Alinea Restaurant

There are some very creative chefs pushing the envelope these days, while others have been pushing it for years. But there’s no other chef I can think of in today's industry that is as creative as Chicago’s Grant Achatz, pictured here on the right. Chef Achatz is abnormally young for someone this talented. At only 31 years old, he has worked for some of the best chefs in the country, including Charlie Trotter (Charlie Trotter’s) and Thomas Keller (The French Laundry). He was also the Executive Chef at Trio in Evanston, IL. I’ve been to two of these three and they are some of the best in the world. Trust me.

I’ve never eaten at Alinea because, well, it’s in Chicago and I haven’t been there in quite some time. But I’ve read numerous reviews and seen countless pictures of Achatz’s food and restaurant. And I can only imagine what it would be like to eat there. Most diners opt for "the tour," which consists of about 24 small courses and can take up to five or six hours to complete. Hell, I’d work there tomorrow just for the experience of learning how to make this forward-thinking food.



So since I’ve not had the opportunity to eat at Alinea, and because I just seem to be obsessing lately over his creations, consider this update a visual dedication. This is the sort of thing that really gets my blood moving and motivates me to continue cooking at home. And guess who gets to reap the benefits? Kristen…

The images below were taken from www.maxdee.com. I have selected some of my favorite photos, but you can go to this link to see all the photos that were taken at each successive meal. Hopefully one day Kristen and I will be able to make it back to Chicago. It will be the first time I’ve been there and not obsessed about going to Charlie Trotter’s. That’s a good thing, though. Food is moving forward and that’s what needs to happen.



Click here to view more photos of alinea.

Also, there are several discussion boards covering Alinea in great detail. You can read them by clicking here or here.

-MS

Granny & the Ozarks

This turned out to be a very busy weekend for us. Friday night Kristen and I went to Phil and Jennifer’s house to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday. 90th!!! Gene and Linda were there and also little Quinlan. Kristen got to meet him for the first time, and I had already met him the night before. He’s such a funny and well-behaved young man. Jennifer made an awesome roast with carrots and potatoes. I hadn’t had something like that in a really long time and it truly hit the spot. It inspired me to do one myself this upcoming weekend.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed down to the lake to see Molly, who was in town for a quick visit. This is the first time we’ve seen her since we found out she was pregnant. Saturday night was fun and relaxing. We made Chicken Kabobs on the grill and ate nearly every bite (pictures coming soon). After dinner, Kathy and I drank a whole bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and we all watched the movie Capote. Actually, a couple of us watched Capote while the others watched the inside of their eyelids. Philip Seymour-Hoffman is truly one of my favorite actors.

Sunday Kristen and I drove home and Blue slept nearly the entire way. He always sleeps on the way home from the lake; mainly because he knows his excitement is over and that he has to go back to boring Olathe where there isn’t water nearby. On our way home, we stopped by Dean & Deluca (where it all began) to get a small loaf of good bread. For some reason, perhaps due to Jennifer’s rosemary bread she bought, I wanted a loaf of really good bread and good unsalted (real) butter. MMMMMM!!!! We stopped by Planet Sub after that and headed home for some recovery and relaxation.

Sunday evening we did the usual; dinner at Panzon's and The Sopranos. That show gets better every episode. They're insanely intense. I hope Edie Falco (Carmela) wins an award for this season. I honestly don't know how she does it. She blows my mind with her acting abilites.

And that was pretty much it. That was our weekend. Phew! I'm exhausted.

-MS

Wilco Rules!!!

Last night was a very exciting night for me. I assume for Kristen, too, since she said she had fun. We went to see one of my absolute favorite bands, Wilco. They played at The Uptown Theatre where we saw Interpol and Sigur Ros earlier this year. Let me just say that Wilco is completely amazing live. Not only do their songs sound so perfect live, but they played for at least two hours.

I always love going to shows, but I really hate dealing with the younger kids around me. Last night was almost unbearable with everyone trying to crowd to the very front. "Hey jerkoff, you’re never going to make it up there so relax." At one point some guy had his head (literally) in my back. I turned around and rudely said “BACK UP.” I don’t mind people getting excited at a concert, but damnit…you don’t have to be up my ass.

The opening act was a duo from Australia called The Mess Hall. They were one of the better opening acts I’ve seen in a while – and loud!!! The drummer was just very energetic as he literally beat the hell out of his drums. But the whole time they were on stage I still just wanted Wilco to come out and get the show started. My old legs can’t take as much as they used to; even though I’m in better shape now than I have been in several years.

After a short transition and setup time, Wilco took the stage at around 9:15 to one of the loudest applauses I’ve heard in a very long time. I didn’t realize how much of a cult following they have. Granted, it’s mostly young drunk males, but still… Jeff Tweedy (the singer) didn’t say one word until about the sixth song. And that was fine because they sounded absolutely impeccable – just as I’d hoped.

I have to briefly say that Jeff Tweedy is one of my generation’s best artists. I’d have to group him with the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and David Bowie. He won’t truly be appreciated for some time. Anyway, about a half hour into the show they played the first song off their latest album, A Ghost Is Born, called “At Least That’s What You Said.” Oh man was it amazing. If you know the song, you know there’s a point where the slow melodic pace becomes a pouncing piano and drum extravaganza. That was definitely the highlight of the evening for me, and I think it even made me love the song more. If that’s even possible…

All-in-all, Wilco did two encores and played for a little over two hours. My feet were sore as hell and Kristen and I were very tired. But there aren’t many times you get to see someone as utterly brilliant as Wilco, so I won’t complain any further.

More pictures of what the show looked like here.

The Setlist

Hummingbird
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Flowers
Airline
Handshake
Muzzle
At Least That's What You Said
Either Way
Hell is Chrome
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Jesus, etc.
Theologians
Walken
Good Part
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Shot in the Arm

(encore)

Magazine
Always In Love
War on War
Kingpin
Late Greats

(encore 2)

Misunderstood
Thanks

-MS

"An Evening with the Starrs"

As Kristen mentioned yesterday, our dinner party this past weekend went very well. I have to say that it was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. I couldn't have done it without Kristen's help. What a team!!! I was amazed out how seamless the food went over to the table, and that each course was so beautiful and delicious. To my surprise, nearly everyone’s favorite course was the asparagus soup. I personally enjoyed the Salmon best; probably due to the fact that I hadn’t practiced it prior to the party and it was just out-of-this-world perfect.

The wines we paired also went very well with the courses. The Asparagus soup was paired with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and the salmon was paired with a very nice Pinot Noir from Oregon. We opted to only do wine with two courses since nearly everyone was drinking beer, wine, and dirty martinis beforehand. So, since I unfortunately didn’t get any photos of the actual dinner, here are some that I took before and after the party.

Note: The salmon course below is only a variation of what we actually had. The one below is what I made for lunch today with left over items, but you can get a general idea of what it looked like from this photo.


Tomato-Mozzarella Salad



Asparagus Soup



Salmon



Warm Chocolate Cake



...the table beforehand...



The Menu

“An Evening with the Starrs”
Saturday, March 18, 2006
6:00 PM


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Edamame Cooked with Sea Salt and Sake

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Organic Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella “Salad” with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Basil Oil

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Creamy Asparagus Soup with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Almonds

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North Atlantic Salmon with Braised Red Cabbage, Oven-Roasted Tomatoes, and Mushrooms

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Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, Caramelized Bananas, and Hazelnut Crème Anglaise

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Coffee and Digestion

Blue's Wild Night

So, this weekend, our dinner party went smashingly, but unfortunately, Blue's rambunctiousness was not on the menu, so we researched and found a "cageless" boarding facility in Overland Park where he stayed Saturday night. It was called Pawz at Play and the beauty is that they have cameras that stream video on the internet so Mark and I could log in and check on our boy. Above are funny pictures of him (my favorite is of him investigating the sink).

We also received a report card on Blue that stated that he enjoyed wrestling and playing keep-away and tag with the other dogs (mainly River and Chloe). And we learned a new piece of information. Apparently, our lady-killer has a girlfriend named Velvet. He has been asleep since we picked him up, but I plan to quiz him about her later tonight. Have a great week everybody and think good thoughts about the snowstorms that are headed our way! - KK

In Memoriam

Getting my new car has certainly been exciting, but I found it to be harder than I thought to get rid of my old car. I mean…I had the thing for just under ten years. That’s a long time to own a car. So, to pay homage to the avenger, here are a couple pictures of my baby just minutes before driving her to the dealership.

Nana and Me

Nana is the best. Isn't she cute? This photo was taken in November at my mom's wedding in Oklahoma.

New Family Member

So now that the cat is out of the bag, I guess I'll go ahead and make an official post about the exciting news around here. This past weekend Kristen and I went looking for a new car. It's been nearly ten years since I purchased a car and it was about freakin' time I got a new one.

I only had my eye on a couple, and this is the one that did it for me the most. So...providing there are no surprises over the next few days, our new addition to the family will be coming home with us either Friday night or Saturday morning. Either way, it's going to seem like a month from now.

By the way, it's a boy! Kristen's still the only girl in the house.

In addition to the pictures below, you can read the specs on the car by clicking here and scrolling down just a bit.

Rainy days and Mondays

Ugh! We've apparently hit the rainy season here in KC. It's supposed to rain all weekend and into next week. Oh well, as long as we aren't hearing "tones," I guess we're okay. Oscars tomorrow, y'all!

The Happiest Day

The temperature outside yesterday was almost perfect. I’ve had cabin fever in a really horrible way and wanted to get outside. My original idea was to take Blue to the park and have him walk with me on the trail. You see, if we can wear him out with exercise it usually means a more peaceful evening for us. And since we were going to dinner at Houlihan’s in Fairway and then meeting a couple friends for drinks at re:Verse on the plaza, it was necessary to wear Blue out so he’d sleep while we were gone.

Against my better judgment, I decided to take Blue out to the dog park instead of just the regular ‘ol trail. I was a little leery about taking him there because he’s still, as you know, in that phase of being totally obno. So we arrive at the park, Blue can see the other dogs, and he’s just beside himself. I’m convinced that this is the single happiest moment of his young life. We enter the park and I still have him on his leash, because hey, I’m afraid at this point. We go through the gate and he just goes crazy. CRAZY! I asked the people around us, “So, do I just let him off or what.” They said, “YEAHHH, that’s what this place is for; let him go crazy.” So that’s what I did. And, furthermore, that’s what he did.

Watching Blue run around that park at 120 mph has to be one of the proudest/scariest moments of this past year for me. I thought to myself, “Oh lord what is going to happen to him? Is he even going to come back? Will he kill or be killed? Ugh…this sucks already!” But then I realized that every other dog there was just as excited as he was and that made it a bit easier for me to let go. After knocking two kids over and nearly removing two dogs’ faces by running past them so fast, I just gave in to the experience. What else could I do?

Now the good stuff happens. Blue, along with a beautiful Weimaraner, found the “secret” pond at the back of the huge acreage of the dog park. There just so happened to be another Golden there, along with several Yellow Labs. The game was on. Blue didn’t even have to think twice about getting in. And get in immediately is what he did. I should have known that was coming. One of the owners of a Lab had a Mountain Dew bottle filled halfway with water and was throwing it in the pond for his dog. Unfortunately there were about four dogs now that wanted to participate in the race for getting this bottle first. Let me say that, sadly, Blue was not the fastest swimmer there. He could still jump farther into the water than the others, but he just isn’t Mark Spitz when it comes to swimming. We’ll have to work on that at the lake this summer.

Finally after about an hour of (literally) non-stop spazzing, running, retrieving, and swimming, Blue decided to go be friendly with an older woman that was at the park. I’d been somewhat chasing him since we got there; mainly so I could keep my eye on him. I screamed to the woman, “CAN YOU PLEASE GRAB A HOLD OF THE GOLDEN?” She did and I was finally able to get him on the leash so we could go back home. My biggest mistake is now forthcoming. I put Blue in the back of my car wet and semi-muddy. I have a cloth interior. It’s not pretty. Luckily it didn’t smell this morning on the way to work. Ugh! What am I…stupid? Well, all-in-all, I guess you could say it was worth it. I’ll definitely have to plan better for next time, but Blue had the best day of his life thus far and that’s enough to make me feel good about what happened yesterday.