Words can not adequately describe the phenomenal meal I had at Alinea. It is a true experience in all forms – the surprise of hidden sliding doors, interacting with the uniquely stunning presentations of each dish, anticipating what the next extraordinary course would bring, and most importantly, having my taste buds delighted and pushed to the limit with innovative, incredible food. You really do just have to experience it for yourself.
The food at Alinea is progressive, ambitious, artistic, and totally original. It was creative without being gimmicky. Chef Achatz and his team take modern American cuisine to a whole new level with their inventive genius. They make fun and exciting food, while still putting care into every single little detail.
The service was impeccable. Every need was anticipated before we had to ask for anything. The staff was professional, courteous, and very knowledgeable (even knew the history of the stemware!) I learned so much about the food and wine. [Btw, I highly recommend the reserve wine pairing. The wine beautifully complemented the food – an impressive feat with ~20 courses!]
The only thing I did not love about my experience at Alinea was the ambience. The dining room (there are 3) is a small, rectangular room with modern, minimalist décor in cool grey, beige, and black tones. It felt impersonal and lacked warmth. It’s a good thing that the food was so mesmerizing; else it’d be awkward to be in such a sparse room where you are so acutely aware of your neighbors. But maybe that was intentional, and they want you to just focus on the food…
They hung these pretty sheets of rice paper at the edge of the table, piquing my curiosity. Are these flags surrendering us to the food? :-9
Trio of Edible Cocktails:
LEMON – a frozen and chewy pisco sour. Like a firm marshmallow with alcohol.
CUCUMBER - cool and refreshing. A pool of gin and rose water inside a cucumber cube with mint.
CHERRY – their “improved” version of a Manhattan in the form of a maraschino cherry. This one packed a punch and warmed my throat going down. Nice.
ENGLISH PEA – unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before! Peas were mixed with frozen burrata cheese and dusted with Iberico ham powder. It was ice cold yet creamy, salty, sweet, and meaty all at once. The sherry “bubbles” and melon would also transform each bite by accentuating different flavors.
Trio of Shrimp on a Stick, inspired by different countries in Asia:
FRIED SHRIMP (China) – shrimp tempura with fermented black bean on cinnamon stick, dusted with Chinese five spice powder. Light, crispy, and packed with flavor. So much better than corn dogs!
YUBA (Japan) – sesame shrimp wrapped over a fried yuba stick in a miso mayo sauce. I’ve never had yuba fried and really enjoyed it, but found the shrimp to be too salty.
CHAO TOM (Vietnam) – believe it or not, food you’re encouraged to spit out! The sugar cane was infused with shrimp paste and mint. After chewing on it to extract the flavors, you spit it out into a small paper napkin. The flavors were surprisingly delicate, like a lightly sweet shrimp broth. It was a nice way to round out the course.
TOMATOES – this dish transported me to another place. I was initially confused and intrigued when they put pillows on top of the table. Then I started to smell the fresh, grassy aroma emitted by the pillows. Once the plate of heirloom tomatoes was set on the pillows, more of the aroma was emitted as the pillows deflated…it was like eating ripe tomatoes straight from the garden! The tomatoes were paired with different elements in powdered form (fried bread crumbs, frozen cheeses, pine nuts, bell pepper, onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), and it was fun to mix and match. I especially liked the mozzarella, in powdered and fried form. If summer had a taste, this would be it.
DISTILLATION of Thai flavors – it looked like water but was actually fish sauce, lemon grass, and chilies distilled down to their purest form. I had expected intense flavors when I heard fish sauce, but the flavors were remarkably clean and smooth.
PORK BELLY– the mystery is solved…make your own spring roll with the rice paper. This pork belly was ABSOLUTELY ORGASMIC! It had been slowly simmered in coconut milk and just melted in my mouth. I wanted more!
A beautiful and colorful display of the toppings for the spring roll (sea salt, cucumber, fried garlic, curried mango, lime, baby coconut, red onion, chili paste, cashews, marigold and leaves, basil seed and lime sauce). I can only imaging how much patience it took to prepare each of those tiny pieces with such precision. 
Trio of King Crab – this unique bowl/structure held 3 different crab courses
1) CRAB MOUSSE – one of my favorite courses. The velvety and sweet crab mousse was in perfect harmony with the chilled and herbaceous chervil gelée, Unbelievably good.
2) KING CRAB – crab meat topped with bell pepper, and fried avocado crusted with crushed marcona almonds and topped plum slices. Pretty to look at but the least interesting of the trio.
3) CRAB GRATIN – I loved the combination of the crab with the cipollini onions, fennel, and cream. It was warm, savory, and decadent, while still allowing the sweetness of the crab to shine through.
HOT POTATO – great things really do come in small packages. The metal pick slides down to drop a piece of butter, hot potato, and black truffle into the tiny wax bowl filled with cold potato soup. Let me say that again – potatoes, butter, and truffles. This is my kind of comfort food! This was so delicious, it took all my restraint to keep myself from licking the bowl clean.
LAMB – this dish pays homage to Elysian Fields Farm, where the lamb comes from. Paper thin slices of the most incredibly tender lamb were skewered on a sprig of rosemary, placed over a pool of creamed corn, and topped with crispy strands of fried green onion “grass”. The combination of flavors and textures was magnificent. I especially loved the fried cubes of breaded lamb fat (yes, I’m a fried fat glutton!) which had a silky and meaty taste similar to sweetbreads.
BLACK TRUFFLE – this would be the love child of a Chinese soup dumpling and an Italian truffle ravioli. An explosion of black truffle broth filled my mouth as I bit into the disc of pasta. Mmm!
TOURNEDO à la persane – a throwback to the classics, by using a 100 year-old recipe from Le Guide Culinaire. The Australian Wagyu beef that was so tender that I could cut it with a butter knife. It was served over an Anaheim pepper stuffed with jasmine rice, a cherry tomato, a fried banana slice, and a Chateaubriand sauce. The dish was good, but after being wowed all night by Chef Achatz’ creative genius, I would have preferred seeing how he would have reinvented the dish.
BACON – to help transition to desserts, this small strip of crisp bacon was drizzled with butterscotch, “ribbons” of dehydrated granny smith apple, and thyme. As interesting to look at as it was to eat.
LEMON SODA – a dash of powdered lemon soda wrapped in edible clear paper. A great palate cleanser. (I ate this before taking a picture. Oops)
TRANSPARENCY – a more elegant version of a raspberry fruit roll-up.
BUBBLE GUM - a glass straw filled with long pepper, hibiscus gel, crème fraîche, and bubble gum tapioca pearls…all consumed with one big suck. Such a fun course! Brought me back to childhood.
EARL GREY – I was ready to dislike this dessert because I detest early grey tea, but this was surprisingly my favorite dessert of the evening. It was a moist and crumbly early grey cake served with pine nut custard, lemon curd, and rose gelée. The flavors were so well balanced – buttery, sweet, tart, and with just a hint of bitterness from the earl grey. The caramelized white chocolate noodle also added a playful yet tasty touch.
CHOCOLATE – The ultimate demonstration of fantasy and wonder at Alinea. A silicon tablecloth and several bowls and plates filled with mysterious items were placed on our table for the final dessert course. Then Chef Dave Beran (the Chef de Cuisine) comes out to greet us for a tableside presentation, where he pours molten chocolate into two glass cylinders and starts covering our table with chewy coconut balls, young coconut meringue, coconut milk, dark chocolate and menthol crumbs, hyssop leaves, and menthol crisps. Then he breaks a block of nitrogen-frozen chocolate mousse over the table and removes the glass cylinders to create a volcanic-looking chocolate wonderland. It was interesting to experience chocolate, coconut, and menthol in so many different tastes, temperatures, and textures. A tableside presentation like no other!
B and I were fortunate enough to get a quick tour of the kitchen. There are about 23 chefs/cooks in the kitchen for only 65 diners – that’s over 1 cook for every 3 diners! With so many people in the kitchen, it was impressively calm, quiet, and composed.
After our 4 hour meal, I felt inspired and completely enchanted. Alinea made me fall in love with food all over again. We stayed up that night talking about our experience for hours afterwards. I’ve had many great meals, but few have left me feeling so awestruck. The $185 tasting menu is pricey, but still a “bargain” considering the number of elaborate and well-executed courses...a small price to pay for one of the best meals of my life.
BITE METER: Alinea – 4.9 bites (out of 5)
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