Final Score:
97
/100
Pièce de Résistance
Let’s embark on a voyage into the unknown through a gastronomic experience. Our ship is “Ever,” a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago. The architect of this culinary vessel is the world-renowned Chef Curtis Duffy, along with his business partner Michael Muser.
Chef Duffy’s illustrious career began at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, a highly influential restaurant with a rich legacy of talented chefs. He then joined Alinea, another groundbreaking Chicago-based restaurant, where he worked closely with Chef Grant Achatz. In 2011, Duffy opened his own restaurant, “Grace”, in Chicago. Grace quickly garnered critical acclaim, earning three Michelin stars, a prestigious rating it maintained for several years. Under Duffy’s leadership, Grace became known for its meticulous attention to detail, exquisite presentations, and a menu that offered an exceptional sensory experience. Unfortunately, Grace closed its doors in 2017 for various reasons.
However, when one door closes, another opens. In July 2020, “Ever” made its maiden voyage into the culinary waters. With the James Beard Awards occurring in a few short days, our Michelin-starred journey takes us to the doors of Ever, where we eagerly await our first-class ticket to incredible flavors. Let’s eat.
Ever is attached to another one of Chef Duffy’s concepts, the “After” lounge. The journey from “After” to “Ever” begins down a dark hallway leading patrons to a room called the “Observatory.” This room is incredible. A telescope is the main feature, and the room is adorned with taxidermy, books, leather sofas, and tables. From there, a hidden door in the bookcase opens up to a hallway decorated with Japanese cherry blossoms. These flowers offer a delicate floral aroma that sets the tone for the evening. From there, you enter Ever.
Ever’s atmosphere is simply transcendent and the height of modern elegance. Features of Ever include soft lighting, tones of light wood contrasted by various shades of gray, and considerably comfortable seating that add a refined elegance to the dining experience. The restaurant has perfect spacing, so it feels intimate without other tables intruding upon one another. The background music is soft and appropriate for the setting. The aesthetic is incredibly relaxing and welcomes its guests to slip into decadence and relaxation for the evening’s voyage. The walls are of particular note, with shelves built into the soundproofing, riveted fixtures that span the entire restaurant. It is one of the most refined fine dining atmospheres, with the most appropriate word to describe the ambiance being complete serenity.
Our party was treated to a tour of the kitchen, and much to our surprise, the serenity experienced in the dining area extends to the kitchen. Meticulously and orderly, the kitchen’s organization is truly a sight to behold. Watching the chefs work was a deep dive into focus, precision, and perfection. Each sous chef has a specific job and is hyper-focused on perfection. Much like the theme of a ship, at the helm of the kitchen was Michael, the only voice that could be heard giving out orders to the crew (chefs). It is uniform, surgical, incredible.
The theme of a voyage continues into the service section with our “Captain” for the evening, Andrew. Andrew is articulate, attentive, engaging, and deeply knowledgeable about Chef Duffy, the restaurant, its history, and the food. Andrew’s crew for the evening was simply incredible. The service worked in perfect harmony, with coordination as the key theme. Water glasses, chairs, and dishes were all attended to in tandem, creating an impressive display of uniformity. The attention to detail was astounding. The table was wiped down appropriately, water glasses never went below half full, and napkins were always folded if we left the table. Andrew and his team not only enveloped us in transcendent service, but they also made us feel welcome on a personal level.
The theme for this tasting is complete exploration. Throughout the evening, Chef Duffy’s tasting menu encourages not being told how to eat, but rather allowing oneself to take the helm of each dish and explore the wonders each plate has to offer.
Course 1: Oscietra Grand Reserve Caviar with celery root, potato, and lemon balm.
This dish is visually stunning. It features a velvety texture from the various purees contrasted with a slight crunch from the potato crisps. Each bite offers initial notes of celery root, nut, and coffee, giving way to middle notes of what almost feels like chocolate and herb, with final notes of potato crisps. Throughout the dish, little bursts of briny caviar pop in your mouth. One critique of the dish is that its flavor profile is almost monotonal. The caviar was lost in translation and had to be extensively searched for to enjoy its delicate flavor.
Course 2: “English Pea” featuring black garlic, grains, and tendrils
A gorgeous pea puree is drizzled into the middle of the bowl, adding a stunning visual element to the dish. The texture is otherworldly as the grains of millet, sorghum, and barley add a delightful crunch, which contrasts beautifully with the cold sweet pea soup. Flavors of lemon, grain, and floral notes dance on the palate. With each bite, a new flavor is discovered, each working in perfect harmony with the others. One bite you might get a sweet pea pop in your mouth, dancing with the grains. The next bite, a beautiful salty note comes from a shaving of prosciutto. This dish is elegant and sophisticated, with a brilliance of discovery from beginning to end.
Course 3: “Asparagus” with lemon brown butter and dill.
Once again, this dish is a lesson in discovery with each bite yielding different flavor profiles and combinations. Dill, lemon, sardine, cream, herb, and peas all dance on the palate as they are discovered with each bite. The translation from visual art to incredible taste is a testament to Chef Duffy’s abilities. With each bite, you’re transported to something new.
Course 4: “Halibut” featuring coconut, squash, and nasturtium.
This dish marks the beginning of the bread service for the evening. The bread featured here is a “curry” bread, soft with delicate notes of curry in each bite. The course is a visual masterpiece. The dish itself features perfectly cooked halibut that pairs beautifully with the asparagus, a beautiful earthiness from the green sauce, and a bright acidity from the squash, mimicking the look of an egg. Each bite works in tandem with the others, and the textural contrast from the nasturtium combination is divine.
Course 5: “Scallop” with mandarin, mustard, and fennel, featuring lemon fennel pollen semolina bread.
The bread is exquisite, with gorgeous notes of lemon and fennel dancing on the palate. With the added combination of the whipped herb butter, this bread is simply incredible and refreshing. The scallop is cooked to perfection with a borderline transcendent sear. Each bite features beautiful beginning notes of scallop, giving way to middle notes of fennel and mustard, and tart endnotes from a rich dark vegetable demi glace.
Course 6: “Potato” with Picholine, vanilla, and sheep sorrel.
This course features a pretzel. This is a pasta course with the pasta stuffed with a potato puree. The combination of potato, olive, and vanilla is unique. The combination of olive, the herbaceous sorrel, and vanilla foam forms a slightly stringent flavor profile that is at times difficult to discern. It is truly a dish with a flavor that is completely unique and undiscovered for the palate.
Course 7: “Miyazaki” featuring Japanese A5 Wagyu, sunchoke, peanut, and basil.
The combination of basil, peanut, lime, and cilantro gives each bite of the succulent, sinful, sultry Wagyu an almost Southeast Asian flavor profile. The Wagyu is cooked to perfection and features a transcendent textural crust from being covered in panko bread crumbs and deep-fried. Notes of peanut and what seemed to be earthy tones enhanced the dish with delicate floral endnotes from the flowers. The dish takes you on a journey of discovery through various textures and tastes.
Course 8: “Banana” with hibiscus, passion fruit, and hoja santa.
This dish is simply elegant and sophisticated. It features a perfectly cooked rice pudding, which is the perfect vessel for the various purees that dance on the palate, offering notes of flower, root beer, banana, and fruit. The glass sugar on top adds the perfect contrast to the rice pudding.
Course 9: “Chocolate” with jasmine, strawberry, and mint.
This dish is the height of opulence, with a delicate chocolate brownie and strawberries contained within a dome of frozen jasmine tea. The notes of jasmine, strawberry, and chocolate pair beautifully with one another. Each component on its own adds to each bite of food. The contrast of cold from the dome and warm from the brownie adds a dimension of temperature to the experience.
Course 10: “Doughnut” with chocolate, caramel, and lemon curd sauces.
This came to us in a multi-tier egg-shaped plate that, when broken down, revealed each component for some theatrical delight to end the evening. The donut was on the heavy side, and each sauce accentuated the donut in different ways. One critique of the dish is that the donut is heavy and dense, especially for a final course. Much like the other themes of the evening, mixing and matching the different sauces with the donut yielded various flavor profiles. And thus came the end of our culinary voyage.
Ever started at After, a playful nod to the traditional saying “Ever After.” In our culinary journey, After was our port, and Ever was our destination. Many times, I have likened a tasting menu experience to a symphony; in the case of what Chef Duffy and his team offer at Ever, this experience is more akin to a fantastic voyage on Chef Duffy’s incredible ship, helmed by Andrew for the evening. From the moment we walked into “After” to the moment we left “Ever,” we were transported into the lap of luxury, where we experienced a transcendent atmosphere and service. The tasting menu is the ultimate destination.
The first dish did have a slightly bumpy start, and there was a slight wave of imbalance on course 6, “Potato.” However, the rest of the tasting menu featured incredibly smooth sailing into simply sensational flavors, tastes, and textures, with highlights noted in courses 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9. While no dish hit the levels of transcendence, each course had very good to borderline transcendent bites, with no true imbalances in between.
The tour of the inner workings of Ever added to the magic of the evening. Before entering “Ever,” I knew that Ever’s kitchen was featured on the TV show “The Bear,” and it is easy to see why. The uniformity, precision, and atmosphere that Chef Duffy has created in the kitchen is truly an otherworldly experience in refinement. The hospitality at Ever and After is second to none, with each dish being a masterclass in elegance, opulence, and luxury. If you’re ever in Chicago, I would recommend that you book a ticket on a culinary voyage like no other. Allow Chef Duffy to regale you with his food, let Andrew be your captain on your adventure, and when you’re done, realize that Ever After is possible as you have now formed a lasting memory.
Atmosphere: 21/20; Transcendent* dining atmosphere.
Service: 21/20; Transcendent* Uniform, coordinated, elegant, transcendent service.
Food: 56/60; A culinary journey across the palate.
Overall: 98/100; pièce de résistance.
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