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Watch as Corey and Sean dress up for dinner and review Alinea's $50, six-course 15th-anniversary take-away from the comfort of Corey's dirty living room on Number Six With Cheese.
Reviewers Corey Wagner and Sean Ely are out of their food comfort zone, discovering Grant Achatz's 'progressive American' food from his three-Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant for the first time. But working their way through dishes and ingredients they've never heard of, let alone tried, they're soon having a blast, and getting more carried away with each course.
Watch their unbridled joy as they work their way through the entire meal in the clip below:
"It took a pandemic for us to afford to go to Alinea," admits Sean, but the experience is a resounding triumph, with the pair totally agreeing it's worth $50 a person by the end. In fact, they're so enthusiastic they even seem to be up for splashing out on a meal at the restaurant itself.
It takes the pair an hour to set up the six-course meal after consulting the instructions. Starting off suspiciously with what Corey describes as a "fancy people feast", there are some less than complimentary comparisons to ball bearings and old people's mush food, while Sean describes the first fish roe course as "wild".
Things only get better. Downing shots of Malört between courses, the duo double up as token Chicagoans for the day, and give a thumbs up for the pea soup, as they're converted to a dish they've never tried. Alinea must be doing something right.
When they get to their favourite course of 'Rootbeer' of Braised Beef Short Rib they realise just how great beef can be. "That's freakishly good," Corey comments, while Sean admits "I'd pay $50 just for that."
They finish by making the tabletop dessert their own. "No wonder people go crazy for this," says Sean as they scrape the last remnants of chocolate up off their coffee table.
Here's what was on their Alinea five-course menu:
Blis Steelhead Roe:
Coconut Pudding • Carrot • Turmeric • Passionfruit Gel Chilled English Pea Soup: Chamomile Compressed Cantaloupe • Yogurt Custard • Nueske's Ham
Spicy Gulf Prawn:
Cucumber • Thai Curry Sauce • Thai Aromatic Salt
“Rootbeer” of Braised Beef Short Rib:
Fennel • Vanilla scented 50/50 Potatoes • Dark Dried Fruits
Wild Mushrooms and Green Asparagus:
Lapsang Souchong Tea Emulsion • Pickled Shallots
Chocolate 64% on Your Table:
Strawberry • Vanilla • Hazelnut Praline • Blueberry •Lemon
