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