Alinea

[CheeseMonger]

must. stop. taking. these. posts. seriously.

 

Indeed, I've become lost, which is not unusual. Is this thread about food or 'tude?

[dekay]

robyn -- That seems to be your issue, no?  Your indications on this thread come across as preaching to the converted, if I may say so, and also come across as being predicated on your possibly assuming you having greater experience with writing about restaurants (including UK restaurants) than other members may have (which I doubt is the case, at least in the case of this poster).

 

You indicated, "Seems to me that most of us here are grown-ups. We know what we tend to like - whether it's deconstructed soup or BBQ - and if a possibly terrific restaurant that serves the kind of stuff we like comes onto our radar screen - we should try it when we get a chance - and form our own opinons"  Gee, how shall I say it... I guess, the opposite of what you so liberally volunteered  would be that we are children who don't know what we like?  I don't give praise readily, and, when I do, I do not appreciate people who assume they have the requisite meal backgrounds providing the ABCs of posting.    It would be better if you did a bit of homework on applicable posters, I would suggest.    I would be glad to hear that.

oooo, excellent, a cat fight... over posting credentials. I love it.

[Melonious Thunk]

Some people posture are preachers, whether they have standing or not. Curiously, six OA diners travelled from long distances to dine at Alinea on Saturday night and individually were totally disaapointed in the meal. They came to the tables expectings "the best restaurant in the world" and they left feeling Alinea is not even in the top five in Chicago. This from people who travel hither and yon to experience envelope-pushing food around the world. I am eating there in July, but am now forewarned. Nevertheless I will go wth an open and positive atitude.

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

Some people posture are preachers, whether they have standing or not. Curiously, six OA diners travelled from long distances to dine at Alinea on Saturday night and individually were totally disaapointed in the meal. They came to the tables expectings "the best restaurant in the world" and they left feeling Alinea is not even in the top five in Chicago. This from people who travel hither and yon to experience envelope-pushing food around the world. I am eating there in July, but am now forewarned. Nevetreless I will go wth an open and positive atitude.

Have 'standing'?

[cabrales]

Course #4: HEART OF PALM in five sections

 

An appealing course, both visually, with respect to other senses, and with respect to its taste.  The presentation is elaborate, with five little ceramic pedestals, whose tops had ever-so-slightly raised edges and an ever-so-slightly intended area in the middle of the top of the pedestal.  On each pedestal serving piece (which I imagine was also custom) was a section of circular, pale-green-colored heart of palm.  Each of the five sections was of uniform shape and had a different "stuffing" and "topping".

 

In this dish, the heart of palm (slightly crunchy, refreshing) was used to house the interior contents and acted as a relatively neutral, although distinctly vegetable, base off of which the interior contents (the "stuffing") could be experienced.  In some ways, this is an example of encapsulation, because the outer "rings"/structure of the heart of palm has been retained and the interior portions hollowed out, to create an edible vessel.  Another way of seeing this may be to see the heart of palm as the "rice" or seaweed component of a segmented sushi role, conceptually.

 

The diner is asked to roll each heart of palm section into her mouth, by presumably holding the bottom of the pedestal.  It's a fun, different way of the diner's bringing food to her mouth for consumption.  It also reflects the practical aspects of heart of palm being sitll relatively crunchy and relatively difficult to cut into without squeezing out the interior "stuffing" (in a heart of palm section that is about 1/2 the length of my pinkie).

 

The five pedestals are set forth in a "vertical" line right in front of the diner.  The closest to the diner is sampled first.  Each heart of palm section delivered a distinct set of flavors, showcasing the versatility and neutrality of the heart of palm itself.

 

The first taste was predominantly that of creamy vanilla, but also had avocado and a bit of pink peppercorn on top. The creaminess of the item enveloped the heart of palm section.  I was a bit surprised that the first taste was that of a dessert item, but this surprise was positive.  The second heart of palm sampled had a fresh green-colored interior that was made from blended fava beans. Its top had a bit of Meyer lemon juliennes. Perhaps the gentlest of the five heart of palm sections.

While things were progressing well with the first and second heart of palm sections, the dish became distinctively better with sections three through five because they focused not only on mouth taste, but also on the aroma of the "stuffing" for the section of heart of palm. The last three creations were as interesting on the nose as they were when taken in, particularly the flavors of garlic and those of black truffle.

 

Of the five sections, I liked the third one the best. Its middle section was filled with garlic. Whilst it was described as also having bulgar wheat incorporated, I tasted only the delight of garlic that had been slightly controlled by perhaps creaminess, both on the nose (where it was wonderful) and on the palate. The robustness of the garlic fills the diner's senses to the point where she almost doesn't recall the heart of palm is surrounding the garlic interior. On top of the third section is a thin garlic tuile.

 

The fourth and fifth sections were similarly as much about their aroma as their taste in the mouth, both of which were appropriately strong. The fourth was a black truffle stuffing, I believe, with a dark red/purple fruit on top of the heart of palm. chefg appears to like to use plum when available, and this may have been plum. The fifth section was probably pumperknickel with marinated black truffle segments on top.

 

Of course I liked the tastes in this dish. The presentation was appealing. However, I also liked the fact that there is a progression of flavors within the dish, in the form of the interior "stuffing" for the heart of palm sections and what could be placed atop them. It was an interesting example of progression within a dish using the same "base" supporting ingredient (here, the heart of palm), from the vanilla-based interior to the intensity of black truffle.

 

The heart of palm dish brings to mind the row of five small cubes of gelee at Trio, which often had plum or another fruit cut into thin slices layered at the bottom and sometimes had a flavored soda (e.g., dark red fruit) accompanying it. Like the gelee in the five cubes of gelee (which changed from time to time), the hearts of palm had become the edible delivery vehicle for the more concentrated "bursts" of flavor that they housed. With the hearts of palm, however, chefg has combined the idea implicit in the five cubes of gelee with that of encapsulation of an edible ingredient into another. The gelee was neutral-tasting. The hearts of palm delivery a controlled crunchiness and a refreshing aspect.

[marcus]

Curiously, six OA diners travelled from long distances to dine at Alinea on Saturday night and individually were totally disaapointed in the meal.

I personally find this very convincing, as they are very experienced diners, and clearly went into the meal prepared and expecting to love it. Of all of the early reviews that I have read so far on the various food boards, this is the only one that doesn't strike me as being, at least in part, agenda driven. My guess is that the restaurant is in deep trouble, and it will be interesting to see what develops after the initial wave of early adopters finishes washing over.

[cabrales]

marcus -- I assume you have not eaten at either Trio or Alinea. That makes your argument unpersuasive. As for the six diners, to each her own palate.

[marcus]

marcus -- I assume you have not eaten at either Trio or Alinea. That makes your argument unpersuasive. As for the six diners, to each her own palate.

We've heard this from you many times before, that one can only have a valid opinion when one experiences something oneself. This is nonsense. Beliefs are formed from many sources of information, and personal experience is only one and not necessarily the best. I could go into this further, but it really should be apparent.

[Melonious Thunk]

marcus -- I assume you have not eaten at either Trio or Alinea. That makes your argument unpersuasive. As for the six diners, to each her own palate.

I have a fair sense of your palate, Cabby, from your posts over time, and I also know the palates of the people who dined at Alinea last Saturday. Several of them are not far from my own tastes and preferences. That all six has such resoundingly negative opinions of the entire meal, and had gone in with the highest of expectations, is a pretty clear signal that all is not well. I will eat there in July (not June) so I will see first hand.)

[bilrus]

When people go into a meal with the highest expectations, I'm never truly surprised when a meal deosn't completely live up to those expectations. That said, if someone has a lot of experience at the highest levels of dining, I'm surprised to hear of someone going into any meal expecting a "best meal ever" experience.

[LionRock]

My guess is that the restaurant is in deep trouble...

Um, why? Not being flippant, but I'm interesting as to how you figure this...

[marcus]

My guess is that the restaurant is in deep trouble...

Um, why? Not being flippant, but I'm interesting as to how you figure this...

If one assumes, that the recent extraordinarily negative reviews are largely valid, which I think is quite likely.

[Lippy]

Even to put the very best interpetation on it, if we accept everything we've read at face value, the restaurant seems to have a serious problem in maintaining consistency. That being siad, it is brand new and may need some shakedown time.

[LionRock]

My guess is that the restaurant is in deep trouble...

Um, why? Not being flippant, but I'm interesting as to how you figure this...

If one assumes, that the recent extraordinarily negative reviews are largely valid, which I think is quite likely.

 

Is there a link to these reviews, I'd be interested to see them.

 

To be fair, as Lippy mentions, the place has been open for just over two weeks, and there have also been plenty of positive reviews - not just on-line, but also in the Chicago press (and the NYT seemed to like it too).

 

I'll be interested to see how it plays out...

[Rose]

robyn -- That seems to be your issue, no?  Your indications on this thread come across as preaching to the converted, if I may say so, and also come across as being predicated on your possibly assuming you having greater experience with writing about restaurants (including UK restaurants) than other members may have (which I doubt is the case, at least in the case of this poster).

 

You indicated, "Seems to me that most of us here are grown-ups. We know what we tend to like - whether it's deconstructed soup or BBQ - and if a possibly terrific restaurant that serves the kind of stuff we like comes onto our radar screen - we should try it when we get a chance - and form our own opinons"  Gee, how shall I say it... I guess, the opposite of what you so liberally volunteered  would be that we are children who don't know what we like?  I don't give praise readily, and, when I do, I do not appreciate people who assume they have the requisite meal backgrounds providing the ABCs of posting.    It would be better if you did a bit of homework on applicable posters, I would suggest.    I would be glad to hear that.

oooo, excellent, a cat fight... over posting credentials. I love it.

I assume from that post that you would consider yourself a dog?