Weather permitting, the outdoor landscaped terrace offers limited seating. And if it's your fate, as it was mine (even though I asked for a window on all occasions) to be seated in the dining room, the open kitchen is a view all its own. The kitchen is visually separated from the dining room by handsome but functional polished wood, floor-to-ceiling service stations. At any given time, depending on the location of your table, you see just a part of the action. The chefs, like actors, walk on and off their part of this stage, performing their particular role in the culinary art. (One carping complaint -- no pun intended -- but one night my companion and I were seated at a table closest to the kitchen, and during dessert the distinct aroma of sauteeing fish enveloped us.)
All of NoMI's 7,500 square feet, which includes the lounge, were designed by Toni Chi & Associates, a New York-based interior design firm specializing in international upscale restaurants. Included in their portfolio are Shanghai Lilly in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas; Zen Palate, New York; Tutto Melio, Hong Kong. The design is minimalist and subtle. Beams are wrapped in leather, the huge support pillars are enlivened by panels of etched metal, and floors are Italian mosaic tile. During dinner the tables -- all except for a few in the middle of the restaurant close to the kitchen -- are dressed in white linen. When I asked our waiter one night why those few tables were bare, he replied that was the designer's intention -- to add a note of warmth to the dining room. Interesting aspects of the open display kitchen are a sushi bar and a dessert station.
Despite our being banished to the land once or twice removed from the windows, our service was near perfect. On all occasions servers were absolute masters of the menu, able to answer any question in detail, accurately describe components of a dish, and -- more important -- able to ask questions about our preferences in food and ultimately steer us to good choices.
Chef Gamba, now 30 years old, was born in France and trained under some of France's most famous chefs: Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon and Roger Verge. Before coming to Chicago and NoMI he was executive chef at Lespinasse in Washington, D.C., where he earned the restaurant Five Diamonds from AAA. In 1999 he was one of a select group to be nominated as a Rising Star by the James Beard Foundation. The restaurant bills his cuisine as French with Asian touches, but that doesn't do his menu justice. First of all, the menu is simple and approachable with a manageable number of listings, all understandably described. Thus far there are no multi-course degustations, and the menu is divided into Cold and Hot Appetizers, Entrees and Desserts. There is, to date, only one salad on the dinner menu, listed under Cold Appetizers, but what a salad! Baby Greens ($10) are cradled in a crisp thin pastry cup that is anchored to the plate with a fragrant creamy eggplant puree, and topped by a layer of Parmesan shards. It is one of the most appetizing salads I have ever enjoyed. (The lunch menu has the same green salad but, under Entrees, several other salads, and a sandwich.)
The lunch and dinner menu share (under Cold Appetizers) the Baby Greens and also Selection of Market Seafood, Japanese Style ($15) the sushi or sashimi of the day. My companion and I order it to share one evening and we both had an ambivalent reaction. The selection of raw fish was hamachi (young yellowtail) flounder, eel, shrimp, and tuna. The preparation was nigiri-sushi, or hand-shaped vinegared rice topped with tiny fillets of the fish. It was perfectly prepared and beautifully presented, but disappointingly middle-of-the-road. Hopefully, with time, the Japanese style seafood will become more adventuresome and varied. Not only do Chicagoans have their pick of excellent sushi bars, but some of Park Hyatt's international clientele must have dined at the fountainhead of nigiri-sushi -- Tokyo.
Standout cold appetizers at lunch include the Thai Dry Beef Salad ($11), which comes on a big white plate looking as minimalist as the dining room itself. A petite heap of glistening strips of beef were tender and soft in texture and perfectly dressed with just the right amount of spicy chili sauce. The cool, sweet summer tomatoes were a good foil for the kick of the chili. And even though Chicken Satay ($12) is everywhere, NoMI's version is near perfect. The chicken was cooked to perfection, not bone-dry but juicy and moist -- so juicy that we could have done without the peanut sauce if it hadn't been so tasty. The crisp vinegared cucumber was the perfect balance for the grilled meat and spicy sauce.
Luncheon entrees that shouldn't be missed (before the menu changes) include Country Style Salad ($19), a rich combination of pink, delicate foie gras, thin duck crisps all drizzled with a rich chicken jus. Far from being a light salad, it was filling and satisfying.
While I was reveling in the Country Style Salad, my lunch mate was raving about the Peeky Toe Crab Napoleon ($18), allowing me one bite only of the combination of crisp bagel chips, delicate crab meat, rich ripe avocado and zest of lime.
Back to dinner and Hot Appetizers, I almost swooned over the Truffle Pancake ($15), a fluffy, light little pancake studded with black truffle bits, topped with silky pieces of braised chicken leg and a sweet-tart apple salad.
Dinner entrees often feature the same main attraction, but the supporting cast changes. For instance, perfectly Roasted Halibut ($28) may appear with a truffled beurre blanc sauce, or with a truffled white bean veloute. And the risotto changes frequently -- from wild mushroom to beet.
NoMI's large and lovely 3,000-bottle wine room located near the restaurant's entrance creates instant curiosity about the wine list. The 250 labels are heavy on French and Californian wines. There's a lot to choose from, many selections not available in the general retail market. Wines tends to be pricey but not heart-stoppingly so.And wines by the glass -- which was our choice so we could switch between courses -- is a wonderful way to proceed because the wait staff is willing and able to suggest wine-food matches. I like to start with a glass of Champagne, and my choice came to the table perfectly chilled, and as lively as I could wish. (One problem with ordering Champagne by the glass is it's frequently going flat.) One chilly night my companion wanted to start with a glass of red wine, but nothing too heavy, and our waiter suggested a pinot noir that was perfect. One evening my dinner companion ordered the veal chop, and I the risotto. We asked the waiter to suggest wines to accompany each entree. To our surprise he suggested a Franciscan Oakville cabernet for both -- and it was perfect for each. The Milk-Fed Veal Chop ($28) is accompanied by tiny tender braised sweetbreads and braised salsify (a delicious vegetable too rarely served in America), but the killer component on the dish was long tubular macaroni, rather formally arranged, with a creamy sauce liberally studded with black truffles. Macaroni and cheese was never like this. The veal, of course, was thick, tender, juicy and pink in the middle. The risotto that night was Carnaroli Risotto ($21), which takes its name from the carnaroli variety of medium-grain imported Italian rice considered by many to be superior to arborio. At any rate, the rice was perfectly cooked for risotto: creamy outside and al dente at the core. The risotto was colored and flavored by beets, enriched by mascarpone cheese, slivered prosciutto, and drizzles of duck jus. The cabernet was a perfect wine.
Desserts are beautifully executed, although some are overly sweet for my taste. The Chocolate Manjari Dome ($10) was. A crisp hazelnut cookie supports a mound of rich, sweet chocolate mousse with a dark red berry center, which is encased in a shell of dark chocolate. Diced pineapple, also very sweet, is scattered around the dome.
The Plum Cobbler ($9) was more to my taste. Tart-sweet plums in a crisp pastry crust, were topped with streusel topping and a scoop of captivating pink peppercorn ice cream. The mascarpone sauce, perfumed with honey and cardamom (another sadly neglected spice) was the crowning touch. Another dessert that caught my fancy -- it was very pretty -- and that I would order again was Caramelized Phyllo and Meyer Lemon Napoleon ($8). The tower of phyllo and lemon curd was garnished with candied lemon zest and dark cassis syrup -- pretty delicious.
Alas, the little plate of cookies -- macaroons and Madeleines -- were fresh and lovely but (for me) too sweet.
The coffee was perfect, worthy of praise, and I am unforgiving when it comes to my favorite beverage.
The food and service is so good in this restaurant that any flaw is magnified. And meals had flaws. One evening I was served a piece of bread, a baguette, so stale, tough and tasteless that I could not eat it. The taking and handling of reservations is far from smooth, and the greeting at the dining room entrance is not always warm and wonderful.
But NoMI is less than a year old, and Chef Gamba is responsible not only for the restaurant, but also for room service and catering in the 203-room luxury hotel. He oversees 41 chefs and three kitchens. A year from now I'm certain the wrinkles will be ironed out, and the cuisine will surpass its present excellence and originality.
But I do have one complaint that has nothing to do with the food, the service, the staff or the decor. NoMI is a beautiful, elegant restaurant. Some of NoMI's customers dress like slobs. Being casually attired at breakfast can be overlooked. Even lunch can be forgiven. But T-shirts and short-sleeved polo shirts sans jacket at dinner?
