Square Root

Square Root Restaurant Review:

There are dinners, and then there are dining experiences. Chef Phillip Lopez offers the latter at Square Root. With a food bar that surrounds the open kitchen, there are only 16 seats. Lopez's menu changes so frequently and creatively that it is impossible to know exactly what to expect, but be prepared for expert narration from the chef himself. Lopez explains each course, its relationship to New Orleans and its derivative ingredients. Typical of Lopez's fare might be a fried chicken dish, with watermelon rinds and mustard. If it sounds odd, it is, but it works. Or he may grace your place setting with crispy duck with satsumas and persimmon. Nothing ordinary happens here, not even for dessert, which might just be the finale to a 12- to 16-course tasting with wine pairings from his brief but complex list. Lopez's selections prove that a list doesn't have to be pages long to cover all bases in a multi-course, eclectic dining experience. After dinner, go upstairs for a drink in the clubby, warmly lit cocktail lounge.