Alinea by Grant Achatz Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Alinea
Book Review: Achatz is Dali: Alinea - Each Bite is a Paragraph of Mindfulness
Summary: 5 Stars
Achatz - to cuisine - is what Dali was to canvas. Esoteric, ephemeral, surreal, transcendent, a-linear, the Alinea images are an introspection into the poetry of taste.
Having had the fortune of experiencing Alinea earlier this year, I was happy to stumble upon the book later in the fall: as I had been trying to "paint the picture" of the experience for my friends, I felt the insufficiency of words to convey the whimsical intensity and the moody nuance of Alinea forms. The book solved the problem. With this in mind, I recommend the book as a kind of photoalbum of Alinea pilgrimage to compliment the memories.
I would like to muse on the semantics of the restaurant's name itself...
The word "alinea" is a typographical character that derives from the Latin off the line and is used as a paragraph sign to mark a new train of thought.
As such, the restaurant name "Alinea" is a logical choice for a bite-sized journey that is Achatz' cuisine. The restaurant offers two menus - a Tasting and a Tour. Each menu is a stream of gustatory consciousness in which the mind of the Chef takes the pilgrim's palate on an odyssey of fleeting encounters... in which each bite-sized course is a paragraph of mindfulness and a new train of thought...
The resulting experience is that of continuous attention and presence. Alinea is akin to a culinary harem of exotic one-night stands, in which the touch-and-go courses assure that an eater can never bite more than his or her mind can chew... It is a kaleidoscope of subdued Enya-like mood-wafts of taste amidst the uprising thermals of futuristic presentation...
I know, I know - if this sounds poetic, it's because the experience was, indeed, poetry, with each course - nothing more than a stanza; with each course - nothing less than a taste off the line of the Expected - i.e. an alinea.
Alinea - to sum up - is a non-linear eating experience for an open mind.
Pavel Somov, Ph.D., Author of "Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time" (New Harbinger, 2008; www.eatingthemoment.com)
Copyright, 2008
Book Review: Alinea Book
Summary: 5 Stars
The most artistic way to look at the food from the best restaurant in the nation, maybe the world. Even though no restaurant in Chicago is rated by Michelin.Book Review: Alinea cookbook worth it !
Summary: 5 Stars
The Alinea Cookbook, mind-boggling, intricate, molecular-gastronomical food creations by a wizard, genius, courageous, daring, chef-extraordinaire Grant Achatz. A cookbook with recipes and procedures only a great chef can duplicate and present the way Alinea chefs do. The cook book is meant to inspire and to show what is possible with fine ingredients_innovation at its finest.Book Review: Alinea is the best kitchen in the US-This book captures it
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the pleasure of dining at Alinea in June of 09. My son requested this as his graduation present from U Chicago Law School. I have eaten at the finest restaurants around the world and all I can say is Alinea is in a class by itself. I was given a short tour of the kitchen afterwards. It made me think of NASA. If you are a foodie this is Mecca. The book is an astonishingly beautiful coffee table class book. The size, photography, design, and production conjures up a fine art book. I have been a serious amateur chef for nearly 40 years and what is very clear is that this is not a book for beginners. It assumes a fairly high level of skill and familiarity with advanced practices. That said, this is a treasure trove of innovation and methods to challenge the skills and imagination of anyone who loves to cook. The only other book I think it compares to is The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller. Both of these chefs rank amongst the top innovators in the world of fine cuisine. If you really want to push yourself as a chef buy this book. If you simply want an astonishingly beautiful coffee table conversation piece buy this book. Whatever you do make sure dining at Alinea is on your "Bucket List."Book Review: An Impressive book
Summary: 5 Stars
Everything about ths book was impressive. Physically, it's much larger and heavier than I was expecting and the quality of the pages and printing is outstanding. The quality really helps show off the wonderfull photos that make this book a great piece of table art, as well as a book of recipies.