Alinea
Dining at Alinea is exactly as extraordinary as the restaurant's three Michelin star rating would suggest. Chef Grant Achatz truly is a culinary genius, and from start to finish, dinner at his rightfully famous, ticket-only Chicago hotspot is a study in culinary creativity (and basically a near-religious experience for a foodie). One dish was presented in a hand-carved ice bowl sitting atop a metal tripod (because it, as our wonderful and hilariously witty waiter observed, is "art"), one expelled a geyser of citrus-scented fumes, and one was an edible, helium-filled balloon presented on a twine string. Every dish is meticulous, artful, and utterly delicious. Though picking a favorite course is next to impossible, both the pork belly with curry and banana and the coconut shellfish masterpieces will delightfully haunt my palette's dreams as perfectly executed demonstrations of Chef Achatz's brilliance. Because we impulsively bought our dinner tickets after dining at Roister, one of The Alinea Group's other Chicago restaurants, we were lucky to snag salon tickets that happened to coincide with my January visit to the city -- but having loved our meal quite so much, Matt and I are already debating purchasing tickets for the main dining room for my next visit in March!
Dress: VixenByMichelinePitt Wild Vintage Leopard Vixen Troublemaker Dress
Coat: Kate Spade New York (old)
Purse: Kate Spade New York Penguin Crossbody (old)
Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in American Doll
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer in Ebony
ICE - trout roe, pineapple, passion fruit
CRUNCH PAPER - dehydrated scallops, corn, butter, and cornbread nori
SWIRL - apple, yuzu, lemon balm
CONTRAST - chestnut soup, cider, orange, maple
มะพร้าว (COCONUT) - Pompano, Shellfish, Kuzu
YELLOW - pork belly, curry, banana
BRANCH - mastic, concord
GLASS - maitake, blueberry, lapsang souchong
TOAST - black truffle, gruyere, pumpernickel
BONE - wagyu, rice, myoga
SMOKE - short rib, bitter cocoa, cassis
ROCK - sweet potato, chocolate, miso
Helium-filled sugar balloon.
NOSTALGIA - bubble gum, sour cherry, banana
