Dinner at Otom... a lesson in molecular gastronomy

So tonight I was able to knock one meal off the Chicago dining wish list: dinner at Otom - Homaro Cantu's more "casual" restaurant that is the brother to his experimental Moto restaurant. Cantu has been written up in many places has having some of the most unique, creative and experimental dishes in a type of dining called Molecular Gastronomy.
Essentially, it's applying science to cooking techniques to change the dynamics of food and challenge the conventions of how cooking and preparing occurs.

Case in point: my dessert- called simply, "The Coffee Break." (shown above) But its description is misleading--- and maybe on purpose. The menu reads, "Donut, strawberry and honey brioche." That may have been true - but what you see, and what you taste are two very different things.
First - the "coffee" is actually the honey brioche and a coffee cream mousse. You then take it and dip it into a donut custard that is filled with a kind of jelly donut strawberry filling. So you dip the coffee into the donut! It's completely bizarre and thoroughly entertaining. Not just because your mouth has a harder time catching up, but because the donut custard actually feels like you've bitten into a donut and you're dissolving the pastry in your mouth. The white powder on top is almost exactly like the typical powder you feel on your tongue when eating powdered donuts.
It was definitely a first for my palette. And that's a rare thing for me these days.. rare, but very sweet.
Our waiter was attentive and knowledgeable, gracious and pleasant. All in all - one of the best dining experiences I've had in Chicago. Woo hoo!