Cowboy, baby

By Erin in Food on Jul 20, 2006 12:43PM

The buzz on tonight's Outlaw dinner at the Omni Chicago Hotel's new 676 Restaurant and Bar has been so loud that it threatened to blow out our eardrums.

If you haven't heard about what is sure to be the most-talked-about meal taking place in the city tonight, the idea is simple: Robert Gadsby, executive chef for 676, as well as the Noé restaurants in LA and Houston, is attempting to "push the limits of haute cuisine" with a seven-course, prix fixe meal featuring some of the most "taboo" foods and techniques out there.

Not surprising to anyone, foie gras is featured prominently as our fowl-weathered friend bids farewell on the high-end dining menus of Chicago's best restaurants. Also featured will be an absinthe cocktail with oysters soigné, Wahoo carpaccio with Beluga caviar dressing and a flight of imported unpasteurized cheeses. To round off the night, 676 is serving up fudge brownies with hemp-seed gastrique. In a nod to our friends in the Big Apple, Gadsby will use a sous vide technique for what we assume will be the foie gras course. With origins in France, sous vide cooking has food vacuum-sealed in a pouch and is then cooked in that pouch under a slightly lower-than-normal temperature. It reduces food shrinkage while intensifying flavor and is a method banned in NYC.

With taboo food comes a pretty steep price - $95 a person - but Chicagoist thinks it's well worth it if you're into this sort of thing, and we'll be in attendance. It's actually a pretty good deal considering the items collectively gathered on the menu and really? Who can resist a cocktail so cherished by Oscar Wilde?

To get in on tonight's dinner, call 312-944-7676.

The Outlaw Dinner at 676 Restaurant & Bar, 7 - 10 p.m., Omni Chicago Hotel, 676 North Michigan Ave.