Here's Square Root's Tasting Menu With Notes And Porn

The guy who eats at cool places before you Andrew Marin just hit up Square Root on opening night and what follows are the highlights of his tasting menu experience, which he calls, "The most impressive opening I've ever seen a restaurant do. Easily one of the top five best fine dining meals I've had in New Orleans," all "nitpicking aside."

First, a few words for those planning on going to chef Phillip Lopez and Maximilian Ortiz' long awaited gem in the near future: the upstairs Root Squared lounge functions well as pre-game/post-dinner hangout. The beverage service isn't included in the $150 tasting menu, and if "you choose either wine tasting option, you end up drinking (in total) the equivalent of a bottle of wine." Marin settles on the mix pairing of wine and cocktails, created by Max Messier. There are four seating a night, so if you're not among the first seating you get to see what everybody else is eating and have the pleasure of awaiting the dish yourself.

Marin, who is also a former chef, notes lots of international flavors, impeccable plating, and naturally, faux Dip-N-Dot/Apple Jacks fun time from chef Lopez. Also, "the plates and bowls are different for each course. They must have at least 50 different sets to accommodate future dishes." Here is every dish, plus a few drinks/palate cleansers. Click on links for Marin's accompanying food porn:

· Lobster Mousse atop a Lobster Chicarron (like an elevated Asian prawn cracker) topped with tarragon caviar: "Way more salt and flavor than I'd expect for a first dish. Definitely not a mild amuse bouche."
· Nduja Spread on flatbread cracker: "Clearly a throwback to Root's housemade sausage program."
· 'Southern Fried Chicken': "Lots of great flavor and texture but I was not impressed with the surprisingly hard cracker(?) on which everything else balanced."
· Oysters, Charred Bone Marrow Tartare, blood orange mignonette, buttermilk horseradish ice: "Beautiful sight and blend of flavors and textures. Yes, I tasted the seaweed underneath the shell."
· Soup of Seared Potato, Potato Crisp, Truffle-Pickled Peaches, Smoked Caviar, and Vermouth Gelee in a creamy but light broth: "This is also the first course to include a utensil!"
· Petrified Leafy Greens, toasted coriander lime spuma, pea puree, compressed cucumber, pickled seeds: "Now we're somewhere in the east."
· Palate Cleanser Cocktail – Gin, hibiscus, coriander, pink peppercorn.
· Tendon Two Ways:Pickled and Chicharron. Tabouleh. Radish gelee. Calabaza squash oil. Togarashi: "Showing off how a protein can be insanely different based on prep."
· Faux Gras: "Umebashi? Strawberries made into amazing (dipping-dots-like) dish. A thin marble rye crouton for texture. And yes, there is a bit of actual foie gras in it."
· Duck Breast seared in black pepper and allspice: "Duck Tortellini with fennel fronds in the pasta dough. Mushroom stock and dashi infused with aromatics laboratory-style. Japan!.. Multiple utensils!"
· Intermezzo of Compressed Granny Apples and Passion Fruit Granita, microgreens, and a hint of lemon juice and zest.
· Honey-poached Sablefish. Dates. Sunchoke. Roast chutney: "Now we're in the Mediterranean."
· Chilaquiles with sous-vide Lobster finished in butter, citrus and coriander. Lobster Mole: "A Dish inspired by Chef Lopez' mother."
· Roasted Pheasant Roulade, medium rare. Johnny Rock Cake. (Dehydrated) Corn Kernels? Shaved truffle. A velouté to finish: "I hope next time they serve Cornish hen to complete the wordplay."
· Wagyu Beef covered in miso and seared. Bone marrow emulsion. Iced-blanched squash. Balsamic vinegar drizzle: "Served on dishes made out of burnt wood, in a Japanese method."
· Granny Smith Apple Sorbet: "More Granny Smith apples dehydrated, powdered, and baked into meringue... In a weird/good way, this reminded me of Apple Jack Cereal from childhood."
· Incredible Edible Egg: "Brought out in six-pack egg cartons. An egg sits atop candied almonds. Inside the egg is a cold, caramel-like toasted-egg-yolk curd. The shell is cracked in front of you... The "shell" is edible. The only remotely minor flaw is one other component on top. Not sure what it was, but it was sticky and chewy and definitely not for anyone with sensitive teeth or dentures."
· Square Root [AndrewMarin.net]
· All Square Root Coverage [-ENOLA-]
[Photo: Brasted]