Anomaly Charlotte Pop-Up

Background: 

One spooky night in October, we attended a mysterious pop-up dinner at an undisclosed-until-the-last-minute location in Myers Park (which turned out to be a private residence). The invitation promised a “glimpse of Charlotte’s first immersive dining experience.” Color us intrigued. But let’s back up, shall we? 

Charlotte native Sam Hart started his career in Marketing and decided to change paths after a few years to attend culinary school in 2016. He spent some time working in various restaurants in town, including Heirloom, Myers Park Country Club, and Foxcroft Wine Co., in addition to running his own private catering company, Laughing Duck. In order to gain more experience, Chef Hart packed up and moved to Chicago where he worked at Alinea and Momotaro, along with a stage at Schwa and Publican Quality Meats. He’s also worked as a private chef for high-end, luxury clients with Table at Home. 

And now, Chef Hart is ready to bring it all back home to Charlotte and open a fine dining tasting menu with his friend and business partner Erin Skaryak. While they are looking for their brick and mortar, they’ll be hosting pop-ups around town, and we were honored and delighted to attend the first last month (tickets are already sold out for two upcoming December dinners). 

What was truly wild was that we dined at Alinea three days prior to the pop-up, so it was even more interesting to experience Chef Hart’s cooking through that lens, as he included a few tongue-in-cheek references to Alinea tropes (like extra-large servingware), and we could definitely see Achatz’ influence at work in the flavors as well. 

Bring it on home, Sam (Hart, not Cooke)

We are so excited for a true tasting menu experience to come to Charlotte, and we think Chef Hart is just the man to introduce our city to this level of cuisine. Anomaly will focus on local sourcing, maintaining a waste-free kitchen, and bringing a lighthearted sense of fun to fine dining. We’re all about this mindset – just because you have a Michelin star or a world-rated chef doesn’t mean you need a stuffy attitude or white tablecloths. As Hart said, “It’s not that serious. At the end of the day, it’s food and it should taste good.” Amen, Chef. We think the worst thing those in the food world can do is take themselves too seriously – great food is accessible to everyone, and no restaurant or price tag should make someone think that this isn’t for them or their palate. This level of greatness is for all of us, Charlotte. 

Now, onto what we ate at Anomaly’s very first pop-up. 

Eat This: 

Magnify

Oyster with koji cream, mint, basil, and Ossetra caviar alongside a shooter of Thai Moji

We loved the presentation here – you ate the leaf-wrapped oyster dotted with tangy koji cream directly off of the magnifying glass like it was a giant spoon, and then you used it to read the tiny-print menu that was brought out just prior to plating.

The shooter of Moji, which is a kombucha-like tea beverage, added freshness and additional interest, but we weren't huge fans of the oyster bite. Looking back on the meal as a whole, we feel like this first impression could have used a bit more flavor to stand up to the rest of the meal and accompany the awesome plating.

Roses are red

Miso cured prawns with roses, roe, and citrus

These bites were delicate and savory, and the texture of the rose petals added an extra shot of velvety richness. Not the most memorable course of the night, but very tasty.

Mole

Chicken skin mole bar with prickly pear

Not only my favorite dish of the evening, but one of my favorites of all time. This one stuck with me for a long time afterward, and I couldn’t get over the boldness of the thick chocolate shell with the mole-spiced chicken. I feel like many chefs would have chickened out (ahem) and gone lighter on the chocolate, but the thick and bittersweet shell just put this over the top and delighted and confused my taste buds in the best way possible.

Also, you pulled out the (real!) chicken bone to crack the shell open. So fun and interactive. A real Bronx cheer, if you will.

Tennessee Pig

Pork belly with bourbon, apples, mustard, and chard

This was Jason’s favorite dish of the night. This was the fattiest cut of pork belly I’ve ever had (in case you're wondering, that’s a v good thing indeed). The mustard seed sauce just got into every nook and cranny of this fatty boi, and the chard lightened up the entire experience and provided a hint of bitterness to cut the richness of the pork.

Hamburger

Sirloin, French fry mousse, onion, ketchup consommé

McDonalds, but make it fashion. We both gasped when we heard French fry mousse, because this is a technique used at Alinea, and when our server described it there, Jason giggled like a little girl.

This dish had the punchy flavor profile of a down and dirty takeout burger, but the execution on this amazing cut of beef was all fine dining, bb. Chef brought the meat for our dinner down from Chicago in his carry-on and wore every piece of clothing he brought with him to make everything fit. That’s what I call dedication.

Truffle

200-layer pave with truffle

Dear god, this dish. I didn’t count the layers of potatoes, but I’ll go with 200. But what really blew me away was the THICKNESS of this truffle. Usually you get truffles shaved ultra-thin, but after this dish I’d like to start a petition demanding this kind of thicc on all my truffles from here on out. God bless. Chef said this was 20 grams of truffle. Now that’s what I call a #trufflegram.

Casserole

Sweet tea sweet potato mousse, pecan pie crumble, marshmallow brûlée, pickled sweet potato, micro sage, and sage oil

The flavor profile of this course screamed Thanksgiving to me – you had all of the sweet and savory flavors of a full Thanksgiving feast in a few transportive bites. It was such a great bridge between the savory and sweet courses, and the pickled sweet potato added yet another tangy layer to the sweet and savory elements.

Kids Again

Pimento cheese, cheddar mornay, Duke’s, pimento gel, cream cheese coral, tuile, and cheddar powder

I absolutely loved the concept of a deconstructed pimento cheese sandwich. This is one of the most clever cheese courses I’ve encountered, and it was made all the more fun when Chef instructed us to lick our plates to completely immersive ourselves in the concept of being “kids again.” So fun, so cheesy, and so clever.

PS – I licked my plate because I am down for whatever. Jason was no fun and used his fork. Boo Jason.

Dessert:

Paper Plane

Orange chiffon cake, orange peel, bourbon reduction, Paper Plane explosion, Aperol chantilly, and white chocolate ganache

We had no idea that a Paper Plane was a well-known cocktail created by Sam Ross (and possibly inspired by the M.I.A. song!) made with Aperol, Amaro, and whiskey. This dessert took the flavors of that cocktail and infused them into a light and perfectly balanced cake topped with a brûléed orange slice and pop rocks, which are always a fun time.

We also received a Paper Plane cocktail shooter with this course. A lovely finish to a magical meal!

Drink:

One of the major elements of Anomaly is their thoughtful wine pairing. Like many other tasting restaurants, the only options will be wine and beer, and the pairings will be offered as an additional supplement that you’ll pay for in advance along with your meal when you book on Tock (AKA, our favorite reservation system).  

Erin on da right, Chef on da left. Clowns/jokers in the middle.

The wines will vary night to night and change as often as the menu, but if this pop-up is any indication, you’ll be enjoying the finest wines from around the world (that I believe must have been mostly free of sulfates/sulfites, as I enjoyed four or five glasses and didn’t have to answer to a raging headache the next morning. That’s how you know it’s the good stuff, people). Erin is in charge of the wine pairings, and after the exquisite pairings we experienced, we trust her completely.

Atmosphere:

Well, this particular dinner, as aforementioned, was in a lovely Myers Park residence, courtesy of a friend of Hart’s who opened up her home for the pop-up. It was top notch and we plan on getting an invite to move in any day now. In addition to our host, we enjoyed the company of five other diners, and, as you know, we love a good community table. Making new friends often takes a meal to even higher heights of enjoyment, and that was certainly the case at the first-ever Anomaly pop-up. Shoutout to our new BFF Realtor Stephen Cooley! 

Hart and Skaryak mentioned they are looking in Dilworth for their permanent location, so time will tell what vibe and neighborhood will complement Hart’s cuisine.

Another aspect that sets Anomaly apart is that they will be setting each course to a song, which is a super cool concept. Lots of restaurants are into banging playlists lately, but no other restaurant takes the care to pair each and every dish with its own soundtrack.  

Pop-Up Hospitality: 

Much like Schwa, Anomaly will not have any front of house staff or dishwashers. The chefs will running the entire show from prep to clean up and everything else in between. We liked this experience very much at Schwa, and we think it’s a great way to keep costs low while providing diners with a particularly intimate dining experience. We experienced great hospitality from Hart and his team on this particular evening, and we have no reason to expect anything less than stellar with the chef/owners at the helm of service. 

Upset/cry face and Jason face.

Frankie’s Notes: 

We got into a major fight on the way to this dinner, and I may or may not have shown up sporting major “cry face,” but all that really matters is that we didn’t bail; We thought for a minute we were going to have an Invitation-style cult experience instead of an eight-course meal; Having a wine pairing on a Wednesday is risky business, but we handled it like champs; Cooley told us some of his most wild real estate stories, and one of them involved a death – now that’s spooky!; Frankie’s soundtrack is Paper Planes, and if you catch him at the border he’s got visas in his name.

Rating: 

We aren't going to rate this pop-up, since it was essentially a media dinner and, well, a pop-up that’s a precursor to the real deal. However, we were not asked at any point to share our experience out on any platform – we’re just doing that because we love ya (and Anomaly). We will give Anomaly its fair rating once they've been open for a few months and we’ve had a few visits. Charlotte needs this calibre of dining, and we are so happy to have been included in your first Charlotte pop-up. Cheers, Anomaly!

Schwa Cleans Up Its Act

Background: 
Chicago’s Chef Michael Carlson began his career working under Paul Bartolotta at Spiaggia, Valentino Marcattilii in Italy, Grant Achatz at Trio, and Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck. In 2005, Carlson was offered a Sous-Chef position under Achatz at Alinea, but right around the same time, the opportunity came to buy Schwa, and he took it. Out of everyone he’s worked with, Carlson counts Achatz as his biggest culinary inspiration, so it was interesting to come here two nights before we dined at Alinea. It perhaps would have been best the other way around, but allora.

Schwa has an interesting reputation that’s all over the map. This article sums it up nicely, but essentially Schwa is known for the wonderful – a consistently-held Michelin Star since 2011 and one of the hardest reservations to get in town, to the less than – rumors of a drug-filled kitchen and canceling diner’s reservations at the last minute. However, per the article above and in our experience, Schwa has moved away from any shenanigans. Our dinner was seamlessly executed and felt very professional and high-end. AKA, no one offered us any cocaine (#rude). 

We were initially introduced to Schwa by Chef Mike Noll of our beloved Bardo, who worked under Carlson for a time (and now we can see many Schwa influences in Noll’s dishes!). We were in town so Jason could run the Chicago Marathon, and it was a joy to fit Alinea and Schwa into the same weekend of culinary debauchery.

Our experience was only slightly sullied by having just checked into a disgusting and unacceptable room at the Congress Plaza Hotel (never, ever stay here – I don’t care how great the location is), and we were a little stressed out with trying to find a new hotel and rush from the marathon expo to Schwa with enough time. We made it only about ten minutes late, which felt like a miracle. Of course, then Jason had to run to the Mexican grocery down the street to procure my booze, because no way I’m dining at a BYO restaurant sober, lateness be damned. I digress. Onto the food. 

Eat This: 

Schwa serves a seasonally rotating tasting menu. Here’s what we had on October 11th, 2019: 

Arnold Palmer

½ tea, ¼ lemon, ¼ sugar

Presented on a giant piece of astroturf, this dish had 25 elements of tea, citrus, and sugar that were designed to be mixed and matched and then taken as a dry shooter in the provided shot glass.

Embarrassing story time: one of the chefs brought out the shot glasses prior to the astroturf, and it was right at the same time that I opened my bottle of tequila. I said to Jason, “Surely this shot glass is for the dish, right?” And he betrayed me and said, “Nah, I’m sure that’s for the tequila.” Suffice to say he was wrong, and we both embarrassed the family as the chef shook his head and brought us a new one.

We found this dish both visually and literally entertaining, but we weren’t overly wowed by the flavors. It was also pretty difficult to take the leaves and other dry elements in the shot glass, as they just sat at the bottom or got stuck on the edge, so we mainly just piled two or three pieces on our spoons. I also have a lot of questions about how they clean the astroturf. Jason said he thinks they might just throw it away. LMK if you have any thoughts on the matter.

Raviolo

Quail egg, truffle, ricotta

This dish was also designed to be taken as a shooter, which, spoiler alert, I also found difficult because it was a pretty big bite.

My issues aside, HOLY CRAP. This was one of the single best bites I’ve ever had in my whole entire life, and this is when I knew we were in for a treat.

Also, at this point the tequila was kicking in strong and I was quickly moving past our hotel difficulties. Jason, however, was not so quick to forgive and forget. Oh well. Who’s happy? I’m happy.

Agnolotti

Maize, whiskey, popcorn

This dish could also be called corn 58 million ways. Seriously, it had corn pasta, corn consommé, freeze-dried corn, corn shoots, cornflowers, popcorn puree...WHEW. It also was topped with whiskey and popped sorghum. It’s a delight that I’ve moved past my corn fear even at an American restaurant, and I didn’t turn down either this dish or the corn-forward extravaganza the next night at Alinea. Who says you can’t grow and change as a person? Hallelujah.

With all of the sweet and light elements this was a fun dish with a lot of interesting textures in each bite. I dug it.

CAviar

Potato, onion, malt vinegar

The pureed potato was topped with gooseberries, (my favorite food, in case ya don’t know), and also onions, malt vinegar, an ice lettuce gel, and, of course, sweet, sweet, caviar. I love a good onion dip with potato chips, and that’s exactly what this dish was a high-end replica of. Even better, Jason liked it, and vinegar isn’t usually his favorite flavor profile. A win all-around.

Shad Roe

Sour tomato, allium flowers, Genmai

Whoa – this shad roe potato was such a nice, light twist on traditional pâté. The popped Genmaicha rice with sour tomato gel and fennel pollen added a tangy crunch to each bite. We loved this dish, and it was unlike anything we’d tasted before.

PS, I had zero idea what our server was saying when he introduced this dish. I was like, who is Shadro, and is she related to Sinéad O’Connor? We had to just straight up ask him what the heck he was talking about. In case you’re keeping track, that’s two times we embarrassed the family name thus far.

Black Cod

Mole amarillo, stinging nettles, white copal

This charcoal-grilled and smoked fish had a richness from the mole, and the pickled Chayote squash and coriander brought a lovely bite. This was scented with copal, which we had never heard of before, but it’s a tree resin that’s often used to make incense. So cool!

Jason liked this dish more than I did – I didn’t hate it, but it wasn't a stand-out to me in any respect. However, I did like how this dish and the corn course reminded me so much of flavors we had in Peru. There was a lovely earthiness that permeated every element, likely from the Aji Amarillo, which is a Peruvian yellow chili pepper. The more you know.

Oyster

Crab apple, lychee, horseradish

A classic oyster bite. Not much to say here – it was well-executed and we enjoyed it, but we wouldn’t have missed it if it wasn’t served, or remembered it if we hadn’t been writing this post. Moving on.

Sweetbreads

Salsify, Matsutake, Chinese Five Spice

Oooh honey. Some of the best sweetbreads I’ve ever had. It was so light and crispy, and the mild umami of the salsify gave it a great kick.

Plus, I always love seeing salsify on menus, since it reminds me of our meal at Funky Gourmet, which was the first time I’d ever tried this adaptable root vegetable (and we’ve since seen it on tons of tasting menus all over the world!).

The sweetbreads were made from veal, and a Meyer lemon spruce gel lended an additional layer of flavor to the otherwise rich earthiness.

A5 Wagyu

Cordyceps mushroom, pickled ramp, yuzu bernaise

This is for sure the first time I’m seeing an adaptogen on a tasting menu, and I’m not mad about it. However, the chef taught me more about cordyceps – did you know that it’s a fungus that actually grows on top of a caterpillar?! I thought it was just your average mushroom.

Jason and I were both in heaven with this one, and the accompanying bao buns (next dish). It’s always a treat to get Wagyu, and we were so happy to get a good meaty course. We often miss it when restaurants skip the red meat, and this one would have been a shame to leave out. Top notch.

My “Is there bread in there?” face

Bread

Wagyu bao, tamarind, koji

A few courses prior, a bamboo steamer was brought out containing these buns, but we were instructed not to open it until after eating the above plated Wagyu, so it was a delightful surprise to see these little guys waiting for us inside.

I love a bao bun, but sometimes the meat or filling can be subpar quality, so it was a real treat to get a bready, delicious bun tucked with the finest meat on the planet.

Our only complaint? We were getting to the end of the tasting and we weren’t quite full, so we think they should give each person two bao buns. Or maybe we’re just fatties. Also likely.

Butter

Radish & turnip, shio kombu, Wagyu fat

Gah, I love love love a good butter, salt, and radish pairing. Maybe it’s the 11.9% percent of me that’s French (sponsor a girl, 23andMe), but this is truly one of my favorite combinations of all time.

In this version, instead of butter, they glazed the radish with Wagyu fat. Oh yeah buddy. This light and bitter course not only delighted by showing how much of the Wagyu was used, but it served to cut the richness of the previous two courses nicely.

Things took a strange turn when Jason ate the radish leaves, however. Normally I’d be proud of him for eating his greens, but radish leaves are straight disgusting, and I don’t know how he got them down. We never asked the chef if what Jason did was intended, but I know the answer in my heart. That’s gonna be a no from me, dogg.

Parmigiano

Banana, nori brittle, Manuka honey

I don’t care if we got dragged on Instagram for eating a banana topped with cheese – you’d have to taste this one to believe it’s absolute exquisiteness.

The wild Thai banana was dried and a bit chewy, and the thin aged parmesan shavings on top were such a good complement. The salty nori and the sweet, freeze-dried honey continued on the sweet/savory play at work here, and we were in heaven eating this. You can expect this one to make our Top Five lists this year for sure.

Abalone

Melon, yuzu-kosho, arugula

This dish was a play on the classic prosciutto and melon, and was a nice bridge course before full-on dessert. While the fermented tanginess of the yuzu-kosho added an extra bit of pizazz, this course wasn’t the most memorable.

Dessert: 

Apricot

Taleggio, brown butter, marigold

And here we have my favorite dish of the night, and definitely my top five favorite courses of any restaurant we’ve been to.

The Taleggio pound cake was baked around a baby wheel of Taleggio and topped with citrus-laced marigold and a sauce with a light white wine flavor.

It was at once satisfying and light, and the different flavors played together beautifully. Oh my good heavens. This was everything to me. The portion was generous, but I still wanted so much more.

Drink:

Schwa is completely BYO – we didn't know if that meant just alcohol (you know Jason needs his mocktails), but it indeed means everything. To quote our server, “We may have a can of Coke floating around somewhere in the back.” So, whether you’re looking to get lit or a teetotaler, come prepared with your beverage of choice. 

I enjoyed a quarter or better (!) of this bottle of Patron, and Jason enjoyed a Tamarind soda from the trusty Mexican grocery. Just in case you’re like us and run out of time to prepare your beverage options, this nearby option is legit and worked in a pinch to help us create our own pairing experience. Looking back, I wish I had  gone with some wine, but I’ll never be sad about some tequila. Put that on my tombstone. Also, Jason picked up a lovely guava roll for us on his field trip. My husband, he always brings me food treats, even when we’re already sitting at a 14-course meal. Love him. 

Atmosphere: 

Schwa is located in Wicker Park, one of Chicago’s hippest neighborhoods. The inside is tiny (only 26 tables and the bathroom tucked back in the kitchen) and moody – the walls are painted mostly black with black-painted lightbulbs and pulsing rap music. 

Both of us love a casual atmosphere like this, and I actually find that the juxtaposition can make me enjoy the food even more than an upscale dining room. Maybe subconsciously it lowers my standards and then I am happily blown away? I’m not sure, but I can tell you that I loved bopping to the jams while sipping my tequila in jeans, and it is up there as one of my favorite restaurant experiences of all time. 

Cool Kid Hospitality: 

One of the interesting things about Schwa is that there aren’t any servers, dishwashers, or front of house staff. The chefs do it all, from food running to cleanup. This is pretty exciting as a diner, since you get a chance to talk to the chefs and learn their background in bits and pieces (we swear we tried not to hold them up too much).

Taking the new Moleskins for a spin at Schwa

Also, the dish explanations were perhaps as detailed as any we’ve ever had, which makes sense since the chefs are intimately acquainted with everything on your plate. Some of the servers were chattier and more friendly than others, but none of them were rude. 

Frankie’s Notes:

We want to do the full Chef Noll Chicago “This is Your Life” tour; I will never make assumptions about a shot glass at a Michelin-starred restaurant ever again;  My tombstone: “Here lies Yvonne. She loved pugs & tequila – but maybe not in that order.”; Jason running to the Mexican grocery with with negative ten minutes to spare was a harrowing moment for me, but since he came back with that guava roll, all is forgiven; Jason is not the most fun to dine with after I’ve refused to stay in the hotel he booked – is that on me?; I might be 11.9% French, but never forget that our son Ollie is 2% dog, 98% other. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 with Two Michigan Pugs