Originally Posted by
SFflyer123
J
Alinea: a once-in-a-lifetime place. I have eaten at a lot of restaurants in the world, including French Laundry, Le Benardin, and Michelin 3-stars, but I have never, ever had a meal like this. Alinea is the next level. I can see why it is one of the 10 best restaurants in the world, and I can see why it is considered the best restaurant in America. Not only is the food so incredibly creative, it is aesthetically artful and it is absolutely delicious. The flavors are so intense and so rich, it's like nothing I've had before. Just an absolute delightful dining experience!
I second that comment. I did the 26-course tasting at Alinea with full wine pairing. It was the most expensive meal I've ever had in my life (roughly $600 including tax and tip, for one). However, I will say that of the 26 courses, there were only 3 that were "world class" (Lobster 3-ways, A5-12 Wagyu, and the Guiness Beef thing), about 4-6 that were "excellent", about 12 that were "good to very good" and the remainder really just fell flat on their face...I would venture to say "unacceptable" (like the stuff you suck out of a glass tube, the duck, the egg thingy).
What makes the Alinea experience is the perfectly orchestrated service, the incredible knowledge of both the servers and wine stewards, and the fact that they have bread pairings to go with several courses
