Alinea

My boyfriend and I dined at Alinea on a Sunday evening after a weekend of anticipation. In short, it was an incredible experience and absolutely worth every penny. We had the tasting menu (12 courses) with wine pairings. Our dinner took about 2.5 hours. In some reviews, I have read that people were disappointed with the amount of food and I have to say I don't agree. We were both extremely satisfied. The courses are small, yes, but rich and cooked with real butter and oil so as to be rich and tasty. There are also 4-5 different breads in the bread service -- also small, but I didn't finish the last two because I wanted to enjoy the dessert courses. Our service was exceedingly friendly, knowledgeable, unobtrusive and well-paced. Although the method of eating some of the courses needs to be explained, it is never done so in a condescending manner. I would definitely recommend the wine pairings -- at $110 per person, it certainly will bulk up your check, but the expertise and care shown in choosing the wines is worth the price. We would both return in a heartbeat, especially as the seasons change to see what is new on the menu. Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended.

A friend and I went last week while in town. We arrived and we're seated promptly at 9:15pm. We went for the tasting with the wine pairing. The presentation of the food was interesting and flashy AT FIRST. However, we quickly tired of ""jello"" like substances and small cubes of various ingredients (i.e. meats, veges, weird jellos). The food was good, bad, confusing, exciting, bizarre, over sold, too busy and uncatagorically small. It was like if they wowed you with the description and all the smoke and mirrors, you would somehow forgive the small bites, overuse of gelatin, small cubes and inflated pricetag. On a few occassions my dinner companion or I would get a half melted plate of whatever conconction was being served (i.e. the frozed mozzarella, the gelatin ale)....as if one dish had been sitting a bit too long while they prepped the other.

The services felt rushed and ill timed. At times the sommalier would barley get the wine description out and the server would interrupt him with a plate....

This restaurant is #1...who the heck are the people who voted for this? Did they not taste the food? Are they just pretentious foodies who jumped on the bandwagon beacuse someone else told them i t was cool? I dont get it....

Save you money. Go somewhere else......

We also went to
Boka - loved it!!
NoMi - boring, bland and tastless.
Hot Chocolate - thickest, richest, hot chocolate ever ...I recommend adding a shot of espresso to it.
Bongo Room - great breakfast...but enormous portions. My advice - split it, whatever it is!
Nacional27 - skip it...like the Miami atmosphere but the limited menu lacked a ""stand out"". It needed a bit of spice!

Alinea HANDS DOWN is the best restaurant I have ever dined at from an overall experience. While not all of the 24 courses are ""to die for"", the overall night was spectacular and savory.

I open by saying that they accommodated my picky food preferences very well, and were able to come up with excellent substitute ingredients that didn't ruin the integrity of the dish.

Despite the fact that men are required to wear jackets, the atmosphere is far from stuffy. The staff is as close to perfection as you can get, yet entirely approachable and unpretentious. Little details make all the difference, much like staying at a 5 star hotel. Silverware is presented on pillows, fresh napkins quickly replaced used ones everytime you get up from the table, your glasses never go empty, special requests are not forgotten, and on and on.

My friend and I enjoyed the 24 course tour menu, which quite literally takes 4 hours+ to complete. The service pace was perfect, as were the portions, and we never felt rushed, too slow, etc...

Of the 24 courses, 3 of them were the very best things we have ever eaten in our lives. Approximately 4 more courses were what I would consider ""phenomenal"". 2 courses were downright unapproachable and cloyingly rich. Perhaps that's just a personal preference though. The remaining 15 courses were, dare I say, ""average"" in the taste department. However, the combination of unique ingredients and presentation made them every bit as enjoyable as the rest of the meal.

Unlike some previous reviewers, I very much appreciated that they explained how to eat the food, what the history of the wines are, etc...The fact that the staff was an interactive part of the meal is part of what makes Alinea so special.

Ask for a kitchen tour after - you will love it!

Cons:
- Tour + Wine + Coffee + Tax + Tip is now $540 per person, which is RIDICULOUS by any standards
- A few too many ""foams""....certainly not my favorite food preparation.