Mike Sula reviews Acadia, on the near south side, where Courtright's vet Ryan McCaskey is offering fine dining in which foams, emulsions, powders, and garnishes manage to coalesce and harmonize, adding synergy to dishes rather than seeming like manifestations of technique for its own sake (as he found at Goosefoot last week). McCaskey's aided and abetted by bartender Michael Simon, whose cocktails like the Cognac Dreamsicle—champagne, vermouth, and orange liqueur—and the Amnesiac, made with absinthe ice cubes, may just keep you from the wine list.

In Key Ingredient chef Brandon Baltzley of the underground supper club Crux works with flour, which he took to mean pretty much anything milled. Using kudzu starch, carob powder, and xanthan gum in addition to all-purpose flour, he made a deconstructed dessert that incorporates a variation on the stretchy Turkish ice cream salep dondurma. The result, he said, was "pretty much the weirdest combination of textures ever." Next up is Iliana Regan of the underground supper club One Sister, handed Middle Eastern dried lime. "I don't see how you can make a dish out of this," said Baltzley. "It's inedible."

In the listings are Valentine's Day specials, among them a dinner at Frontier featuring beef, lamb, and veal hearts and a whole-animal dinner menu at Saigon Sisters featuring a five-spice roasted duck.