Alinea (not the pilcrow)
What does it mean to surprise someone culinarily? Does it mean some far-flung ingredient? Some crazy preparation that has been imported from halfway around the world? Sometimes it means something as simple as the coupling of a whole new paradigm to the eating experience. Grant Achatz touched that rarefied air for us with our visit to Alinea in Chicago. Literally, the pillow below my dessert is filled with an accompanying aroma to prepare my palate for the flavors it is about to experience. The weight of the plate compresses the pillow to continuously express the scent. That is some crazy fore-thought bat-sh*t. There were more examples of that total commitment to the dining experience throughout the menu (shown below). A terrifically enjoyable experience; the restaurant is deserved of its top 100 world ranking.
The ever compressing pillow
Menu for June 30, 2010
Maya:
This is great. I would have loved to have seen the picture as the plate was served.
July 27, 2010, 11:06 pm