Ever tasted a breakup? New restaurant will serve meals with focus on all the senses.
What does falling in love taste like? How about an argument? How does heartache taste?
Pulling off food reminiscent of an emotion may seem near-impossible to those of us who can barely make a grilled cheese (I’m calling myself out here), but a new restaurant is going to show its guests how to become so immersed in a meal that you can see, smell, feel, hear and taste every single moment.
It’s admittedly difficult to become fully immersed in anything these days — distractions are plentiful. So this restaurant may be exactly what we need to really experience a meal that is demanding of all of our senses.
Anomaly is a 22-seat restaurant (location TBD, but probably Dilworth) that will open in the spring and be run by chef Samuel Hart (a Charlotte native who spent some time in Chicago; Charlotteans know him from the East Boulevard Foxcroft Wine Co. and Haymaker) and sommelier Erin Skaryak (you recognize her from 5Church, Mere’s and Foxcroft). The two met while working at Foxcroft around this time last year.
The new restaurant’s style is described on Anomaly’s website as “Modernist fusion of French and Japanese technique coupled with innovative beverage pairings.”
The restaurant will have two seatings a night. One in early evening (10 courses) and one around 9 p.m. (the “explicit” seating: 15 courses, leave your easily offended friends at home).
No wait staff
Wine pairings by Skaryak will be tiered with food courses. There will be no wait staff — guests will be served by Hart and Skaryak themselves. “The interaction between the guest and the cooks enhances the experience and provides a connection that typically is hidden from view,” Skaryak said.
The connection will go beyond curation of taste, smell and sight. Expect your ears to be enchanted as well, as a playlist will be created to go along with each dish. “We’re going to ask you to eat things weirdly,” Skaryak said.
How to experience Anomaly now
The restaurant has been softly building buzz without the typical fanfare (a.k.a. media blasts and press releases).
Until it solidifies its Charlotte location, Hart and Skaryak, with the help of Ann Marie Stefaney in the kitchen, are experimenting by hosting pop-up dinners at different locations. Dinners are referred to as “playlists” and, just like a mix tape, each playlist will be different from the last. Location is kept secret until five days prior to the event, then sent via email.
The first popup was held at a Myers Park home in November. CharlotteFive was invited to attend a recent one held at Lincoln’s Haberdashery on a Thursday evening (theme: How She Broke Up With Me). It even came with a mix CD.
Tickets for the next pop-ups are for sale now. February’s event is sold out and March still has some available spaces. The theme will be Cafeteria: Let Anomaly take you back to the school lunch room, with reimagined childhood favorites on the menu.
At more than $100 a person, the price is steep, and yet the tickets are selling out fast — in some cases, same day.
What to expect
Leave your reading glasses at home: there’s no menu here. Fresh, local ingredients are the driver of each evening’s food, along with a guest’s preferences and allergies. Get as specific as you’d like: Our photographer doesn’t eat onions, and when I told Skaryak the week before, she clarified, “Is the onion allergy to all alliums; onions, shallots, garlic?”
As each event is different, it’s hard to tell you exactly what to expect. “I know that is a bit vague — because you almost need to experience the concept first,” Skaryak told CharlotteFive when we tried to get details in advance. Here’s what we experienced* at Lincoln’s Haberdashery.
The theme for the evening centered on a relationship, starting with a first crush that tasted like Cool Ranch Doritos (which is really a fancy caviar dish), building to deep, rich love (mole sauce), falling apart with fight over Thanksgiving Dinner with a course that tasted like Green Bean Casserole and ending with sweet memories of a moment in time (the last course featured Black Cheerwine Grand Marnier Poundcake).
Diners chose between two wine lists (standard was $35 and reserve was $125 per guest).
(1) Junk Food
This course is akin to love at first sight. It was designed to taste like Cool Ranch Doritos and Mountain Dew or Sun Drop.
What we ate: Cool Ranch Oyster Cracker, French Onion Dip, Osetra Gold Caviar (pictured at top).
What we drank: Le Vigne Di Alice, Tajed, Secco Frizzante NV (It tasted like Mountain Dew and Sun Drop). “This is a great Small Production female winemaker that really utilizes the terrior and produces well rounded prosecco that is not overly sweet with a bit of minerality,” Skaryak said.
Music: Dark Fantasy — Kanye West
(2) Secret Admirer
The crush is official with this course — the feelings are intense. The wasabi and ginger tastes like falling hard.
What we ate: Sweet Miso Cured Lobster, Trout Roe, Wasabi, Mirin/Petrified Lime Aioli, Pickled Ginger, Matcha.
What we drank: Oremus, Mandolas, Tokaji Furmint 2016. “I will typically always try to find a great Eastern European wine, just out of my own dorky love for Eastern Europe. Furmint is one of my favorite grapes that pairs well with Asian flavors. The miso and wasabi kick needed a slightly heavier wine with a bit more fruit to counterbalance the spice,” Skaryak said.
Music: La Vie En Rose — Lucy Dacus; Visual Machine — Project Trio
(3) Gripped
What we ate: Eastern Carolina Barbecue Butt, Western Carolina Barbecue pudding, Purple Grits, Speckled Grits, Slaw.
What we drank: Donnhoff, Tonschiefer Dry Slate, Riesling 2018. “This dry, yet weighty Riesling showcases the Pork and counterbalances the acidity of the sauces. Complimenting each style of pork and not overshadowing preparation,” Skaryak said.
Music: When You Touch Me — Raining Sound
(4) Mole
This love is rich, it’s real and it’s deep.
What we ate: Oaxacan Mole with Prickly Pear.
What we drank: Domaine Mee Godard, Morgon Corcelette, Gamay 2016. “Gamay is a really amazing versatile grape out of France. The nose has young bright fruit, which pairs well with the spicy and chocolate of the mole. The acidity on the end cuts through the richness of the dish,” Skaryak said.
Music: Mystik — Tash Sultana
(Palate cleanser) Basketball
What we ate: Charmoula Yogurt Explosion.
What we drank: Gamay, cont.
Music: Fly Like An Eagle — Steve Miller Band
(5) G.O.A.T.
This course is like telling your new partner all of your stories, your likes and dislikes, your favorite songs. “We are also slightly obsessed with Michael Jordan and basketball. He is our ultimate G.O.A.T., and the lyrics of Jumpman really bring out that element,” Skaryak said.
What we ate: Za’atar Spiced Goat, Spiced Pickled Apricots, Shallot Date Jam, Tajine Consommé.
What we drank: Gamay, cont.
Music: Jumpman — Drake & Future; Home — Vitamin String Quartet
(6) Classic
What we ate: Wagyu Strip loin, Bordelaise, Bone Marrow Yeast Roll, Mustard, Sunchoke.
What we drank: Bodegas Alto Moncayo, Veraton, Garnacha 2016. “This is an amazing wine with great fruit on the nose, lots of weight and big tannins on the finish. Great alternative to a typical Cab served with a meat dish,” Skaryak said.
Music: Busy Earnin’ — Jungle
(7) Truffle
The truffle dish is like the honeymoon. It’s decadent, it’s lavish, you may feel undeserving of enjoying it, Hart said. “I know you don’t want to throw $35 in your mouth at one time but you should — because I’m telling you to,” he told the crowd. In addition to Alba Truffle coins, this dish featured more than 200 layers of potatoes — in one bite.
What we ate: 200 Layer Pave, Perigord Emulsion, Alba Truffle Coins.
What we drank: Garnacha cont.
Music: Take Five — Dave Brubeck Quartet
(8) Casserole
Here’s where things go wrong in the relationship. This course centered on an argument and breakup over Thanksgiving dinner.
What we ate: Funyun Tart Shell, Green Bean Mousse, Cheddar Powder, Pickled Mushroom, Haricot Verts and Dill Flower.
What we drank: Garnacha cont.
Music: Cocaine Jesus — Rainbow Kitten Surprise
(9) PB&J
During a breakup you go back to the beginning, right? The memories are fresh and bittersweet.
What we ate: Whipped Gluten Cream, 2 Year Parm, Concord Grape Gummie, Champagne Jelly, Peanut Crumble, Fresh Grape
What we drank: Lini 910, Lambrusco Rosso, Secco Frizzante NV. Sparkling red wine out of Italy. Served chilled brings out the great fruit on the nose and finishes dry. Brings out the grape and enhances the goat cheese of the dish. Typically, Lambrusco is a great wine with meat and cheese, so this worked perfectly into the cheese course of the night,” Skaryak said.
Music: Now That You’re Gone — The Raconteurs
(10) Cheerwine
This course is full of this rich emotion that comes with saying goodbye. It tastes like, “We would much rather be with you than whoever else we are messing around with on the side,” Hart told diners. Amid the sadness, there is happiness that that the romance happened at all.
What we ate: Black Cheerwine Grand Marnier Poundcake, Mulled Cheerwine Granita, Cheerwine Syrup, Lacto Fermented Apples, Pickled Cherries, Chantilly
What we drank: Lambrusco cont.
Music: Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2) — Kids See Ghosts; I Thank You — Sam & Dave.
*I don’t eat meat, so Hart made me replacement dishes that included mushroom for mole, hearts of palm for lobster, trumpet mushroom for Wagyu, tofu for goat, and kombu caviar for caviar. Often, when people don’t eat meat, they get a meal that is somehow lesser in quality at these types of dinners, he told me before dinner began. “My challenge is to create something for you that is equally as exciting as what everyone else gets.” (Mission accomplished.)
A meal created over actual breakups
As with every great love story, our meal came with a mix CD showcasing the favorite songs of the evening. Of course, nostalgia sometimes comes with a price: “Good luck finding a CD player to play it on,” Skaryak said.
The theme was not without meaning for the dinner’s hosts. “We chose that because Sam and I both recently bonded over the heartache of a significant breakup. Sam picked me up, and I did the same,” Skaryak told CharlotteFive. “It only seemed natural for us to work through the heartache through our food, presentation and really honing in on our passion for our work with Anomaly.”
At the end of the meal, Skaryak said she and Hart both found love in providing this experience and vulnerability to the guests. “We understand we have all felt this way before. It’s this vulnerability and unapologetic mentality that makes Anomaly what it is: a unique, personal experience for all of your senses and feelings.”
That particular love story may be over, but there are more stories to tell through Anomaly’s food. January and February’s theme is “Cafeteria,” and most January sessions are sold out already — a few seats were still available at the time of this article’s publication. In February, choose between a regular experience and an explicit one; either way, you’ll get reimagined favorites from your childhood.
Judging from the speed at which these tickets are sold, the brick-and-mortar concept will be hugely popular. Guests at last week’s events were speculating that reservations would be booked months out.
“The amount of support we received after the first popup in homes has been phenomenal. A lot of people told me when I moved to Chicago that Charlotte wouldn’t want this. This shows me Charlotte does want this. We’re awestruck by the support,” Hart said.
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in December 2019 and has been updated to include details about the next pop-up dinner.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 5:40 AM.
