Alinea

$$$$ - New American - Ranch Triangle

1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614

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This past weekend I was lucky enough to visit Alinea, Chicago's only current 3 Michelin star restaurant. I had heard a lot about this restaurant; how it was the place to go for any true foodie, how it was an experience, how you would get an edible balloon (admittedly this made me more than a little excited), etc. I'd seen Snapchat stories of a lucky few upperclassmen who had been there to celebrate graduations, Netflix featured it in a Chef's Table episode and I had seen the name "Alinea" on every list of Chicago's best restaurants I'd perused in my almost 4 year residence here.

4 years later, as I myself am close to graduating college, my turn had come. In December I made my reservation for 2 and I finally went on a Saturday in late-February.

BEFORE YOU GO

Meal Options

Alinea has 3 meal options:

1) The Salon - Dining on the second floor. A 10-14 course meal for 1,2,4 or 6 people

2) The Gallery - Dining on the first floor. A 16-18 course meal for 2 or 4 people.

3) The Kitchen Table - Dining in a private space near the kitchen. For 6 people.

Reservation Process

Reservations are on Tock and open on the 15th every month at 11am CST for the next few months.

I reserved at 11:07am CST and I got a Salon 5:30pm slot on a Saturday 2 months after that day (there were others open before that date). At this point there were no more spaces for the Gallery meals that day nor were there any slots after 5:30pm.

You indicate whether there are any dining restrictions (they will make accommodations for severe allergies as well as religious preferences and common dietary restrictions (vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan)) and whether there is a special occasion (early graduation present for me).

Payment

You pay for your meal with 20% service charge and tax upfront when you complete your reservation. You have the option to pay for a wine pairing or you can order drinks once you dine for an additional charge (what I did).

THE VISIT

The allure of Alinea starts before you even enter. It's right next door to Boka (a 1 Michelin star favorite of mine - review to come) and a small sign next to a black awning indicates its presence. You walk in and through double doors and the people at the reception area welcome you in. They congratulated me (I received many congratulations throughout the night for my future graduation), took our coats and then walked us into the space. You walk into a room with square tables - the "Salon" where the 16-18 course diners sit. To the left is a staircase where they led us to the "Gallery" - an upstairs area for us 10-14 course diners.

The table had a bowl with an ornate plant arrangement in it. The first course was called WHITE and had char roe (Arctic caviar), desiccated coconut, lychee and white pepper.

This dish was delicious from the first bite and was a great first course as it exemplified exactly what makes the food at Alinea so great. It had ingredients I'd either never heard of before or was prepared in an interesting way, an explosion of different flavors that went very well together and it was beautifully presented. It even had that Alinea "experiential dining" touch as the plant bowl was promptly filled with liquid nitrogen helping to create the fun dining atmosphere Alinea is famous for.

We then received KAENG: scallop two-ways with a scallop noodle mix with mustard and chili under a crackly layer of dehydrated scallop. We also received GLOW: a neon palate cleanser in a test tube where you knock back (like a shot) a concoction of lemongrass, mint, basil and cilantro.

Next was PAPER where we received a bowl of bouillabaisse and olive oil broth. They then draped a sheet of dried langoustine (scampi) which melts into the broth. We also received CRUNCH: a crunchy nori (seaweed) log filled with rouille (a French garlic and chili sauce).

I had just taken a bite of the CRUNCH when a server announced to the room that they apologized for the interruption but if we could please follow them downstairs. I had an inkling that they might take us to the kitchen and I figured we'd take a peek into the kitchen and maybe meet the chef Grant Achatz. We were brought into the kitchen and while there was no Achatz in sight, they had set up a show for us which was a lot more than just a parade of the kitchen. One counter had a line of dishes, each with a small circular cake that we were instructed to stand by. One chef stood by a huge grinder next to a fountain. They proceeded to explain that they were making a Winter-inspired margarita (created by Aviary, the cocktail lounge part of the Alinea Group). They first ground up a shaved ice made from chipotle and red bell pepper. Then, from a mix in the fountain, they added tequila, sweet-potato shochu (a japanese distilled spirit), and orange liqueur.

The cake was filled with braised chicken thigh and cheese and topped with avocado and chilis. Both were so delicious and the experience was incredibly fun.

Brought back upstairs, the previous dishes were removed and we received a bowl of salt with meat cooking on top, which was promptly lit on fire. We received the next plate INK: Grecian octopus with a Korean barbecue sauce, scallions and grated black (dried) lime. I'm not a big seafood fan but like the scallops, there isn't an overly fishy taste, the flavors are amazing and the textures were great.

Then, the meat was removed from the pot for TAIL. It was Iberian pork mixed in a small bowl with king trumpet mushroom and huckleberry, chive, pine-nuts and pickled onion. Then, JUNIPER: a huge juniper branch was placed on the bowl to douse the flames, creating a great smell, topped with acorn flower crackers (because that's what Iberian pigs eat). We were given a tea of matsutake mushroom, lemon and thyme.

Next was a collection of different plates. One large plate (COAL) was created with Sonoma squab (a small fowl) with cranberry and garlic, black forbidden rice, and a grey ash-like powder, which was delightedly explained to be binchotan, an edible charcoal. A side plate called WRINKLED was a lot more appetizing than it sounds, a bull's blood beet (an exciting name for any vegetable) with Chinese mustard. We also received BEAN which was a beef tenderloin as a jerky which looked and tasted like vanilla.

Then, a curious collection of tongs and other kitchen implements were laid on the table.

If we hadn't been surprised enough by the liquid nitrogen, kitchen adventure and edible charcoal, the server removed the juniper branch and dug through the salt bowl to reveal a yam that had been slow-cooking on our table the whole time!

It was explained to be part of the next TRANSITION course between savory and sweet. The yam was promptly peeled and placed in a bowl along with a pumpkin seed crumble, pickled apricot, and topped with one small leaf of micro-sage. Then, even more exciting, they produced a spray can which they used to fill the bowl with an areated French cheese. This dish was delicious: a creative mix of sweet and savory flavors that went very well together.

This could have been the dessert on its own but there were still 3 more dishes to come.

First was WOOD: a large block of Palo Santo wood was placed on our table, topped with small bowls with liquid dark chocolate and 4 peppers. It was accompanied by a bowl of Palo Santo ice-cream topped with pineapple slush, agave and hoja santa (mexican pepperleaf). The ice-cream tasted like a slightly more tangy vanilla ice cream, which went very well with the pineapple and agave.

Next were the NOSTALGIA courses, arguably the most fun part of the experience.

First was CORN: a popcorn box with caramel popcorn, topped with a ball of milk chocolate filled with liquid caramel that you put in your mouth whole, bite into and let the caramel out.

Finally was BALLOON, a green-apple taffy filled with helium on a green-apple string. We were instructed to "kiss it" and then inhale the helium, making sure it didn't touch any hair, glasses. This is where we and our fellow diners all watched each other trying to find the best way to eat this, and laughing along with each other. I managed to keep it out of my hair but I did manage to get it on my nose, which everyone was very amused by. Not only was it fun but it tasted great, once you'd gotten it deflated and unstuck from the roof of your mouth.

WINNERS

WHITE (roe, coconut and lychee) - so delicious. A great mix of flavor and taste profiles which explode on your tongue.

KAENG (scallop 2-ways) - this looked and tasted amazing, and highlights Alinea's creativity. The palate cleanser was also incredibly fun, as said by the woman next to me "it's like a shot, I feel like I'm in college again."

WRINKLED - beyond being called "bull's blood", who would've thought I'd be so excited by a beet? It tasted great and the chinese mustard was a great, unexpected pairing.

BALLOON - I had to add the balloon to the list. It really tops off the evening and is so fun.

COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER

There were a couple of things that didn't quite hit the spot but they weren't main courses.

PAPER: While it tasted very good and the sheet of langoustine was creative, this wasn't particularly exciting; both taste and flavor-wise.

JUNIPER: It was very fun to have the huge branch of juniper and it smelled great. The acorn + maitake mushroom crackers didn't taste great - could have been left off the menu.

BEAN: This was beef jerky which looked like a vanilla twig and had a vanilla flavor - a great idea but the taste was a little too strange. Was a nice visual addition but the taste fell bit flat.

FINAL VERDICT

After having it hyped up so much and after waiting for so long, I would conclude that it is definitely worth the hype. You do pay a lot of money for one meal and there are other tasting menus at similar price points but I would say Alinea really is one of a kind. Firstly, as a meal it was great: it was a 2.5 hour experience in which I had more than enough food (a common concern regarding pricey restaurants). The flavors were phenomenal; as a tasting menu it was very successful with lots of great flavors and a wide variety of unusual dishes that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Each course had a detailed explanation and clearly a lot of work had gone into shaping each one. Second, I called it an experience and that is 100% what it was. I was continually engaged throughout the night and I got a show on top of delicious food. While it is a 3 star Michelin restaurant and people are smartly dressed, it is not stuffy. The servers clearly enjoyed bringing us through the experience and it was genuinely fun. Where else is there liquid nitrogen, neon shots, a surprise kitchen visit, hidden yams cooking right in front of you, and a silver, edible balloon?

If you're graduating like me, have a birthday or some other special occasion, or you just really want to have a food "experience", then Alinea is the place for you.