Alinea

June 8, 2010

I was in Chicago for work meetings to be held during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), also commonly referred to as "Fi-ASCO". When I'm not in meetings, it's a great chance for me to take in some of Chicago's best eats.

This time, I was lucky enough to score a hot reservation (from the wait-list!) at James Beard award-winning chef, Grant Achatz's famous Alinea Restaurant. Grant Achatz has an interesting history, with enviable culinary experience (notably French Laundry under Thomas Keller as sous chef) and is known for his innovative molecular gastronomy. He's also famous for surviving tongue cancer and its ravaging treatment, barely stepping out of the kitchen through the ordeal and relying on his staff to ensure that the food never suffered despite his loss of taste during that time.

I had scored a table for four, so I was accompanied by my good buds (who have a varied past at Genentech): Jeff, Willis and KP. We decided to go big and opted for the wine pairings with the 20+ course touring menu (which was rumored to take more than 4 hours...). Keep in mind that each course varied in size from one bite to four or five bites.

When we asked the staff the meaning of "Alinea" and the character on the dinner napkin (see pic below, it was described that an "Alinea" is a type of "pilcrow": The pilcrow (¶), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, paraph, or alinea (Latin: a linea, "off the line"), is a typographical character commonly used to denote individual paragraphs.

The staff liked the definition of "new beginning". Ok, cool.

The pic below shows three different "edible cocktails" that started off the meal:

• "Lemon" (Don Cesar pisco, cane juice, frozen and chewy)
• "Cucumber" (Plymouth gin, rose, mint)
• "Kumquat" (Rittenhouse rye, Peychaud's, demerara)

The staff brought out centerpieces for our table. They were these amazingly beautiful and delicate rice noodle sheets with edible flowers pressed, held by chopstick-like holders. From what I had read online prior to the dinner, the centerpieces always play a central part of the meal during a later course...

Szigeti 'Cuvee Prestige' with iQhilika, elderflower, and Peychaud's:
"English Pea" (Iberico, sherry, honeydew): this dish redefined how I look at english peas...
"Lobster" (lychee, gruyere, vanilla fragrance):
"Distillation" of thai flavors (not pictured).

"Chao Tom" (sugar cane, shrimp, mint):
"Yuba" (Shrimp, miso, togarashi):
Willis:
KP:
Me!:
Jeff:

Abbazia di Novacella Kerner (Valle Isarco, Alto Adige 2008) and Paul Blanck Pinot Gris "Classique" (Alsace, 2008):
Ok, here's where the flower-rice-noodle-centerpieces came into play. The staff brought these wooden platters in which we assembled a platform for the rice noodle "paper", which was then supplemented with a wonderful "Pork Belly" (curry, cucumber, lime), and a bunch of fixin's to make your wrap:





The "after" shot with the platform re-assembled. Achatz is known for commissioning custom cutlery, food apparati, plates, etc., which are sold by JB Prince.
"King Crab" (rhubarb, lilac, fennel) in three layers:



"Octopus" (red wine, lavendar, fava bean):
"Lamb" (reflection of Elysian Fields Farm); paired with Araujo Estate 'Altagracia' (Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2005:
"Hot Potato" (cold potato, black truffle, butter):

• "Malt" (English toffee, bourbon county stout, blueberry); paired with Vinhos Barbieto/Rare Wine Co. 'Charleston Sercial' Reserve Madeira
• "Bacon" (butterscotch, apple, thyme)
• "Nutella" (bread, banana, chocolate)

"Foie Gras" (orange, chamomile, fennel pollen):
"Surf Clam" (celery, tabasco, oyster cracker):
"Oxalis Pod" (whipped sorrel, honey, salt):
"Salad" (dehydrated ranch dressing, soup, powdered; in two layers); paired with Radikon 'Oslavje' (Venexia-Giulia, 2004):

"Sardine" (horseradish, arugula flower, tomato):

"Squab" (charred strawberries, lettuce, birch log); paired with Domaine Jamet Cote-Rotie (N. Rhone, 2004):
"Black Truffle" (explosion, romaine, parmesan):


"Tournedo" (a la persane with Wagyu beef); paired with Anima Negra 'An' (Mallorca, Spain, 2005):
"Lemon Soda" (one bite) (not pictured).

"Transparency" (of raspberry, yogurt)
"Bubble Gum" (long pepper, hibiscus, creme fraiche):


"Earl Grey" (lemon, pine nut, caramelized white chocolate) on a pillow of Earl Grey essence; paired with De Bortoli 'Noble One' (New South Wales, Australia, 2006):



Then came the big set-up for dessert. The table was covered with a latex-rubber table-cloth and many materials were brought to the table...
Then out came...Grant Achatz and his Chef de Cuisine, Dave Beran! They went to work, building dessert on our table with the various ingredients and tools already at the table while we watched with rapt attention:







"Chocolate" (coconut, menthol, hyssop); paired with Dashe 'Late Harvest' Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, 2007):

The meal was in-sane, and an experience of a lifetime. We started at 7 PM and ended around 12:30 AM (yes, that's right, an epic 5.5 hour meal). And it sped by like it happened in an hour. I also had a fantastic time with the boys, incredible foodie company for a gal like me.

I won't regale with you how expensive the meal was, let's just say it was a nice little present to myself for all the long hours that I've been putting in at work. Instead, I'll leave you with this image of the menu from the evening, as signed by Grant Achatz (size of the bubbles represent the size of the course; for reference, the first three were one bite sizes):