Conscious Choice: What’s in a Name?

November 2006 | Conscious Dining

What’s in a Name?

Chicago’s Schwanky Schwa

By Tanya Fritz

A schwa is an unstressed vowel, for example, the “a” in “above” or the “e” in “sicken.” It is also the phonetic symbol—e—used to express this word.

Just before Schwa opened last fall, I was following the discussion thread on a local online foodie forum, LTHForum.com, regarding the choice of name. The members quipped about suggestions on other new restaurant concepts including: “How about: Tapas Cedilla (ç). Or “Ampersand” (&)—An American Bistro. Or how about “Colon” (:)—A High Fiber Juice Bar?!”

However sarcastically the Chicago foodie community quipped about Schwa’s name, they got seriously humbled when Schwa opened their doors and awed diners. Food & Wine magazine went on to name Chef Michael Carlson one of its acclaimed “Best New Chefs 2006.” He and his talented team have played to a full house almost every night since.

I went for the first time a few months after it opened last fall and the fantastic food and service gave myself and the other patrons a feeling of eating with extended family at the home of a relative. The milieu is uncomplicated: neutral colors of beige and green apple with light wood floors, tables and chairs. Two chandeliers light the small window nooks and an open kitchen offers diners a clear view of the crew as they work together with a refined choreography.

Returning recently as a reviewer (at least officially, now) I discovered they now offer a choice of two multi-course menus, a five-course for $55 and a nine-course for $95. We opted for the nine-courses.

Our menu consisted of an amuse bouche (a small pre-meal tasting offered, compliments of the chef) of a small lollipop of green apple lightly coated in caramel and topped with grains of fleur de sel, presented skewered in a slice of green apple. The nod to the impending fall season was a delightful way to build our anticipation for the evening’s meal.

We began with a panzanella tomato and bread salad with basil and topped with a tomato sorbet that was pleasingly light in texture from the sorbet and the airy brioche. Following this was a prosciutto consommé with two small cantaloupe rounds floating in the deep almost nutty broth. Next—my favorite dish of the evening—was quail egg ravioli with ricotta, brown butter and parmesan/reggiano.

Let’s briefly pause here because this dish may very well change your understanding of fine food forever. The homemade pasta ravioli is filled with ricotta and an uncooked quail egg so that when I took the ravioli, swirled it in the brown butter sage sauce as recommended, placed the whole thing in my mouth and bit down, the sweet yolk from the quail egg coupled with the delicate ricotta and nutty brown butter sauce basically reduced me to grunts, groans, and some light moaning. There couldn’t be a more enveloping parcel of flavors. It left me speechless.

Course four was Illinois sturgeon caviar served atop a cauliflower and avocado purees, followed by a very rich but ultimately unmemorable lobster dish served with potatoes, gooseberries and a barely perceptible infusion of lavender. Crispy sweetbreads with a rhubarb compote and Humboldt Fog blue cheese were next, and by then we were swimming in an ethereal bliss experienced only by flavor junkies.

A three-part dish of braised, pickled and tartar-style local free-range beef introduced the meal’s crescendo. The pickled beef was served with a cornichon slice on top and while pickling has never been a preparation style preference of mine, Chef Carlson’s pickled beef was a fine combination of sweet and salty sized appropriately for the palette. It stood in sharp contrast to the deep richness of the braised beef and the creamy tartar that was served with a raw quail egg.

Following our seven savory dishes was a cheese course that, although pleasing, felt more obligatory, owing to a custom in multi-course meals. My dessert was a chocolate cake that was so rich, creamy it almost reinvigorated me after three hours of dining.

And of course, Chef Carlson and his team always use local, seasonal and organic ingredients when they can, which conscious diners appreciate not only for support of our farmers, but also because it means the menu is creative and that Schwa’s diners can feel the living energy of the foods.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter what the name is, the experience leaves you awed, the food is consistently engaging and extraordinary tasting, and the service is genuine. Schwa will be a Chicago dining destination for some time to come.

Schwa, 1466 N. Ashland, Chicago. Open Tuesday through Saturday 5:30pm to 10:30pm, closed Sunday and Monday. Visa and Mastercard only. BYOB. 773-252-1466, schwarestaurant.com.

Tanya Fritz is a professionally trained chef, oenophile, slow food fanatic and yoga enthusiast. She has covered the restaurant scene in her former hometowns of New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Lyon, France.

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