Restaurant Review, Alinea.

The name says it all. In the course of history, an “alinea” would mark the arrival of a new idea or philosophy. If the concept flies, it could mark the beginning of a different way of thinking or a new practice. The restaurant Alinea situates itself in that sphere and in a forthcoming age that succeeds all the inns, taverns and bistros as we’ve known them. So be prepared: Alinea is a restaurant like no other in America, period. The experience begins at the doorstep when one enters into a post-post-modern, bare set-up, evocative of a museum of modern art. Tables are over-size, widely spaced and free of distracting tablecloths. All of this is to focus our attention on the food and nothing else. Waiters dressed like bank executives in black suits move smoothly on the carpeted floor, delivering solemnly to the tables miniscule cups, small glasses, mini plates and mysterious decorative objects symbolic of an esoteric food that needs to be deciphered before eaten. The dinner, composed of approximately 16 to 20 courses, is concocted with dozens of components and in an order and a fashion revealing the art of Grant Achatz. This all may have a disconcerting effect if one is not prepared. So staff pop up to explain and guide one’s approach to the odd presentations, such as at the tip of a metallic skewer or on a steel string swing. Achatz constantly invents new preparations, changing combinations that he dubs with a concise description, such as “king crab,” passion fruit, heart of palm and allspice, or “otoro,” Thai banana, sea salt and kaffir lime. In this whirlwind of creativity, you’d think the dessert simply named “chocolate” would be a mainstay given its uniqueness. Achatz unrolls a plastic-coated cloth on your table and pours the ingredients of his chocolate dessert over the cloth, then gathers and kneads coconut, menthol and hyssop with the hot cocoa. It is the most sophisticated and paradoxically simple “pastry” you can think of; the most spectacular as well.

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