Sometimes, you gotta treat yo self!

For years, Jason and I have been wanting to go to Alinea ... it has won best restaurant in America a few different times and the head chef, Grant Achatz has a really interesting back story (he battled back from mouth cancer after being told at one point that he might lose his tongue ... imagine hearing that when your life revolves completely around food!). Anyway, when we found out Susie and Sean also wanted to go, it seemed like perfect timing to just make a reservation and do it. Merry Christmas to us :)

The experience is going to be a little hard to describe, but I'll do my best! The entire meal is choreographed, like it's a performance. At the beginning, we were seated at a communal table with 10-12 other people, toasting champagne and enjoying parsnip soup with caviar. Then, they whisked us back to the kitchen for a second course and a special cocktail mixed in a machine that was designed in the 1830s. I have to mention here, that the head chef, who is a total celebrity around Chicago, was just back there in the kitchen on the line, prepping food with everyone else. Very cool. 

Anyway, we came back from the kitchen to find that they had completely transformed the dining room -- even down to the lighting -- and we were now all at separate tables. The meal continued from there, with every bite more beautiful and delicious than the last. And there were all these little surprises. The centerpieces concealed different parts of the meal -- at one point, they pulled out a potato that had been roasting in coals and made a clam, potato and bacon chowder, right there at the table. The big finale was a dessert where the chefs all came out (Grant included) and basically just threw the components Jackson Pollock style on a big platter in the middle of the table.

It probably all sounds kind of pretentious, and parts of it were, but the restaurant also had a very warm and easy-going vibe. The servers were super friendly and totally got in our conversation when they overheard us talking about old movies (Willy Wonka and E.T.). They noticed that Susie and Jason were lefties and made sure to place everything in just the right spots. It was all so perfect ... a meal of a lifetime! Check out some of the highlights below:

Course 3: Wet snow | Asian pear, roe, shiso
Spear | Romaine, avocado, tosaka

Our first centerpiece

Part of course 4: Glow | Spiced orange
(There was some molecular gastronomy going on here -- those glowing orange balls burst open in your mouth and were filled with a yummy liquid)

Course 7: Smolder | Venison, juniper, huckleberry
(This was another one of the centerpieces. The juniper branches were set over smoking coals and smelled so lovely. On top, you can see those little bread balls, which were filled with venison. And then underneath was the potato I mentioned, getting all warm and smoky for the clam chowder.)

Course 12: Nostalgia | Campfire | Dark chocolate, birch, mashmallow

Course 12, continued: Balloon | Helium, green apple
(This part of the experience included sucking down helium, laughing like fools, and then eating the apple candy-flavored balloons, string and all)

Course 13: Paint | White chocolate, coconut, silver