23rd
Zagat Chicago Ratings are in…
Zagat Chicago Ratings are in and Les Nomades (where I’ve never dined) edged out Alinea for the top food spot! Even more amazingly, Schwa took the #3 spot also receiving a 29 for food. Rick Bayless took two with Frontera as Most Popular and XOCO as Top Newcomer.
WOW! … and I’m sitting here in Cincinnati unable to go to any of them so instead, I must reflect on what was one of my most unique dining experiences ever: Schwa. (link to original post)
I reminisce…
I learned about the restaurant from a foodie friend of mine who persevered in making a reservation. One would think that this isn’t a feat, but getting one at Schwa is akin to running a marathon.
To provide a little background, Schwa is run by Michael Carlson who’s following his passion of being a chef, but honestly not giving a flying —— about anything else! The restaurant consists of himself, a sous chef, “an intern or two” (as Michael described) and a busboy/dishwasher… 5 people in total. The small dining room on Ashland is located behind an unassuming, slightly-dilapidated facade seating 26. The restaurant opened a couple of years ago, but didn’t really seem to hit the headlines until after Charlie Trotter held his anniversary dinner there, which brought the who’s who from far and wide. Carlson slaved away for many weeks with his staff on the event’s menu which was received with raves from all in attendance. Immediately it was in the headlines. Immediately after, he took a bit of time off to pursue the alleys, bottles, and vials of Chicago, per se. On reopening, the restaurant has been a success since with his personable demeanor, antics, eclecticism and amazing cuisine!
Now back to the phone. The reservation system is a cordless phone in the kitchen with a full voice-mail box. If you browse the blogs, there are countless stories of peoples trials making a reservation, from getting it on the first try, to calling 10+ times and leaving messages only to receive a day-of call 5 weeks later, saying there’s a table available in 2 hours! It’s less predictable odds than playing roulette. My friend had called so many times that she was startled and lost her train of thought when someone on the other end finally picked up and asked “Hey, its Michael, do you want to come eat some food? At Schwa?” Of course she replied affirmatively, and four of us ended up going one night in May 2009.
We came well prepared considering it is BYOB: 3.5 bottles between the 4 of us: a sparking, white, red and 375 of dessert. The bottles were taken and chilled on arrival by Michael himself who uttered “we’re gonna get wasted tonight!” With that line, a fantastic evening began… not because of the wine (well maybe that helped) but because of our interaction with Michael, he was a true character. The food was amazing, and I will not recount everything again. Highlights however were Michael’s utterances including when we offered him a glass of a J reserve single-vineyard Pinot Noir, after we had heard that he often would share wine with patrons. He responded, “Thanks, but…. we’ve got Jack Daniels back here in the Kitchen.” Another was when Michael told us about a dish, and then said, “Basically its Shad roe, people on the East Coast dig this s—t, eat up, the next one’s coming soon.” He was just amazing, so much so, that we left feeling like Michael was our friend after all of the banter we had passed back and forth. It didn’t bother us that he was just as drunk or possibly more so that us at the end of the night!
While our story may be memorable, many friends have recounted their experiences similarly, some have even including sitting next to one of Michael’s um, “facilitators?” and not remembering the latter half of the meal… etc.
In short, this is a restaurant that you want to go to soon! Plan ahead and get a reservation, bring wine, and come in a cab. You’ll surely have a unique, unforgettable experience well deserving of a food-29!
… I conclude reminiscing for now.
