Moody Tongue - Amazingly Delicious Fine Dining

There was already a topic about Moody Tongue as a gastropub in the "Something to Drink" forum. However, Moody Tongue is two restaurants in one. If you turn right at the top of the stairs, you enter the casual, noisy gastropub room. If you turn left, you enter the elegant, spacious fine dining restaurant. Hence the new topic in this forum. On their website, they show the a la carte gastropub menu under "the bar" and the extensive fine dining tasting menu ($285) under "the dining room".

Last night I ate in "the dining room". It was heavenly, with an endless cavalcade of amazingly delicious dishes (with only one exception). In fact, this might just be the best dinner I've eaten in Chicago in the past ten years, with only Alinea coming to mind as a possible counterexample. Executive chef Jared Wentworth has been involved in numerous projects here and elsewhere, but this is without a doubt the culmination of his awesome culinary skills.

And it's not just the delicious food that impresses; the service was impeccable, the room décor was spacious (28 seats in a large room) and lovely, and even the dishware was out and out gorgeous.

So now it's time for the food porn!

WHITE TRUFFLE- CELERY ROOT BON BON - yuzu, hazelnut, thyme, brown butter

SMOKED STURGEON CANNOLI - fennel-lemon marmalade, ikura

HOKKAIDO SCALLOP - citron, calamansi, black trumpet, pomelo, lime snow

KALUGA CAVIAR - sweet potato, blistered grapes, yeast beurre blanc

KING CRAB - chawanmushi, leek, thumbelina carrot, xo sauce

MILLIONAIRE RICE - hokkaido sea urchin, maine lobster, abalone, foie gras, koshihikari rice

EUROPEAN TURBOT - scallop mousseline, chanterelles, pickled ramp, rutabaga, oxtail jus

A5 MIYAZAKI - matsutake veloute, pine nut, apple, pickled cipolini, black truffle, spruce tip oil

FOIE GRAS CHAUD-FROID - fig newton, espresso crumb, sauternes

PORK BALLOTINE - herb spätzle, sauerkraut, caraway, iberico ham broth

VENISON - chestnut, porcini, squash, huckleberry (all of us agreed that this dish was a total miss, due to the venison being served RAW )

GRUYÈRE - marinara powder, iberico ham, basil

MISO POT DE CRÈME - pear, oat, fermented plum

APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUT - local honeycrisp apple, brown butter ice cream, whipped caramel

MILK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE - fig compote, flourless torte, sweet & sour kumquat

Mignardise

To take home - a printed menu, a chef-signed bottle of Moody Tongue Sliced Nectarine IPA, and a snazzy cloth tote bag suitable for carrying a bottle of wine

I should add, I have not dined in the gastropub room, but this dinner makes me want to try it - and soon! That menu sounds terrific too!

If you happen to be in NY:

Moody Tongue Sushi, From Noted Chicago Brewers, Opens

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/07/dini ... ticleShare

nsxtasy wrote:Moody Tongue is two restaurants in one. If you turn right at the top of the stairs, you enter the casual, noisy gastropub room.
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I have not dined in the gastropub room, but this dinner makes me want to try it - and soon! That menu sounds terrific too!

Last night we went back to Moody Tongue, this time to dine in the gastropub room known as "The Bar". As it turns out, it was really not terribly noisy. Also worth noting is the spaciousness, plenty of space between tables, giving a sense of privacy.

In The Bar they serve an a la carte menu with MUCH lower prices than the tasting menu in The Dining Room. Theirs is a fairly small menu, one of the most compelling menus I have seen, in which so many dishes sound amazingly delicious. And they were! This was a terrific dinner, at a much lower price (our total was around $100/pp plus tip per person with moderate alcohol). Service was as efficient and friendly as in The Dining Room. We love Moody Tongue!

Link to current menus in The Bar

What we had (all appetizers with the exception of the black bass):

Shaved Pear Salad - $18 - Red Oak Lettuce, Belgian Endive, Bay Blue Cheese, Walnut, Sherry Vinaigrette

Butter Poached Maine Lobster - $25 - Ragout Of Leek, Marble Potato, Celery, Pickled Beech Mushrooms, Smoked Potato Foam

Maine Diver Scallops - $22 - Preserved Lemon Carolina Rice, Saffron, Charred Fennel, Citrus, Lobster Broth

Celery Root Agnolloti - $19 - Pear, Sunchokes, Chestnut Mushrooms, Parmesan, Black Truffle

Hudson Valley Foie Gras - $24 - Spiced Pumpkin Cake, Apple Marmalade, Concord Grape Gel, Walnut Crumble

Braised Beef Cheek - $17 - Fregola Sarda, Dried Fruit, Honey Sambal, Roasted Root Vegetables

Crispy Whole Black Bass - $43 - Barigoule Of Winter Vegetables, Potatoes, Calabrian Chili Olive Relish

Vanilla Bean Mousse - $12 - Pomegranate Hibiscus Syrup, Meringue Crisps, Cocoa Tuile, Strawberry Fermented Plum Sorbet

Clementine Poppyseed Cake - $12 - Preserved Apricot Coulis, White Chocolate Buttercream, Candied Black Olive