This spring, after eating at The French Laundry, I told the mrs. that I would never eat a meal this good again in my life. When we finished eating at Schwa last Saturday night, it was the first time I've had to ponder that statement and wonder if it is still true. I can safely say this is by far the best meal I've ever eaten in a t-shirt and blue jeans.
Schwa was originally my second choice for the evening. I was celebrating my birthday and originally was going to visit Alinea. But even 6 weeks beforehand they couldn't accommodate my reservation. When I called Schwa I was stunned that not only did they pick up the phone on the second ring, but they had a table available on the Saturday night I was looking for. I figured that had to be a good omen, so when Alinea called the night before our dinner and said a table had opened up I declined the offer and stuck with the Schwa reservation. I am very happy I made that choice.
Taking a cue from some of the Yelpers who have brought libations for the kitchen we made sure to pick up a bottle of Jameson for the staff while we were wine shopping for the evening. The chef who was our primary server for the night seemed quite happy with it, and at the end of the night allowed that the bottle was half empty already.
The atmosphere is truly unique to upscale dining. From the music to the small room to the lack of waitstaff this is something so obviously the singular vision of Michael Carlson. And for what it's worth our service was excellent. When we got there the place was almost empty, so the chefs serving us had more time to talk and relax. As the room filled the service became a bit less casual and relaxed, but was still high quality. A few dish descriptions were a bit rushed, but those were the dishes served by Chef Carlson, and he is a damn busy man in the kitchen.
We brought three bottles of wine (shamelessly lifted from Alpana Singh's blog post on what wine to bring to Schwa), and they did a great job of pairing them up with the courses. When they served extra courses not listed on the menu they gave us a wine from their stock that they felt would work well with the dishes. And it went great. I was intimidated by the BYO concept, but it turned out to be both a great money-saver and really didn't diminish the experience in any way.
The food was awe-inspiring. The quail-egg ravioli is the sort of thing that puts you in a post-coital sort of bliss after you finish it. I just sat in my chair trying to savor every last sensation from that wonderful treat. The peeky-toe crab with candied plantains was wonderful and brought together flavors I never would have put together in perfect harmony.
Out of 11 courses, I can honestly say only one wasn't at least very good. The cucumber juice with tapioca pearls, while a nice concept, wasn't wonderful. It was pleasant enough, and a nice way to get the palate going for the meal, but it feels like a baby step before Chef Carlson's food begins to stride across the plates like a gastronomic Godzilla.
By any standard this was a top-flight dining experience. When you consider that after tax gratuity, and with the cost of the wine and whiskey we purchased, our total cost for two people was just around $350, this might be the single best deal in upscale dining I've ever heard of.
Go here now. And bring me back some quail-egg ravioli. That was f'n awesome.
(edit: on reservations, I've been able to get right through to them twice now calling around 11AM. Both times picked up on the 2nd or 3rd ring, and a reservation set up right then and there.)
Schwa
1466 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 252-1466
HCH rating - 5 stars (really a million billion stars, but 5 will have to do)
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