Bspar wrote:An anniversary and a new job mean I finally get to attend El Ideas on Friday with my wife and Bro/Sis in law.

Any advice for a first timer?

Car service.

Don't drink too much. I say that to myself EVERY time I go but the temptation to match fun wines to all those courses often gets the better of me! I never remember as much about the details of the meal as I wish I could because of that! Not the worst problem to have but one worth mentioning for a 1st timer!

Totally on board with Uber.

Trying for around 4 wines and maybe an awesome coffee stout to end the meat.

I finally had the chance to enjoy EL ideas recently and came away with a great impression. First and foremost this is an rare price point dining experience in my world and the handful of other experiences have left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, most notably from a service standpoint. It's likely a personal thing but I find the formality of some places stifling. This was totally different, I felt much more relaxed and had a great time. The food was great and I had a lot of fun, the menu really delivered on some big autumn flavors, including particularly good skate/romanesco & maitake courses.

Finally made our trip over the weekend. Loved the "chill" vibe, and loved watching the chef dance a little to the music and he clearly display a zen attitude like "we've got this whole thing organized." The kitchen runs like a well-oiled machine. The one disappointment was that despite the encouragement to do so, we did have have a mingling crowd, everyone pretty much stayed at their tables. It was the 5:30 seating, and we were happy to find the doors open at 5:15 on the cold evening. Everything was as described by others.

Our meal began with a fun play on cocaine (yes, cocaine) where we got to divide our serving into lines and snort it through a straw. The french fry ice cream is still around and we were told "it won't go away". The only miss of the night was a take on Carbonara, which used squash for the pasta. Taste was ok, but I think we were expecting a warm dish and it appeared cold, and I'd have been happier with regular pasta. Everything else was amazing, so one "meh" is still an amazing night.

We brought four bottles of wine for the four of us, and we drank though them. I'd suggest that mostly lighter wines would be best. We started with Champagne (which goes with everything, of course) and then had 1/2 the bottle of Rose and saved the rest for dessert. We also brought a petit syrah and ended with a heavier Chiani Riserva, which paired will with the Wagu beef and venison courses.

very little of substance to add to this thread, so I won't try too hard, but did want to bump it and say WOW. We were completely blown away by this meal. I think it bats way above its price point and cannot wait to return. Wonderfully warm staff, great vibe throughout the night, not too long (right around 2.5 hours and we seriously lingered at the end). 11 courses and a small bite of chocolate at the end.

Highlights for us were:

a fun little opener they did not provide utensils for;

barramundi (a fish I've never encountered before) with thai flavors and a great little bite of sticky rice (one of the most special foods to me personally. This bite was very special and would make a last meal shortlist);

a massive scallop seared to almost black on one side and untouched on the other (interesting way to cook them I have not really run into before; I could do with less cook on a scallop but this was surprisingly far from overdone considering the color on it) with a lot of really fun flavors accompanying it (black beans, chorizo, plantains);

Pheasant was cooked really well--reminiscent of Roister's chicken breast, at least to the extent that it was more tender and enjoyable than fowl has any right to be;

and, of course, both the french fries & ice cream and wagyu & morels were wonderful, although to call either of those the best on the menu seems cheating.

Dessert portions were more generous than I expected, which was good because I enjoyed them and we were not overwhelmed by the portion sizes generally--I could have eaten a fair bit more, although to say I left hungry would be a gross overstatement.

Serve yourself coffee and tea in the kitchen at your leisure after the meal is over--quality, both of them, and worth not rushing out.

Drank way too much, laughed, cried (actually), loved. Cannot wait to return.

Light wines recommended.


apologies for the lower quality than many of you manage (I'll get there someday).

We were there about a month ago and were again blown away. I thought this was the kind of place that would run out of steam at some point, but if anything they're better than ever. This is a place that's at the top of their game and spinning like a top. We had a substantially different menu, but it was equally great. There's always one course that gets a "men" but out of 11 that's a very impressive thing and probably has more to do with our taste preference than anything else.

We learned that the guy running front of house has been there since day 1, and he's a gem. They've mastered that "magic" where glasses appear and disappear at exactly the right moment, and he seems to sense what glasses to bring before the bottles emerge from our carrier.

I agree with the "car service" note. For a table of four we bring 4 bottles - Champagne to start, then a white, then a rose or light red, then a full bodied red.

Heading for the first time tonight. Absolutely amped.

I'll edit this post with a review.

Edit:

Went to the 9:30 PM dinner last weekend and we loved it. 11 courses, all of which were completely original and delicious. It's apparent as to why the ice cream + leak soup dish is the staple of the menu.

We've been fortunate enough to venture around Chicago's Michelin scene in the past couple of years and El Ideas is one of the few we unanimously agreed upon that we would return again. The non-pretentious dinner party vibe was perfect, the FoH ran an incredibly tight ship, pausing to announce the dish before everyone partook at once made for a fun communal aspect, and the lively music in the background was a great touch.

Check it out if you haven't gone yet. There's a reason they've maintained their star and have unanimously glowing reviews.

We got the takeout from EL ideas—we’d been wanting to try this place for a long time but don’t go to the schmancy places much. They’re offering a 24.00/person takeout menu right now, and it was awesome to get a taste of their food. We got the frosty/fries app, the seafood bouillabaisse, and a brownie for dessert. Everything was great and there was minimal assembly required (just heating up a few items). Just wanted to give them some love.

Love,
John

Ideal Machine wrote:We got the takeout from EL ideas—we’d been wanting to try this place for a long time but don’t go to the schmancy places much. They’re offering a 24.00/person takeout menu right now, and it was awesome to get a taste of their food. We got the frosty/fries app, the seafood bouillabaisse, and a brownie for dessert. Everything was great and there was minimal assembly required (just heating up a few items). Just wanted to give them some love.

Love,
John

Just a note that they’re bringing back Meaty Balls from the old food truck menu. $8 each and available either by themselves or as an add on to other meals. I miss meatyballs but never made the connection between the food truck and El Ideas.

In my book their $24 dinners are the bargain of the current high end options.