Coming Soon

iNG to Serve Edible Charcoal?

Looks appetizing....
Looks appetizing…. Photo: mediamixture/Flickr

Every detail that has emerged about iNG, Homaro Cantu’s upcoming restaurant in the West Loop, has been a little off kilter. So it’s really no surprise that Cantu would casually mention a menu item in the latest issue of Newsweek, even though the article is about the overconsumption of salt. At least, that’s what seems to be going on. The restaurant linked to the article on Twitter, and asked, “Could this be something cooking at ingrestaurant?” That leading question probably means “yes.” What is the dish? How about edible charcoal…

Okay, so only Cantu can explain this one:

I dip cubes of white bread in squid ink, deep fry them, and add liquid nitrogen to make it look like smoke is coming off it. Finally, I sprinkle the black salt on all sides, which visually makes it appear more like an actual briquette—and intensifies the flavors.

We have no doubt that this is real, especially considering that he once served a kind of roadkill at Moto. But is this actually a menu item at iNG? We definitely hope so.

Chefs for All Seasons [Newsweek]
Ingrestaurant [Twitter]

iNG to Serve Edible Charcoal?