Roadside Diner

Open Table is once again having their Dine Out Chicago deal. If you're living in Chicago and love good food, 3 courses for $35/dinner, $20/lunch is an outright steal. And you get Dining Rewards (click on the link through the website) good towards dining checks if you make your reservations through Open Table for any restaurant on their list.

So........ My buddy Moogie wanted to hear about yesterday's dinner at Le Titi de Paris.

We used the Dine Out deal, and were expecting a 3-course meal. Instead, Le Titi offered their Four Course Mini Gourmand menu. A huge treat, indeed. In fact, the ambience and food were as fine as anything I found in Paris itself. Soothing shades of green, rose and antique gold. Soft lighting. Cozy booth. Solicitous wait staff. A hot wine tip straight from the owner. And the food...

... Well... Let's just call it "Tantric Gustation" -- a concentrated sensual experience that cannot and should not be rushed, but instead savored and prolonged. From the amuse bouche of cold leek and pear soup to the post-dessert mini cookies and hazelnut creme-filled dark chocolates (okay, add them and it was SIX courses), it was pure sensory bliss. The kind of flavors and textures that make you want to roll around in your plate and wear it. Layers of spice, salt, sweet, savory and sour that explode on your tongue, one after another and build, break in waves and build again from course to course. It's the kind of cuisine that makes you feel naughty for indulging yourself. Ooooh la la!

My eyes rolled back in my head several times. I hummed happy noises. I kept sliding down in my seat. I all but danced in my chair. (Fortunately, Buckaroo Bonsai is as much of a foodie as moi, so I was not alone in my experience and expression of epicurean ecstacy.) Imagine Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally." Yes. By the end of the evening, we had redefined replete.

If you're in the Chicago area, for God's sake make yourself a reservation. And take someone you're crazy about. You'll thank me for it.
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