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

[snekse]

The elements are so "fall" and the combinations sound wonderful.  Duck Skin?!  This menu speaks to me.

←

Very intriguing, but CHOCOLATE - avocado, licorice, mint (Ewwwwww)

Granted I really care for avocado or licorice or mint

[poq]

The Lady and I will be doing the Tour on October 8th.

My brother went for the 12 course about a month ago and said it was the best meal he's ever had -- better than Achatz-era Trio, which served some of the best meals (if not the singular best meal) I've ever had.

I'm extremely excited -- I'll let you know if the Fall menu is being served by then.

[Lactic Solar Dust]

The Lady and I will be doing the Tour on October 8th.

My brother went for the 12 course about a month ago and said it was the best meal he's ever had -- better than Achatz-era Trio, which served some of the best meals (if not the singular best meal) I've ever had.

I'm extremely excited -- I'll let you know if the Fall menu is being served by then.

←

The menu is dated October 5th so I would think it should be in place by the time you go there. I am anxiously awaiting details.

[enhF94]

I am elated to see that the Burdock and Matsutake, which I tried during the summer-fall transition, made it to the menu. The Guinness Foam on the burdock was pretty neat, tasty and fun to think about. The Matsutake was one of the best things I've ever tasted, one of those moments you never forget (like Clio in Boston or Le Petit Treehouse in Montreal).

I'm also glad to see the Lamb's "pillow of coffee air" had been replaced by anise, because I didn't get much from the coffee pillow.

Much thanks for the menu!!

[ronnie_suburban]

The Lady and I will be doing the Tour on October 8th.

My brother went for the 12 course about a month ago and said it was the best meal he's ever had -- better than Achatz-era Trio, which served some of the best meals (if not the singular best meal) I've ever had.

I'm extremely excited -- I'll let you know if the Fall menu is being served by then.

←

The menu is dated October 5th so I would think it should be in place by the time you go there. I am anxiously awaiting details.

←

Grant did mention to me that this was merely the "proposed," upcoming menu -- so, it could also change slightly between now and when it is actually rolled out.

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

More praise for chef Grant and Alinea; this time from Forbes, which included him in their list of the year's Tastemaker chefs:

This fall, Forbes.com undertook the difficult task of identifying ten of the most influential chefs this year in the United States. They are the extraordinarily inventive individuals who have not only tasted success in the $476 billion U.S. restaurant industry (according to the National Restaurant Association), but whose insights, accomplishments and boundless creativity shape what we eat, how we eat it, and how much we're willing to fork over for the experience.

Tastemakers: Chefs

=R=

[noambenami]

I had the great pleasure of eating at Alinea on Friday night. About one minute after walking through the sliding doors the four of us were invited to stand by the kitchen's canape station and were wonderfully treated by everyone, down to recieving explanations of how the amazing new first-course amuse was made.

We ordered the twelve course meal with wine matches. The matches were superb, with predominance of german and spanish wines, but also an excellent slovenian white. All were exceptionally well matched.

The food itself. Well, what can I say that hasn't been said before? If Alinea was in Europe, there is no doubt that it would be a solid 3 michelin star restaurant. The levels of creativity, presentation, and taste were a solid notch above every other restaurant I've been to this side of the atlantic.

I'll also note that we had a number of food restrictions that were played to quite well - my 15 year old sister is a vegetarian and enjoyed her meal a lot. For contrast, I'll note that she was absolutely miserable at Charlie Trotters.

To my tastes, this is the best, and most fun, restaurant in the US...especially after our game of air hockey using some of the chef's utensils.

[enhF94]

Yes, I should have mentioned our similar experience before! The kitchen was incredibly flexible with our dietary wishes. We were a table of 2, and we didn't ask for any specialness up front, but Alinea asked us. For our tour, they kept track of our dietary restrictions individually! That's pretty special in my book.

(I was "no shellfish except oysters;" she was "no meat except bacon and beef tenderloin" - so you can tell they're more flexible and just allergies and religious reasons. Thank goodness I didn't mention I'm not a corn fan, or I would have missed the incredible corn pudding - I can still remember the taste a month later!)

[yellow truffle]

A NEW BEGINNING

With the weather getting down to the normal averages and autumn finally arriving in Chicago, Alinea is beginning to introduce their new fall creations. Last Saturday we were fortunate enough to experience some of their tasty dishes. Of course there are changes, some of which can be noticed prior to the first course arriving at the table.

The major change is in the number of items on the Tour menu. Previous Tour dinners at Alinea, brought in upwards of 26 courses. Now they have the Tour set at 24. Fret not. Although there is a reduction of courses, we did not walk away less sated, in fact we were feeling quite full at around the third quarter of the meal. Towards the end, one of our guest were unable to finish some of the dishes. No worries here, as the others at the table took turns at the leftovers. Such a faux pas, I know, but I don't think they have doggy bags.

There is also a change in the rhythm of the meal. The old Alinea meal cycle took on a traditional format (ie. appetizer, first and second courses and dessert) in 28 courses. The new format is taking the once long meal and breaking it into two short meals, similar to that at Trio when Chef G was at the helm. Upon talking to the chef, he felt that the 5-8 desserts at the end was a long stretch. Two meals for the price of one, that sounds like a great deal.

A new centerpiece is also introduced. As with the previous centerpiece, ginger sliced longitudinally, the fresh honeycomb, is used for one of the dishes to be had later in the evening. The honeycomb was placed onto a pedestal of an exotic, heavily grained, piece of wood. It sat for most of the evening and it slowly released thick gooey honey onto the table (a detail that should be soon worked out, I hope). The pedestal and the uber-chic honey extractor/mechanism was used for the 15th course, OPAH (please refrain from putting fire to saganaki). Buy not these tools from Willams Sonoma. This item is another creation of Alinea's product design guru, Martin Kestner.

New serviceware is also bought into play, from plates to cordial glasses and another MK (the designer, not the chef) piece. The modern looking fancy sheet music holder, is used for the 8th course to hold the Spanish cheese puff. The masculine looking item is weighty and heavily machined. A much better alternative than the previous holder.

FYI, when making reservations, have your credit card handy. Just another one of those changes.

[yellow truffle]

THE MENU - 20051008

1. PEAR celery leaf & branch, curry

2. MAITAKE lola nut, braised sunflower seeds

3. MANGO sesame oil, soy, bonito

4. DOVER SOLE mosaic of mostly traditional flavors

5. ONAGA shellfish, waterchestnuts, floral vapor

6. PHEASANT cider, shallot, burning leaves

7. SQUAB watermelon, foie gras, licorice

8. IDIAZABAL maple syrup, smoke

9. MATSUTAKE pine nut, mastic, rosemary

10. BURDOCK dark beer, bitters, sassafras

11. QUINCE cumin, shiso, sour cream

12. PUSHED FOIE GRAS tart apple marshmallow

13. TROUT ROE pineapple, cucumber, coriander

14. CRAB chanterelles, ravioli of coconut powder

15. OPAH endive, ohio honeycomb

16. LAMB fig, pernod, pillow of anise star

17. DUCK SKIN cranberry, grapefruit, clove

18. BISON truffle, pistachio, sweet spices

19. BACON butterscotch, apple, thyme

20. RASPBERRIES orange blossom, cream

21. ROSEWATER PUFFS passion fruit, saffron

22. PEANUT frozen pedro ximénez

23. CHOCOLATE avocado, lime, mint

24. DRY CARAMEL salt

Looking at the menu one notes that there are a few absent dishes. Gone is the PB+J, the highly recognized starter course from the early days. Also missing in action are the SOUR CREAM, the HEART OF PALM and the VICHI CATALAN (on the beverage side). As you may have noticed, making its return, is the familiar tenant on the Alinea menu, BACON. Tasty as always, not a thing has changed since it was first introduced. Shall I dare say, "signature dish." It is fast becoming so, as the dish can be had on all the three menus (or at least you can ask for it). Is this the new Black Truffle Explosion?

And now, the gastro-porn.

[yellow truffle]

1. PEAR celery leaf & branch, curry

[yellow truffle]

2. MAITAKE lola nut, braised sunflower seeds

[yellow truffle]

3. MANGO sesame oil, soy, bonito

[yellow truffle]

4. DOVER SOLE mosaic of mostly traditional flavors

[yellow truffle]

5. ONAGA shellfish, waterchestnuts, floral vapor

[yellow truffle]

6. PHEASANT cider, shallot, burning leaves

[yellow truffle]

7. SQUAB watermelon, foie gras, licorice

[yellow truffle]

8. IDIAZABAL maple syrup, smoke

[yellow truffle]

9. MATSUTAKE pine nut, mastic, rosemary

[yellow truffle]

10. BURDOCK dark beer, bitters, sassafras

[yellow truffle]

11. QUINCE cumin, shiso, sour cream

[yellow truffle]

12. PUSHED FOIE GRAS tart apple marshmallow

[yellow truffle]

13. TROUT ROE pineapple, cucumber, coriander

[yellow truffle]

14. CRAB chanterelles, ravioli of coconut powder

[yellow truffle]

15. OPAH endive, ohio honeycomb