A great weekend in Chicago included another visit to Grant Achatz’s deconstructionist culinary temple where we enjoyed 22 courses including an amazing osetra caviar with emulsified egg yolk, toasted brioche foam and onion, caper and lemon distilled jellies.  Another wonderful course, a tribute to Escoffier, was squab with onion veloute in a pastry tart and a perigord truffle sauce.  Alinea was as magical as ever, but we decided to branch out a bit and had three wonderful new food experiences which included:

Avenues at the Peninsula Hotel
Four star chef Curtis Duffy’s (ex-Alinea) delicious tasting menu included a parmesan sorbet with Sicilian white truffles and tapioca pearls, a lightly poached Faroe Island salmon belly with whipped chlorophyll, fried capers, lemon zest cumin powder and apple milk, and an A12 quality Japanese Wagu ribeye with braised beef cheek cannelloni and black sesame sauce.  Sitting on the stools at the Chef’s bar is always a treat and allows diners to be part of the kitchen experience. 108 East Superior Street, Chicago, 312-337-2888, www.penninsula.com 

Sunda
Chef Rodelio Agibot cooked 15 courses for us in his new Asian-fusian restaurant.  The seared foie gras on thai rice pudding and Vietnamese carmel sauce, the “duck hash” of glazed duck, dicon cake, frisee, and crispy egg, and the Malay style sea bass with a dry rub of coriander, lemon grass, miso, pulverized carrots and assorted chilis all had amazing flavors and spice combinations.  Agibot skillfully intermingles ingredients, spices, and cooking styles from all over Southeast Asia to create his tasty and innovative cuisine.  The restaurant is loud, but stylish and quite the happening place in its seventh month. 110 W. Illinois Street, Chicago, 312.644.0500, www.sundachicago.com

Takashi
Chef Takashi Yagihashi follows up his Beard award winning stint at Tribute in Detroit and opening Okada at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas with this neighborhood contemporary French – American fare with Japanese influences.  His Sunday noodle lunch features many small plates such as pork dumplings (gyoza), duck fat fried chicken, and gulf shrimp rolls with garlic aioli.  We ordered two of the 10 different noodle selections.  The housemade ramen noodles in broth were served with shoyu braised pork belly, barbecued egg, and fish cake.  The housemade soba noodles were accompanied with tempura of gulf shrimp, eggplant, green beans, and shitake mushrooms.  This is a welcoming place with friendly service and an exciting dinner menu as well. 1952 N Damen Ave, Chicago, (773) 772-6170, www.takashi.com