupy, with a very pleasant rich taste. In addition, there was Fontina cheese fondue, ham crumbles, arugula, water crest, red bean sorrel served with truffle vinaigrette. I loved the taste of this semi-cooked egg yolk, the edge and the center part were with the same softness and smoothness. Most of the sunny side-up eggs was a bit harder on the edge than the center.

4^th Course – Stonington Lobster, Ramp Gnochi, Green Goddess

Lobster was from the same source, Stonington, Maine, as what served in the amuse bouche. Lobster was poached in butter to keep its flesh tender and juicy. On the side, there were green gnocchi made of ramp, green asparagus, chervil, thyme, cream and sour cream, lemon and sorrel interspersed with a few cute flowers. The quality of lobster was without of doubt, Chef’s cooking technique also had a lot to do with the luscious taste of this dish.

Red Fife Biscuit, Pretzel Roll – served with 3 flavors of butter, yogurt, mushroom and mixed herbs.

Pea Ice Cream, Japanese Cheesecake, Meringue

For transition to meat dish. Gently flavored pea ice cream was served with whipped light cream and pea leaves/ vine tips.

5^th Course – Anderson Farm Lamb, Olive, Peas

Lamb supplied by Anderson Farm was roasted to medium-rare and served with charred onion, diced and sautéed potato, peas and strawberries. The inclusion of olive tapenade made this dish from a good one to an excellent one.

Bloody Mary – with strawberry sorbet, spiced tomato sauce, celery foam, tomato balls and parmigiano sable. It was a palette cleanser proceeding the desert. It balanced among many different flavors and produced a sophisticated taste. 

6^th Course – Rhubarb Strudel, Nasturtium

At the bottom, there was a thin crisp with cashew cake, rhubarb compote and ice cream place on the crisp. This 2^nd layer was then covered by another layer of crisp which was topped with poached rhubarb pieces, ricotta cheese cream and nasturtium leaves. Rhubarb was prepared properly without the tarry taste. It was a good treat for the seasonal desert.

Petit Four – Raspberry White Chocolate Bon-Bon, Rosemary Olive Cookie, Multi-Milk & Coffee Cream Macaroon. They were all yummy and cute, complementing with each’s distinctive taste and flavor.

After getting off the train at Chinatown station, it took about 10 minutes of walking to get to Acadia. Nevertheless, the mouthwatering experience of truffle croissant made the journey worthwhile.

Boka, Chicago

Boka, Chicago, 5/8/2017 (8-Course, $120 excl. Taxes & Grat.), American Progressive, Michelin 1-Star 

I stayed in Chicago for a week to enjoy its fine dining and fine arts. I arrived on a Monday with very limited opportunities for fine dining choices. For some strange reasons, most of the Michelin 3-Star and 2-Star restaurants are off on Sundays and Mondays or Mondays and Tuesday. I chose Boka because of its vicinity to the hotel.

Boka offered an eight-course tasting menu. I started with Amuse Bouche.

1). Kumamoto Oyster, Togarashi, Celery 

Kumamoto oysters are native to the southern islands of Japan. Kumamoto oysters grow very slowly and have a rich taste that feels like eating real butter for the 1^st time in your mouth. In addition, the meat filled the shell pretty full. These days, they are mainly produced in Puget Sound and Willapa Bay in the northwestern part of US. The size was not large, but the meat was rich, smooth and fresh. Served with Japanese chili oil, and finely diced celery, it was ideal for opening your palette.

2). Pumpernickle Pain Perdu, Horseradish

 Maple syrup marinated trout roe sat on top of pumpernickel bread to balance the salty taste of fish roe. Then, fresh grated horseradish and chive were placed on top of trout roe to provide the whole item with a more sophisticated taste.

3). Crispy Cod Skin, Smoked Eel, Black Garlic

There was creamy black garlic ayoli at the very bottom, topped with finely grounded crispy cod skin. House made smoked eel was placed on top of cod skin which is then covered by a thin layer of daikon and a micro green for decoration. 

The three items of amuse bouche were awesome. I love good amuse bouche which usually indicated the chef’s style and to be finalized product in progress.

Breads were served, including freshly baked pretzel bread with caraway seeds and salt, and whole wheat bread. Butter was served with lemon zest. Both bread and lemon zest made pleasant appetizing aroma.

1^st Course – Scallop Crudo, Almond Milk, Horseradish

This was a quasi-sashimi style scallop. However, the flavoring was different. This dish was served with almond milk, nori oil (soaking nori in oil for a long time to extract nori flavor). My favorite ingredient was the tiny pale pinky balls squeezed out of finger lime. These tiny balls had such a pungent flavor of citrus, pepper, and a bit of wasabi-like flavor, really hit the spot. It was an excellently well-balanced and pleasantly presented dish.

2nd Course – White Asparagus, Sorrel, Potato, Dried Scallop

Mid-May is the season for white asparagus, my favorite vegetable. This dish is roasted white asparagus with potato (in round shape) in sorrel sauce with sorrel cover. Up to this moment, this could be a very tasty dish already. But, the chef delivered more inspiration, chef made powdered fried potato and powdered smoked dried scallop. These dried powders were dusted on top of asparagus and then decorated with celery leaves. Asian people like to use dried shrimp or dried scallop to enhance the taste of vegetable or rice. I love this chef’s creativity of using dried scallop to bring out a different perspective of taste.

3rd Course – Shaved Foie Gras, Cashews, rhubarb, Celery Root

I saw a lot of shaved light brown flakes when this dish was served. It was shaved foir gras, foie gras was frozen and shaved in a special machine. Shaved foie gras was sprinkled with cinnamon powder and covering rhubarb, cashews bit and celery roots underneath. Since foie gras was shaved into thin flakes, the temperature was low otherwise flakes would be softened. Therefore, to enjoy the full flavor, you should let it stay in your mouth for a few seconds until flavors from all the ingredients were fully integrated at above freeze point temperature. This was the 1^st time that I taste frozen shaved foie gras and I was satisfied with the taste.

4^th Course – Roasted Octopus, Kumquart, Fennel

1^st job was to prepare nori-flavored butter by soaking nori in butter. Then, brushed nori-flavored butter on octopus before roasting octopus. This dish was served with fennel in 3 flavors – roasted fennel, fresh fennel, and fennel purée. It also served dill and kumquart on the side to complement octopus’ enhanced seafood flavor.

5^th Course – Olive Oil Poached Cod, Maitake, Peas

Cod filet was prepared en sous vide, therefore, tender and medium in the center. Cod was served with crispy shallot, shallot, sorrel and sorrel fumé (less airy than foam). In addition, there were fresh baby peas, maitake mushroom and mushroom jam (sautéed and glazed with a bit sugary appearance) which did the wonderful job of complementing the fish and bring out a sophiscated overall taste.

6^th Course – Roasted Lamb Loin, Beets, Gem Lettuce, Yogurt

Lamb was supplied by Colorado Farm. The dish had various parts of a lamb – loin, neck and tongue. On the side, there were gem lettuce, beet, cooked lamb juice and lamb yogurt (white round shape) which tasted milder than goat cheese.

7^th Course – Black Sesame, Strawberry, Puffed Grains, Tonka

This is a course considered a palette cleanser. It included black sesame ice cream, strawberry compote, crumbles (in light brown color) and tonka beans.  

Tonka beans look like an elongated raisin or a hard, skinny date. The taste of Tonka Bean is linked strongly with its scents like vanilla, almond, cherry and cinnamon. Chefs are craving for its spicy and fruity aroma which can be used in both savory and sweet applications. Tonka beans are usually shaved, a preparation to release its pungent aroma and subtle flavor. Unfortunately, all foods that contain the chemical compound coumarin are considered by the FDA to be "adulterated" and have technically been illegal since 1954. Tonka beans are a major source of coumarin, therefore, not available in US in the past. This year, tonka beans seem to be in fashion. Internet has changed the accessibility and availability of many things in the world. Because of its taboo status in the past, creative chefs are eager to play with it.

8^th Course – Dark Milk Chocolate, Earl Grey, Sudachi, Black Lime

It included Earl Grey ice cream, dark chocolate ice cream, sudachi jam and some mint leaves on the side. Sudachi is a sour Japanese citrus, not eaten as fruit but used as a food flavoring in place of lemon or lime. It has a zestier flavor and aroma than lemon or lime. I have always liked its taste. The desert would have been more complete if a piece of cake or pastry had been included. However, the inclusion of Sudachi did make the taste and flavoring more interesting.

Petit Four – It had five items. They were all cute and delightfully luscious.

Passion fruit tea cake – bite-size yellow cake with passion-fruit flavor

Chocolate and chia truffle – taste less rich than ordinary truffle

Chocolate and almond dacquoise – with a bit of almond-flavored liquor taste

Chocolate with pistachio and dry fruits – pineapple, raspberry and apricot

Mango jelly candy – very refreshing, I would love to have a few more pieces

Boka’s savory dishes were extraordinarily above average of the Michelin 1-Star restaurants’ quality. I really enjoyed my 1^st fine dining in Chicago.

Grace, Chicago

Grace, Chicago, 5/9/2017 (9-Course, $235 excl. Taxes & Grat.), American Progressive, Michelin 3-Star

Chef Curtis Duffy interned in Alinea, another Michelin 3-Star restaurant in Chicago, before he established Grace in the “thoughtfully progressive” style with every dish displaying individuality, located in West Loop of Chicago. I was not able to make a reservation at Alinea because its unfriendly and biased reservation policy toward “single”, one-person booking. The receptionist at Alinea acknowledge that 2 out of 3 menus do not accept “single” reservation and the one menu which accepts “single” would take one reservation/per evening at 8pm seating only.

There were 2 types of menu, Flora (highlights vegetables) and Fauna (focuses on seafood and protein.) I chose Fauna menu.

Amuse Bouche – 2 Courses

I). An irregularly-shaped platform made of bee wax was used to present 4 items of amuse bouche.

1). Cotton candy was used as a holder for house-made granola and dry blueberry. Black powdered-leek were sprinkled on top of cotton candy and a piece of basil covered the top. During this trip, I found out Chefs in Chicago like to include grains in cooking. Its house-made granola tasted well with cotton candy. 

2). Dried beets (larger thin red sheet) used as a place holder, with Umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) in the center with chamomile emulsion and tarragon.

3). Jamón Ibérico is a gourmet specialty made exclusively from black-hoof pigs fed mainly by acorn from century old oak trees, imbuing ham with delicate and unique flavor that that thrills the senses. It is one of the Spain’s most highly prized delicacies. It was served with chick pea and butter cream.  

 4). A bite-size of panisse with fava beans and Myer lemon cream.

II). Guinea Hen, Ramp, Radish, Chive Blossom - It was brought to the table with tightly sealed foil on the top. As it settled on the table, my server lifted the sealed foil to let out Applewood smoke. Under the foil, it was coconut and lemongrass cream. Inside the glass bowl, there were radish, pickled radish, white chive flower, crispy panko, boned roasted guinea hen, scallion, ramp, green cream (from green onion) and coconut and lemongrass cream like what under the foil. This is a very sophisticated dish with many ingredients and different methods of infusing flavor. It was my 2nd favorite dish in this meal.

1^st Course – White Asparagus, Burgundy Oxalis

Mid-May is the season for white asparagus, my favorite vegetable. Burgundy oxalis was often used for its burgundy foliage and white/yellow flower. White asparagus was poached and served with fingerling potato, topped with Osetra caviar. Scallion oil (green dot) was served on the side and julienned scallion and chive were placed on top of caviar. White asparagus was cooked differently from how it was done at Boka.

2^nd Course – Alaskan King Crab, Sudachi, Cucumber, Lemon Mint

This has been Chef Duffy’s signature dish. Crab meat was served in cucumber dice and cucumber juice in the bowl. Organic trout roes were served on top of crab meat. In addition, sudachi (Japanese lime) cream (yellow) and coconut lemongrass cream (white) and Fresno red pepper curls and lemon-mint leaves were also contributing to the flavor. On the very top, the bowl was sealed by a thin slice of transparent candy sheet. Once it was served, guest had to break open the candied sheet before reaching into the bowl. Using sudachi’s more zestier aroma and flavor in this dish was certainly a seamless choice for a perfect signature dish.

Three types of bread were served – Semolina with fennel, roasted potato with dill, Hawaiian pretzel with sea salt. Each of them were two-bite size, accompanied by 7 different flavors of butter - original, red basil, parsley, tarragon, dill, chive, mint.

3^rd Course – Bay Scallops, White Poppy, Romaine, Nasturtium

Slightly poached scallop was placed on top of shallot and onion marmalade. In addition, red nasturtium, scallion, green lettuce leaves, romaine lettuce, flower, pickled onion and shallot were served along with white poppy seed milk. On the very top, there was a thin layer of dashi sheet, jello made of dashi broth (made by heating kelp, fermented and preserved tuna, or shitake in hot water.) It was a quite interesting dish that Chef Duffy used dashi flavor to enhance scallop’s seafood flavor, on the other hand he used other ingredients to neutralized seafood flavor.

4^th Course – Red Kuri Squash, Duck, Chocolate, Sunflower Sprout

Duck confit was served with brioche, sun flower seed powder, chocolate, sun flower seed chip, sprout, apple, and duck fat de-hydrated. Apple and squash soup was served lastly at the table. French prepare duck confit with a long process of curing, poaching at low temperature for 4-10 hours, and then preserved in duck fat to get the rich taste. I did not know this was duck confit, as it differed from the authentic French style, until the server pointed it out.

5^th Course – Pork, Gnudi, Porcini, Spinach

Braised pork cheek to the extent, it almost melted in your mouth. It was accompanied by gnudi, made of semolina and ricotta cheese instead of potato, with excellent texture. On the side, there were spinach ball, crispy red cabbage, tropical spinach, diced pancetta and the very tasty fennel coriander sauce. I cook pork shoulder almost in a similar way except that I used a bit of anise star while chef Duffy did not.

6^th Course – Miyazaki Beef, Grains, Hon Shimeji, Kaffir Lime

Miyazaki beef from the Miyazaki prefecture of Japan is a “A5 Wagyu”. Ever since I had Kobe beef in Japan 13 years ago, I have been longing for a real or quasi Kobe in US. I had it in Grace finally. It was melt in your mouth type, served with basil and coconut, grain purée made of black and white barley, basil leaves, dill, coriander seed (in the middle), hon-shimeji mushrooms and black garlic cream. Beef was perfect, on quality and flavor. It was quite interesting that Chef Duffy cut the beef, not vertically or splitting horizontally, but diagonally which enabled a different way of tasting flavor and texture. This course, without of doubt, was my favorite dish for the evening. Whenever I think of Kobe beef, my mouth would start watering.

There are some grades for WAGYU beef, and A5 is the highest grade given only to the finest beef. It is famous for its smooth velvety texture, juicy flavor, delicate but rich taste. Its appearance looks marbling, tiny pieces of fat finely distributed. Marbling is never too rich, it almost melts in your mouth. The marbling is also the evidence that cattle have been specially raised in the vast lush wilderness using carefully selected feed (corn and rice straw), pure water and clean air.

Beef is classified into four categories, Japanese black cattle comprised the largest number of 4 breeds. Its deliciousness consists of the following factors: the taste and flavor that spread out in the mouth, and the smooth texture. The standards of grading beef consist of yield grade and quality grade. “A” of “A5” means the yield grade and “5” of “A5” means quality grade.

I was fortunate to have A5 again on 5/11/17 at Oriole, Chicago. Chef at Oriole prepared A5 Wagyu in another interesting way.

^7th Course – Blood Orange, Vanilla, Fennel

This is the palette cleanser before the real desert was served. Main component was refreshing blood orange ice with vanilla cream on the side and fennel leaves on top.

8^th Course – Huckleberry, Honey, Fenugreek, Basil

Fenugreek cake (green) was served on top of huckleberry ice cream (red), huckleberries were on the side. Meringue, accented with pepper and fenugreek seeds, was sitting on top of ice cream for decoration. Fenugreek is an annual plant with leaves consisting of 3 small obovate to oblong leaflets, brought into cultivation in the Near East. Fenugreek is used as an herb (leaves), spice (seeds smelt and taste somewhat like maple syrup) and vegetables (leaves and sprouts). It is similar to clover that is native to the Mediterranean region, southern Europe and Western Asia. However, fenugreek has high content of coumarin-like compounds and may interfere with the activity and dosing of anticoagulants. It is important to inform the restaurant if you have any special health issues (allergy or pregnancy) as some of the ingredients used in the meal may have side effect.

9^th Course – Cashew, Cocoa, Crème Fraiche, Hoja Santa

Hoja Santa is an aromatic herb with a heart-shaped, velvety leaf which grows in Mesoamerica (Northern S. America to Mexico, southeastern Florida and California.) The name Hoja Santa means “sacred leaf”. The complex flavor of Hoja Santa is not so easily described; it has been compared to eucalyptus, licorice, anise, nutmeg, mint, tarragon and black pepper. The arrival of internet era has provided chefs with accessibility and availability of more varieties of spices and ingredients for more creativity and experiment. While some of the chefs started using “Tonka”, chef Duffy also used Fenugreek and Hoja Santa to advance his creativity and experiment.

This desert included chocolate mousse (elongated shape), chocolate jell (round shape), chocolate curls and pieces of chocolate cake. On the side, Hoja Santa was presented in 3 different forms – drop (sitting under cashew), leaves and cream (on top of chocolate jell.) This is quite an intricate combination yielding a sophisticated taste.

Petit Four – a little yellow ball

It was a showmanship of the latest molecular gastronomy by using cocoa butter into the spherification process (by dipping sodium alginate into calcium lactate.) Since coca butter contains mainly fat which turns hard in cold temperature and melts in warm temperature. This cute little yellow ball was filled with apple cider and dipped into nitrogen at below “0” temperature before serving. I have watched it thru out the dinner from where I was sitting. The yellow ball was placed on a long wooden spoon to avoid direct human contact. The server suggested to put the whole piece into my mouth and closed my mouth fully. After a few second, I could feel the bursting of apple cider coming out of the shell. It was a pleasant experience.

Dining in Grace is a phenomenal culinary experience. I sat at the table closest to the open kitchen (with glass wall), therefore, was able to observe most of the activities there. The restaurant had an “expeditor” just to make sure the flow of orders was timely. In addition, Chef/owner Duffy was in the kitchen a few times to ensure works were done properly with desired quality.   

Ristorante Quadri, Venice

Quadri, Venice, 3/22/2017 (7-Course, 215 Euro incl. VAT & Grat.), Italian, Michelin 1-Star

Quadri is located right in the heart of Venice, Piazza San Marco. If you face the famous Basilica of San Marco, it is in the middle of left wing of the piazza. Ristorante Quadri is located above the Gran Café Quadri which is on the street level, although both belong to the same chef/owner Massimiliano Alajmo at present. Ristorante Quadri has received a Michelin star since 2012. In 2011, Chef Alajmo took over and renovated Ristorante Quadri without changing its name, probably because Café Quadri has had an important historical role of being the 1^st Café introduced the Turkish coffee in Venice. He then sent the accomplished sous-chef in Le Calandre (Chef Alajmo’s Michelin 3-star restaurant near Padua) in charge of Ristorante Quadri’s kitchen which offers fusion style of modern Italian and Northern Italian cuisine. Chef Alajmo is the youngest in history to have been awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide.

Dining room is decorated with dark-wood furnishings, lush burgundy damask walls, and sparkling chandeliers create a typical rich Venetian ambience. If you happen to like the Venetian master Titian’s work, you will enjoy the setting in Quadri. 

There are 4 sets of Tasting menus – laguna 7-course, laguna 5-course, quadri 7-course and quadri 5-course. I selected laguna 7-course with slight changes. In addition, there is a la carte menu.

It started with 2 courses of Amuse Bouche:

I. Trio

1. Quail egg stuffed with egg yolk and tuna sauce and covered by anchovy. Anchovy is glazed with chicken broth jelly. Even though I am usually not a fan of anchovy, this dish of anchovy was ultra fresh and tasty.

2. Miniature pie crust was stuffed with celery cream and topped with the diced sea snail (garusoli) from the local lagoon. Sea snails are larger than the snails served in the French restaurants; its meat is a bit firmer than escargot’s and both types are delicious.

3. Focaccia with black rice at the bottom, topped with vegetable tartar including puréed red beet and carrot to provide the burgundy color. On the very top it was soy mayonnaise to provide the overall sophisticated taste.

II. Steamed Pizza Cicchetto

Cicchetti sometimes spelled cichetti in Venetian language, includes tiny sandwiches, plated of olives or other vegetables, halved hard boiled eggs, small snacks served "bàcari" (cicchetti bars or orosterie) in Venice, Italy. This is one of the signature dishes imported from Le Calandre since the sous-chef of Le Calandre is in charge of Quadri’s kitchen at present. The small slice of whole wheat pizza was steamed with a texture between pizza and bread. The topping was quite good, comprised of zucchini, yellow pepper, green pepper, beet root, pumpkin cream and some sesame seed topping. All vegetables were cooked with the perfect texture and flavor.

There were two types of bread served – ciabatta bread and bread sticks made with oregano and dried tomatoes.

1^st Course –    1) Dentex Carpaccio, Spring Salad Greens, Tarragon Mayonnaise

                        2) Crispy Raw Shrimp

1) Dentex is considered the most difficult catches for the beginner and the most valuable species of fish from the Mediterranean Sea. Although it is delicious, Dentex is not the most delicious. I had cooked Dentex once in Croatia just recently. The cooked Dentex tasted almost like sea bass, however the flesh a bit smoother than sea bass. The sashimi style Dentex actually brought out the flavor of Dentex to a higher level. When I inquired about the prep process, I was informed it required only olive oil.  

2) Raw shrimp was from Sardinia, it was covered by crispy rice puffs and topped with lobster-flavored mayonnaise and Osetra caviar. It was fresh and sweet.

2^nd Course – Baccalà Baccalà Baccalà Baccalà, 4 styles

Bacaalà is dried and salted cod. Since it is heavily salted for preservation, all bacaalà requires soaking before it can be used. Cod which has been dried but without the addition of salt is stockfish.

1) Smoked polenta with whipped stockfish and Osetra caviar.

2) Julienned tomato with fresh stockfish tripes alla parmigiana in black garlic sauce.
This is definitely my favorite among these 4 styles. Fish tripes taste like stripes of slice sea scallop, tender, juicy and tasty.

3) Fried stockfish throats, artichokes stripes which is crispy outsider and soft inside.

4) This is Baccalà Vicentina style, a traditional dish of the Veneto region. Dried cod is simmered in milk until it becomes smoothly creamy. This creamy dried Baccalà was placed at the bottom of the bowl, topped with red onion sorbet and chips of riso venere (black rice chips.) This is also one of the signature dishes of Quadri. It involved diversified and complicated preparation.

3^rd Course – Spaghettone with “alla busara” with Mantis Prawn Baby Lagoon Shrimp and Cuttlefish Eggs

Mantis shrimp’s flesh is closer to that of lobster than that of shrimp, and like lobsters, their shells are quite hard and require some pressure to crack. Usually they are deep fried with garlic and chilly peppers. In the Mediterranean countries Mantis shrimp is a common seafood, especially on the Adriatic coasts.

This is a pasta dish with thicker size of spaghetti. It was served with 2 different kinds of sauce. One was the tomato sauce with puréed fried mantis shrimp, mixed with spaghettone. The other was cuttlefish eggs with basil and cream sitting along the bottom of the spaghettone. Tomato sauce was superb because of Mantis shrimp’s enhancement, cuttlefish cream made the seafood flavor more intense.

4^th Course – Venetian Style Deep Fried Fish (Lobster, Squid, Soft-shelled Crabs and Spring Vegetables)

Fried seafood was placed in a paper bag imitating the ancient Venetian’s way of eating fried seafood. It was served with mustard mayonnaise. Each item was coated with light batter. There were two pieces of tender and juicy lobster meat, one piece of tender squid, two pieces of string beans and one piece of carrot. Restaurant manager emphasized this dish is also one of Quadri’s signature dishes, with more focus on the presentation of an ancient way of serving seafood.

5^th Course – Lamb Chops with Rhubarb Meat Jus Parmigiano Purée and Fried Artichoke

I have been longing for good lamb chops from day 1 of the trip ever since I heard that lambs in the Adriatic Sea coast lines are fed with various kinds of herbs such as thymes and rosemary. In this dish, lamb came from Wales, lamb chops were trimmed and boned except the long rib bones still remained. Chops were cooked rare-medium with excellent texture, served with mashed potato with parmigiano cheese and artichoke heart. Sauce was made of meat juice from cooking and rhubarb juice.

6^th Course – Sour Cherry Sorbet with Almond Mousse and Berries

This course is a palate cleanser. Sour cherry sorbet had a very delightfully pungent taste; almond mousse is not the foamy type. It was in between a mousse and foamy custard, but with smooth taste in the mouth. Berries were fresh and a good accompaniment of almond mousse.

7^th Course – Salted Caramel Puff Pastry with Coffee and Tonka Bean

Tonka beans look like an elongated raisin or a hard, skinny date. The taste of Tonka Bean is linked strongly with its scents like vanilla, almond, cherry and cinnamon. Chefs crave them for its spicy and fruity aroma which can be used in both savory and sweet applications. Tonka beans are usually shaved, a preparation to release its pungent aroma and subtle flavor. Unfortunately, all foods that contain the chemical compound coumadin are considered by the FDA to be "adulterated" and have technically been illegal since 1954. Tonka beans are a major source of coumarin, therefore, not available in US.

The overall taste was almost like mild mocha, almond and caramel. The puffy pastry, looked like a Napoleone, was finely made with crispy layers, but not greasy. Around the pastry, there were a few drops of licorice syrup. It was not a heavy desert in terms of quantity and ingredients, although I could have a bit more.

Petit Fours

One miniature White Chocolate Cup Filled with White Chocolate Cream and Topped with ½ Raspberry

One miniature Milk Chocolate Cup Filled with Milk Chocolate Cream and Topped with Almond

One miniature Dark Chocolate Cup Filled with Dark Chocolate Cream and Chocolate Crumbs

The petit fours looked delicate and tasted light and delicious, at this moment your stomach only had limited empty space. 

Without of doubt it is pricey at Ristorante Quadri, comparing with other Michelin 1-starred restaurants in Europe. Quadri charges what market can bear probably because of its prime location, being a name steeped in history and being the only Michelin Starred restaurant in the city center of Venice. However, I enjoyed my total fine dining experience at Quadri. While you are dining in the classic and opulent Venetian style dining room, you may also have the extensive view of the piazza thru its tall windows. In addition to the visual pleasure, you can also get the extra gastronomical treats imported from Chef Alajmo’s Le Calandre.