Price Range:

 $$$$ Good for Groups:

NoGood for Kids:

NoTakes Reservations:

YesDelivery:

NoTake-out:

NoWaiter Service:

YesOutdoor Seating:

NoWi-Fi:

No

Good For:

 DinnerAlcohol:

Full BarNoise Level:

QuietAmbience:

Classy, UpscaleHas TV:

NoCaters:

NoWheelchair Accessible:

Yes

 

“Expect to be wowed” at Grant Achatz’s “unrivaled” Lincoln Park New American, a “culinary experience of a lifetime” (and Chicago’s Most Popular restaurant) where “transcendent flavors”, “unforgettable, artistic presentation” and “mind-blowing technique” highlight a multicourse tasting menu that’s akin to “going on a food safari”; “über-modern” decor is enhanced by “interactive, accommodating” staffers, and while you may need to “bring the Brink’s truck” to pay, well, that might be the cost of “foodie heaven.

Molecular gastronomy, or avant-garde cuisine, challenges the way diners interact with food.  The meal becomes as much about the  experience as it does about the flavor.  The challenge is to create a unique and exciting experience without sacrificing the taste.  Alinea was my first domestic experience with molecular gastronomy where the dishes were not only fun and exciting, but they tasted great, too.

Our menu, titled the “grand tour,” consisted of 24-courses each overlaid with grey orbs of varying opacity to indicate intensity, portion size and sweetness.  The color of the orb indicated the dish’s intensity: darker meant more intense.  The position of the orb indicated the dish’s sweetness: to the left meant savory, to the right meant sweet.  The size of the orb represented the size of the plate: bigger orb, more food.  We were given not a menu for the evening’s food, but a guide to help us with pace.