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.