I’m beginning to suspect that the increasing prevalence of the “+” sign in the restaurant world (over the ampersand) is less a precious affectation than a sign of something much more clandestine. Since it bears a resemblance to Freemasonry’s Red Cross of Constantine, maybe the chefs and servers at Owen + Alchemy and Charlatan (where it appears many times on the menu) have been meeting in secret, plotting the New World Order or a fake moon landing.
Blistered, spice-crusted lengths of octopus are fired in a tandoori oven and plated with roasted eggplant and a drizzle of nduja-tinged vinaigrette. Mineral-rich beef tartare is dabbed with deposits of aioli emulsified with uni. A glass jar of cold-smoked oysters with pickled lemon and Basque green chiles is all about the process over the product, but the flaky, buttery crackers it comes with are a memorable delivery vehicle. One dish features a duo of compressed lamb sweetbreads and dense, peppery blood sausage, plated with a strip of syrupy red-onion aigre-doux and pureed squash, the red against the yellow meant to conjure up images of chicken nuggets and their lowbrow sauces.
217 W. Huron 312-643-2427oakandchar.com
