Moto

945 W. Fulton Market (Morgan St.) Send to Phone

Chef Homaro Cantu creates food that’s both artistic and confounding---a combination foodies find attractive. Moto Restaurant is one of our | Top 10 Chicago Special Occasion Restaurants |

Cuisine

Eclectic

Open

Dinner Tues.-Sat.

Features

Private room(s)
Full bar
Reservations suggested
Open late
Valet parking
Casual dressy

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Chef Homaro Cantu breaks all the rules, blazing trails that are both uncharted and titillating for those who view dining as a theatric, multi-sensory affair. For example, Cantu might wrap sushi rolls, not in the typical seaweed, but with flavored, edible "paper." Food-based inks create colorful images. Menus (edible, too) are sometimes flavored like main course dishes, and pictures might take on sensory properties (i.e. an image of a cow smacks of steak). Truly, this minimalist spot in the ever-hopping Fulton Market District is mind-blowing, and you will pay for the experience in kind. Because Cantu respects---and readily utilizes---fresh organic products, they often are served raw or lightly cooked using the sous-vide technique or specialized polymer oven boxes. Herbs might entwine in Cantu's patented fork handles. Boxes filled with Pacific Ocean water could conceivably bake fish. Other weird food science projects might include beef with braised pizza and garlic and freeze-dried piña colada and donut soup. Each evening, the chef presents ten-course ($115) and 20-course ($175) menus, introducing guests to his post-modern cuisine. Fortunately, the servers know what they are presenting; unless explained to the diner, it can be difficult to interpret menu descriptions. Every aspect of the restaurant operation has been carefully planned; Cantu's three-year sous chef stint at Charlie Trotter's shows. Expect a small but well-researched wine list with a grand tour option ($90).