Alinea

This place was amazing. I love how you just come in and get seated and start eating. The staff is friendly and very professional. No wonder this place is a 3 Star.  I would highly recommend coming here for an adventurous experience.

It's hard to give Alinea anything other than a 5* rating. It's truly a culinary powerhouse not only in the U.S but the world itself. I was there in September 2012 and we went "all in" with the exclusive wine pairing package. The experience was fantastic and some of the dishes were amongst the best we've ever tastes. But...there is a but, at least for me. I guess we were not the first wine enthusiasts to visit Alinea and we found it very hard to get through to the Sommelier when asking about the wines. First of all the choices themselves were good, but not excellent (George Breuer Riesling is good but not good enough to be on the "exclusive list", same goes for Weinbach "Clos du Capucins") and the sommelier who also was our waiter was far from the friendliest person we've met. Instead of engaging in discussion he simply shrugged as if "couldn't care less". This is unacceptable at the "7th best restaurant in the world". Don't get me wrong, I would give up a lot to have the honor  to visit Alinea again, but after having already visiting some of the other of U.S 3-star restaurants I was left with a slight slight feeling of disappointment. But still 5*...no question about it!

I am shocked that Alinea did not receive a perfect 5 star rating. This restaurant is the epitome of innovation. A few years ago, I was gifted the birthday present of a tasting menu here from my best friend. We were visiting Chicago at the time and by sheer luck, able to score a reservation for five.

I had never encountered molecular gastronomy before and was completely amazed. The science of it was just mind blowing. This is easily the most memorable, favorite meal I have ever had in my life.  I am honored to have been able to experience it.