This was our last night in Chicago, so I had us scheduled for Oriole. We arrived about 10 minutes before opening and were waiting outside in 90+ degree temperatures. Fortunately, the host saw us outside and let us in where we sat inside the working elevator/lift that they had turned into the waiting area. When it was our time, they lifted the gate and escorted us into the restaurant proper.
The menu was going to be a progressive menu where we would be staged in several different areas (this was similar to our experience at Cyrus which we very much enjoyed as well as at Merchant Roots). The first stop was at the bar. Here we were introduced to our “captain” who would be taking care of us. I can’t remember his name and he seemed like a nice enough guy, but I also can’t really remember his impact on service much. We were the first seated, but were quickly joined by the others at this initial seating. We dressed up a little bit because that’s what we like to do, although many were quite casual including some t-shirts, shorts, caps, etc. although I certainly can’t fault anybody given the heat and wanting to be comfortable, although it is a bit more casual than what we are used to seeing even in SF (which is of course quite a bit cooler).
We also ordered cocktails. I think Andrea had the Oriole Gimlet and I had something called Golden 75 made with Monkey 47 gin and some other citrus which was delicious.
We were served a sake to go along with our first 3 bites at the bar. Hokkaido Uni Infladita and Blue Tiger Prawn with Morita, Canada Cup Oyster and Delice de Bourgogne with Pâté Sucrée, and Dungeness Crab and Virginia Peanut with Hojo Santa. Each of these three bites were delicious in their own way. The first bite had the Hokkaido uni set atop a little mini puff that was filled with the prawns which burst forth with the bite and full of flavor of the ocean. The second bite was the Canada Cup Oyster (which I don’t recall us previously having ever had) with some Delice de Bourgogne (one of our favorites ever since traveling to Burgundy in 2023) in the pâté sucrée cup. That gave a nice firm crunch to the dish that would have been otherwise all mush. I would not have though of pairing cheese with oyster, but it definitely worked for us. Lastly, the dungeness crab (which of course is one of our favorites living here in SF) interestingly paired with a bit of Virginia peanut which gave a bit of richness, and hoja santa (which we recal first having when we were in Mexico City in 2023 at Rosetta, but see it everywhere now). These 3 bites were an outstanding start to the meal with the interesting combination of ingredients so meticulously prepared.
We were then ushered into the kitchen area for our next dish. The kitchen is very open and the ceiling is adorned with various posters and album covers for various types of music, much of which was familiar. We were also told that much of the background music in the restaurant would be coming from those artists and albums. I was busy taking pictures and chef saw me and amusingly came over to the table, opened up a drawer, and took out his Leica to take a picture back since turnabout is fair play, haha.
The dish we were served was Hudson Valley foie gras blended with a strawberry reduction. This was set atop a piece of bread and all of it was adorned with some oxalis and sprinkled with a bit of gold. It made for a beautiful looking dish and the flavors were spot on for us…the richness of the foie gras we always love (although we can’t get in restaurants in California although we can purchase it for personal consumption) and the sweetness from the strawberries was a perfect balance. This was definitely one of our favorites and continued the string of tasty bites. This was paired with Lustau Vermut Rosé (a sherry vermouth) which paired incredibly well with the dish and was quite delicious and unique in our experience.
We were then taken to our table in the main dining area (I think there were 8 tables here and two in the kitchen). This is also when we started our wine pairings. Since they two levels of pairings, we of course opted for one of each – this time the reserve ($350) for me and the standard ($195) for Andrea.
The first dish was the Golden Kaluga Caviar. This came with peas, green garlic and lobster. The Kaluga (our favorite) was set atop a small bed of bright green peas. The lobster was dwelling beneath a layer of white foam. This was paired with Champagne for both of us which was a perfect pairing with the rich seafood ingredients.
Next dish was the Sunchoke. This was served in a bowl with sake lees on the bottom of the bowl and thin slices of sunchoke on top along with various flower petals and greens. The toasted sunflower and pieces of baby artichoke were spooned on from the waitperson. This dish was paired with sake of course, which in my case was the IWA 5, Assemblage 4 which we knew well from the sake maker dinner at Birdsong (as well as at other dinners and purchases from True Sake).
Next came the Razor Clam. This sliced pieces of razor clam were served atop a lightly batter fried shiso leaf. There were also small pieces of green almond and it was all topped with little sprigs of spruce tip. On the side, we were also served a small cup of Seabuckthorn and Ginger Soda.
Then came the Hokkaido Scallop that was served with a light broth. The scallops were fresh, delicate, and ever so slightly sweet.
Our last seafood course was the Sablefish. The fish had a touch of browning on top from roasting or touch of flame from a kitchen torch. The fish was nestled in a bowl with patty pan squash, toasted corn, Guinea hen (?) and a bit of
Then came the Cappellini pasta course. This included caraway, yeast and wheatberry. The cappellini was arranged like it was spun into a sort of tube and inside of the tube there was a filling, so it was all sort of like a manicotti, but made with the cappellini (we were instructed to cut through the pasta to get some of the filling with each bite). This was topped with a bit of winter truffle from Argentina (first time we’ve ever even heard that they grew truffles in Argentina). There were a few toasted wheatberries aslo on top of the sauce. This also came with a side of milkbread which was helpful for soaking up any extra sauce, which I did of course.
That brings us to the final savory course, the Iberico Pork Collar. with sorrel, sudachi and head cheese
Then came a palate cleanser. This consisted of a hibiscus granita and a coconut foam.
We were offered coffee service. I usually never drink coffee in the afternoon, but since I read that it was pretty good here, I went with the pour over. It like it was a medium roast, not too acidic and no heavily roasted flavor on it.
Dessert was called a Strawberry Sorbet. However it was the yuzu meringue that was prominent surrounded by a strawberry sauce. It was a nice light dessert, which was fine by us.
Then came the mignardise which came as a trio of dishes. The first was the Macaron. This was made with Okinawa caramel and cherry. Then came a mini pain perdu and a black sesame profiterole. The stack of pain perdu was layered with quince jam and topped with a Délice de Bourgogne (one of our favorite cheeses) and candy cap mushroom frosting(?). Lastly, came the dark chocolate and truffle bon bon made with Valrhona chocolate and some Pâte de Fruit made of Guajillo & Cheney (interesting ingredients, although I’m never that excited by these at the end of the meal).
Service overall was attentive, but generally perfunctory (including from our captain). The biggest exception to this would be the somm Mary who was very engaging. We even got to talking about restaurant recommendations and such. She told us about the little printout they hand out that are recommendations from Oriole. I asked her what her personal recommendations were and she offered to put together a list which she did write down and give to us. How awesome is that? Also, a shoutout to Moro(? I only know his Discord username) the greeter/host at the entrance who was personable and reached out to me on Discord too (even during the meal, but I didn’t see it until the next day).
Overall, it was my second best dining experience in Chicago (best being Smyth and vastly better than my experience at Alinea), although the wine pairings didn’t quite do it for me. They were good and occasionally very good, but not enough to warrant the $350 reserve pairing.
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