After getting squared away at the hotel and having a cocktail at Sable, we took the L up to Alinea, walking through a nondescript but modern exterior into a crazy anteroom with weird jungle sounds and pine trees with heavy pine fragrance. We found our way into the lobby, had our coats taken and were given the first course (hot chocolate) on the menu seen below:
Keep in mind, we were not given a menu until after the meal was over, so everything was a surprise, though I knew a few things that were certain to be coming out. The hot chocolate was kind of amazing, for what it's worth.
We were seated on the first floor near a front window which was fairly soundproofed and opted to go with the wine pairings (which are also listed on the menu). The next things that came out were large (bigger than a softball) ice chunks with a column cut down the center into which a reduction of spices were sitting. A clear straw with squash and other flavorings were then added, and one sucked the whole thing up in one big sip:
We were loving this by now and starting to go with the flow. We followed the "butternut" with the three seafood items (oyster leaf, sea urchin, lobster) served on a huge piece of actual driftwood - bonkers, but delicious:
I know I may end up missing a course or two, as it was kind of overwhelming at times, plus I didn't want to just be snapping photos nonstop during such an experience. The "otoro" was also very memorable, served in a fishbowl with a zesty lime-based addition:
A refreshing bite of halibut was brought out while rocks were flaming on the table for an as yet unknown reason:
The "maitake" was an amazing broth poured over hot rocks. I think I was pretty close to licking the bowl ... tough to explain or photograph, but exquisite to taste:
I did not get an actual photo of the "hot potato" dish, but it is an Alinea signature that has been photographed many times. It tastes more beautiful than it looks, if that's possible (photo from www.seductionmeals.com - yes, that's really the website's name):
The lamb dish (fish for the wife) was described by the waiter as a "choose your own adventure" course, and 84 different flavor combinations were placed in the middle of the table for mixing and matching with the meat/fish:
A pork dish (not sure what the wife's was ... maybe fish again?) was next and seemed almost superfluous after the adventure that had preceded it:
A palette cleansing ginger selection came next, which was fun and airy:
The desserts were amazing, possibly surpassing some of the magic that we had just enjoyed. First was the "carrot" dish, which was a combination of ice cream and honey with a warm tea in an inset fishbowl at the bottom of the serving platter:
Next was "balloon," a green apple, fruit roll-up type of thing filled with helium. It was kind of incredible and completely, including the string, edible:
Lastly was another Alinea signature, the "dark chocolate." They bring out a covering mat for the table:
Then they spoon out different toppings all over the mat and follow this with a coconut-sized ball of chocolate with all kinds of crazy fillings inside, which they mallet open on the table:
You eat it right off the table. It was the coolest. It was after midnight when we had finished our meal. We received our menus in a black envelope at the conclusion of the meal. They seemed pretty shocked that we declined a cab and took the L, but that's how we roll.
We started the next day with some very good food and excellent beers at Revolution Brewing, which I highly recommend for eating and drinking. Dinner was at the Publican, a Belgian-style beer and seafood mecca that was outstanding. I was able to try Three Floyds' Zombie Dust for the first time (nice!) and had an excellent seafood stew as well as a ham sampler that was outstanding:
We also saw them bringing out a seafood tower (though we certainly did not order quite this much goodness):
We capped Saturday night off with a performance of The Book of Mormon, which was hilarious and quite ribald.
Sunday included minimal running around, as we had to catch our flight home midday, but lo and behold, we got on the L (red line at Grant/State) and ran into the two leads from the night before, Nic Rouleau and Ben Platt. They were very gracious and let us grab a photo:
A trip (and a meal) worth documenting ...
