Again, I had to call in a favor to get into the newest hot spot of Chef Daniel Humm. Totally worth eating super late on a Saturday night. The space is located in the NoMad Hotel just a few blocks away from EMP…that certainly makes Humm’s evening rounds an easy walk. 

The dining spaces are all adjoined on the first floor with different themes, the ATRIUM, THE PARLOUR, BAR, FIREPLACE, and THE LIBRARY. Some of the menus cross over between spaces while others have separate bites. To get a feel for the place, I asked for a quick tour and landed safely in the Library for a cocktail before dinner. Each room was gorgeous and swanky with attention to every detail. Plus One and I agreed that the Library had the perfect upscale atmosphere for drinks and bites with friends and a great list of libations. We sipped on Start Me Up and Satan’s Circus. Plus One sneakily switched our drinks preferring my Start Me Up. Once our table was ready, we moved the The Parlour to get started on our late night dinner. 

We agreed on dishes with the help of our waiter nudging us towards a few “house specialties”. We ordered teh poached egg with asparagus, quinoa and parmesan & the foie gras torchon with tête de cochon, radishes and nasturtium. Again, I picked the winner with the torchon and again, Plus One felt compelled to pick at my plate instead of his which he described as “very pedestrian”. I think he was expecting a little more inventiveness from a Humm menu. My torchon, however, was outstanding with a country-like paté in the center. Having both textures in one bite along with a small pickled radish and a touch of peppery nasturtium was a divine combination. Torchon has become one of my favorite starters to order and it’s no surprise Humm’s was a winner. 

We ordered the chicken. Yes, I know. It sounds boring but it’s so not the case at NoMad. We had seen the beautiful roasted chicken heading to other tables and my Plus One insisted we ask our server. Sure enough, it’s no plain chicken. My guess is the chicken is brined first, then stuffed with a brioche breadcrumb, black truffle and foie gras mixture. It’s then roasted until the breasts are perfect at which point they remove the legs and continue to cook the dark meat in the jus. The chicken is presented to the table whole brought back to the kitchen and plated with the leg meat removed from the bone and served in a small dish on the side. Every component of the dish was rich and flavorful. The stuffing alone was sinful and elevated ordinary chicken to a luxurious dish. It’s obvious how a $78 roasted chicken became a signature so quickly. It’s a must-try at NoMad. 

For dessert, we ordered the milk and honey which eerily had the same elements as the MILK the night before at EMP. Again, we were told it was one of the best desserts on the menu but it didn’t compare to the savory side of the menu. 

Make sure to head over for drinks early and a request can be made for dinner in specific rooms when available. Although, there isn’t a a bad table in the place! 

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