Help! Did I make the right choice?
My boyfriend and I have three nights in Chicago in September and wanted to treat ourselves to a really superb dining experience.
He is a private chef himself, so obviously very much into food and wine. Having travelled and worked on a vineyard in France he is particularly partial that flavour of cuisine.
We heard such great things about Alinea, but when looking at sample menu's it was a bit too Asian influenced for what he wants to spend his $$ on.
Tru looked right up our alley, and we made a very far in advance reservation, but I'm noticing a lot of bad reviews. I do take a lot of these with a grain of salt, but am starting to wonder if I made the right choice!
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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
By mmshock
on Jul 28, 2010 09:20 AM
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I think you made the wrong choice, because you seem to have an inaccurate impression of Alinea, not because there's anything wrong with TRU. TRU is excellent; I don't know where you're finding bad reviews but they are not representative. However, Alinea is not at all Asian influenced. Not in any way. I think restaurants do a disservice when they only list the main ingredients of a dish without really describing how they are prepared, and Alinea is one of those. It's very hard to get an idea of what a dish is like when you only hear a couple of the ingredients and not how they are put together. The best, most accurate description of a meal at Alinea that I've ever seen is in this humorous comic strip: http://lucylou.livejournal.com/555828...
If you are asking whether TRU is good and whether you'll have an excellent dinner there, the answer is yes. But if you are asking whether you should choose TRU over Alinea, my answer is clear and unequivocal: Go to Alinea. Period, end of story. What Achatz is doing at Alinea is way beyond what anyone else is doing, which is why it's been recognized as the best restaurant in the United States and one of the ten best in the world. It's also extremely delicious and amazing fun.
I am not criticizing TRU or telling you not to go there. I am telling you that you are missing something really special and unique if you don't go to Alinea. If you can swing two high-end meals, TRU is worth considering for the second one. But if only one is an option, Alinea is the right choice.
If you decide to have dinner at Alinea and not TRU, but you'd like to get a little exposure to TRU as well, you can go to TRU just for their dessert tasting. If you sit in the lounge, you won't need the dressy attire (e.g. jackets for men) that is appropriate in the main dining room. You can make reservations for a dessert tasting over the phone, not via Opentable.
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You'll be more than fine with Tru. I have been many, many times. I think there was a period where it was less than what it should have been or once was. Tramonto was opening restaurants and I would guess Tru suffered. They've changed the menu(s) a bit over the years but my recent trip there was excellent. I can easily recommend it.
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Thanks to both!!!
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Been to Alinea a few times, too, and nsxtasy is correct. Tru is good but it ain't Alinea. I didn't really get the Asian influence that was mentioned and should have commented to that. If you can get into Alinea, that would be my top recommendation!
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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
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