Special Report

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Welcome.

An adventure to a culinary destination necessitated the temporary resurrection of Adventures of a Foodie. That restaurant of fame is Alinea in Chicago.

Alinea has rapidly garnered countless accolades in its three years of operation. At a February lecture I attended at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago food writer Michael Rulman interviewed Alinea chef/owner Achatz. Chef Achatz has made a major impact on the restaurant scene using what some have labeled molecular gastronomy. Chef does not favor this term as he still believes taste is the all important factor in a dining experience; not unusual presentation or preparation. Chef Achatz attended the Culinary Institute of America, put in a 4 year stint at the legendary French Laundry and then put Chicago’s Trio on the map with 5 Mobil stars.



Chef chases a goal of enveloping all of your senses in the dining experiences. He explains we have gotten so used to the ritual of a plate, fork, spoon and knife that breaking from this engages the diner more. He collaborates with a local designer to create dishes that break from the plate/fork format to work your emotions. His kitchen doesn't have many of the usual accoutrements; some apparatuses would be seen in a laboratory.

Some accolades:

Gourmet Magazine Top 50- Number 1
Chicago Magazine- 4 out of 4 stars
Mobil 5 stars
High ratings/regards in every significant magazine and newspaper worldwide

Décor: An unassuming facade sports no name or anything to indicate what is behind the black brick.



You enter through heavy double doors into a hallway that narrows. At the end of it a motion detector triggers sliding doors.



Entering, to the right you see the kitchen which a later studied revealed as serene orderly chaos.



There is one dining room downstairs and you head upstairs by a floating staircase.



Three dining rooms are done in understated elegance to purportedly highlight the food. Black tables are bare of tablecloths, napkins, centerpieces or silverware. Black banquettes, taupe chairs/walls and minimal artwork of contemporary nature round out the minimalism.




Service: I figure we had a half dozen servers all who were quick, discreet and never stuffy. At bathroom trips tables or chairs were moved and napkins replaced.

12 Course Tasting Menu, $135


ARTICHOKE
A frozen disk of pureed artichoke was topped by a sheet of red pepper and sandwiched with parmesan wafers; micro basil on the edges.

The frozen impact of artichoke jolted your senses and its taste delighted your taste buds with the cheese adding a salty crunchiness. Set the stage for more uniqueness to come.



BREAD

Interspersed between courses were 5 kinds of bread my fave being Coriander and Fennel for its assertiveness. To spread on it was Hawaiian sea salt Wisconsin butter and Quebec goat butter.


SURF CLAM
On the fork is surf clam topped with cucumber and shallot. In the bowl is a soup of nasturtium.

You start with the one bite fork experiencing sweetness. The nasturtium was clean. Not a description typically used for food making it that much better and distinctive.


MONKFISH
Monkfish prepared three ways- fried, fillet and mousse. Topping the fillet is ankimo mousse. In the lower right are purees of lime and banana.

The mousse was rich making it delectable. Those fried nuggets astounding crispy on the outside and insides soft melt in the mouth. The purees delicious.


MAITAKE
Presented in a clear cylinder, the server lifts it allowing the tower to fall into itself. This close up makes it hard to discern the elements. On the bottom is maitake mushroom soup, topped with ham, toasted garlic, nuts and cherry foam.

Who would think to put this all together. It works! Think of the richest most sumptuous cream of mushroom soup you’ve had countered by the saltiness of ham and airy tartness of cherry; then toss in some crunch.


APPLE
Apple juice is encapsulated in a frozen horseradish sphere which is floating in celery juice.

The two dimensionality of the picture misses the size of the inch diameter sphere. Served and drunk shot glass style this grabs your attention as intended. You get the impact of horseradish spicy yet frozen enveloping the sweetness of apple countered by the freshness of celery.


DUCK
Duck prepared four ways- tenderloin, carpaccio, skin and confit. Sitting on top of a mango disk, topped by yogurt foam and accompanied by turnip. All on a plate perched on a pillow of lavender air.

To involve and work all your senses the lavender waifs into your nostrils as you lean forward to eat. The confit was the best of the three for its decadence interplaying with the tropical mango.


SHORT RIB
Beef short ribs, spiced peanut pudding topped by a sheet of oolong tea, fried broccoli, micro cilantro and spicy nuts.

One of my highlights the meat was proverbial fork tender and huge in flavor. Trying each element alone or mixing them together was a culinary fantasy.


HOT POTATO
In the bowl is cream of potato soup. On the pin are truffle, potato, chive, butter and parmesan.

A signature dish you eat this by pulling the pin out allowing everything to drop into the custom bowl then slurp like eating an oyster. Magic in the mouth as you taste everything together while still having perception of each ingredient’s taste.


LAMB
The strip is a gelee of lamb and morels. On the end is fried lamb. The isolated square is lamp topped with flash frozen peas. The band along the top is pureed peas. For the dots dark green is mint and yellow is mustard.

What fun to poke around this plate and mix it up. The lamb cube was the best for its richness.


BACON
Applewood smoked bacon with butterscotch, apple and thyme.

My least favorite only the sweetness countering the fattiness made this interesting.


GUAVA
In the spoon is brie and crushed nuts. On the top is a sack of brown sugar. The square is avocado and brie ice cream topped by frozen basil. Below that is guava foam. The dish is finished at the table with fresh key lime juice using what we thought were centerpieces and then pouring guava soda over it.

Fantastic. The avocado ice cream was incredibly smooth and deeply flavorful. The brie ice cream was unique. The brown sugar made your eyes pop as it pops in your mouth releasing the familiar dark sweetness in a form you are not used to.


STRAWBERRY
Frozen puree of strawberry topped with wasabi and a candied Japanese fruit.

Let it melt in your mouth for a tad then find a kind of chewiness never experienced. The wasabi’s heat only revealed itself for a scant moment.


CHOCOLATE
Moving left to right- 71% cocoa, twisted around passion fruit, bookended by mango. Dots of soy. Rice pudding top right. Lemongrass ice. Soy marshmallows moving along the lower right.

Try everything on its own. Magnificent. Mix it together for a juxtaposition of sweet/tart/rich/bitter/tropical/salty/herbal. Dittos.


CARAMEL
Tempura caramel fried with Meyer lemon on a cinnamon stick.

Pull it off on one bite. Ooeey gooey goodness.

At the conclusion of this culinary tour de force we were presented with menus which I asked if Chef could sign.



Besides spectacular tastes and textures the meal was FUN. The anticipation of each course, wondering on the presentation, hesitation on the method of eating, the discovery of unique bursts on your taste buds and the speculation of “How did they do that?!” In the twelve courses I counted, excluding bread, roughly 100 flavors. Preparation methods included such wizardry as flash frozen, manipulating the physics of food forms and visible wafts of lavender.

5 out of 5 stars

ADDED 7/24
IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS TO LEARN OF CHEF'S BATTLE WITH CANCER. BEST WISHES FOR HIM AS HE CONFRONTS THIS UNFAIR TWIST OF FATE.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/premium/printedition/Tuesday/chi-chef24jul24,0,5580009.story