F4tF: Chicago on the Fourth of July
First off, I want to wish everyone out there a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. For everyone up at Watkins Glen for Superball IX, have a blast and bring back some great stories!
As for me, I will be in the windy city, hanging with some friends and knocking a couple of things off of my bucket list.
More on Wrigley field in a bit. The main reason for my visit to Chicago this time is to have dinner at Alinea. For those who don’t know, Alinea was named best restaurant in North America (for the second straight year) and 6th best restaurant in the world in the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2011 (up one from #7 in 2010). Dining at Alinea is one of the items on my bucket list that I will be crossing off on this trip.
Here is what S. Pellegrino had to say about Alinea:
Alinea represents one of the most radical re-imaginings of fine food by any chef in American history and has propelled Grant Achatz to chef superstardom.
Everything about his restaurant is unique, from the deconstructed food, unfamiliar flavour combinations and theatre to the tableware, with dishes served in and on all manner of implements: test tubes, cylinders, multi-layered bowls that come apart. It’s boundary-shifting stuff.
I had a chance last year to dine at Alinea and was unable to due to logistics and timing, no way I was passing up the chance a second time! READ ON for more on Jon’s trip…