Alinea

As expected, a full review of Alinea would be too much. 22 courses of pure joy, fun and anticipation. Some courses were one bite; such as the truffle explosion, a single ravioli on a spoon filled with the most intense truffle flavor ever. Instructed by the waiter to close our mouths while chewing, lest we lose the filling on the table.

This course was a lemongrass infusion, refreshing, floral, aromatic. Most of all creative.



Some courses were more substantial. Rabbit three ways was comprised of a dish with three compartments, each a different interpretation of the same main ingredients. Least favorite for us was the dish we assumed to be a tasting from Achatz's new place, Next. He is premiering with a Parisian menu from 1906. Not that it wasn't delicious, it just felt out of place, and didn't flow with the remainder of the meal.

I'll leave you with dessert. Only at Alinea would the chefs come to your table and grafitti a (nitrogen) ice cream sundae. Not only that, but when they poured some of the sauces onto the table, they came out as squares as you can see below. Confounded by this we tried to sneak some secrets out of the waiter to no avail. We were most certainly too full to eat this dessert, but after toasting to excess, we were not about to hold back.




A masterpiece.