What could be better than combining a (formerly) 3* Michelin restaurant pop-up with a weekend of Phish at the Sphere in Vegas? Not much, if you ask me…
When I realized that I could fly back a bit later on Saturday and it was the Alinea 20th Anniversary pop-up opening weekend, I just had to go. A week's worth of emailing and groveling to the Alinea team resulted in a Saturday night table for one (they only book multiples of two) and one hell of a finale to an amazing weekend of friends, music, relaxation and food.
The 13-course meal did an excellent job of introducing Alinea and their classics combined with new, exciting and flavorful dishes that exhibited what the team learned during its world tour and all they've learned over 20 years as a restaurant.
Enjoying the clear "Chicago Hot Dog" and "Hot Potato, Cold Potato" alongside the insanely adventurous Snapper with coconut and banana really showed how this group of talented chefs continues to explore and ideate.
Finally, having Chef Achatz behind the pass for this meal was extra special. He ran a great kitchen with hands on every dish and spent some time with me at the meal's end. Grant is a student of culinary history and to discuss elBulli and The French Laundry with someone who actually worked there was insane.
Enjoy the meal!
by brooklynite
2 Comments
I’m going next month as I also wanted to do the Aviary pop-up. Did you order cocktails with the meal? I’m not a wine aficionado and was hoping to go with cocktails but the website did not mention that as an option.
Nice pix and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Written in PR speak. I guess that’s better than AI these days.