G Wiv wrote:Speaking of Nine, I can see how Nine for the aforementioned steak, oysters and drop-dead gorgeous female customers, Cyrano for rabbit, Manny's for pastrami/oxtail, and Rosebud for sheer exuberance might be on your top in Chicago list, but Joy Yee?

I've been to Joy Yee, Evanston branch only, 4-5 times over the years and was never much impressed. Do you have a specific dish or three you like there?

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

To really experience what Joy Yee has to offer, you have to go to its China Town location.

2159 South China Place
Chicago , Illinois
312.328.0001

The menu here is much larger than its other locations and instead of catering to the yuppie crowd with Chinese dishes, caters to the local asian crowd with Chinese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes. My favorite things there are their seafood dishes including their Thai Hot and Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, which is amazingly tasty, chock full of fresh seafood and is enough for 4 people to split for only $7. Also, they make amazing smoothies, all made with fresh fruit (no powders).

Tortfeasor wrote:To really experience... Joy Yee...China Town location.

The menu here is much larger than its other locations and instead of catering to the yuppie crowd with Chinese dishes, caters to the local asian crowd with Chinese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes. My favorite things there are their seafood dishes including their Thai Hot and Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, which is amazingly tasty, chock full of fresh seafood and is enough for 4 people to split for only $7. Also, they make amazing smoothies, all made with fresh fruit (no powders).

This doesn't sound any different than the Evanston location, where we also enjoy the Thai Hot and Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, and see the local asian crowd (mostly NU students and large families) eating Chinese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes.

Tortfeasor wrote:
Gary,

To really experience what Joy Yee has to offer, you have to go to its China Town location.

2159 South China Place
Chicago , Illinois
312.328.0001

The menu here is much larger than its other locations and instead of catering to the yuppie crowd with Chinese dishes, caters to the local asian crowd with Chinese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes. My favorite things there are their seafood dishes including their Thai Hot and Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, which is amazingly tasty, chock full of fresh seafood and is enough for 4 people to split for only $7. Also, they make amazing smoothies, all made with fresh fruit (no powders).

Joy Yee Chinatown = pan-asian that does nothing particularly well imo, as most pan-Asian restaurants. Great bubble teas tho.

I'd never waste a trip to chinatown on Joy Yee, unless it was for an after dinner drink.

leek wrote:

Tortfeasor wrote:To really experience... Joy Yee...China Town location.

The menu here is much larger than its other locations and instead of catering to the yuppie crowd with Chinese dishes, caters to the local asian crowd with Chinese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes. My favorite things there are their seafood dishes including their Thai Hot and Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, which is amazingly tasty, chock full of fresh seafood and is enough for 4 people to split for only $7. Also, they make amazing smoothies, all made with fresh fruit (no powders).

This doesn't sound any different than the Evanston location, where we also enjoy the Thai Hot and Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, and see the local asian crowd (mostly NU students and large families) eating Chinese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes.

I can confirm, having eaten in both locatons, that the food is no different one to the other.

stevez wrote:I can confirm, having eaten in both locatons, that the food is no different one to the other.

The food is the same, the menu is different. The Chinatown menu is larger.

back to Alinea-

I only wished for a second bite. The preparations and ingredients are so unusual and new that I have no real way to understand them past the surprise of that first bite. I couldn't see dissecting the individual dishes. but it was a great experience...?

chicagofoodies wrote:back to Alinea-

I only wished for a second bite. The preparations and ingredients are so unusual and new that I have no real way to understand them past the surprise of that first bite. I couldn't see dissecting the individual dishes. but it was a great experience...?

i had trouble with this too...every dish was very complex, but in a way that was part of the fun (though admitedly at times overwhelming). it was a lot like drinking fine wine. this is vastly different from the average dining experience, where you pretty much know or can decipher every ingredient... i think you could probably eat the same dish 4 times and find different characteristics to it each time, and not because the dish is made inconsistantly. not to mention some of the ingredients themselves are slightly rare (you have to be something more than the average diner to know what squab is... etc etc)

dddane wrote: i think you could probably eat the same dish 4 times and find different characteristics to it each time, and not because the dish is made inconsistantly. not to mention some of the ingredients themselves are slightly rare (you have to be something more than the average diner to know what squab is... etc etc)

however eating the dish 4 times means 4 bites... I'd agree with you. Especially when sipping wine.

As far as comparing it to a fine wine. At wine tastings go - I needed a second sip to make sure that the '04 Krug wasn't my thing. --Or a full glass to make sure the skunky Napa Mumm's wasn't even better than I expected.

Tortfeasor wrote:
By "emperor has no cloths", I mean you are told that you are paying so much for what you are being convinced is amazing stuff when really you are getting much less if not anything at all.

I was just reading the recent posts to this thread, and remembered this thread from Chowhound: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/325731

Kind of puts things in perspective, I think.

Akatonbo wrote:

Tortfeasor wrote:
By "emperor has no cloths", I mean you are told that you are paying so much for what you are being convinced is amazing stuff when really you are getting much less if not anything at all.

I was just reading the recent posts to this thread, and remembered this thread from Chowhound: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/325731

Kind of puts things in perspective, I think.

Interesting, true, but a bit off topic:

If you mention LTHForum on Chowhounds, they delete the posts.

Which is just part of the reason that I don't have much use for Chowhounds.

DML wrote:If you mention LTHForum on Chowhounds, they delete the posts.

That's not precisely true. While I don't follow Chowhound closely, I have definitely seen references over to LTH. I think things have changed since CNet bought it out.

I poke around occasionally on Chowhound but I'm continually turned off by the number of "where should I go for X" posts and the scarcity of threads initiated by people sharing new info.

DML wrote:

Akatonbo wrote:
I was just reading the recent posts to this thread, and remembered this thread from Chowhound: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/325731

Kind of puts things in perspective, I think.

Interesting, true, but a bit off topic:

If you mention LTHForum on Chowhounds, they delete the posts.

Which is just part of the reason that I don't have much use for Chowhounds.

They don't always delete the posts. If you just say "go read LTHForum" they do, but if you say whatever you were going to, and say "you can read more on this link www.lthforum.com/whatever.... they don't.

leek wrote:

DML wrote:

Akatonbo wrote:
I was just reading the recent posts to this thread, and remembered this thread from Chowhound: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/325731

Kind of puts things in perspective, I think.

Interesting, true, but a bit off topic:

If you mention LTHForum on Chowhounds, they delete the posts.

Which is just part of the reason that I don't have much use for Chowhounds.

They don't always delete the posts. If you just say "go read LTHForum" they do, but if you say whatever you were going to, and say "you can read more on this link www.lthforum.com/whatever.... they don't.

In a thread there on Alinea, I posted a link to this forum, and it was deleted. Their procedures may vary.

Corby Kummer has a great essay in this month's Technology Review titled: The Alchemist: A Chef in Chicago Wants To Blow Your Mind.

Bill/SFNM

Out of the two longer threads on Alinea, I'll post my recent report here. This thread is newer, and I love the title. Alinea, I am a believer.

About two months ago I promised those LTH members who care enough to read what I write that I would wax poetic about Alinea. This promise came after a string of reports on somewhat disappointing meals in Chicago. Perhaps I was being unfair, but even now I maintain my stance--some of those early meals were disappointing and my bitchiness was, in fact, warranted. But now, we turn the tables, let the sycophantic praise of Alinea begin.

Unfortunately, my full report can only be seen on eG, as there appears to be some e-argument between the LTH forum software and eG's image hosting software. I'm not sure who is to blame, but I don't really have the time to upload all the pictures into Webshots or Flickr, then reinsert the links. For those who want to read the full report, please go here. There are lots of pretty pictures.

For those unwilling to click away, the long story short is that Alinea is the sweetness. This was my third visit and second Tour. My devotion to this restaurant runs deep. On my first visit in late '05, I flew out there (actually, here) from NJ with my girlfriend for the Tour as a Christmas present to each other. We stayed in a hotel after the meal and flew back the next morning. We're hardcore like that. My next visit came on much shorter notice in early March of this year. Upon hearing that I would be traveling to Chicago for an interview for a summer internship, I frantically called the restaurant just moments before leaving for my flight--the plane ticket was paid for after all. I begged and pleaded and got in. Rode solo that trip and did the Tasting, interview prep materials in hand. I got the job. Now I'm here. I partially thank Alinea for this.

So with that bit of background, I went to Alinea for my 21st birthday with my family. They effectively came to Chicago for this meal alone, the others at North Pond and Primehouse over the same weekend were just distractions (though my father who had to pay for all this would probably beg to differ) from the main event. The meal was another excellent experience and again solidified in my mind that Alinea is the best restaurant in the country. I can't claim that I've been to every highly regarded restaurant stateside, but I've visited my fair share. With what I know about the very elite restaurants in this country that I haven't visited, none have the potential to speak to my tastes in the way Alinea does.

In one of my other lives, I like to pretend that I'm a modern-minded cook. Alinea reminds me as to why I toil the way I do. The philosophical dedication to excellence coupled with constant yet logical innovation is extremely appealing to me. More than the deliciousness of the food on the plate, however, the restaurant has the ability to fundamentally change the way one thinks about food. I'm not simply talking of the spark of enlightenment that can come from enjoying pristine ingredients, perfectly prepared but something even more game-changing, the questioning of what food can be.

So with that said, I hope you'll click on over and read my full report.

I'll put my hypercritical hat back on now.

The image issue is eGullet's fault. They don't allow any other sites to embed images hosted on their servers.

I'd strongly suggest dumping them in favor of flickr.

So yeah, the issue is that I can't post images there without hosting them on eG servers. If what you say is true and they won't allow people to link away, then that's super annoying.

Usually, I'd be okay with reuploading pictures (see Primehouse) but with this meal it's just too much work.

Some sad news at Alinea...

This news hurts my soul.

dddane wrote:Word of caution: a good amount of what Alinea is all about is surprise. Is too much press a bad thing? Possibly. If you’re planning to go, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time reading reviews, looking at pictures, reading press articles. It ruins some of the surprise and takes some of the fun away…. I feel as though I would have benefited slightly by knowing a little less prior to going.

That was the single best piece of advice I received before going and I’m especially glad I took it to heart. And for precisely the same reasons, I will invoke dddane’s closing words from the opening paragraph: “If you haven’t been but plan to go, you might skip over the next few paragraphs…—I’d hate to ruin any surprises you may experience. I feel as though I would have benefited slightly by knowing a little less prior to going.” Amen.

Despite my insistence that I had absolutely no interest in trying Grant Achatz’s brand of high-tech cuisine, the Lovely Dining Companion knows me better than I do myself and so we went last Saturday. In retrospect, it having been Yom Kippur, I can safely say that I can’t imagine a better way to break a day-long fast (on one’s birthday) than to eat at Alinea.

I was more than skeptical, I was downright opposed to trying Alinea. Why? Because several years ago, at the annual Food & Wine bash at the MOCA, I tried some cockamamie invention on an impossibly high-tech “skewer.” The skewer reminded me simultaneously of the pins they use to display butterflies and some Tom Swift-y gizmo that he’d copped from the hospital. The food was decidedly not to my taste—so much so that I’ve completely blocked any memory of what it even was. I’ll take my food the old-fashioned way, thank you. Identifiable items served on good old-fashioned plates, with forks and knives!

Silly me.

Since we came back from Alinea, I’ve done quite a bit of reading about Achatz and about Alinea. The best piece has been Corby Kummer’s piece, “The Alchemist.” That it appears in a magazine entitled Technology Review is precisely the kind of information that would have confirmed me in my ignorant opinion had I known of it before we went. If you’ve been to Alinea and haven’t read it, I’d urge you to do so. It’s remarkably insightful. If you haven’t been, let me emphasize dddane’s suggestion above: the less you know the better. While foreknowledge won’t ruin your meal, an essential element of dining at Alinea is the theatricality involved.

“Theatricality” or “theater” is a word that has appeared repeatedly in many of the articles that I’ve looked at in the past week. And I should make clear that I use the word purely as a descriptor, with no negative connotations whatsoever. As Kummer’s essay shows, Achatz has thought long and hard about food and about eating. And my own take on the experience of dining at Alinea is that he has—forgive me, Jacques Derrida—deconstructed the experience. He has considered the elements that comprise a pleasurable meal and he has uncoupled them, the better to emphasize them, the better to alert you to their significance. By doing so, he highlights the synergy that can produce a truly great meal.

We all know, on the one hand, that sight is an integral element of eating anything. Why would so many chefs spend so much effort on presentation were it not so? Indeed, the hoary experiment involving eating or drinking or something with your eyes closed is still a powerful demonstration of just how critical seeing is to eating. Hell, go to your refrigerator at 3 a.m. and pull out a carton of juice. Drink some of it without turning the lights on. Can you even tell what kind of juice it is? You might be surprised. I know I was.

Smell, on the other hand, is a sense equally acknowledged to be critical to our enjoyment of food. And yet how many chefs do much—or anything—to enhance the olfactory experience other than to plate the best food they can? That’s not to denigrate their efforts by any means. Only to highlight what I think part of Achatz’s achievement is.

We had the tasting menu. Several times during the course of the evening, Achatz went out of his way to accentuate the olfactory component of the course being presented. Thus, in the course of an evening, you may find your food served in a bowl placed on a deep charger with a large sprig of hyacinth and orange peel. Even as you are engrossed in the beauty of the presentation, the server ladles hot water over the “decorations,” releasing the perfume of the flowers and the citrus. Achatz also serves duck on a pillow filled with lavender-scented air. He uses a smoldering cinnamon stick as a skewer. He hides a piece of wagyu beef (and matsutake broth) under a stack of cedar and places a rosemary stem where it will be all-but-ignited by a hot brick showcasing small pieces of lamb. Then there is the rabbit served in glasses that, until a moment before, had been filled with the smoke from burning oak leaves. Even the bread and butters (both cow’s and goat’s milk). And on and on. As the cedar and oak leaves show, the scents need not be of the food itself to enhance the experience.

(I should interrupt myself here to note that the “hyacinth” course, featuring lobster, was easily our favorite. The bowl containing the lobster also held another long, butterfly-impaling pin at the end of which was a tiny pastel-colored cube dusted with fennel pollen. Underneath, several chunks of lobster, some braised sunchoke, and slivers of orange, all wading in an rich buttery broth. The cube—Jello with a Ph.D.—set the stage: concentrated with just the right amount of acid. The lobster itself was probably the single best two or three bites of food I’ve ever eaten. “Velvety” or “silky” cannot begin to describe the lobster or the sauce: sheer unctuousness, almost obscenely decadent. Had more than three bites been offered, I shudder to think of the consequences.)

Kummer wrote: “…it was the rosemary scent mixing with sizzling lamb fat—an almost primeval emotional trigger, the kind Achatz says he wants to pull--that made this the climax of the meal…. Semiridiculous as these tricks sound, they exploit the evocative power of scent, memories of which lodge in a primitive storage area in the brain. Scent works: that lamb is the dish I still think about months after I had it. But the meal did not lack for other high points, in which artful visual and olfactory shocks were essential.”

That’s it. Precisely. By diverting your attention to the presentation, including its emphasis on not just the visual but the olfactory, too, Achatz forces you to recognize that the experience of eating a piece of beef entails far more than just eating the meat, no matter how superb the beef and no matter how perfect its preparation. It’s unlikely that you will think as much about the experience of eating at any other restaurant in the world. (Hyperbole but still largely accurate)

Our meal was not perfect. There were courses that we both agreed didn’t work—at least not for us. But the two or three such courses that happened to fail us were so far overshadowed by the astonishing achievements of the other courses that it would be churlish to complain. Given the nature of the meal, the timing requirements, the number of other diners, we were served by some four or five different people. Some were more excited by the theatricality of the presentations than others, a few of them overly so. Some were clearly reciting scripts. Notwithstanding the surprising range of seriousness about the food itself, all were engaged and engaging—save perhaps that evening’s sommelier, who was intent on both demonstrating his superior knowledge and doing so with occasionally snide condescension. Several attempts to engage him in a serious discussion about a particular pairing failed.

A word about the pairings. As with the food, it would have been too optimistic to expect every pairing to be perfect. But, notwithstanding two glasses that I flat out didn’t like (Franco Martinetti Monferrato Rosso "Sul Bric", Piemonte 1999 and Gianfranco Furtan Castelcosa Schiopettino, Venezia Giulia 2005), some of these choices were inspired. I knew I was in for quite a ride when the first glass was set down: an extraordinary concoction of champagne, Lillet blanc, and aquavit! Among the especially successful treats were a breathtaking sake (Fukucho “Moon on the Water” Junmai Ginjo, Hiroshima Prefecture) and a just-about-perfect Moscato d’Asti (La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti "Bricco Quaglia" Piemonte 2006)

As I noted, some of our servers seemed more taken with their role as magician than with recognizing that the magic was in the service of the food. But to deny the essential place of that magic would be to diminish Achatz’s achievement. Theatricality is part of the experience at Alinea. Knowing in advance what will happen won’t affect the taste of the food but it will, inevitably (and, in my judgment, negatively) alter your experience. And Achatz’s point, if I may be so bold as to presume that I understand what he’s trying to achieve, is the totality of the experience. You could go back the next night and have the same exact dinner (pace Heraclitus). The food will taste as wonderful, but the “shock of the new” will be gone. Textures, tastes, combinations, will all still be “new”—but they won’t be shocking because you’ve had them before and you know what to expect. You know that the fascinating creation awaiting your pleasure will be hot or cold, velvety, bitter, or will simply explode in your mouth. And that shock is truly indispensable. It is what makes Alinea, Alinea.

Smells and presentations are only the visible part of the iceberg, however. Achatz has taken extraordinary care and effort to think through virtually every aspect of the dining experience. He has partnered with a designer to create unique—and uniquely appropriate—“implements” for presenting and serving some of his creations. Hence the surprise that a lot of the courses come with instructions. The server tells you how to eat what he or she has placed before you, or handed to you. (And no, it’s not always intuitive.) When Achatz places the food on “plates,” the plates are similar enough to ordinary plates to deserve the name but distinct enough to catch your attention and focus it on the food in a way that ordinary plates never will. I could go on and on: the design of the room, including its lighting, colors, decorations, and even the tables and chairs. The Alice in Wonderland surprise that awaits your first steps inside the front door. Achatz has forgotten nothing. His attention to detail, his meticulousness are literally inspirational. You may not agree with or even appreciate every detail, but I cannot imagine anyone eating at Alinea and being able to walk away without having had his or her preconceptions about dining out challenged—in the best possible way. You may agree with Achatz, you may not, but you won’t think about the experience of eating food the same way, ever again.


P.S. Some may wonder, as did we, whether Achatz’s illness has affected the quality of the food coming from the kitchen. We have no way to know whether he was there last Saturday but judging solely by our meal, there is no cause whatsoever for concern.

P.P.S. I have purposely not illustrated this post with pictures. For the terminally curious, there are close to 2,000 photos posted on flickr.com All you need to do is go to the website and type in “Alinea.” You’ll see a wide range of shots, some excellent, most merely okay, but all illustrating the imagination and meticulousness I’ve written about above (as well as the serving…“implements” and plates). Or if you want to see stunning pics and a wonderful review of the 24-course tour, take a look at dmnkly’s blog, skilletdoux.

First time posting here, great site. Was recently in Chicago and enjoyed an amazing meal at Alinea. Not a whole lot I can add to the commentary, but I must reinforce that the wine pairing was exceptional, both in terms of the quality of the wines and the degree to which they meshed with the dishes they were paired with. Phenomenal stuff.

Our meal (the tour) was close to five hours long, and enjoyable to the last minute. Not too full, not too much wine. An experience to remember.

For anyone who cares to read a detailed account or see more photos (and I do appreciate the view that you might not want to get too much of a glimpse behind the curtain if you haven't been yet), please check out my flickr set or the play by play with photos I posted on the egullet alinea thread.

http://flickr.com/photos/kaplanbr/sets/ ... 335995096/
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?sho ... &p=1478268

biskuit wrote:First time posting here . . .

Fantastic photos and descriptions -- thanks for sharing.

We went to Alinea last night for our first anniversary. They are obviously still clicking on all cylinders. Food and service are still unmatched in Chicago.

What I think bears mentioning is the bread program. I haven't been to Alinea in about a year and a half. The last time I was there I think they were just starting to do their own breads in house. That program is now fully mature and a number of our courses last night had bread pairings. The breads really stand up to the creativity of the dishes they are paired with (for example, an oolong tea bagel paired with a short rib/Guiness dish). One of the more inspired pairings was with a dish built around "things that go well with butter". The dish had lobster, corn, popcorn and a few other elements. The bread pairing? Toast. Fantastic.

We also got a peak at the Alinea cookbook. It is absolutely stunning. I'll be ordering a copy, and I have absolutely no plans to even attempt to cook anything out of it.

jesteinf wrote:...We also got a peak at the Alinea cookbook. It is absolutely stunning. I'll be ordering a copy, and I have absolutely no plans to even attempt to cook anything out of it.

That's OK, Carol Blymire, she of French Laundry at Home has taken up the challenge and will be cooking her way through that, now that she's wrapping up the French Laundry cookbook.

Does anyone know if Alinea takes Discover?

Shaggywillis wrote:Does anyone know if Alinea takes Discover?

yes

I believe in serendipity. Surely, the realist in me concedes that daily life is ripe with troubles more likely overcome by deliberate action than by nothing but fortunate happenstance. This truth aside, those rare, unlikely events that lead one to feel that he leads a charmed life, for perhaps just a few hours, resonate deeply with me. Where a restaurant can embody and promote this feeling of felicity is the very essence of exemplary hospitality.

A strange opening to the recap of my meal last night at Alinea, I admit. But, as with so many meals where great food is pretty much a given, context is, well, nearly everything. In this case, the context for this meal could be described as nothing but serendipitous. People less obsessed with Alinea than I am--99.999% of the dining population--might be unaware that a couple months ago the blogosphere and Twitterverse--yes, I used those two terms, in succession--picked up a story about an individual who had just signed a lease for an apartment with a view of Alinea's kitchen. Clearly this person was a kindred spirit; I even considered reaching out to said individual, as I too would be moving to Chicago in the coming weeks. I quickly decided that this would be weird, even given my proclivity for reaching to like-minded food lovers over the internet.

Fast-forward a month to the reception area of a downtown skyscraper. First day of work at a new job, in a new city, essentially having just started a new life. Anxious to meet my new colleagues, who should sit down right next to me but a young lady who happens to have just moved into an apartment with a view of the kitchen at Alinea. The same young lady who had originally posted about said view. Mind. Is. Blown.

Having now watched Alinea's kitchen from afar for the past few weeks myself--not creepy, I promise--I was slated to visit the restaurant earlier this week with a friend visiting from NYC. When his travel plans fell through, it was most fortuitous that my new friend was able to get a same-week reservation for Saturday night. So, with positive vibes abound, Alinea needed only to do what it does best, put out amazingly creative and tasty food in a seamlessly polished yet warm fashion. As usual they succeeded.

It's been fun, enriching even, to visit this restaurant over the years. Since my last visit two years ago, it's clear that this is an establishment with a fully developed and consistent identity. It has soul, a personality that's at once creative, modernist, disarming yet eccentric. If Alinea was a girl, I'd date her. The service we received was seamless. Unobtrusive, engaged, perfectly timed and choreographed. This was my dining companion's first visit to the restaurant, and I think it's safe to say that she came away quite favorably impressed. That and extremely full.

The menu

Some new dishes, some updated dishes, some classics. Taken as a whole, the meal was fantastic. As a general note, there were quite a few dishes that adopted Southeast Asian, and especially Thai, flavors. This was new to me. There were a couple dishes that were deemed less successful, but I find this process of critical appraisal to be inextricable from modern cuisine as a whole. So much of this food pushes the envelope of flavor and texture that not every dish can be a home run nor should it be. Now for the pretty pictures.

Osetra

A wonderful opening couple of bites. The recast traditional garnishes felt natural and entirely appropriate. I will say, however, that this caviar course, while fun, wasn't as luxurious as those I've recently had at Manresa and Eleven Madison Park.

Yuba

I've had this dish, in earlier iterations, a few times now, and this is definitely my favorite preparation. It feels more integrated, and the sweet miso sauce was perfect. The ideal canape.

The Distillation/Pork belly courses were meant to feed into one another. The distillation was exactly that, a perfectly clear liquid imbued with classic Thai flavors like fish sauce, lime and chile. Taken as a small shot, this was a nice way to open the palate for the range of textures and flavors in the next wave of the course. There were many, many components.

The version of the course that we received--I believe we were the first guests to experience this particular presentation--first started off with a supplementary centerpiece in the form of two rather pretty rice paper sheets, suspended like flags from two wooden holsters.


We were then presented with a striking two-level plate that we were instructed to disassemble. The glass layer, with the ingredients was removed and set aside.


The two metal pieces that first appeared to be purely aesthetic design elements were removed from the wooden, lower level of the plate, then assembled into a kind of nest. Our captain then placed the rice paper into this nest.A spoonful of pork belly was then heaped into the rice paper.


We were then instructed to add the various garnishes to the nest as we desired. This whole packaged was then wrapped up and eaten as a summer roll.

The whole process sounds gimmicky, but the the end product was absolutely delicious. It was fun to experience such an interactive course, but it was also among the tastiest of the evening.

Brook trout

After a course so unapologetically interactive and contemporary, this made for quite the stark contrast. The cut crystal stemware, vintage flatware, patterned plates, and rich saucing really beg one to consider how many forms deliciousness can take, both aesthetically and to the taste buds. I was a big fan of this course for its richness. The trout roe, poached quail egg, and pastry shell also evoked breakfast, an association I found whimsical in such a serious, old-school dish.

Black truffle

I've said it before but this is a classic in its own time. Just unreal delicious.

Duck

This may have been my favorite dish of the night. It was elegant yet so powerful, fully encompassing sweet, savory, and the essence of fall. The hard sear on the foie and breast and the sprout leaves added bitterness and umami. The broth was light yet so dense with flavor. Also loved how various offal cuts were included in the dish.

Kumquat

Like a sweet, citrusy sazerac, this was a nice palate cleanser for me. My dining companion, not the biggest fan of brown spirits, wasn't quite so into this. An intense bite.

Bacon, Thai banana, peanut butter

The next three dishes were presented at once. The bacon-on-a-swing is a classic in its own right, and the flavor combination here is just spot on. The Thai banana dish was the the least successful of the three for me. The dish felt a bit unintegrated. I think I got what they were going for here, but it just didn't come together for me. The peanut butter was just a big, ballsy bite. Most likely a maltodextrin application, this was creamy, sticky, and actually a bit spicy. Simple but cool and effective.

Octopus

I believe I've had a version of this dish three times now. On my previous visit the dish featured surf clam, and I distinctly remember enjoying the flavor and texture more. The octopus here was a bit chewy and dry, not meaty. We remarked about this to one of our servers and he said it was a conscious effort by the kitchen to give the dish some texture or chew, that it was inherent in the preparation. I loved the green peanut broth at the bottom of the bowl, it almost evoked a lighter, cleaner tasting potato-leek soup.

Matsutake

For me, probably the coolest savory dish of the evening. The o-toro was a beautiful piece of fish, but this plate was all about uncommon elements totally coming together in a surprisingly organic fashion. The matsutake, in both unadulterated and pureed form, took center stage, with hits of sweetness from the mango, salinity from a few leaves of seaweed, and acidity from the yuzu sorbet coming in to make things interesting.

Pheasant

Although just a single bite of food, this was, for me, the richest dish of the evening. Between the heady burning leaves; the salty, crispy shell; and a sweet, juicy, meaty interior this was an autumn state fair in the most compact of packages. If haute cuisine can trigger powerful food memories, real or imagined, this dish surely did that.

Hot potato

I've made these for private events. Mine are never as good. Another classic, totally delicious.

Lamb

My second exposure to this dish, this time much more autumnal. I particularly enjoyed the smoked eggplant topping. The lamb nuggets were actually a bit firmer than I would've expected but still very tasty. And quite unapologetically lamby as well, perhaps to the chagrin of my tablemate who hadn't eaten red meat or pork in the 14 or so years immediately leading up to this meal. It's Alinea, you go big or go home. We choose the former.

Lemon soda

Like a fizzy, powdery party in my mouth.

Blackberry, bubble gum, transparency, concord grape

Another series of small bites delivered at once. The antennae is always fun--and by fun, I mean watching how people react to it--this time topped with a rather bold combination that evoked a sweet-savory cheesecake. The bubble gum dish required additional vaguely inappropriate eating technique. In this dish a tube is layered with various ingredients, all designed to be consumed in one, umm, suck. I thought this bordered on being too sweet, but it was a fun, nostalgic flavor profile, slightly updated. Of course the concord grape dish and its brethren are famous. So much fun, a total eyeopener to newbie and Alinea veteran alike. Is it too much to say the dish makes me happy to be alive? If I'm being honest I prefer the flavor of the old apple-horseradish version, but this is just such a cool dish.

Hay

I'd been wanting to try this dish since hearing about it a couple months back. I've heard of burning hay for aroma or cooking in it, but to base a dessert around the flavor of dry grass seemed quite interesting. This was quite successful, the hay contributing a wheaty, savory quality to the dish. The coffee cake provided bitterness, the berry acidity.

Chocolate



This was just so freaking cool. Of course I'd read about this radically new take on tableside presentation at length. I'd seen the pictures, watched the videos. But actually being right there as this dish is built in front of you is just flat out awesome. You can't help but smile and let your jaw drop just a bit. Add to that that this dish was actually very tasty and so fun to eat. A total winner. A game-changer. Something to remember.

Pound cake

We finished with this relatively traditional bite. A cute end to a truly fantastic meal. Overfed, overimbibed, it's hard to ask for more out of any dining experience. I realize all of this sounds incredibly sycophantic. Pretty much all of my reports after a meal here are. Maybe that says something about me, but more likely it's a testament to the hospitality, generosity, and excellence of this restaurant.

Full Flickr set here, http://bit.ly/2Tb78z

Amazing recap. I gotta get back there.

I did the tour here tonight...

The white truffle special (choice of rissoto or tagliatelle) was one of the best things I've ever eaten. The most traditional dish of the lot happened to be the standout.

So much crammed into the 3 hours (a fast 3 hours at that) that it's hard to recount everything, but I'm just astounded at the creativity at play here. I got to meet Chef Achatz afterwards and probably looked like a blubbering idiot. A wonderful time.

That recap makes me want to get back there ASAP. I said I wouldn't go back for a few years after finally getting there in January, but those photos brought back all the memories and seeing the new dishes really makes me want to go again.