I recently had the opportunity to check off a huge bucket list experience – dining at Alinea! Alinea is one of the top restaurants in the world. In fact, only 13 restaurants in the United States have three Michelin stars and Alinea has maintained it’s three star-rating since the guide started in 2011, which is an impressive feat!
Alinea received a James Beard award in 2016, and was ranked as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world that same year. Chicagoan foodies are lucky to have a second three-star Michelin option in our city – Smyth, if you want to add that to your list, too!
There are several options to choose from when booking a table at Alinea, but you can plan on spending at least $500/person, not including wine pairings. Depending on the option you choose, you’ll have either a private table or communal dining, and either 10-14 or 16-18 courses! Reservations open on the 15th of the month at 11am CST for two months ahead (i.e. I booked in January for March). You can plan on the experience lasting anywhere between 2.5-3.5 hours depending on which option you purchase.
Dining at Alinea is, of course, about delicious food, but it’s also about so much more. It’s about the presentation, craftsmanship, attention to detail and incredible service, which are all outstanding. It’s truly a unique and unforgettable experience that blends food and art. I had really high expectations, given the cost, and the hype I’d read about for so long, and I have to say that the experience exceeded my expectations. It’s dinner, a show, and so much more!
Let’s dive into the menu I enjoyed:
The meal started with a vessel that was set ablaze at the table that seemed to be heating a liquid. It was set aside, with nothing said.
While I kept wondering what it was, we were served Osetra caviar in a beautiful dish meant to be held in the palm of your hand along with the classic mother of pearl spoon. I’m not a caviar fan, or so I thought, but this was absolutely delicious and had both whipped olive and a hefty amount of black pepper.
The next course was a piece of arctic char that had been cured and had a smoky-maple crust. Again, I’m not a huge fish lover, but this was a memorable bite!
The third course was actually hidden under the dish. When you flipped the dish over, there was a smoky char roe suspended in gelatin. Again, nothing I would’ve ordered from a menu, but I was quickly realizing not having any options to choose from was working in my favor, and expanding what I’d already considered to be a wide food horizon!
The next course finally revealed the liquid that had been heating at the table with a fire that had been tended by our server. This was a maitake mushroom soup with a date puree and thyme. The mix of savory and sweet was perfectly balanced. The soup vessel was removed, but the fire was still burning, and we would soon find out why.
This was followed by chicken liver tart and salsify. The crust on the tart was so delicate and thin, but had the crunch that was needed to cut the smoothness of the pate. If you’re not familiar with salsify, it’s a root vegetable belonging to the dandelion family. It’s shaped like a parsnip and has white flesh. I found it to be mild in flavor, though some say it tastes like oysters.
The next course was one of my favorites because it was so interactive. We really had to pay attention because it had a lot going on! It was a “fossilized” red prawn head, a bottomless empanada with dough that perfectly matched the color of the slate that the dish was served on, a humita, and a bone with roasted marrow, potato, and proveleta cheese.
Remember that mushroom soup from a few courses ago and the bucket with the fire hadn’t left the table? Underneath the coals was the humita that was unearthed and presented on the table. Humita is a dish traditional to Peru, similar to a tamale, and made with masa. It was served with a prawn inside and was wrapped in the charred corn husks which need to be removed. A big variety of tools was presented to us for this course – a brush to “clean off” the prawn head, a tool to clip the ends of the humita, a scoop for the marrow, spoons for the sauces, etc. The prawn head definitely had a concentrated shellfish flavor, but the crunch was delicious. I think my favorite bite on this course was the roasted marrow.
The next course was “hot potato, cold potato”. It was a cold creamy potato soup (like a vichyssoise) with a warm potato on a skewer. The potato was perched on a pin that you pull out of the dish so that the cold and warm textures mix as the warm potato, truffle, and parmesan fall into the soup. You enjoy it as a you would a shot.
The next course, Explosion, has been on the menu since 2005 when the restaurant opened. It was a black truffle stuffed pasta, perfectly al dente, that literally explodes in your mouth. It was executed flawlessly.
The main course was wagyu short rib, Japanese eggplant, Okinawan sweet potato (dried to be shaved on top, and presented in the shape of a traditional pagoda). The turnip and plum glaze were great accompaniments.
Next up, our server suddenly clipped the piece of art hanging above the center of our table. Turns out, it wasn’t art. It was butternut squash encased in Jamon Iberico and rosemary. Our server unwrapped the stacked squash and then mashed it tableside with robiola cheese. It was served with a crunchy mixture of dates and pepitas, and a cracker that matched the plate it was served on!
A block of ice was delivered to our table with a bottle of clear liquid and a pear inside. This was soon to be a pear Italian ice made in front of us with liquid nitrogen. When we asked about the sorcery behind getting a pear into a narrow rectangular bottle, our service explained that Alinea sources the bottles from a local farm and they they tie the bottle to the tree so that the pear actually grows into the bottle – talk about effort! The pear ice was the perfect pallet cleanser.
Next up, dessert! A silicone tablecloth was placed on the table, and dessert was poured on the table in front of us comprised of caramel custard, accompanied by apple, lemon, and sesame sauces. A praline of sorts and maple glitter finished the dish, along with bite sized tart tatin, gum drops, and a black sesame pastry. A true work of edible art!
Just when I thought the meal was over, out came the finale, completely edible helium balloons. The balloons are made of blown sugar, filled with helium, and finished with a apple leather string! These were so much fun to eat, and photograph.
Because I was celebrating my birthday early, our server brought out a slice of birthday cake, but as you’ve figured out, at Alinea, things are always a little different. The slice of cake was actually bottled in the form of a Funfetti cake soda, topped with non-alcoholic sparkling, so I could have my cake and drink it too. It was a fun ending to an unforgettable meal. A huge thank you to my cousin Andrea, for making this dream a reality!
I hope that you enjoyed reading about my experience at Alinea, and that it inspires you to try new foods and new experiences. Speaking of new foods and new experiences, we have so many great cooking classes coming up at The Chopping Block! We just released our May calendar, so you have plenty of options in April and May. Some of my favorites include:
- Spring Dinner Party Friday, April 11 6pm or Saturday, April 19 6pm
- Sushi Workshop Saturday, April 12 6pm
- Pasta and Gnocchi Workshop: Spring Menu Monday, April 14 6pm
- Tuscany in the Spring Friday, April 18 6pm
- Neapolitan Pizza Saturday, April 19 11am
And don’t forget that summer is coming! Now is the best time to get your kids acclimated in the kitchen. We’re running kids and teen camps in June and July so be sure to snag a spot, and tell a friend. As an added benefit, you’ll get try all the treats that make their way home!
