New Menu at Mado Looks Interesting, Completely Different

By Anthony Todd in Food on Dec 3, 2010 4:20PM

The Chicago food world was confused, then depressed, then excited, then confused again by the Mado saga of the past two months. Rumors swirled as the chefs, Rob and Allie Levitt, announced their sudden departure (taking their recipes with them), then the pair announced they were opening an amazing-sounding butcher shop, and then the restaurant rapidly reopened with a new chef and a new menu. Confused yet? It's been a roller-coaster ride of emotions, especially since we absolutely loved the old Mado.

Grubstreet got ahold of the new menu, and we are... cautiously optimistic. All of Mado's signature meat wizardry is gone, which was the main reason that we kept coming back. The format is similar, with small and large plate options, pastas and soups, but the cuisine is entirely different. The new chef, Brandon Baltzley, formerly of Schwa, must be given credit for chutzpah - taking over a nationally-recognized restaurant with an entirely new approach is a gutsy move. Some of his offerings, like pork cheeks with celery root, apple, miso and wood-grilled peach, sound promising, while others, like the scallops with cocoa butter and turnips, sound a bit unappetizing. The flavors are much bolder on this new menu, and dishes are spiked with Pernod, pumpkin beer, jalepeno and smoked roe. We'll stop in as soon as we can for a more detailed look. Have you gotten a chance to try it?