Need to hear The Humpty Dance over a $35 frozen martini at Valhalla?

Digital Underground’s 1990 single is an simple, if deliriously youthful, jam. (Key textual content: I as soon as bought busy in a Burger King rest room.) Nonetheless, this was the soundtrack as I sipped the costliest cocktail I’ve ever ordered in Chicago, one which begins with vodka frozen to the consistency of a slush in a Pacojet, a multi-million pound chef’s instrument specializing in micro-puree. Oh, did I point out that the drink additionally each accommodates Kaluga caviar stuffed in an olive AND seasoned caviar shaved on the finish?

You’d assume the double dose of caviar would solely inflate the value, however the salinity bursts by way of the vodka’s steely edge. Shut your eyes and also you is perhaps sipping on some scenic seaside… besides this venue additionally options The Humpty Dance blaring from a close-by speaker. (I am courageous / I like my oatmeal lumpy)

To be honest, no person at Valhalla picked that track to pair with the meals, as a result of the restaurant has no management over what performs at Time Out Market. Valhalla is carved into the mezzanine of Fulton Market’s huge meals corridor, in full view of the crowds beneath. Whereas chef Stephen Gillanders in all probability might have hidden the challenge behind a heavy curtain, he has embraced the staging. As an alternative of hiding it, we mentioned, “Let’s acknowledge it and do one thing actually completely different,” Gillanders mentioned. We would like folks to snigger out loud and take footage.

Valhalla begs numerous questions on what it means to be a fine-dining restaurant in 2023. Its pricing definitely locations it in the identical realm as its shut neighbor Subsequent, if not as a lot as locations like Ever and Oriole. However the ambiance could not be extra completely different.

Honest warning: do not go to in the event you require a peaceable night in a neutrally coloured room and hushed dialog. At Valhalla, you will little doubt have to lean in to listen to your diners and politely ask the waiters to repeat themselves if quite a lot of ft away.

However I can not even consider a meal I’ve loved probably the most within the final 12 months.

Valhalla is Stephen Gillander’s best assertion, the one the place his mercurial mixtures of components hit the toughest and shock probably the most. The kombu fluke is likely one of the most visually gorgeous dishes he is ever encountered as a restaurant critic. Gillanders ages the fluke for just a few days to melt the feel, pairs it with funky fish sauce and creamy pine nuts, then lightens the flavour with a tart inexperienced apple lower into crunchy matchsticks. This can be a very anticipated entry for one of the best dish of 2023.

At present, you will have to order the $185 tasting menu to do this dish. The 11-course menu begins robust, with Snacks to Begin that includes a succession of completely constructed bites, earlier than plaice platter and some different seafood concoctions arrive. . The heavier dishes aren’t almost as memorable, although the pastries on the finish spherical out the meal on a excessive notice.

Valhalla’s a la carte menu is finally extra thrilling, permitting you to linger longer over the restaurant’s extra creative dishes. In response to Gillanders, this was deliberate. I needed to verify the a la carte menu was as attractive because the tasting menu, Gillanders mentioned. With a tasting menu, somebody walks in, says it is wonderful, and then you definately by no means see it once more. Visitors do not have many causes to return. We needed to be a spot the place you’ll be able to come and eat a dish, a glass of wine and a dessert.

I’d return simply to order the maitake mushroom kebab. The delicacies amplifies the meaty qualities of the mushroom, earlier than pairing it with spicy chevre, charred avocado, and a mildly spicy Fresno chili sauce.

Even higher is the Rohan duck confit. The confit is textbook, with miraculously crispy pores and skin enclosing deliciously tender meat. But it additionally arrives lined in smoked gochujang, the reasonably spicy Korean purple chili paste, and rests in a refreshing gazpacho made with tomatillos. On the facet, delicate shallot and sesame crepes to be rolled up with the meat and dipped in chilly, tart gazpacho.

None of that is remotely conventional, but the dish feels so intuitive that it requires no instruction from the server. Every chew swings between so many spicy, bitter, salty, fatty, tender, crunchy, scorching, and chilly flavors and textures that it may be arduous to pinpoint all of them.

Should you’ve been following Gillanders, this is not precisely stunning. After spending years with acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Gillanders made waves in Chicago with the now-closed Intro, earlier than opening SKY in 2018 and Apolonia in 2021. However when chatting with him on the telephone, she makes certain to emphasise the significance of his crew.

He is proper. Government pastry chef Tatum Sinclairs’ creations are important to any conclusion right here, putting a fragile stability between playfulness with out slipping into indulgence. The standout is the black Pavlova marble, which actually comes as a monochromatic dome of marble. However crack open the highest meringue and you may unleash a filling so brightly coloured it appears to glow.

Along with serving to conceptualize cocktails, together with the wild frozen martini, Jelena Prodan runs a lean however glamorous wine program. Whilst you can fortunately order any of the wines by the glass, she skips over for the wine pairing in the event you can, which can be organized in the event you solely order just a few dishes from the a la carte menu.

His enthusiasm is infectious, and every providing was higher than the final, from the floral Louis Nicaise Brut Reserve Champagne to the exceptional 2013 Larkmead Firebelle, a purple Merlot mix from Napa that is each easy and sturdy.

With all this expertise, is it a disgrace that Valhalla is in a meals corridor, or does the informal ambiance add to all of it? You’ll have to determine for your self. All I do know is that it takes an unbelievable quantity of expertise to assemble a meal so fascinating that it overshadows the roar of the group beneath.

Bodily, I hope we under-promise and over-deliver, Gillanders mentioned. You stroll into this enjoyable informal spot, however we take ourselves significantly. However we’re not even (expletive) round. We wish to present you one of the best of what we’ve got.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Out of Time Market, 916 W. Fulton Market

708-222-7971

www.valhallachicago.com

Grandstand ranking: Between glorious and distinctive, 3 stars

Open: Wednesday to Sunday, 5pm to 10pm

Costs: Tasting Menu $185; a la carte menu, $26-$48 per dish

Noise: Largely very noisy, though they do have a quieter eating space obtainable if requested.

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible, with lifts as much as the second stage.

Analysis key: 4 stars, distinctive; three stars, glorious; two stars, superb; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.