Holy tasting menu!
Some of the most upscale restaurants out there tout Chef's Tables -- the culinary VIP treatment in the form of a multi-course tasting menu dreamed up by the chef, at a special table usually situated near all the kitchen action. Now, along with spots like Charlie Trotter's and Aria, you can add another to the list: The Chef's Table at Holy Mackerel! American Fish House in Lombard's Westin Hotel.
Well, sort of. As it turns out, the table reference is figurative -- you can sit anywhere, so what we're really talking about here is a multi-course tasting menu tailored to your likes and steering away from your dislikes. Chef Danny Salgado, who most recently worked at Galileo 101 in San Diego, says he'll draw on seasonal ingredients to whip up creations for your table. This week, for example, you might start out with a peeky toe crab salad with cucumber, honeydew gelee and gooseberries, then move on to razor clams or black bass.
It strikes us as the kind of thing that a group of biz travelers in town at Westin's conference center might sink their expense accounts into, but Salgado tells us that for the most part, it's caught on with locals. He's actually been offering impromptu tasting menus on slower evenings throughout the past few months, but since requests have started to pop up at, say, 7 p.m. on a busy Saturday night, he's formalizing the offering with a set size (five courses) and price ($100 per person; $150 with wine pairings) and time (seatings from 5-8 p.m. Thursdays). If you give it a try, be sure to tell us what you think...