The second course

There's a row of tables at NoMI where the least privileged of the very privileged sit. They aren't the coveted seats by the floor-to-ceiling window, but deeper in the dining room. In one direction you face the window, glimpsing obstructed views of the Water Tower. In the other you face the open kitchen.

That's the view I had the other night when revisiting NoMI. It was an entirely appropriate spot, considering I was there to check out NoMI's new chef, Christophe David. He took control of the kitchen in September, after the restaurant's original chef, Sandro Gamba, departed early this summer.

But it was the table next to mine that caught my attention. There, a gentleman from Indiana was celebrating his birthday with his sister and wife. Near the end of his meal, after devouring a platter of quince desserts, he threw his hands over his head and exclaimed, "They knocked that one out of the park! And I don't even know what a quince is."

My reactions were slightly less enthusiastic. A smile crept over my face as I made my way through a tart that layered impeccably seared scallops and softened leeks on an infinitely buttery Parmesan crust. The catch of the day, yellowtail, was perfectly grilled and topped with a bright, chunky, herb-packed sauce vierge. A peekytoe crab–and–avocado appetizer was underwhelming, but I sought out every last bit of the delectable crabmeat.

The jarring curried mayo on the crab starter was the first sign of chef David's penchant for Indian flavors. It worked in a pair of jumbo prawns, which were wrapped in fine strands of phyllo and accompanied by an Indian kassoundi, a tomato chutney–like sauce laced with mustard seed and cumin. But the flavors of the juicy squab paired with caramel turnips and a curry pastilla (a crisp, flautalike phyllo roll) never came together in complete harmony.

I found myself divided on desserts as well: A trio of soufflés was ethereal, light but packed with flavor. But the chocolate-pistachio cake was surrounded by a sickly sea-green foam that resembled undercooked pistachio pudding, and the cake revealed a fluorescent-green middle. It didn't taste much better than it looked.

The food at NoMI, both in type and in quality, is not the same as it was when chef Gamba was at the helm. Sushi has expanded from a single appetizer to an entire page of options (tiny, expensive and unremarkable options at that). But for the typical NoMI diner—the one who's making his first visit, celebrating his birthday, and doesn't know that a quince is a cross between an apple and a pear—it's still the kind of place that elicits yelps of joy. So, really, where it matters, things haven't changed much at all.

NoMI800 N Michigan Ave between Chicago Ave and Pearson St (312-239-4030). El: Red to Chicago. Bus: 3, 10, 26, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 151 (24hrs). Open: Breakfast, brunch (Sat, Sun), lunch (Mon-Fri), dinner. Average main course: $36.