docsconz

This discussion has taken an interesting twist. Personally, the location in that mall does not bother me. On the other hand, it does not enhance the experience either. The view from the restaurant does, though. That is the exact opposite of TFL, where the setting is marvelous, but the view from most of the restaurant essentially non-existent.

Heh, that makes two of us! I'm a huge fan of Alex and Aki's blog. They're so creative, and so generous in sharing their thoughts and ideas. I'd rank them up there with Shola Olunloyo in terms of wonderful, inquisitive, creative cooking. Mind you, I haven't had the chance to try any of their cooking - I just enjoy the ideas they share on the internet. I missed out on Keyah Grande and Studiokitchen, but I'll catch up with these folks sooner or later... Great post, Doc. ← The comparison to Shola is an apt one. The original idea for the weekend was to have Shola up as well, but he had another commitment. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced Shola's cooking on several occasions including at Studio Kitchen. He is sensational. Now that I have had the chance to experience Alex and Aki's wonderful cooking I would really love to bring them together for a true creative, blowout weekend. We'll see.

Thank you for reading and the kind words. I certainly have had a lot to be thankful for with this past weekend being no exception.

The Color Orange, apricot, squash, tangerine Reminiscent of the work of Pierre Gagnaire and more recently Will Goldfarb and Jordan Kahn, this tonal variation on the flavors of orange, the color, once again provided contrasts and balance within a wide range of possibilities resulting in a pleasurable and satisfying end to this exceptional meal. This delighfutl Austalian semillon stretched the levels of complexity and flavor associated with the color orange even further. It proved an ideal match to this fine dessert. Thus, our first experience with the creative cuisine of Alex and Aki had come to a close. My wife and I and one set of our friends headed home to our abodes (with designated drivers ), while Alex and Aki settled down under the roof of our hosts, the Taylors at Fern Lodge. The next day, Saturday, would not dawn bright, but it would result in further culinary adventures, these of a more communal and traditional bent as everyone pitched in under the expert guidance of Alex and Aki. To be continued....

Stilton Cheese, Asian pear apple, minus 8 vinegar, bee pollen-grains of paradise Brilliant in its apparent simplicity and execution, this was a flawless composed cheese course. The stilton had been flattened between plastic, leveled then portioned. The bee pollen-grains of paradise added a hint of additional complexity, the Asian pear apple nuanced sweetness and the minus 8 some sweetness balanced with a beautiful acid tang. We finished the Bussola with this course.

The evening starting to wind down with a little amarone.

I was not the only one taking photos!

Hangar Steak, cherry-lime leaf kohlrabi, parsley-juniper puree While still a very good dish, this was perhaps my least favorite of the evening. Perhaps I was getting too full, but this dish lacked the full throttle flavor punch of some of the others. I liked the subtlety of the turbot, but I expected a little more flavor from the hangar steak and its accompaniment. In addition, as can happen with onglet, I had some sinews running through my piece, reducing the pure pleasure quotient of eating it. In all the other dishes the wines served as either fine supporting elements or in one case a less than compelling match given the current structure of the wine. This wine, however, was the one wine that eclipsed the course that it was served with and became the star rather than a strong supporter. I think that had as much to do with the star-worthiness of this fabulous wine than anything else. Nevertheless, in the role of support to this outstanding wine, the hangar steak was credit-worthy.

What a show! I have also enjoyed reading about your meal at A&A's Ideas site, something I started doing only a few months ago. You said it best: "always so creative, their food looked marvelous and they documented their work religiously and openly". I'm guessing they have inspired a very, very large number of people by sharing their process in such a considerate way. Oh yeah, the scallops . . . so do they taste of rock salt at all? How do you clean that thing? Also, I loved the turkey wing treatment! I, too, have had some fun with that ingredient. I grew up in Canada's "Golden Horseshoe" and have consumed at least my own bodyweight in Buffalo wings over the years. At a CFL Grey Cup party years ago I served up a platter of the biggest turkey wings I could find a la Buffalo-aise style. It was borderline grotesque, like eating a poached ostrich egg where bigger is not always better. ← The scallops certainly didn't taste salty. They were delicious, but I can't say that I was able to discern a significant difference from other well prepared high quality scallops cooked simply. Wings are certainly tasty, though one rarely sees them given the kind of treatment Alex and Aki did. I love an injection of humor and wit into a meal - especially when it tastes as great as these wings did.

Braised Lamb, pretzel spaetzle, Tuscan kale If one likes the taste of real lamb, this lamb was incredible as it was rich, crispy, and full-flavored. Although I was starting to fill up, I could have eaten significantly more of it and the portions were generous. Along with the turkey wing, this was probably my single favorite individual element of the meal. The pretzel spaetzle were quite tasty as well and worked nicely with the lamb. Though I enjoyed the Tuscan kale, this was probably the one element of the meal I that seemed a little out of balance to me. This was quite strongly flavored, good, but I would have preferred the purity of the lamb without it being quite as strong as it was. Ranking the dishes to this point, my favorite was the trout roe as it was the most synergistic combination. This was followed by the turkey wing, which though not quite as synergistic as the roe, had a great star with a very good supporting cast. The lamb had the same and perhaps even better quality star than the wing, a good supporting actor, but another that tried to steal the show only to weaken it. This is far from saying that I didn't enjoy the dish as I did very much. I just think I would have enjoyed it a little more had the kale been toned down a bit. This Washington State syrah was a great companion to this full-flavored dish. Big and bold, it was a perfect choice, neither overpowering nor being overpowered by anything on the plate.

The next course in progress: Aki preparing spaetzle and kale. Tuscan kale. Pretzel spaetzle Rendering and finishing the lamb Plating the lamb, spaetzle and kale.

I will echo, U.E. on Per Se. While nothing is impossible, the odds of that happening at Per Se are much, much less than almost all other restaurants because of its size and the table spacing.

Scallop searing in butter on the salt griddle. Coffee Cavatelli, salt seared scallops, cucumber-walnut, gruyere The scallops were sweet and delicious, but I can't say that I noticed any real difference from other nicely seared scallops. The cavatelli were made using freeze-dried coffee, a process that Alex said that had grown out of an email conversation that he had with Wylie Dufresne over how instant coffee was made. Wylie noted that he had been making gnocchi and spaetzle with instant coffee. The compressed cucumber-walnut by itself was interesting, but not of particular interest. The cavatelli, cucumber and gruyere together, however, were synergistic to the point that they were more than interesting. They were also delicious, especially with the beautiful scallops. We stayed with the reisling through this course.

After the pumpkin course we moved into a more subtle phase of the dinner centered on seafood. Turbot, golden beet, passionfruit, horseradish Subtle, I say? What is subtle about golden beet, passion fruit or horseradish? And with whitefish? Are they crazy? Well, believe it or not, this really was a subtle dish as the yellow based ingredients were modulated to provide little more than a slight, balanced accent to the sous vide cooked turbot. The fish was allowed to remain the star despite the usually assertive ingredients paired with it. This dry reisling provided just the right accents to play off the beet and passionfruit, while again letting the turbot shine.

This weekend we finally had real sense of autumn as the fall had here-to-for been unseasonably warm and sunny. As such it was particularly appropriate to have dishes that were redolent of the season. Pumpkin Pumpkin, Benton's smoked bacon Borrowing their technique for Sunflower Seed Risotto, Alex and Aki did the same using pumpkin seeds, though the size of the seeds hardly justify calling it "risotto" and they don't. One difference with the sunflower seed recipe is that instead of chicken broth they used a pumpkin broth. Once made they combined it with pumpkin puree and Callebault white chocolate to make the "Pumpkin Pumpkin." The dish was completed with the addition of compressed parsley stems, crumbled Benton's smoked bacon and shaved pecorino romano on top. Once again, the trademark depth of flavor and balance were there in this unique dish hat truly spoke of autumn. This was an outstanding match with the residual sweetness and acid standing up to and complementing the sweetness of the pumpkin and the smokiness of the bacon.

If you like mushrooms you must go to the Petras stall at the rear of the Boqueria near Pazzta 920.

I have to concur with Robert - excellent, excellent report - but did you really pick tomatoes from their garden?

No, but food and entertaining are very important to them and they do both very, very well! Greg, in addition to his roles with the B&B is trained as a mason (he built the lodge and was responsible for most of the upgrades to the Friends lake Inn when they owned it), is an executive with the wine importer, Frederick Wildman and Sons, LTD and an avid skier and cyclist. He is also one of the funniest storytellers I know. Together they are great hosts and great company.

A laugh out loud clever presentation, perfectly crisped exterior texture and truly succulent flavor made the next course one of the table's favorites of the evening. The sous-vide cooked, butter-finished boneless turkey wings were absolutely sensational, easily the best example of that ingredient I have ever experienced. The bleached turkey wing bones that I jokingly quipped about earlier, proved to be the visual centerpiece for this remarkable dish that gave it context and highlighted the couple's knife wielding skills. Turkey Wing, carrot-ketchup, cilantro, soy-lime Can you tell that I loved this dish? The other components of the dish enhanced the flavors and brightened the dish without overwhelming it. The skill and wit involved to take an ordinarily very pedestrian element and make it into true haute cuisine was to me perhaps the best single example of their combined prowess. An additional element of interest is the use of oft-disposed of cilantro stems as part of the garnish. These stems had been compressed under vacuum, altering the cellular structure and effectively cooking them. Although I am not sure that they add anything flavor-wise that more traditional cilantro leaves wouldn't have they worked well from a design and aesthetic point of view, while also providing sufficient flavor and a use for something that would otherwise have been wasted. In this respect, Alex and Aki's approach follows that of Ferran Adria and his team who continually strive to find quality uses for undertrodden ingredients with often dazzling results. That this wine was slightly maderized did not lessen the enjoyment of its accompaniment.

Chestnut-Ginger Knot, parsley, apple-jalapeño Although also a knot, the technique used to make this is different than the one used to make another recent Knot that I am aware of - Wylie Dufresne's Foie Knot. Should he care to chime in, I will let Alex describe the details. Once again, this proved to be a tasty, well-balanced dish rich in imagination and creativity s well as bright, delicious flavor. The jalapeño element was just enough to lend a hint of heat without being in the least bit overbearing or overwhelming. We continued with the Savenniéres, once again working well.

Zucchini-Cheddar Soup, black squid Putting to use the flowers picked by Aki and the glass containers pictured earlier, this soup ws brilliant in flavor as well as color. Cleverly placed to follow the trout roe, this soup contained what visually appeared to be black caviar, but what in reality were pulverized squid particles that had absorbed its own ink. The meatiness of the squid added a strong element of umami to this delightful dish. Once again, the balance was impeccable. The presentation, though simple, was perfect. Our wine pairing, This was a delicious, crisp chenin blanc that married well to the soup.

I am shocked and disappointed by the service report above. Outstanding service has always been an exceptional component of a meal at Alinea. Nevertheless, Alinea is a human endeavor and any human endeavor is subject to occasional slips. At least the food was up to usual standards. I have had less than stellar service at other highly regarded restaurants. Though likely an aberration, when it happens to an individual that is what that individual knows of a place and it is difficult to erase that personal association. Though it has been entirely too long since I have been back to Alinea (a year and a half), I can't imagine that the service could possibly have slipped that much and that the experience described above is anything but an aberration.

I had a little time in between courses to monitor the activities in the kitchen. A busy stove. Alex tying knots. Winging it.

Funny how it works that way! New England can be a small place. Where in upstate are you located exactly? I used to live in Cherry Valley, NY (nearish Cooperstown). ← I live between Saratoga Springs and Lake George. Cherry Valley is a beautiful area as well. Next time you think of a cheese tour, try eastern NY. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Wild Brook Trout Roe, smoked maple and cayenne-cashew ice cream, cranberry brioche Wow! This course was spot on perfect. It had everything. The flavor balance was impeccable with the roe providing salt, the ice cream and brioche a little sweetness, the ice cream some smokiness and mild heat and the cranberry a little acidic piquancy. None of those elements stood out against any other though as they blended seamlessly. In addition, the textural elements were also amazing with complexity provided by the crunchy dryness of the brioche, the moist, cool creaminess of the ice cream and the explosive pop of the Blis caviar. This was one of my most satisfying dishes of the year. We continued with the Chablis through this course. It worked well.