In one way this is an outdated post as our meal at Alinea was in May 2008 but given the astonishing pace of Grant Achatz putting out new dishes it doesn’t matter to write it now or a couple of weeks after the actual meal. The style of cooking has not changed since (as Laurent’s fine review of his end of October meal showed) and my admiration of this all-encompassing experience is greater than ever – especially as I am now a proud owner of the Alinea book.
Chicago has been on our culinary landscape for quite some time but it took us till then to actually be there. A group of five, four days of non-stop eating – that was a fun trip full of ideas and inspirations. We started off with the classic Charlie Trotter’s which turned out to be a rather soulless experience, no single plate clicked. Disappointing!
Alinea was next on a nice Sunday evening – compared to other restaurants from the outside it is unspectacular – only the numbers of the street address show that there might be something behind:
Alinea