Alinea

1723 North Halsted
Chicago Illinois 60614
http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/

"Best restaurant in America", "trained at French Laundry and El Bulli", yadda yadda yadda. We've heard the hyperbole. We've fallen for it before - the Michelin stars, the San Pelligrinos - but they don't always parallel our own idea of what's yummy and good. Nonetheless, those acclaims have induced us to travel around the country and across the globe to dine at some of these food meccas. We've done it and we've been disappointed. Hopes and expectations get over-inflated just to be shot down by arrows of mediocre experiences. This isn't to say that the excitement wasn't there to dine at America's best restaurant. A dinner that was planned two months in advance. A highly-anticipated dinner that was tempered with restrained expectations. As it turns out, Chef Achatz and his team would make any and all temperance unnecessary.

(NOTE: Although we've read and heard quite a bit about Alinea, we'd never looked into the actual dishes served. For one reason or another, we had avoided any blogs or reviews about the food. After our experience, we'd recommend that anyone planning on dine there in the near future do the same, which includes not reading any further in this blog. Dinner at Alinea isn't just about the food, but the complete experience, which is best fulfilled without spoilers. But, if it'll be a while before your next trip to the restaurant, please feel free to continue reading as the menu items will probably differ by that time.)

From start to finish, dinner at Alinea was an experience. The restaunrant is located in a non-descript, two-story building with no visible cues indicating its presense, with the exception of a sidewalk A-frame advertising its valet services. The experience starts as you walk in the front doors. The short hallway is designed to fool the eyes and the mind. A bit of whimsical unease, like falling down the rabbit hole. We're greeted and checked-in downstairs, just a couple steps outside the main kitchen that is partitioned by a floor to ceiling glass window. Each individual is consumed by their task at hand yet it appears eerily quiet.

We started our dinner by opting for the non-alcoholic beverage pairing:


Ginger, basil and elderflower - Sweet, a bit tangy and bubbly. The ginger and basil helped clean the palate and proved a very nice aperitif.


Spanish mineral water with cucumber and celery - Never a fan of sparkling waters unless paired with a sweet fruit juice, the opinion didn't change after this drink. Highly carbonated with hints of the crisp vegatables. Refreshing but just not for me.

Oolong tea with Pinot grape juice - Tea like mother used to make. A bit dry on the tongue with hints of sweetness from the grape juice. Light and pleasant.

Elderberry - A bit of a cross between grape and cranberry juice. Not overly sweet with a touch of acidity, similar to cranberries. Very tasty.


Purple carrot and pomegranate - Nothing like regular carrot juice. The pomegranate led the show here, but wasn't overbearing.

Steelhead roe, watermelon, kaffir lime, cucumber blossom - The muted orange coloring of this roe reflected its flavor. A more subtle version of the neon-colored, salty spheres we're used to. The real star was the watermelon consomme. The syrupy, clear liquid pooling at the bottom of the plate was the essence of watermelon. It was sweet and refreshing, everything that's great about the fruit and not a drop was left on the plate.


Yuba, shrimp, miso, togarashi - Reminiscent of a mystical unicorn horn. This was a stick of dehydrated tofu skin wrapped in shrimp. The vessel on the bottom help a thick orange  miso mayo. The "horn" was light and crispy with the shrimp adding depth. The bits of black sesame multiplied the umami flavor. The sweet and salty orange mayo was the perfect compliment.

This was the most beautiful plating we've ever encountered. The presentation gave you the impression that this course was pulled straight from the ocean and served as is. A large piece of driftwood, about three feet wide, probably weighing about ten pounds, was covered in damp seaweed. On the center and corners of the "plate" sat four separate presentations of shellfish. All four items felt like they were songs of the same genre while playing distinctly different beats and melodies. Beautifully presented and equally tasty.


Lobster - queen anne's lace, huitlacoche, gooseberry - I've come to learn that queen's lace is a type of flower and huitlacoche is an edible fungus that grows from corn. I did know that gooseberries don't have anything to do with the water fowl, but can't ever recall having tasted them before. Little bit of lobster morsel sat in the cracked claw in a slightly acidic broth.

Scallop - hitachino white ale, old bay - The Japanese ale came in the form of a aerated foam. The ale is known for its hints of coriander, nutmeg and orange peel. Along with the scallops were mini tapioca pearls which made for an interesting mouth-feel.


Razor Clam - carrot, soy, daikon - This clam was bookended by the flavors of root vegetables. The soy was not overly salted, allowing the flavors of the mollusk to speak for themselves.


Mussel - saffron, chorizo, orange - The mussel was also accompanied by another sea creature, the urchin. The creamy urchin and salty chorizo was a nice backdrop for the mussel. The hint of orange let you know that citrus was present.

Wooly pig, fennel, orange, squid - A curly-hairy pig known for their flavorful fat content. Along with squid and fennel, this offering was served on a long wire around the height of your mouth. We were encouraged to not use our hands to eat this dish. The flavors of the pork and fennel were subtle. The primary point of emphasis was the texture of the squid which felt a bit more chewy than usual. A fun dish to eat but not as tasty as the rest.


Pheasant, apple, shallot, burning leaves - That glimmer of light near the top left of the oak leaf isn't a reflection or the result of photoshop editing. The leaf is smoldering when it is served as indicated by the small plume of smoke right above. The smell really awakens the senses and conveys a sense of autumn. Having lived in sunny southern California our whole lives, we're rarely treated to the experience of seasonal change. We overheard from the table next to us that the smell brought back memories of their childhood, of raking leaves and burning the piles afterwards. The twig leaf was provided as a utensil, used to lift the morsel to your mouth. The pheasant was extremely tender, dipped in a light and crispy tempura batter with some apple cider gel and roasted shallots within. Delicious.


Wild Mushrooms pine, sumac, ramp - If the last dish felt like a cool autumn day in the Northeast suburbs, this dish takes us another thirty minutes down the road to the rural pine forest. We are first presented with puffy, white pillowcases filled with air. On top of this pillow is the serving of various wild mushrooms atop a pine pudding with the lemony sumac. As the weight of the plate sinks into the pillow, the plastic air-filled bag within slowly releases the sent of pine. The desired effect is felt - we're eating at Alinea but at the same time strolling through a pine forest foraging mushrooms, wild leeks and ramp. Truly an experience.


Hot Potato, cold potato, black truffle, butter - Another course that requires the diner to do more than put the food into their mouths. This small plastic bowl is pierced by a sharp needle holding a hot potato ball, a potato cube and butter. As you pull the needle out through the bottom of the bowl, each of the items drops gently into the truffle soup. The combined items are then eaten in one bite. The concoction is rich with truffle, thickened with butter and potatoes but it's never heavy. A wonderfully tasty bite.


Agneau, sauce choron, pomme de terre noisette - All the dishes thus far indicate that Chef Achatz embraces "new age" techniques and cooking styles. This dish turns around and pays homage to a more "old school" style of cooking. A lamb dish fashioned after a recipe by Chef Escoffier, considered one of the founders of modern French cuisine. Although we don't typically enjoy traditional French cuisine, this became a rare exception. The lamb loin was cooked to absolute perfection - juicy and tender. Beneath was a deep fried, crispy disk of potato. An asparagus spear sitting in the sauce choron, similar to a bearnaise with tomato puree. Although not the best dish of the night, this ranked close to the best traditional French dish we've ever had.


Black Truffle, explosion, romaine, Parmesan - A ravioli of sorts served atop a spoon sitting atop a bottomless bowl. When the dish was first placed on the table, it looked as if a bit of black truffle soup may be enjoyed after the pasta. It wasn't until the waiter noted that the dish was hollow when we realized, to our disappointment, the blackness we saw was the tabletop. Any bit of disappointment quickly disappeared after bringing the spoon to our lips. The aromatic truffle was quite the explosion of flavor. The pasta was thick but cooked nicely al dente and was a great vehicle to deliver the delicious flavors of cheese and mushrooms to the palate.


Venison, red cabbage, mustard, paprika - Early on in the meal, the server brings out a slightly moist purple cabbage attached to a clip and suspended a couple inches above the table. The cabbage sits at our table for about a third of the meal before its use is revealed. This was another dish that requires significant diner participation. The dish is presented as a wooden plank beneath a smokey glass plate. On the glass are a variety of accompaniments. The glass is lifted off to expose the wood plank which has an inflated "X" carved deep on the face. Sitting in this "X" are two metal puzzle pieces. With some figuring out, the two pieces come together to form a criss-cross support that holds the purple cabbage. The server scooped bits of braised venison into the cabbage before we did the same with all the other items on the glass plate.



The dish was a lot of fun and the venison quite tasty, but all the individual items seemed to get lost in the mix.


Pork Belly, eggplant, coriander, red wine - Another diner participatory dish. The round-bottom ceramic bowl had a fork balancing on top which would cause the dish to tip over were it set on the table. The diner was asked to cup the warm bowl in one hand and use the other to lift the fork. The small bit of pork belly was crispy along every outer edge, making for perhaps the most perfect bite of flesh. The delicious pork was chased by a frothy vidalia onion soup.

Squab, inspired by Miro - We assume that "Miro" in this case is the Spanish Catalonian painter known for his surrealist painting and sculptures. Each spoon and fork were placed down with seemingly no real rhyme nor reason. Much like surreal art, it didn't seem to make a lot of sense. Each bit and morsel was tasty in their own right. There were a variety of flavors and textures throughout each bite; sweet, savory, citrus-y, creamy, crunchy and all delicious. I well remember the tasty bit of squad and heavenly spoonful of foie gras.


Snow, yuzu - A sub-zero metal cone with a thin sheet of yuzu ice sitting atop. We were warned against placing our tongue directly onto the metal. Wanting to avoid the flagpole scene from A Christmas Story, we used our spoons to slowly scrape the little bits of ice. A sweet and sour yuzu was fun to eat and did its job of cleansing the palate prior to the other desserts.


Anjou pear, jasmine, basil, balsamic - Seemingly another homage to another famous Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso, we moved from surrealism to cubism. Square and cubes of varying bits of pears and herbs along with an ice cream cube of almond ice cream and a dollop of burrata. Each component worked on its own as well as in combination with the other elements on the plate. Each bite yielding some new combination of varying sweetness and mouth sensations without any one feeling out of place. Truly incredible to look at and an ever greater joy to eat.


Lemongrass dragonfruit, cilantro, cucumber - An open ended test tub plugged by a bit of dragonfruit on one end and a gelee at the other. The little bits of cilantro placed within made contents look like a mini-aquarium. The diner was asked to lift the tube from the clip and suck on one end to dislodge the gelee or dragonfruit, which releases the liquid. The various elements were forced to be enjoyed in one big mouthful, resulting in a delicious nectar concoction that's sweet and refreshing.

The Dessert Finale - starring Grant Achatz
The next 5 minutes will forever be ingrained in our memories as the greatest dessert preparation display we've ever seen. Prior to the final course, our table was cleared and draped in a lab coat-like rubber tablecloth. Chef Achatz, along with another chef, came to the table to prepare and serve the last dish of the night - Dark Chocolate, pumpkin pie, lingonberry, stout.



Two hollowed, volleyball-sized chocolate spheres were set on the table. Liquid nitrogen was then poured into each, resulting in an almost mystical smoke to rise from within, which quickly engulfs the table.



Chef Achatz and his assistant then methodically use four different sauce "paints" and his spoon "brush" to "paint" lines, drops of circles and drops of square (yes, liquid drops that pooled into a square!) to form a colorful piece of edible, abstract art.



The entire process takes about five minutes, all the while, neither Chef Achatz nor his counterpart say a word. Whether it was to add to the suspense and drama of the work or he just didn't feel like talking was irrelevant. This was a man practicing his craft with supreme purpose. Once the "painting" was complete, a sprinkle of flowers before each chef picks up the spheres and cracks its open on the table! The buildup, the drama, the presentation - all magnificent.

So what was inside the spheres?

Like a chocolate pinata, a host of edible goodies came spilling out: cotton candy, ice cream, crumble, french toast bits, pumpkin pie, meringue, frozen fruit leather - each bit different and delicious. It almost felt like a treasure hunt to find all the different ingredients buried in the pile. It's hard to put the experience to words - watch this video to see the presentation from start to finish.

Whenever we're asked "what's been your favorite meal, ever?", we've always, without hesitation, answered "Eleven Madison Park in NYC". After this meal, that answer has changed. Alinea surprised both of us with an unforgettable collection of flavors, smells, sights and experiences. This dining experience surpasses all others, including the some of the most acclaimed and revered restaurants we visited in Spain: Arzak, Mugaritz and El Cellar de Can Roca. This dining experience will not be quickly forgotten and thoughts of making a return trip to Chicago is already being discussed for a chance to dine at Alinea once again and to try Chef Achatz newest venture, Next, which is debuting their El Bulli tribute menu and a "Childhood" menu (if you haven't seen it yet, WATCH THIS). It looks and sounds incredible and given Chef Achatz's acumen for his craft, we have no doubts the tastes at Next will be nothing short of amazing.