Want to Eat Like The Judges on Iron Chef?

By Anthony Todd in Food on Mar 16, 2011 3:40PM

Iron Chef America is generally a silly show, but it still has its drool-worthy moments. For us, the best moment is when the food is presented to the judges, and we get to see the finished products that the celebrity chefs have come up with. But food porn has its limits; mostly, we want to be there and taste that food! Then, after the show is over, we go into the kitchen and eat an entire block of cheese to soothe our pain. But, enough about us - you can eat exactly like the judges on Iron Chef America. Starting in early April, Mercat a la Planxa will be replicating one of Iron Chef Jose Garces winning Iron Chef America menus. Special ingredient? Mexican Chocolate.

We've been regular patrons of Mercat a la Planxa since it opened, and the restaurant offers some surprisingly good deals. Garces, who owns Mercat and has been an Iron Chef since 2010, created this menu for a fight with Chef Julian Medina, of Mexico City. Garces won, and it's not too hard to see why. The 5-course menu includes Mexican chocolate linguine with smoked duck, Mexican chocolate tamale and Mexican chocolate Iberian pork loin. And that's before two courses of dessert. The whole mess is only $35 for dinner, or an amazing $16 for lunch.

The fun will continue - Mercat has announced that "Secret Ingredient" dinners will continue every two weeks, inspired by Iron Chef. The ingredient will be announced on Mercat's twitter.

Mercat a la Planxa is located at 638 S. Michigan Avenue.