I've heard some hit-and-miss reviews of this place, but I had an absolutely perfect meal here. My all-time "10/10" list was 7 names long – wd~50, Pujol, Momofuku Ko, Alchemist, Masa, Alinea, Sukiyabashi Jiro – and Schwa is now #8.
I've wanted to go since the article on Charlie Trotter's party. I've read everything there is to read about the place, but I was still not really prepared for just how strange the setup is. There's no host stand or vestibule, you walk directly into the *maybe* 1000sqft dining room, standing next to a table of diners until someone comes out to seat you. This was maybe the 30th Michelin-starred restaurant I had been to as a solo diner, and the first to have not removed the other chair from the two-top I was sat at. They blast mumble rap, heavy metal, and 90s pop – I use a hearing implant and I had to adjust it to concert mode. You walk through the cramped kitchen in order to use the restroom – my instincts kicked in and I shouted 'corner' and 'behind' as I did. The cooks serve you directly. One of them was wearing a wool trapper hat and a torn, faded pullover sweater for some band I'd never heard of. They come by, hand you a dish, rattle off half a dozen components that make absolutely no sense being in the same sentence, and walk away.
And then you eat it.
And it's perfect.
Fifteen times in a row.
The quail egg ravioli was delicious but classic, and it almost feels like a deliberate mislead, something to make you think this might be a normal meal before they blow your mind with each of the next dozen courses.
Rutubaga puree with mustard seed caviar, beluga caviar, and raspberry.
Lychee-cured trout with a sofrito chili crunch, finger lime, and nori.
Savory Dutch baby with bone marrow butter and a pho-spiced jus.
Banana cake with long pepper gel and fried banana skin.
None of it makes a lick of sense until you eat it, and then after you do, you're left wondering why no one's ever done it before.
Service was also surprisingly great, after hearing all the stories. I emailed asking for a solo reservation and they got back to me with a reservation link within 12 hours. Everyone was perfectly professional – head chef even checked in to make sure I was okay with alcohol in dishes after I didn't bring in a BYOB bottle.
I don't know when I'm going to be in Chicago next, but I know I'm planning that trip around another reservation here.
by Marx0r