And so you begin your dinner. The distinction here is that each person at the table will be served a completely different menu throughout the evening. We want each person to taste different things. We'll ask you if you've eaten here before and what you had, just so you can taste something new. Several signature dishes remain throughout the year, and changes are more seasonal than knee-jerk.
Seafood sits on layers of light-catching glass, as if on water.
Deep-red carpaccio contrasts with the grayness of a granite slab. Sometimes things get weird, as when Tramonto sets fish tartares on a mirror, which makes them look like cosmetics, not food. And at a time when the virtues of simplicity are being taken to heart by many of America's finest chefs, one wonders why Tramonto and his Chicago colleagues are pushing the culinary envelope so far. Not far behind in taste and texture is wok-charred Szechuan beef carpaccio with truffled potato salad and basil oil. Some dishes, however, seem more affectation than good taste.