FOOD!

[Chinorlz]

When I saw you posted here I thought that might be it, or at least something about Alinea. I want to go there badly, but planning a trip to the US for such a thing is a bit too much.

Hahaha, I'm that predictable eh?

Droogist, so awesome that you're going as well! Do let everyone know how the experience was and what wonderful news that they now have 3 stars... I am indeed surprised that Moto has none though given their strong presence and great food... plus being on the top 100 list for the world too. Oh well, at least they're still on OpenTable for reservations hahaha

[copacetic]

you'll love it. are you going for the tasting or the tour? to be honest, you'll have a great experience with both. and go for a wine pairing, if you can swing it. if you don't want to pair for the full pairing, sometimes they'll to a 1/4 or 1/2 pairing, fyi.

edit: just checked the website, and they removed the menu option. there's just one menu for you to choose. also, looks like the first three courses are cocktails. grant achatz is opening a bar called AVIARY in the next few months. he's using ALINEA as a testing ground.

Just got a reservation at Alinea at the beginning of the new year. I am beyond excited. I've waited years for this meal!

[Chinorlz]

I'm going next week!

It just got three Michelin stars, btw: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/us/17michelin.html

Droogist... how was it?!?!

[Fenix]

Droogist... how was it?!?!

Yeah, spill it! I had to break out my Alinea book for some food porn. :)

I'm curious to see what Aviary is all about.

[droogist]

Droogist... how was it?!?!

Sorry for the late reply. It's taken me this long to marshal my thoughts into something moderately intelligible.

Let me preface by saying that I don't often go to this sort of restaurant, or to expensive restaurants in general, so as critics go I'm probably very easy to please. So, bearing that in mind: I thought it was amazing, and totally unlike any other experience I've had with food. I won't go into pornographic detail over the menu as there are blogs aplenty that do a good enough job of that. There were 20 courses in total, although the first three were, as copacetic mentioned, tiny delectable cocktails which really could have counted as a single course. Our menu was pretty game-heavy, with rabbit, pheasant, and squab (in the form of the much-lauded Escoffier dish). My favorites were probably the Striped Bass - possibly the most surprising and delicate combination of flavors I've ever tasted - and the Short Rib, which was essentially a giant ravioli that we had to assemble ourselves out of bunch of discrete ingredients which included our table centerpiece, the ravioli sheets. The big showstopping dessert also deserves a mention, as it delivered on pretty much every level: two chefs came out and created a chocolate/caramel/crème brulée/blueberry/honey/nut mixed-media artwork directly on the table. It was, simply put, the best dessert ever.

I wouldn't describe anything we had as a miss. I really found every single course delicious, albeit in varying degrees of course. The Bubble Gum thing was probably the least tasty dish on offer, though at the same time it's obvious why it's a mainstay on the menu as it's both interesting and fun. If I have to criticize, I would say that the savory dishes were generally quite salty. This might not have presented a problem had they been spread out over the course of the dinner, but they all came one after the other, so it was very noticeable.

What blew me away the most is the amount of thought they put into every single aspect of the meal. (I don't know if the word Gesamtgastronomiewerk exists yet, but it should). Each dish had a completely different presentation, often with tableware designed specifically for the purpose. Every time you leave the table to visit the loo they replace your napkin while you're gone. At one point when someone at my table went out for a smoke, they even switched out his chair. For a moment I was prompted to radically reassess my standards for a lot of things (i.e., why doesn't my life look like this more often?) but I've since gotten over it, fortunately...

About the wine pairings: I'd say go for it as they are quite good (speaking as a non-oenophile), but unless you really like dessert wines, ask to skip those. I tend to dislike sweet wines but thought I'd give them a go this time and ended up regretting it. There were three of them, one for each dessert. Much to my dismay, I now know that after nearly four hours of eating, that much sweet wine hits like a ton of bricks. They actually prevented me from being able to finish my portion of the mixed-media artwork, over which I'm still a tiny bit bitter.

Have a great time, Chinorlz!

[StrAngeRy]

Just moved to London not long ago, could anyone be kind enough to recommand the best steak house in town？ cheers.

[MoFiya]

Thought I'ld share this years christmas menu...


lukewarm beetroot carpaccio // eel // apple gelee // walnuts
my own creation, was quite satisfied with the outcome :)


poached calf filet // meshed potatoes w truffle // cabbage


tarte tatin // walnut ice cream

[Jonn]

ok those have me drooling. care to share recipes good sir? im particularly taking an interest in the calf

[MoFiya]

sure, the filet was marinated for a day in salt, pepper, laurel leafs, juniper berry, cinnamon and coriander.
for the "poaching-liquor" let 1,5l red wine, parings of one orange, two star anise, 1 1/2 cinnamon sticks and 4 cloves boil up and then cool down to 70°C.
roast the calf in hot neutral oil for 1min on every side. put it in the poaching liquor and let it infuse until the core temperature is 54°C (should take around 15-25mins, depending on the thickness of the meat).

[Jonn]

thanks man! thats a lot of food science involved..will definitely try out when i have time. chinese food is so much more straight forward compared to western cuisine.

[Fenix]

Does anyone have any experience with the sous vide supreme? I've been thinking of picking one up but am still on the fence.

http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/default.aspx?RD=1

[croatoan]

Craving an Uzbek feast. I had an amazing meal last November in the Central Asian area of Seoul and really wish I could find a restaurant in Seattle.

[Chinorlz]

Sorry for the late reply. It's taken me this long to marshal my thoughts into something moderately intelligible.

Let me preface by saying that I don't often go to this sort of restaurant, or to expensive restaurants in general, so as critics go I'm probably very easy to please. So, bearing that in mind: I thought it was amazing, and totally unlike any other experience I've had with food. I won't go into pornographic detail over the menu as there are blogs aplenty that do a good enough job of that. There were 20 courses in total, although the first three were, as copacetic mentioned, tiny delectable cocktails which really could have counted as a single course. Our menu was pretty game-heavy, with rabbit, pheasant, and squab (in the form of the much-lauded Escoffier dish). My favorites were probably the Striped Bass - possibly the most surprising and delicate combination of flavors I've ever tasted - and the Short Rib, which was essentially a giant ravioli that we had to assemble ourselves out of bunch of discrete ingredients which included our table centerpiece, the ravioli sheets. The big showstopping dessert also deserves a mention, as it delivered on pretty much every level: two chefs came out and created a chocolate/caramel/crème brulée/blueberry/honey/nut mixed-media artwork directly on the table. It was, simply put, the best dessert ever.

I wouldn't describe anything we had as a miss. I really found every single course delicious, albeit in varying degrees of course. The Bubble Gum thing was probably the least tasty dish on offer, though at the same time it's obvious why it's a mainstay on the menu as it's both interesting and fun. If I have to criticize, I would say that the savory dishes were generally quite salty. This might not have presented a problem had they been spread out over the course of the dinner, but they all came one after the other, so it was very noticeable.

What blew me away the most is the amount of thought they put into every single aspect of the meal. (I don't know if the word Gesamtgastronomiewerk exists yet, but it should). Each dish had a completely different presentation, often with tableware designed specifically for the purpose. Every time you leave the table to visit the loo they replace your napkin while you're gone. At one point when someone at my table went out for a smoke, they even switched out his chair. For a moment I was prompted to radically reassess my standards for a lot of things (i.e., why doesn't my life look like this more often?) but I've since gotten over it, fortunately...

About the wine pairings: I'd say go for it as they are quite good (speaking as a non-oenophile), but unless you really like dessert wines, ask to skip those. I tend to dislike sweet wines but thought I'd give them a go this time and ended up regretting it. There were three of them, one for each dessert. Much to my dismay, I now know that after nearly four hours of eating, that much sweet wine hits like a ton of bricks. They actually prevented me from being able to finish my portion of the mixed-media artwork, over which I'm still a tiny bit bitter.

Have a great time, Chinorlz!

a belated Thanks Droogist!

Had my dinner there last Friday and still thinking about it.

Each and every dish of the 20 was mindblowing. Some tasted better than others (the fried nugget of pheasant on the torched oak twig was better in concept than taste... Great but not on par with everthing else) but overall the dishes were beautifully beautifully executed. So many different components and preparations went into each dish. Even though I have the alinea cookbook at home (two copies actually haha one signed by achatz and his team and another for kitchen use) and to this day have not attempted anything yet. After tasting the staple and much lauded Truffle Explosion this may be the first one I try at home. This would be the first dish I would actually describe as orgasmic. It's downright lewd. I want another bowlful.

The only disappointment of the night is that Achatz did not do our final tableside dessert dish himself. I was looking forward to it as he did the tables around us but I think due to timing and kitchen responsibilies it wasn't possible. Next time perhaps!

We are making preliminary plans to go once a year... Next year we may do a double header with L2O and then alinea. Achatzs Aviary will have to be a stopoff as well!

Best meal of my life. Minibar and wd50 are close behind as well.

[ProfMonnitoff]

got tweeted at yesterday by a restaurant i ate at and didnt even mention by name on twitter. still not sure how i feel about stuff like that

(it was this place, definitely a solid place. desserts are the best part, the interior wasnt really my thing though)

[theetruscan]

a belated Thanks Droogist!

Had my dinner there last Friday and still thinking about it.

Each and every dish of the 20 was mindblowing.
We are making preliminary plans to go once a year... Next year we may do a double header with L2O and then alinea. Achatzs Aviary will have to be a stopoff as well!

Best meal of my life. Minibar and wd50 are close behind as well.

Do not make the mistake of adding Moto as a stopoff. Where Alinea comes up with new preparations and refines them until they are awesome, Moto seems to come up with new preparations and then walk away. Nothing at Moto was even particularly delicious, and rather than refine the flavors to make the new idea excellent, a cutesy preparation is devised, then the dish considered finished. I'm glad I went once, so that I can advise people to avoid it. I'm sad I spent that much money to make the discovery though.

Do try to get a reservation at Schwa, a few people I know who have tried both put Schwa above Alinea. Getting a reservation there is an absolute nightmare though. Also, a few friends who ate around all the top restaurants in Chicago (except Schwa where they couldn't get a reservation) all agreed that Trotter's was simply the best. I was surprised.


On an unrelated note, I finally made it to Cyrus in the California wine country. The food is exquisite, the flavors are a nice combination of bold and delicate, and the comparisons to French Laundry are deserved (though I think French Laundry is the clear winner). The ambiance leaves a lot to be desired though. We had at least three waiters for our table, for no discernable reason, and they never talked to each other. I would regularly have all three come by within a minute to ask the same question. Also, there's a feel they're constantly trying to "upsell" you, which is annoying. It's worth it for the food though, easily.

I sadly didn't take pictures, but there were 5 small bites at the start designed to exemplify the 5 tastes. To my palate, these were the low point of the meal. From there it was all hits until dessert. Starting with the amuse bouche of wild yellowtail and basil (among other things), every other dish was stellar.