Moto | Chicago
Two ways Moto stays on the cutting edge
Moto has always pushed the limits of what's possible in food.
From menus printed on edible paper to miracle berries that turn sour things sweet, a meal at Moto is as much a science experiment as it is fine dining.
Two new innovations at the restaurant promise to push Cantu's fare ever further.
Laser Slicing: Chef Homaro Cantu's newest toy, an industrial laser that fills an entire room next to the kitchen, can carve a pumpkin into intricate patterns, etch your name on a wine bottle and peel and reshape a carrot into a perfect cone.
"It's like a chef with a million knives," explains Cantu. The laser makes the perfect cut, every single time, down to the millimeter–the ideal tool for precision-obsessed chefs. "What we can do with this is damn near magical."
A laser-cut menu made of seaweed
Right now, the laser is cutting custom menus out of sheets of nori for each dinner guest, but Cantu promises that's "just the beginning."
Indoor Farming: Rooftop gardens are so 2013, so Cantu brought his entire garden inside.
In the basement operation, the restaurant is growing mizuna, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, microgreens and more.
Guests see the results in the salad course, in which an entire pot of greens is cut from the roots tableside. Dressed simply and served over bison tartare, it's the freshest salad conceivable–alive moments before you eat it.