docsconz

This is sad news, indeed.

To say one doesn't like the technique, because "it's not real cooking" is certainly a matter of opinion and difficult to argue with on that basis. I would have to agree to disagree with anyone convinced of that. As for being "trendy", perhaps, but only because the results are so good for so many things. "Cumbersome?" There is more equipment, and while there might not be room enough in the average home kitchen, this does not appear to be a problem for the chefs who have taken to it. "Lacking in perceived value?" The value perceived or not is meat consistently cooked to the right temperature with great consistency and fabulous added flavor potential. What is not "valuable" about that?

Sounds awesome. Just because a lot of people can cook something on a grill doesn't mean that there is not an art to doing it well. Sous vide is no different. And if it is and people can make good dishes without difficulty so much the better. The principle object is to eat (and cook) well. Any technique that helps accomplish those objectives is ok in my book.

I had a lovely lunch at Cafe Boulud a couple of years ago when it was under the helm of Andrew Carmellini. It was very nice indeed. Whatever you do, though, Marlene, if you are going to have a h.c. lunch, do not pass up Jean-George.

I will put in another vote for Aux Lyonnais. i had a superb experience there with my family. It cost us a total of $317 for a family of five. It wsan't cheap, but it was good. The price did include wine for my wife and I as well as applicable taxes and service.

I too think this is a good idea...in theory. I would love to have an inventory management system. It would be nice to also be able to assign barcodes to items not bought from the supermarket such as meats bought, divided, sealed with a food saver and put in the freezer. date information would be great too. I like the concept but suspect that many bugs remain. Of course, this technology would still be only as good as those who use it.

Yes, this is what I meant by tailoring (essentially) the same food/approach to different clientele, with perhaps different food sources. Although I've been to neither, already, Per Se, in my mind, is just the New York "bureau" of TFL. It's funny, but perhaps because of this Per Se has lost some of its appeal to me even though it remains a great restaurant. But then, these chefs also run into the trouble of "spreading themselves too thin," in my opinion. Personally, I haven't found all of J-G-V's restaurants/concepts to jive as well as his original eponymous (in my eyes, a castle in the sky) restaurant. While I agree that J-G-V's other restaurants have not lived up to his flagship, fortunately that hasn't been diminished. He still spends considerable time there. My meal there in December was outstanding and an amazing value to boot.

I guess this is what I meant by "gimmicky" - courses/food/presentations, while immensely novel on their own becomes undervalued due to over-production. Agreed. Agreed - and here, I think Achatz may be able to reproduce - but in a different venue - which is why I didn't assume that Restaurant X (wouldn't it be a hoot if it ended up actually being named that? ) would also be in Chicago. Indeed, out of the very concept, I would think that it almost couldn't. The assumption is based on Restaurant X being a "greatest hits" or "best of" restaurant. I would think that it would be natural for that to be in Chicago, although it certainly could be elsewhere, especially if there were several of them. This would actually be a vary interesting concept. Hmmm. I'm not sure I'd necessarily have the same loyalty - but we would have to see. I'm not sure that it is so much a question of loyalty vs. where the creative excitement is. While the opportunity to sample the classic cuisine is one I would gladly avail myself of, to me the opportunity to be on the creative edge adds considerable value and excitement especially when I trust that creativity to be exceptional as Chef Achatz' has.

I'm not afraid of the restaurants being too gimicky. I respect Chef Achatz too much to worry about that. I have to imagine that it is hard enough to sustain his continuous level of creativity in one restaurant. Ferran Adria takes half the year off to work on his dishes at his Atelier. Grant Achatz is taking two weeks off and has already spent a considerable amount of that here with us! good point. and yes, he has been very generous with this time... but i suspect, in a way, this thread has also been a beneficial exercise for him in the way of "researching" - no? I hope so.

I haven't read anything by Bruni or anyone else so far that has dampened my desire for visiting Gilt. While the idea of so many supplements is a bit of a turn-off, it is not so much so that I would not go nor would it affect my overall impression of the restaurant. The wine-by-the-glass prices do sound high, but until I go there I can't really say how it might effect my impression. I generally agree with everything you have said here, Will, except I don't really see the piece so much a conflict of interest as much as it is simply poor form.

This is my impression as well.

I'm not afraid of the restaurants being too gimicky. I respect Chef Achatz too much to worry about that. I have to imagine that it is hard enough to sustain his continuous level of creativity in one restaurant. Ferran Adria takes half the year off to work on his dishes at his Atelier. Grant Achatz is taking two weeks off and has already spent a considerable amount of that here with us! My concern is that if he were to directly try to do the same thing with Alinea satellites in which each was to be continuously original and creative withhim as the driving force behind each that it would be too much and all would suffer. If all were to be Alinea clones serving the same things as Alinea as Chef Achatz developed them with his staff (let's not forget them), then the risk would be that none of them would be quite as special unless there were other elements to distinguish them. This could be done through design, architecture and timing of the introductions of various dishes. Although I am not familiar with this via direct experience it seems like what Joel Robuchon is doing. These restaurants would by necessity be in different locales. Another potential concept as I mentioned above is for the satellites to be sort of "independent laboratories" with different creative staffs under the overall vision of Chef Achatz. This is somewhat similar to what Ducasse has done. Then there is the concept of the new (Alinea) and the classic (Restaurant X) a la Ferran Adria. This has been discussed above and has advantages and disadvantages. I do like the idea of at leat occassionally being able to sample Achatz classics whether from Alinea, Trio or some future project. From a selfish point of view, my preference would probably be to occassionally weave them into the Tour at Alinea rather than as a separate entry. If there were to be a Restaurant X, I would certainly go there, although it would likely remain second in my heart to the flagship. Keller and others have taken the approach of keeping the flagship and adding relatively less expensive and simpler adjuncts along the lines of his Bouchon. While I have yet to dine at TFL, by most accounts Per Se is basically The French Laundry redux, albeit with a very different environment and feel. This is not a bad approach and has not diminished the allure of the flagship(s). I am sure that Chef Achatz and team could find a way to make this work. Although I am sure other possible approaches exist, the only other one I can see for expansion is the approach taken by chefs such as J-G-V, Andres and Batali. That is to expand with different concepts and into different niches. Each continues to have his flagship restaurant, although the lines have blurred the most with Batali. While I have no doubt that Chef Achatz could do whatever style he wished extraordinarily well, somehow this approach wouldn't ring true for him. Each of the other chefs came from backgrounds of ethnically based cuisines and styles and then simply expandede upon them and spread out from them. This is an interesting crossroads for Chef Achatz and his team. The philosophy of Alinea is to be in constant motion.That these ideas are being tossed around should be no surprise as they are simply another manifestation of that philosophy. Chef Achatz' cuisine is largely built upon the concept of risk and trust as the patron dining at Alinea is placing themselves in Chef Achatz' hands. Unless that patron is a frequent visitor to the restaurant (and even then), the patron is likely to encounter novel creations. Given that Chef has earned the trust of most of us (if not all) posting here and many others as well, I for one, have no problem trusting him and his team with whatever creative and business avenues they pursue and look forward to patronizing them whenever I can. I just hope that at least one of these projects is closer to where I live!

Why? Why wouldn't it be a restaurant where we offered tasting menus simular to what we do at Alinea ...but dishes of the past?Why do people want to make this cuisine "more approachable" Isn't that one aspect of what makes it special ..... it's un-approachability? Why turn it into a sushi concept of ordering it "by the peice" or large verions of the same food in an ala carte setting? Would it be the same? does ordering a great piece of toro nigiri (or 5!) make it less special because it is more approachable? I don't think so.In a tasting menu it makes sense to have an integrated whole that is composed and balanced -- and certainly a tasting menu could be available. But why not have the tapas/sushi bar of black truffle explosions etc.? Hell, I am at Alinea most days and I don't get to eat them! You of all people should know why it is more special to have a format that is controlled by the house. How special is the explosion when you can get a dozen of them at will? Ron—was the first or the second explosion better?Everyone has to admit there is something unique/special to a tasting menu format that an ala carte or tapas/sushi style service cannot provide. Isn't that why you have Alinea. Restaurant x would support Alinea, but the menu structure is different. Alinea would be the special and restaurant x be the regular. I can't see myself having everyday be a special day. Though I could have many regular days. But why would restaurant X be everyday? In fact, by saying that it would be everyday, aren't we diminishing the dishes that once made Trio and Alinea not everyday? Why can't the two concepts exist just like the French Laundry and Per Se exist? Why wouldn't it be more attractive than that, being that no dishes would overlap at the two restaurants? Why can't this concept just bring forth two great four star restaurants? I think one of the (many) reasons why FL and PS works is that is not in the same area. I was under the assumption that restaurant X would be in Chicago. Perhaps one intention for opening up Bouchon is to take in the others who are unable to make it to the FL. Then maybe a restaurant Y is in order. Anyways... While you have the mike, care to comment on what is store after the break. Any major (or minor) changes? How about mid year? Anniversary? Care to share an outlined plan of the coming months. I ask, so that docsconz (and other non-locals) can plan out their Chicago visits. ... Perhaps a diner has come to the restaurant and said, "today is my (or someone in the group) birthday." And you know they are expecting a cake with candles or something. Assuming that the before is true, what have you done, if any, to oblige. ← I too assumed Restaurant X would be in Chicago. It presents some interesting possibilities and risks. Because so many more people are into known commodities, i.e. comfort food, than they are adventurous eating, there is the risk that Restaurant X might outshine Alinea not on an artistic basis, but a financial one. Then again, I'm not sure many people are pining to go to Benasuza, as good as it may be and as much as it may represent the El Bulli food of the past. It still is not El Bulli. I wonder how much the different location has to do with that? The more I think about this, the more I have mixed feelings about the idea. Another issue that I feel strongly about is that any additional restaurants not attempt to duplicate Alinea in concept. They should be supporting players to the major role of Alinea. That could be "greatest hits" or totally new concepts based on Alinea's creative paradigm, but not an attempted duplication. The examples of Ducasse and Keller don't really apply as the concept of Alinea is so totally different than anything they do and so dependent on Grant's creativity and personality. Other talented and creative chefs of the same stylistic mode can perhaps be trained to staff these outposts and fill them with their own creations, but for all his creative genius I would be afraid of spreading Grant, himself out too thin.

The restaurant could be called "Trio" Oh well, maybe not. Add a fourth and call it "Quartet".

I'll put in another plug for the "best of" restaurant. Not only are the two concepts not mutually exclusive, they are complementary. While I haven't been to Adria's Hotel restaurant, I would certainly go. It would certainly be much fun to be able to try legendary dishes. This would also allow diners some context and continuity when experiencing the new dishes. I like the idea. On the other hand, by retiring dishes forever, it gives greater urgency to get to the restaurant more frequently in order to have been able to experience certain dishes. Perhaps the best solution would be to occassionally rotate some "classics" back into the tour. I loved being able to experience the "black truffle explosion" during my last visit to Alinea. I would love to be able to experience the pushed foie and mozzarella ball as well as other dishes that I might not be able to get to because of my distance from Alinea.

A large mortle and pestle arrived this morning via fed ex. ← To what purpose(s)? Chef, thank you for what has so far been a very illuminating session. How do you envision those restaurants in S.F., Shanghai and Chicago? It struck me in your responses that at least one of them would be a sort of repository for your dishes. Is that, in fact your vision or is it something else? Do you see Alinea as always being the flagship of any future restaurants like Jean-George is J-G-V's?

Thanks, Chef. I don't take it personally at all. Sous vide is in reality a simple basic technique, however, it is the subtleties that make it great, such as spicing the dish and finishing it. The only thing making it difficult right now is the relative hassle and expense of the equipment. The hassle factor is primarily in getting satisfactory equipment and finding the space to keep and use it. The bottom line though is that it works and works quite well. If places like Wawa put out an affordable and palatable product as a result of the technique so much the better.

"Fufu" it may be, but it makes for some pretty darn good "fufu". I will take it over many applications. I am not a chef and not speaking as such. Since when does something have to be difficult to be good?

Corinna, I have been for dinner. Unfortunately I cannot tell you the precise opening time, although we were there about 9 or 9:30PM if I remember correctly.

Another question, Grant, if you will. Where do you find the time to continue to be so creative and still manage to do such a great job nightly at Alinea? What do you do to recharge your batteries?

What is it that you hate? Frankly, I think the results are remarkable. I am not in the least bit tired of it. I think it will be around for a long time and will continue to bring out the best in many chefs. It doesn't replace traditional cooking, but it sure is a fine addition.

Chef Achatz, Where do you get your inspiration for your plates and how many ideas do you try for every one that makes it to your menu? What is the most challenging idea that you have had that you have made work? What has challenged you that so far you haven't brought to fruition, but remains gnawing at your creative soul? What can we expect from you and Alinea in the future? Thanks for your time and creativity and best wishes for much, much more of both!

The dish is gorgeous too. That was one of the more outstanding ones I had anywhere in 2005.

Funny that Bruni didn't make comments like these in his article on Del Posto. I do find excessive supplementation pricing to be a turn-off even if some of them are valid. If greater than a quarter of the menu needs supplementation then the whole thing should be adjusted appropriately. Obscene prices for wines by the glass are a turn-off too, especially in a restaurant in which tastings are very desirable. Bottle wines may be more reasonable, but if part of a small party and having a number of disparate courses it is more fun to have wines paired for specific dishes. This sounds somewhat prohibitive. Does anyone know if they offer wine pairings and what the prices are for them?

New SK and Alinea photos on the same day. What visual feasts!