Based on the frequency of my blog posts after the trip to India, I think it's pretty clear that I've started a new job that has been keeping me quite busy.
Hopefully, I'll get to post a few batches of pictures shortly and somewhat catch up.
This post is about the single most extraordinary meal I've had in my life. I cannot say it was the most delicious meal...as delicious as it was...because I've had a lot of very tasty food in my life. It is, however, by far the most intellectually-stimulating meal, which made me discover new food items, but most importantly re-discover common flavors, completely reinvented.
It was on January 23, 2013 at Grant Achatz's Alinea (www.alinearestaurant.com). I took advantage of a business trip to Chicago and had little hope to be able to actually pull it off. I was incredibly lucky because I was able to get in with only a two day notice, which is unheard of. It helped that I was a solo diner, mid-week, late at night and in the slowest month of the year. I spent a good chunk of change on this meal. I was alone. But I didn't care - I enjoyed every single bite tremendously.
And yes, I was one of those obnoxious diners taking pictures with my phone, but I tried to be really discreet (which explains the quality of the photos) and I didn't capture each and every course. A few below:
Butternut, muscovado, finger lime served in an ice container
Green Apple helium balloon made
Carrot, coconut, white sesame, caramelized honey
Pork, pain d'epices, turnip, orange
Lamb....with an unbelievably collection of accompaniments - each bite is customized
Oyster leaf, sea urchin with white chocolate & wasabi, lobster
And the desert, which was quite the artwork. The best part was eating this amazing concoction of flavors, textures, color and temperatures directly off the table!
