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[CHI] Alinea – Grant Achatz – Reviews & Discussion (Part 1)

chefseanbrock
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snekse

snekse

Posted
Posted
I guess I don't need to post pics now...nice job yellow truffle
Nay! Post! Post! We can never have too many pictures. Heck, check out the French Laundry thread. There's TONS of pics on there. :wub:

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edsel

edsel

Posted
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10. BEEF flavors of A-1

gallery_15603_1194_3636.jpg

I can't resist asking: Where's the beef?

Is this one of those deconstructed things where the title ingredient is implied by a synthesis of flavors? Or is there an actual identifiable piece of meat that I can't spot in the photo (maybe hidden behind the crispy-looking thing on the right)? Just curious...

Thanks for posting the reviews, chefseanbrock and yellow truffle. Really intriguing stuff!

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docsconz

docsconz

Posted
Posted

Remarkable. I will be there in two weeks with my wife and two eldest sons. The duration of the tour is something I believe I could handle, but I'm not sure about the others. As such, I too am interested in more detail, discussion of this aspect as well as the other menus.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

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ducphat30

ducphat30

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yellow truffle et al,

Thanks for sharing this amazing journey you took, I hope your photo essay did not interfere with your overall enjoyment of the experience.

I am going in June, I almost feel like the kid at the top of the stairs watching "santa" put presents under the tree.

ducphat

WOW!!!!! Thanks. I thought about NOT looking at the photos, so I'd be more surprised when I eat there. But, like a kid trying to find where mon stashed the Christmas gifts before the big day, I couldn't wait.

I didn't even see your post, you hit the nail on the head.

Edited by ducphat30 (log)

Patrick Sheerin

Osnav

Osnav

Posted
Posted

Thanks to all for the info and photos. How about someone talking about how the food tasted. What worked, what didn't. What combinations surprised you. With 28 courses you must have had favorites.

More details, please!

"the only thing we knew for sure about henry porter was that his name wasn't henry porter" : bob

bilrus

bilrus

Posted
Posted

When I made a reservation last week, the person I spoke with said they estimated that the Tour would take about 4 hours.

Bill Russell

VeryApe77

VeryApe77

Posted
Posted (edited)

That sounds about right. My TDF at Trio took about that. I think with menus of this nature, that it is maybe a case of different people taking radically different amounts to time to get through their meal. For example, when I had the grand tasting menu at Moto, it took about 4 hours (maybe less). Someone I know had the exact same menu and was there for 8 hours :wacko:! So I don't think it's a cause for alarm.

When I made a reservation last week, the person I spoke with said they estimated that the Tour would take about 4 hours.

Edited by VeryApe77 (log)
snekse

snekse

Posted
Posted
When I made a reservation last week, the person I spoke with said they estimated that the Tour would take about 4 hours.
The way I kind of looked at it was simply figuring an average.

You have 28 dishes that will porbably take you about 5 minutes a piece to eat (again on average) assuming you take the time to savour your food. I'm a slow eater, so it might take my 7 minutes on average. That's about 2 hours, 20 mins to 3 hours 15 mins if the food is coming out on top of each other. If you figure about 3 mins between courses you have another 81 mins of waiting. Finally you can probably figure at least 15 mins of time (at least) for initial seating, order taking and bill presentation. So basically don't make any time sensitive plans if you plan on eating 28 courses (like you could move anyway). I personally am not bothered if I'm there for 4 hours or 5 hours. This is what I came for :cool:

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clifford

clifford

Posted
Posted

Yellow Truffle,

more..More...MORE...MORE...MORE...MORE!

Quit your job if you have to, but there are some of us out here starving for information.

:angry:

PS, what kind of camera do you have? Great Pics!

Zeemanb

Zeemanb

Posted
Posted

Wow, with the smoking cinnamon in the serving piece for the bison, it is strangely reminiscent of another "smoking" device I remember from high school. Back then we just called it a steamroller. :biggrin:

This is so great, thanks very much for the photos. Now to settle on a date for my Chicago trip later this year.....

Jerry

Jerry

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Suzi Edwards

Suzi Edwards

Posted
Posted

Wow. Great photos. I'd love to hear more about what the food tastes like and how it made you feel.

I'm slightly worried about the concept of 7.5 hours over dinner. That's 50% of the time I spend at my desk every day and I can get up for drinks and (I hate to admit it) cigarettes.

That said, my day is my own, stressful, intellectually stimulating and I'm not paying for the pleasure. But when I'm eating out, I tend not to leave the table. I'm guess I'm lucky because I also eat alone a lot (of my choosing. I do actually have friends...) so my experience is my own. My meals aren't in thrall to someone else's bladder... I know that every time you leave the table chef needs to re-plate dishes and I wonder how much of an effect that had on the first night at Alinea.

Either way, if I'm going to be sat for 7.5 hours I demand a mid meal massage. I expect this to be standard at Alinea by the time I visit.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

jeffj

jeffj

Posted
Posted

Awesome work Yellow Truffle. We just arrived in Chicago this afternoon and we'll be at Alinea within the next 2 hours. Thanks for such beautiful pictures...now I won't feel obligated to do all that work myself :)

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

Posted
Posted

Holy. Mother. of God.

That has to be the most decadent and outrageous food experience I have ever seen documented.

Must. Go. To. Chicago. Soon.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

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jeffj

jeffj

Posted
Posted

Quick update. Just got back from Alinea and the meal was as incredible as Yellow Truffle’s pictures illustrate. Our meal was a bit over 7.5 hours long. Of most interest is the fact that, in it’s third day, Alinea is running on all cylinder’s and the service was indicative of a restaurant that’s been open for years. My hat’s off to chefg and the crew for orchestrating an incredible dining experience. More to come...

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reuvens

reuvens

Posted
Posted

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PICS.......!!!!

DO THEY HAVE A DISHWASHER OR DID THEY EMPLOY A KIND OF ART GALLERY ASSISTANT ?

THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU CAN PUT MOST OF THOSE "CONSTRUCTIONS" INTO ANY KIND OF MACHINE.................

...JUST CURIOUS

ALL THE BEST FROM GERMANY AND DEFINETLY AN ADDITION TO THE CULINARY COSMOS !

bilrus

bilrus

Posted
Posted

If this is really a 7 and a half hour meal every time, I'm not sure I see the appeal in that.

Bill Russell

snekse

snekse

Posted
Posted
Awesome work Yellow Truffle.  We just arrived in Chicago this afternoon and we'll be at Alinea within the next 2 hours.  Thanks for such beautiful pictures...now I won't feel obligated to do all that work myself :)
Jeffj,

PLEEEEASE tell us you took pictures! :shock:

I will be so disappointed if eGullet's most exceptional photo journalist didn't take pictures at what is likely to become one of the top 5 restaurants in the US.

Speaking of top restaurants, where do people think Alinea will end up for 2006?

RESTAURANT magazine's 50 Best Restaurants in the World

My guess is "pretty high" since Fat Duck, El Bulli and the French Laundry are #1,2 and 3. Seems like Alinea is a nice mix of the 3. I would think it's pretty much guaranteed a top 50 spot, but can it break into the top 10? Top 5? Top 3? Or dare I say it, #1?

-snekse

Alinea <June 11th>, Blackbird <June 12th>, Trotter's <June 13th>, TRU <June 14th> :cool:

Gastronomic Fight Club - Mischief. Mayhem. Soup.

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mind bender

mind bender

Posted
Posted
If this is really a 7 and a half hour meal every time, I'm not sure I see the appeal in that.

Having been open for only 3 days the 7.5 hour mark I am sure will come down once all the staff is comfortable not only with each other but the space itself. A lot of trio alumni went with chefg and they were able to do the tour there in 3-4 hours. I know some of the tours done at alinea have been at the 5-5 1/2 hour mark already, so look for them to be a well oiled machine soon.

"mmmmm purple" Homer Simpson

ronnie_suburban

ronnie_suburban

Posted
Posted

On the 7.5 hour issue, I don't want to officially speak on Yellow Truffle's behalf but I was with him last night and he indicated that his party's own preferences contributed greatly to that time frame. They savored, they chatted, they lingered, etc. I hope he'll come back and elaborate on that a bit.

Our reservation is in just over 4 hours, so I hope to be back with my own report before the weekend is up.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

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bilrus

bilrus

Posted
Posted
If this is really a 7 and a half hour meal every time, I'm not sure I see the appeal in that.

I did get a reply from Nick at the restaurant elsewhere that the norm is more like five hours. That is certainly within the realm of my patience.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about how the food tastes.

Bill Russell

pete ganz

pete ganz

Posted
Posted

I'm looking forward to hearing more about how the food tastes.

Interesting that no one has commented on that yet....I hope someone does soon!

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