ongoings when we have our other visitors. The only new 
things that we have done will be described here. First, we went to see the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The museum was awesome in itself. From the LEGO replicas of the Sears Tower and Empire State building to the exhibits on the future of science, the museum was very cool to walk through. We were all excited to walk through the Harry Potter exhibit and as we finally got there we entered into a tent on the outside of the museum. They let us in at our scheduled time and we 
finally got to the entrance surrounded by kids and their 
parents. They did some cute display putting the kids on a stool with the sorting hat on to send the kids off to a house. Then, they let us in the doors and we were immediately engrossed in the Harry Potter experience. The halls were decorated like an old castle with pictures on the wall of people that walked in and out of the pictures. All of the 
props from the movies were there, the cloaks, the house elves, the plants, the wands and monsters. It was a great experience. You are not allowed to use flash photography in the exhibit so here are a few fuzzy ones from my phone. We left museum to head back home to prepare for watching the fireworks in Grant Park. Chicago's big 4th of July celebration actually took place on the 3rd. We packed a small picnic and blanket and headed to the park to reserve a 
spot on the lawn. As dusk came upon us The 85th Army Band played a patriotic medley in the Petrillo Shell and then the fireworks began. It was a fantastic display as they lit up the sky and bounced off the facades of the surrounding skyscrapers. As the show ended and the thousands upon thousands of spectators made their way out of the park I realized I have never in my life been amongst so many people. Michigan Avenue was closed to traffic and we floated home in the sea of people stopping to take pictures along the way. I love the city at night!
The next day, I thought it would be a great experience to take Mom and Amy to this amazing restaurant that I heard about. The restaurant called "MOTO" is headed by renowned executive chef Homaro Cantu (who is famous for creating sushi using a inkjet printer. Rather than using conventional inkjet cartridges, he creates cartridges that are filled with organic, edible "inks.") Moto is famous not for dinner, but for having a dining experience. The style of cooking is a new American approach deemed Molecular Gastronomy which (according to Wikipedia) is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view). Translation??? The cooks use scientific methods using liquid nitrogen, lasers, and chemicals to make awesome artistic plates of food. Still confusing?? For example, one of our last dishes was a dessert called a cherry bomb. It was called a cherry bomb because it was a small black sphere with a wick on top. However, it was a play on a s'more. The ball itself was made of chocolate, the wick made of a marshmallow type of foam, and the inside?? A liquid filling of graham cracker!! The presentation was great, the waiter came by, lit the wick allowing the frozen graham cracker center to melt, and then you eat the whole thing in one bite. It was like an awesome, refined s'more!
Anyway, to get back to chronological order of this amazing experience......So we drove over to the restaurant which was only 2 miles away from our apartment. We drove through the meat packing district of the city, which isn't a very nice part of the city. However, we found the diamond in the rough. We parked down the street, made a wrong turn to "OTOM", MOTO's sister restaurant, which we will try before we leave, and finally made it to the restaurant. We checked in with the desk, saw that only 2 other tables were occupied, and were seated. The service was impeccable. Prompt and attentive, the waiters were great. I also learned that because all of the dishes are so complex, the cooks double as waiters so that they can help explain the complexity of how the dishes are made. We were first presented with a small bowl with each containing a dollop of butter, a thickened drop of balsamic vinaigrette, and our menu. The printed menu was small and 2 sided, 1 side had the 10 course tasting menu, the other course had the 20 course tasting menu. After we decided upon the 10 course menu, we were instructed to eat our menu. Yup.....eat the menu. The menu was printed with edible ink on a small piece of toast. It tastes different every night, and tonight it was garlic bread and it was delicious. Our eating the toast quickly signaled the waiter to take our drink order, and to start our 10 course meal. Amy opted for a nice white wine, and I had a cocktail. The cocktail was amazing. It was a sweet concoction of gin, fresh white grape juice, and a touch of brandy with frozen grapes used as ice cubes in a 
martini glass.
martini glass. 1st Course....instant Risotto
We were not sure what to expect as instant risotto is a vague term. We were served a small dish with a creamy Parmesan sauce, puffed rice, and freeze dried peas. It was delicious!! The crunchiness of the rice and peas was a great contrast to the rich, creaminess of the Parmesan sauce. Once the rice was mixed into the sauce, the whole dish transformed into a delicious risotto!
2nd Course.....Denver Omelet and Muffin
This course came as a trio of breakfast foods. On the plate was a tater tot (entirely consisting of rock shrimp but resembling a tater tot), scrambled eggs(entirely consisting of sweetened carrots, gazpacho, and olive oil), and a muffin which almost had a cotton candy like consistency. The tater tot was delicious, the rock shrimp perfectly cooked with a crisp, crunch to the skin of the tot. The "eggs" were amazing! They were cold, mildly sweet, and very tasty. It's hard to believe that there were only carrots, tomatoes, and olive oil that made it taste so good, and made it look so much like scrambled eggs.
3rd Course......Gruyere and Onions
This dish was one of my favorites. A gravy boat type bowl was placed in front of us with a soup spoon inside of it. The soup spoon held a dollop of caramelized onions, where atop the onions sat a onion chip. A smear of Gruyere cheese was placed against the back of the bowl. Next, the waiter came by and poured the soup through the spoon, filling the bowl. There it was, a refined french onion soup. Again, every bite tried to incorporate all of the ingredients, the onion broth, the caramelized onions, the cheese, the crunch of the onion chip...Delicious!!. It was not only a great soup, but a wonderful concept.
4th Course.....House-made pequin capon
This concept was absolutely awesome as the meal progression started to veer towards the main protein entrees. The theme of this dish was.......buffalo wings. The capon confit was placed atop braised celery. On the plate was a artistically placed house made blue cheese, and a few drops of meticulously placed house made Tabasco sauce. Along with this, was a piece of paper with a rooster on it. The paper was edible and tasted just like a buffalo chicken wing!! It was like eating at Willy Wonka's kitchen!! The capon confit in buffalo wing flavors, the celery, blue cheese, the dish was delicious, and again, the concept.....amazing.
5th course......Cuban Cigar
The next concept and dish was my favorite. The waiter next came out with an ash tray filled with ashes and a cigar. The cigar was still warm, and it was identical to a cigar. I wasn't sure if I should eat it, or ask for a light. The waiter soon eased our trepidations in explaining that it was, in fact, a Cuban sandwich wrapped in greens, and the "ashes" were ground white and black sesame seeds. The concept was incredible, and the taste amazing!! It tasted just like a Cuban sandwich!! Another amazing dish.
6th Course.....Reuben Lasagna
A play on the traditional Reuben with all the flavors of the corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing layered with what seemed to be wonton noodles sprinkled with caraway seeds. One of Amy's favorites.
7th Course.....Mexican Cannoli
At first glance it seemed we had started into the dessert course, but although this offering resembled the confection from the famous Mike's Pastry it was definitely more savory than sweet. The cannoli which we were encouraged to eat with our hands was filled with tender, juicy duck in a Mexican mole sauce.
The remaining courses moved us into the 3rd and 4th hours of our meal and dessert. 8th Course was a Yogurt Parfait, 9th Course was titled Blackberry & Corn and the 10th Course was the Chocolate Forms which included the s'mores bomb as mentioned earlier as well as a dessert mini cheeseburger. The cheeseburger was a fun concoction of layered sweets that made up each component including the buns, burger, cheese and ketchup.
It was a dining experience unlike anything we had ever experienced before. It was the ultimate dinner and a show! Moto is now our new favorite restaurant.
The next day Greg and Nate joined us and we revisited Millennium Park and the Bean, the Taste of Chicago, the museum campus and Soldier Field. Greg, a long time Bear's fan, was happy to see the home of his beloved team.
We finally made use of our deck and bbq as we ended the day with a rooftop cookout. Not a MOTO caliber meal by any means but there's no denying the great taste of burgers and dogs right off the grill. Happy Fourth of July!
