Alinea
1723 North HalstedChicago, IL 60614
www.alinearestaurant.com
Tel: 312.867.0110
$$$$ ($50+)
Cuisine: American
Sun, 10/04/2015, 7:30pm reservation
(4 Piglets)Alinea. Three Michelin stars. Number 26 best restaurant in the world by S. Pellegrino. Best restaurant by Gourmet Magazine. Best chef by the James Beard Foundation. The list goes on and on so you get the picture.
 |
| The hallway to where the magic happens... |
 |
| The kitchen at Alinea |
I can't reiterate how excited I was to finally try this place. To even get tickets to this restaurant (you gotta go online and hope you're lucky to score a reservation) was a handful. I was blessed enough to have a friend of mine know a few people to score us a reservation. And even then, forking out over $1500 on the spot (we each paid $375pp)without having eaten anything is kinda a big deal. So, I expected a lot out of this restaurant. Based on the the awards Alinea has on their belt, how could you not?
Grant Achatz is the chef behind Alinea. He had stints at Charlie Trotters and the French Laundry before coming up with the concept of Alinea. Having had been diagnosed with oral cancer, he fought for his life and managed to beat the odds. His food at Alinea is truly innovative and is the epitome of molecular gastronomy. Here is the 15 course meal we had ...BE PATIENT CAUSE THERE ARE LOTS OF PICS AND EACH COURSE IS AN EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF.
 |
| THE FIRST PART OF COURSE ONE... |
 |
| STILL UNSURE WHAT IS HAPPENING... |
 |
| DO WE DRINK THIS?... |
 |
| COURSE ONE: PEACH: Basil, murray river salt. So I'm ready to eat this, but where are the utensils? |
 |
| A closer look at course one... |
 |
| COURSE ONE...THAT DRINK THAT GETS POURED INTO THIS FINE GLASS |
 |
| COURSE ONE: PEACH: Basil, murray river salt. Ok. Now, I'm finally ready to review course one which happens to be a drink. It was a great way to begin a meal. It was refreshing and it was a spectacle to watch how the wine melted the ice and encapsulated peach juice. I wouldn't say it would be considered a course, but it was good nonetheless. |
 |
| COURSE TWO: GILDA: Guindilla de ibarra, anchovy, olive. This was my least favorite of the three. It was a jelly that consisted of anchovy and olives. It was a quick one bite type of dish and just the texture itself was kinda off for me. |
 |
| COURSE TWO: BOCADILLO: Bread, jamon iberico, manchego. This was my favorite of the three. Anything that can resemble the jamon iberico is a big accomplishment in my book. |
 |
| COURSE TWO: PATATAS BRAVAS: Paprika, chile, garlic. This was my second favorite of the three. It was a crispy potato with some deep flavors and a little spice. |
 |
| THE PICTURES GIVEN BEFORE THE DISHES WERE HANDED TO YOU FOR COURSE TWO |
 |
| COURSE THREE: STRAWBERRY: Tomato, pumpernickel, burrata. So, the tomato was really a strawberry and the strawberry was really a tomato. The burrata cheese at the bottom of the bowl had a few tapioca balls. To eat this dish, you had to drink it through a straw like how you would do in a boba drink. It wasn't amazing but it was interesting to say the least. |
 |
| COURSE FOUR: CHAR ROE: English pea, olive oil, chamomile. The olive oil was transformed to a foam and there was a bit of jalapeno in the form of a gelee. The roe was sweet and the dish was a bit spicy and creamy. The presentation was nice but to me, that was about it. |
 |
| A CLOSER LOOK AT COURSE FOUR |
 |
| BEFORE COURSE FIVE BEGINS... |
 |
| TO CREATE COURSE FIVE... |
 |
| COURSE FIVE: GRAFFITI: Matsutake, maitake, parsley. The name says it all. The pieces resembled the texture of meringue and under that, are some porcini mushrooms. A parsley liquid was sprayed like graffiti. It was good. |
 |
| THE STUFF BEHIND COURSE FIVE... |
 |
| COURSE SIX: TORORO KOMBU: Hamachi, ice fish rice cracker. Tasty. Good. Small. Nothing special.We actually BBQ it over the open fire... |
 |
| COURSE SIX: CORN: Uni, nori, togarashi. The best out of the courses. It was delicious and the uni sauce was creamy. A good take on corn with Japanese flavors. |
 |
| COURSE SIX: PERCEBES: Smoke, seawater, ash. It was good but so small. Sigh. One bite wonder. |
 |
| OUR CAMPFIRE TABLE... |
 |
| MY FRIENDS AND I CAMPING AT ALINEA ON AN OPEN FIRE WITH COURSE SIX... |
 |
| COURSE SEVEN: CHICKEN: Shishito, lily, kombu. Ok. So finally something more substantial. I was hungry. I wanted meat. This was a threesome of just alright dishes. Succulent? Very. But anything that floats my boat? No. |
 |
| COURSE EIGHT: HOT POTATO: Cold potato, black truffle, butter. This was one of the better dishes. Perhaps, it was tied for the best dish. Unfortunately, it was only a shot of a potato truffle soup that left me wanting more. I guess you know its' good when you crave more of it! |
 |
| COURSE NINE: OLIVE CAKE: Extra virgin olive oil, black pepper. This wasn't one of my favorites. It was definitely very spongy with a pungent olive taste. My friend hated it and only took one bite before completely calling it quits on this dish. Perhaps feeling like you're foraging for your food wasn't the best idea either... |
 |
| A CLOSER LOOK AT COURSE NINE |
 |
| COURSE TEN: LAMB: Caper leaf, grapes, olives. I love lamb and when I got this dish, I was kinda disappointed. Sure, the lamb was good, but it didn't do anything for me. |
 |
| MY FAVORITE DISH. COURSE ELEVEN: BLACK TRUFFLE: Explosion, romaine, parmesan. This dish was so good. Imagine that soup dumpling you get at Din Tai Fung and multiply that taste by 100x and this is what you get. I wish I could get more than one piece of this masterpiece. So divine. |
 |
| Honey Truffles anyone? They smell like marshmallows.....!!!!!!! |
 |
| COURSE TWELVE: PARSNIP: Honey truffle, vanilla, orange. A parsnip with lots of flavor that is sweetened. It was good. Flavors were well put together. I didn't marvel at this dish though. |
 |
| COURSE THIRTEEN: BACON: Butterscotch, thyme, black pepper. This was like a piece of bacon hung to dry. I love bacon and this was slightly sweetened. It was good. |
 |
| COURSE FOURTEEN: BALLOON: Helium, green apple. Wow! How innovative! Just the experience of this dessert was marvelous. The taffy was sticky and the green apple was very distinct. Solid. |
 |
| COURSE FIFTEEN: TROPICAL FRUIT: Rum, vanilla, kaffir lime. Pretty dessert on a table right? Did you just read that correctly? Yes, you get your final dessert course made right in front of you on the table. Lots of flavors and it was quite substantial. It was good if you like tropical. I personally wanted something more on the chocolate/ice cream end. That's just a personal preference though. |
 |
| THE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE COURSE FIFTEEN |
 |
| THE CHEF STARTING TO PLATE COURSE FIFTEEN ONTO THE TABLE |
A video of the dessert:
Overall, Alinea is an experience that I feel everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. The food is innovative and Achatz achieved molecular gastronomy at its best. The service could have been a little better. We arrived at 7:30pm and had long wait times between dishes resulting in a 4.5 hour dinner (my friend was eating the same night and his reservation wasn't til 9:30pm and he was just about done when we were leaving). In terms of the food, I wouldn't say that every dish I tasted was amazing, but it was definitely creative. Just for the creativity and the experience, it's worth a visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment