Class Act is a $230 tasting menu by chef Nicolai Mlodinow. If you haven’t heard of him it is because he hasn’t had much experience in the culinary scene other than doing pop ups at his apartment. Chicago Magazine rated the dinner half a star. I was curious what could earn it such a bad review and upon my investigation, the concept is so overly pompous about their “concept” it feels like a sitcom. Some of the quotes from this Chef are not just substances but borderline insulting as he insinuates doing something that other Chefs in the fine dining scene haven’t dared to do. I thought I would share some of the most “oh my god he really said that…” quotes to those who eat fine dinging regularly and might get a laugh. Also want to open up discussion for what you guys think about chefs who never went to culinary school, staged for a few days at random Michelin restaurants, open up pop ups and then try to taught themselves as on rivaling Michelin level cuisine. Especially with charging $230 (1-2 star prices).
Some of my favorite moments (included sol screen grabs above)
🔵”Chef Nicolai examines the science of why certain flavors pair well together and turns it into avant garde art” This is not a creative or unique feet, what he just described was cooking. Literally jsut the concept of cooking….if this is an innovative concept to him I’m wondering what he thinks cooking is
🔵”flowers are something Chef gravitates towards, “they’re very intentional, it’s not jsut with how pretty it is. These things actually have flavor”. It sounds like he might have the idea that he is the first to utilize flowers in dishes and that the common dinner does not know flowers are edible with distinct flavors.
🔵he mentioned he believes he is competing with alenia and Smyth and oriole…. someone elevating themselves to that standard given this lack of experience at two-three star restaurants comes off as self aggrandizing. I personally would wonder how quality the food is if you are trying to craft something well beyond your scope right off the gate.
🔵The whole concept feels….like ChatGPT or a middle schooler made it for a class project. You could technically thought any courses meal as “exploring evolution of food”. What do dip and dots and ants have to do with evolution?
Curious to know if anyone has eaten here and if so what are your thoughts? I would love to try it myself just but I do not have $230 to spend on something I think will feel like a funny experience.
by bombastic-banana
6 Comments
I’m happy for you that you can spend $500 ironically.
This food writer is having fun 😂💀 the first couple slides remind me of Joe Abercrombie (dripping scathing, sardonic observations, for the fantasy genre uninitiated)
I have no problem dropping dollars on great food, but Why would you give some no-name, not-a-chef $230 without some great reviews preceding your visit??
Culinary school is certainly not a requirement to being a good chef, but yes, this whole endeavor seems misguided.
I’ve been to Class Act. I thought service was fantastic and the wine program was excellent. The concept was clunky and I think it hindered them. There were a couple of truly delicious courses – monkfish with lemongrass serrano broth and blueberries, a hazelnut cucumber milkshake with caviar, and dip and dot style ice cream with ants – but the menu didn’t feel particularly cohesive. There were issues with temperature, pacing, and seasoning. The highs and lows felt like they were coming out of two different restaurants. The space was nice, and I think if they leaned into their more abstract ideas rather than reference a bunch of separate cultures throughout the meal, they could deliver something I’d be interested in checking out.
TL;DR, overall disappointing food but had flashes of greatness.
I lose respect for anyone who brings up the whole bit about “hunter gatherers.” This concept, if you can call it such, feels like Internet brain rot of a middle school student fresh out of their world history 101 course.