Alinea

Alinea, one of the most celebrated restaurants in the US for its cutting edge culinary technique, flavor and creativity, has been on my radar for a long time. Reservation is hard to come by at times but, being a local now, isn't too hard if you're flexible.

If you haven't heard, Alinea goes by a ticket system as it's treated more like a show than a dinning event, which I agree since it makes reservation much easier.

Butternut Soup - muscovado, finger lime, West Indies

Left to Right: 1) Oyster Leaf Mignonette, 2) Lobster Trinity, sherry Chervil 3) Top Neck Clam, shiso, soy, daikon 4) Sea Urchin, white chocolate foam, yuzu, wasabi

This dish is probably one of the most interesting combination of seafood I've had in chitown. The oyster leaf, although you only eat the leaf, provides a nice brine as if you're eating the oyster. My favorite here is definitely the sea urchin. The uni is excellent by itself - rich and smooth. However, the foam underneath is the real treasure. It's mild sweetness, paired with the yuzu and the oyster brine, mingle into a light foam create the perfect combination of sweet and brine. 

Otoro - thai banana, sea salt, kaffir lime

Corn - huitlacoche, sour cherry,silk

Arctic Char - sage, bourbon, upland crest

Hot Potato soup - cold potato, black truffle

It might look simple, but there's a trick to this. First, you have a hot soup at the base (which is held by a wax substance). Then you drop the potato and truffle into the soup and slurp. This way of eating maximizes the truffle, it also enhances the potato soup's flavor. The soup is rich, which provides a hearty yet earthy bite when combined with the black truffle.

Matsutake mushroom - pork, huckleberry, pine

Black Truffle Explosion - romaine, parmesan

The second black truffle course of the night. This ravioli is infused with an earthly soup. You obviously pop the whole thing in your mouth. Once you bite into it, soup explodes with earthiness coming from the black truffle. Think of black truffle soup and that's probably the closest description you can put on it.

Lamb 3 ways (braised, belly and sirloin) with condiments assortments

Woodcock Tempura - lingonberry, shallot, oak leaves

Ginger 5 ways

Carrot, Coconut Sorbet - white sesame, caramelized honey

Balloon - helium, green apple

One of the most famous dish coming from Alinea. You literally inhale helium when eating this green apple treats. Too bad my voice didn't change as much as I would've liked. But it's definitely a fun experience.

Dark Chocolate - rye, birch syrup, brownies

At long last, the finale. The chocolate milk shake is quickly frozen by liquid nitrogen and is then smashed onto the table, creating an artistic look of the dessert. It reminds me of eating dipping dots but with milk chocolate rye flavor.

I find my visit to Alinea fun yet tastes very good. I can see why this is one of the most popular places for chefs to visit, then go back to their drawing board to create something at Alinea's scale. The most exceptional part of this meal is the fact that it's fun, yet, the flavor is still there. That's particular hard to do. However, maybe it's just me, but I wanted something extra, maybe another dessert course/chocolate-to-go to end the night on a higher note. I walked away from Alinea yearning for something. But all in all, I did have a good time here and I'm looking to come back again for another show.

Next Restaurant - Kyoto

Next Restaurant's series of dinner is probably one of the most innovative, yet, traditional culinary innovation by Grant Achatz. The series' inspiration comes from all randomness: from Achatz' childhood to different restaurants to different locations in the world. This time around, it's Kyoto.

After a trip in Kyoto, Achatz has orchestrated this dinner using the most traditional flavor from Kyoto, bringing Kyoto's spirit with him and allowing diners to have a flavor of it.

Corn Husk

Its name might be very simple, however, the flavor of this broth carries heavy sweetness of the corn. 

Chestnut, apple, white miso, hay aroma

Japanese Maple forest (Shrimp, Roe with custard and compressed fish eggs)

Sashimi (Madai, Salmon and Kanpachi), Shiso, Tamari

Abalone, cucumber, red sea grapes

The abalone has a nice chewy texture and carries the freshness of the mollusk. The red sea grapes provide the citrus and sweetness, which makes it a nice compliment to the abalone.

Anago, maple dashi, shimeji mushroom

This is probably one of the best Eel soup I've had so far. The broth is light but carry a bit of a dashi saltiness. The eel is lightly flavored and the mushroom provides a nice chewiness to go with the soup.

Matsutake Chawanmushi, pine

I am known to be a chawanmushi snob and this chawanmushi is surprisingly delicious. The egg is extremely light and airy, while it carries a bit of saltiness. The mushroom is a bit of an after thought though, however.

Ayu, wasabi leaf, cured yolk

This fish is probably one of the best preparation I've tasted. The fish is cooked to perfection. It is grilled nicely: the meat is firm but moist while its skin has the perfect crunch. The fish carries a nice flavor from the grill and combined with perfect seasoning, creates this nicely orchestrated fish. 

We get to eat the bones as well, it's fried to crisp. Seriously, eating the fish's bone is like eating chips.

Chrysanthemum, eggplant, shiso leaf

The tempura is extremely light and airy. I'm surprised by the lightness of it. However, I guess I was still overwhelmed by the fish from the earlier course, so I think this is an after-thought course. But it provides a nice intermission. 

Australian Kobe, carrots, vegetable with soup, rice and pickles

The beef is perfectly cooked with nice flavoring to complement with the rice, vegetable and miso soup. This is a heart warming dish. A very traditional, yet, delicious course.

Roasted Fig, Yuba, Emperor II

Warabi Mochi, toasted soy

The mochi is light, chewy but not sticky. I can simply eat another dozen of these. 

The kyoto dinner course definitely brings in all the traditional kyoto flavor, with a little bit of Grant Achatz's spin on it. The food and flavor are simple, but it carries the comfort that highlights Japanese food. It took a few days for me to truly appreciate the essence of this dinner. I would have to say that Grant has wrapped this one up nicely and I'm looking forward to future series.

The Bristol with Celina Tio & Chris Pandel
After moving to chitown, I've been itching to eat around. Then I find out that Celina Tio is partnering with Chris Pandel and are cooking at The Bristol. I just thought to myself, "that sounds interesting!". The next? Well, here I am at The Bristol.

House Chicharon

Chilled Terrine of Quail, Foie Gras, Cherries, Hazelnut Butter and Toast

Grilled Mackerel, Edamame, Black Garlic and Fermented Mint Pickle

This is my favorite dish of the night, the Mackerel has a nice thin crunchy skin which provides a nice little crunch. 

Citra Hops Braised Pork Belly, Fennel and Grapefruit

House Smoked Sausage, Red Cabbage, Potato, Caraway

Madagascar Bourbon Hot Chocolate, Candied Ginger Cake Donut

Chewy Salted Caramel & Celina's Bourbon Sipper

This meal is the perfect start for me in chitown. It's not anything I don't recognize and its flavor is very straight forward. I like the fact that I can taste every component of every dish while no ingredient is lost, which is something I love: Simple food, nice flavor. And if you don't know, Chris is going to work with Thomas Keller at the end of October and I am definitely looking forward to that.

Wolvesmouth

Underground dinning is definitely a trend in LA and Craig Thornton's wolvesmouth is definitely the premier of them. I was luckily enough to be picked and I'm definitely grateful to be able to go. Interestingly, the word wolvesmouth has come together partly due to Craig's interest in wolves (he is quite a bit of an expert in wolves).   

Pork Belly - crystal celery root, grapes, spanish blue

Crab - cheddar fritter, peas, tendrils

Just look at how Craig cuts out the nicely cooked John Dory!Nothing goes to waste!

John Dory - pickled onion, jalapeno and cilantro mousse, tortilla sauce, Avocado

Scallop, potato, potato puree, nasturtium

Broccoli, Brioche, Pesto sabayon, bacon, romaine, shallot relish

Rabbit - anson mills polenta, gruyere. yellowfoot mushroom, rabbit jus

Chicory Malt - Cabbage, roasted carrot, parsnip, brussels, beet, pink lady apple, horseradish

lamb (braised & meatball), ras el hanout, yogurt, pink lady apple, black chickpea

Panna Cotta, salted chocolate gelee, Ria krisspy treat

Key Lime Curd, pound cake, Marinated Citrus, mandarin orange, pop rocks cake,creame fraiche

I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Needless to say that Craig's creativity is very apparently through this meal. The john dory is out of this world with the tortilla sauce, which was the favorite of the night. The scallop was also another favorite with the potato puree, which is very light yet bold in flavor. Everything plays out so well in this meal and i'm grateful that I'm a part of it. Hopefully, I get to dine here again in the future.

Last words: Although it is hard to get in, I'd suggest everyone gives it a shot. also, Craig says he is looking to do some multiple days event in the future. So keep an eye out for those opportunities!