Alinea (restaurant)

Alinea is a restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, United States. In 2010, Alinea was awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide.[1][2] As of December 20, 2017, Alinea is the only Chicago restaurant to retain a three-star status, Michelin's highest accolade.[3]

Alinea
The exterior of the restaurant is nondescript
Restaurant information
EstablishedMay 4, 2005 (2005-05-04)
Owner(s)Grant Achatz
Nick Kokonas
Head chefGrant Achatz
Food typeMolecular gastronomy
Rating (Michelin Guide). Voted 6th best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine 2011
Street address1723 North Halsted St.
CityChicago
StateIllinois
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°54′48″N 87°38′54″W
Websitewww.alinearestaurant.com

History

The restaurant opened on May 4, 2005, and takes its name from the symbol alinea, which is featured as a logo.

Co-owner Nick Kokonas wrote, of the restaurant's name, "If you're wondering about the name, Alinea literally means "off the line." The restaurant's symbol, more commonly known as the pilcrow, indicates the beginning of a new train of thought, or literally a new paragraph. There's a double meaning: On one hand Alinea represents a new train of thought about food, but we are a restaurant, and everything still has to come "off the line.""[4]

In October 2008, chef and owner Grant Achatz and co-author Kokonas published Alinea (ISBN 1-58008-928-3 ISBN 978-1-58008-928-9), a hardcover coffee-table book featuring more than 100 of the restaurant's recipes.

In November 2010, Alinea was awarded three Michelin stars, making it one of only two such restaurants in Chicago at the time, along with L2O.[1]

In January 2016, the Alinea Group, the owner of Alinea, bought Moto restaurant in Chicago.[5]

On January 1, 2016, Alinea closed temporarily for renovations.[6] The restaurant planned to operate pop-up restaurants worldwide[7] before reopening on May 20, 2016 after an extensive remodel and a complete overhaul of the menu.[8]

Awards

Alinea received the AAA Five Diamond Award, the highest level of recognition given by the AAA, from 2007 to 2017. It ranked ninth on the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants List, second only to Eleven Madison Park in the US. As of 2017, Alinea is the only Michelin Guide 3-star restaurant in Chicago.[9] Alinea received the 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant.[10]

On June 14, 2016, Alinea was ranked 15th among the World's 50 Best Restaurants, an increase of 11 spots from 2015.[11] In October 2016, TripAdvisor named it the number one fine dining restaurant in the United States, and one of the 10 best restaurants in the world.[12]

In the 2017 list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, Alinea was ranked 21st in the world.[13]

Controversy

In 2020, Alinea served from a rooftop when all indoor dining was closed in Illinois during the coronavirus pandemic. The menu included a canapé shaped like the COVID-19 virus. Alinea Group co-owner Nick Kokonas stated the appetizer was "meant to provoke discomfort, conversation, and awareness" but some diners described it as "tacky", "disrespectful" and "insensitive."[14][15]

  • Exterior
  • Entrance interior
  • Lamb
  • Blueberry
  • Rhubarb
  • Lobster
  • Dessert course

See also

References
  1. Davey, Monica (November 16, 2010). "A Hurried Announcement for a New Michelin City". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  2. Sifton, Sam (November 17, 2010). "At Alinea, Three Stars Come With a Mischievous Taste of Autumn". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  3. Michelin trims star list to 25 restaurants for Chicago Reuters October 20, 2017
  4. "Thought for Food: Alinea's Reinvention of Cooking and Eating". Gizmodo. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. "Moto Restaurant Sold to Alinea Group After Chef Homaro Cantu's Death". 5NBC Chicago. January 22, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  6. Todd, Anthony (October 13, 2015). "Alinea Is Closing For Renovations And Taking Chef Achatz On The Road". Chicagoist. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  7. Pang, Kevin (October 13, 2015). "Alinea closes for renovation Jan. 1, plans pop-ups in Madrid and Miami". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing Company. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  8. Freeman, Sarah. "Alinea 2.0: Reinventing One of the World's Best Restaurants". Chicago Eater. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  9. PR Newswire Michelin Releases Fourth Edition Of Its Famed Guide To Chicago's Great Restaurants, November 12, 2013
  10. "Awards Search - James Beard Foundation".
  11. Sutton, Ryan (June 13, 2016). "The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2016: The Full List of Winners". Eater.
  12. Lippe-McGraw, Jordi. "Here are the best restaurants in the US (bargains included!)". TODAY.com. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  13. Alinea at theworlds50best.com Accessed 2017
  14. blockclubchicago.org 2020/07/11
  15. Chicago Tribune
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