Alinea - meal of a lifetime

Alinea. Michelin 3 stars. Best restaurant in US according to Gourmet magazine. 7^th best restaurant worldwide according to UK’s Restaurant magazine. Grant Achatz, the 38 year old chef-owner, has worked with numerous famous chefs, including my idol Thomas Keller. Achatz is also the recipient of many major culinary awards. With so many accolades, of course I had to put Alinea on my bucket list. Though I have to admit: it’s pretty far down the list because I didn’t think I’d find an occasion special enough to justify such a big (read: expensive) meal this soon.

But ever since Alinea announced they are starting to adopt the same ticketing system as their sister restaurant Next, I started panicking. For those that don’t know, the ticketing system allows patrons to buy prepaid tickets to tables of 2, 4 or 6 online, which includes price of the dinner, tax and 20% gratuity. This replaces the traditional reservation system and according to the Alinea team, allows more people to grab that elusive reservation (rather than the lucky few who not only are rich enough to eat at Alinea, but are apparently free enough to get through the ever-busy phone line). It also means less last minute cancellations because most people wouldn’t just throw couple hundred dollars down the drain. Win win, right? Well, not so much. I’ve been trying to get Next tickets ever since they opened last year. So far, nilch, nada, none. The problem is, tickets are so popular they sell out within minutes of announcing on Facebook. And since I have a real job and can’t be on FB 24/7, I never find out until it’s too late. So when it just so happens I was on FB when they announced they are starting to offer Alinea tickets for Oct/Nov, I pounced. So this year, I have an early birthday present for myself.      

To be honest, another reason I hesitated about going to Alinea was fear. I was worried my palate wasn't sophisticated enough to discern whatever fancy ingredients they use. I was worried I wouldn't understand chef Achatz's creativity. Although I've heard the term "molecular gastronomy" numerous times, I still don't really understand it. Most of what I've seen had been gimicky attempts to throw diner off-course. In summary, I was nervous about this meal.

Fast forward to the dinner, I arrived at the unassuming gray building at 5pm sharp. As others have described, there were no signs other than the valet sign. I walked into the rather dark, short corridor that seemed to end abruptly. Just when I was scratching my head, the wall to my left swished open silently and there was the host. (I can't help but wonder if they have a camera recording all those lost looks before the secret door opened.) He took my coat and since I was the first to arrive at the party, I get to sit by the kitchen. A quick scan confirmed the news that chef Achatz wasn't in house. I also noticed how young the entire team looked. Everything was shiny and clean, the white uniforms on the chefs almost blinding. It was also a very quiet kitchen. The host explained things would get a lot more exciting as the night progresses. Hmmm...calm before the storm? 

My friend arrived shortly after, and we were led upstairs. Since there's only a single seasonal prix-fixe menu, other than announcing that there's 14 courses tonight, no time was wasted on menu perusal. The waiter plonked down two big blocks of ice in front of us. When he returned, we looked at him expectantly for further instructions. He obliged. 

"First I'd like you to pick up the ice block in front of you."

Completely trusting him, I reached out...and he quickly stopped me. 

"I was only kidding!" 

Instead, he inserted two straws, filled with various ingredients and some yellow fluid, into the blocks and instructed us to suck the whole thing in.  

Butternut - muscovado, finger lime, West Indies

It turned out to be a refreshing little mouthful of Thailand. The mixture of butternut squash, coconut and lime instantly transported me to Thailand.

Next came this strange-looking pile of seaweed with four little items perched precariously on top. From left to right, they were oyster leaf, sea urchin, razor clam and lobster. I was all excited about the oyster leaf because I'd just read about it a few days before the dinner. It's a plant that originated from Scotland and has leaves that taste like oysters. Alinea sure treated it as such, combining it with a mignonette. While it does have a subtle oyster taste, it didn't have the flavorful brine and texture that usually accompanies a real oyster. Interesting but give me a real oyster!

The sea urchin I was completely intrigued by the description, as it was paired with a white chocolate mousse with yuzu and wasabi. The strange flavors actually seem to go quite well together, though being a huge sea urchin fan I kind of wished there was more sea urchin flavor.

Razor clam was a huge letdown for me. I fell in love with it during my Barcelona trip and was expecting the same lightly broiled sweetness. This was instead drenched in a salty Asian flavored sauce with tapioca pearls. I guess that's as good as it gets when you live so far away from the ocean.

Oyster leaf - mignonette, sea urchin - white chocolate, yuzu wasabi, razor clam - shiso, soy, daikon, lobster - trinity, cherry, chervil

 Things improved when I got to the lobster, light and fresh. But my memory quota for ingredients was rather limited, so I completely forgot what the waiter said about this little bite.

Otoro - thai banana, sea salt, kaffir lime

The next dish was luxurious Otoro, paired with kaffir lime foam, crushed green tea and green curry ice crystals & cucumber. I admit I was a bit nervous about my first bite because I HATE kaffir lime. It always reminds me of soap, and every single restaurant that uses it presents it as a foam, making the soap connection even stronger. Fortunately, this one wasn't as overpowering. The tartness of the lime cuts through the richness of the Otoro. I loved all the different textures in this little dish. And you can't beat that presentation.  

Corn - huitiacoche, sour cherry, silk

The next dish was also beautifully presented, and features one of  my favorite ingredients: corn...in every possible way. There's corn sauce, corn panna cotta, corn mushroom, corn silk...you get the idea. I didn't care for the huitiacoche, but I loved the caramelized corn silk. I could be hallucinating but I swear there's this light curry flavor that warms up my throat as I swallowed that silk.

Brook trout - sage, bourbon, nasturtium

The brook trout was my favorite dish of the night. It featured the crispy fried head and bones, barely warmed through flesh and trout roe. Talk about using up every bit of the fish! There was also a dollop of sage cream that paired nicely with the fish. What I didn't understand was the maple bourbon ball which we were told to finish in one bite because it'd burst if we broke the skin. The fish was completely savory, and I really didn't get how the sweet bourbon ball fit in. It's tough to understand how a genius' mind works.  

At this point we get a small break between courses. Time to explore my surroundings with my giant camera. I'd been staring at this painting throughout the meal so far. At first I thought this was Grant Achatz being romantic, putting his lover's painting in his flagship restaurant. But the more I look at it, the more disturbing those red spots looked...

Hot potato, cold potato - cold potato, black truffle, butter 

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of their signature dish, because the server reminded us this dish had a limited time frame for optimal consumption, but that's what Google's for. Basically it's a small mouthful of cold potato soup in a shallow wax bowl. There's a pin with a hot potato ball, chive, butter, and slice of truffle on the side of the bowl and we had to pull out the pin so everything falls into the soup, and slurp it in one shot. This was unbelievably amazing. Loved the rich flavors and juxtaposition of temperatures. Can I get a bowl of this to go?

Matsutake - pork, huckleberry, pine

The matsutake dish was presented on a stone plate, with a short tree stump, lots of pine needles and 3 rocks. The server admitted sheepishly: "We don't like plates."
This is possibly the first time I tried matsutake, the crazy expensive mushrooms from Japan that comes in season during fall. It was paired with salted pork belly, chicharron, crushed hazelnuts, huckleberries and some unknown cream sauce. While I really enjoyed this dish, I'm still not sure what's the hype about matsutakes (This is exactly what I was worried about, not being able to appreciate their fancy ingredients.).

Black truffle - explosion, romaine, parmesan

The black truffle explosion is another regular on the Alinea menu. All I have to say is: prior to this dish, I've always thought I hated black truffles. Now I know I've been wrong all these years.

Lamb - ......?????......!!!!!!!!!!!

The lamb dish gets my vote as the most beautiful presentation of the night. It's also the most gutsy. The main part of the dish consisted of 3 cuts of lamb with a lemon rosemary jus. The glass plate on top has 60 different garnishes. The idea is each diner should use whatever garnish they fancy and have a completely unique experience with the same dish. My friend and I turned it into a Top-Chef-esque taste test where we'd try each garnish and guess what it was. We giggled a lot. And took forever to finish this dish...

Woodcock - lingoberry, shallot, oak leaves

The woodcock dish was a fried chunk of woodcock with lingoberry sauce. It was presented on an oak branch with charred leaves, imparting a slight smokiness. Unfortunately my mouth wasn't big enough to fit the whole thing in one bite, so I ended up with a bit of woodcock and a bite of lingoberries. Also didn't like the fried coating. The only thing I enjoyed about this dish was the woodcock, which was tender and perfectly cooked.

Ginger - five other flavors

I could hear my camera screaming in frustration as the server plonked down the five little ginger pieces for the next course. This was different types of ginger treated differently. I don't remember what varieties of ginger were involved, but thought it was interesting how they had similar texture but varying degrees of spiciness. A nice palate cleanser to get us ready for the desserts.

Carrot - coconut, white sesame, caramelized honey

I was appalled when I read the menu and found out this dish had carrots, because I didn't have the slightest idea while I was eating it (and enjoyed it tremendously). All I remembered was the white sesame ice cream and caramelized honey, which the waiter had a bit of trouble squeezing out of the honeycomb pictured next to the woodcock. The bottom of the dish had some warm citrus tea with citrus peel and various herbs. It was slightly salty and balanced the sweetness up top. 

Balloon - helium, green apple

Had to include a person pic here for the balloon because we were so busy posing with it I forgot to take a picture for the balloon itself. It was an apple flavored balloon filled with...you guessed it...helium!

Dark chocolate - chestnut, rye, birch syrup

4.5 hours later, we're ready for the finale. A chef came to our table and started painting on the table cloth with orange and quince jam. Next he poured some liquid nitrogen into a mysterious-looking chocolate ball, and dripped some sherry vinegar on it. Then he dropped it onto the table to reveal the frozen rum cream, spiced cotton candy, caramelized nuts and pumpkin cookies. A few clusters of malted chocolate finished the artwork. Since every table gets a different chef, it means every table's dessert looked different. Quite a show and creative concept, but not my favorite dessert. I still like the balanced versions I've had at NorthPond and Blackbird better. 

What's more intriguing for me is how did our chef get the jam to form these squares?!

The first question people asked after my Alinea meal was: Was it worth it? It was for me. If you're looking for a traditional meal experience, comfortingly familiar food, then don't come to Alinea. But if you want to be challenged, if you want to see to what lengths flavor combinations can go and how far can creativity go in the kitchen, come here for a great experience. And start saving up now.

Alinea

1723 N Halsted St.

Chicago, IL 60614

(312) 867-0110