i gave myself an early birthday present this year...
in my most spontaneous moment since having a child, i booked a ticket with points the day before and flew to chicago for 24 hours while we were in the U.S.
the thing that sparked it all? alinea.
one thing i do miss about our former life in chitown is the foodie scene. when some of my favorite girlfriends told me they suddenly had an open spot in their alinea reservation made months and months ago, i couldn't pass it up. i left sage for the first time ever and relished my short time with my fun friends.
i want to remember the menu...
steelhead roe with coconut, curry, yuzu + anjou pear with onion, brie, smoking cinnamon
oyster leaf mignonette
king crab with passionfruit, heart of palm, allspice
lobster with carrot, chamomile
razor clam with shiso, soy, daikon
woolly pig with fennel, orange, squid
scallop acting like agedashi tofu
otoro with thai banana, sea salt, kaffir lime
burn morels with rampls, fiddlehead fern, miner's lettuce
hot potato with cold potato, black truffle, butter
lamb with whatever pairings you want
black truffle explosion with romaine, parmesan
squab inspired by miro
ginger with five other flavors
blueberry with buttermilk, sorrel, macadamia
balloon made of green taffy and helium
this is when carol said, "jess, eat the balloon for this picture!" and i did. and then the taffy stuck to my face and hair. and then i inhaled the helium and squeaked, "ah! it's stuck in my hair!" in a helium voice for all the people around us to hear. not classy, not classy at all.
the thing that sparked it all? alinea.
one thing i do miss about our former life in chitown is the foodie scene. when some of my favorite girlfriends told me they suddenly had an open spot in their alinea reservation made months and months ago, i couldn't pass it up. i left sage for the first time ever and relished my short time with my fun friends.
i want to remember the menu...
steelhead roe with coconut, curry, yuzu + anjou pear with onion, brie, smoking cinnamon
oyster leaf mignonette
king crab with passionfruit, heart of palm, allspice
lobster with carrot, chamomile
razor clam with shiso, soy, daikon
woolly pig with fennel, orange, squid
scallop acting like agedashi tofu
otoro with thai banana, sea salt, kaffir lime
burn morels with rampls, fiddlehead fern, miner's lettuce
hot potato with cold potato, black truffle, butter
lamb with whatever pairings you want
black truffle explosion with romaine, parmesan
squab inspired by miro
ginger with five other flavors
blueberry with buttermilk, sorrel, macadamia
balloon made of green taffy and helium
this is when carol said, "jess, eat the balloon for this picture!" and i did. and then the taffy stuck to my face and hair. and then i inhaled the helium and squeaked, "ah! it's stuck in my hair!" in a helium voice for all the people around us to hear. not classy, not classy at all.
white chocolate with strawberry, english pea, lemon, vanilla cream
it was definitely a night to remember.
it was definitely a night to remember.
This looks amazing! I think dinner here and a trip to Chicago are going to be my present to Forrest for graduation. It's all for him...really...completely unselfish act on my part...
ReplyDeleteAhh..... I can still taste that Black Truffle Explosion.
ReplyDeleteI love this and I love these girls!! They make me want to move to Chicago... miss it there and miss you!!! XOXO
ReplyDeletethat food looks amazing and your friends are really cute.
ReplyDeletei am proud of you for your spontaneous moment...you deserve it!
fun pictures of all this gourmet-nes i wouldn't even know how to eat most of that stuff!
I think the coolness of you buying a ticket last minute, dropping everything with 7 hours notice and hoping on a plane for a major food experience was understated. You are AWESOME!!!! Let's do it again!!!!
ReplyDelete