'Lamb 86,' New Alinea Dish, Features 86 Different Components

Grant Achatz's Next Restaurant might have been getting a lot of the attention recently, but there's no reason to forget about Alinea (actually, we doubt anyone has). They are doing some crazy/cool stuff there, and you don't (yet) need tickets to dine there. For example, a new course the restaurant serves consists of 86 different components. We can't even fathom how long that takes to prep. "Lamb 86" is a beautiful dish, and we've got to think that there's some significance -- or at least a cool coincidence -- to the "86." After all, when a dish runs out, it is "eighty-sixed." This dish, however, is focused on abundance rather than scarcity.

[Via Eater]

WATCH:

Comments

[DoUntoOthers]

12:12 AM on 05/15/2012

Alinea provided the absolute best meal I've ever eaten.

It's not an everyday type of restaurant, but every once in a blue moon you have to treat yourself like royalty or you will lead a boring, complacent type of life.

[lakefront liberal]

09:49 PM on 05/14/2012

This country is plagued with the all-you-can eat, gut buster restaurants, where more is more. Why can't the we also have precision cooking where it's about the experience, the tastes, and the artistry of cooking and all the inventiveness that comes with that. We need chefs like Achatz and places like Alinea as well as the MacDonald's and Burger Kings of the world. To pooh pooh this restaurant and this food is like saying that we can't have classical music and pop music at the same time. We all may not be able to afford to eat at Alinea, but I'm not going to bemoan its existence and the experimentation that it performs because it doesn't suit everyone's tastes. I actually think it's quite amazing and would love to experience a meal there at some point in my life. Meanwhile, I'll do lunch at Potbelly's and dinner at the Chinese place around the corner.

[South Side Chuy]

11:58 AM on 05/14/2012

And is that supposed to fill you up?

[Dale Chan]

01:04 AM on 05/14/2012

Whatever I could easily throw 106 ingredients into a dish!

Can't promise it will taste any good though.

[Talossa]

12:22 AM on 05/14/2012

That's more than my tagine!

[Boissiere Parker]

10:45 PM on 05/13/2012

This looks really interesting. I love the concept and the lamb looks really tasty. I wonder how long it really takes for the chefs to prepare this piece of art food.

[thespianl16]

07:20 PM on 05/13/2012

Thomas Keller is one of the greatest chefs alive today. One reason is that he cooks food the right way without having to use an overabundance (which is sometimes a waste) of ingredients. Too many components in a dish tends to drown out the main ingredient. Sometimes simple done right is better than extravagant gone overboard.

[rastadaddio]

10:11 PM on 05/13/2012

sometimes less is more.

[zeroesandones]

06:00 PM on 05/13/2012

funny.. in old restaurant lingo.. 86 means you are out of something..

[thespianl16]

07:17 PM on 05/13/2012

The term is still widely used in professional kitchens. I enjoy not having to hear that every night anymore ;) Love the adorable puppy photo by the way!

[zeroesandones]

10:20 PM on 05/13/2012

I should have read the whole article and seen they made reference to it.. I work in kitchens too.. And thanks I had 2 puppies but they are all grown up now..

[plasmaorb]

03:25 PM on 05/13/2012

People who dont get this kind of cuisine are the people who think OutbackSteakhouse is actually good or whatever chainrestaurant they end up going to end up having pre-prepared food for their meal.. nothing but overpriced cafeteria food in those places.

[John2021]

04:33 PM on 05/13/2012

I'm sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree.

My extended family includes many great cooks and some fine chefs, as well as a host of dedicated food lovers born and raised in France. This sort of thing is very fashionable at the moment, but it's not about food at all, it's about a chef's ego and lust for recognition. More power to him, but leave my dinner out of it.

People who can never afford this meal should understand one thing: You're not missing much. See
the comments below referencing Curnonsky. Cuisine should not be a circus sideshow.

[peegan]

09:46 PM on 05/13/2012

My mother is from France and I completely agree. She used to say we ate like peasants, but meant it in a way most may not understand. We ate  fresh clean food from local sources when ever possible. A few flavors, a couple of textures. Perfection.

[CoronaDischarge]

11:14 PM on 05/13/2012

Ego it is. There is no sense to this excess. It is excess ingredients for its own sake, the chef's ego and as an excuse to excavate your wallet. Taste appears secondary. Likely it's tasty, but not satisfying, and certainly not worth the price or the effort.

[Benjo333]

05:36 PM on 05/13/2012

Generally corporate food is more ingredients than less. It reads like a box label for processed food. I do think most 5 star dining is generally less and higher quality. But, gee whiz you sounds so sophisticated, not.

[stape45]

03:18 PM on 05/13/2012

One thing we all know for sure: It's not an 86-calorie dish.

[profrac]

02:59 PM on 05/13/2012

There's something just so 'periodic table' about this dish.

[MaryinNM]

08:02 PM on 05/13/2012

I was thinking the exact same thing! I suspect at some point Achatz, Adria or one of the other molecular gastronomy chefs will come up with something along this line. Be interesting to see how they handle the noble gases.

[Jesusocialist]

02:16 PM on 05/13/2012

A secret blend of 18,934 herbs and spices.

[miz mendo]

12:37 PM on 05/13/2012

Kinda makes me crave a messy burger, which I rarely even eat. I do not require my food to have a higher IQ than me.

[SiameseTrainer]

11:30 AM on 05/13/2012

Ridiculous! A make work project for restaurant kitchen "chimps".

[Npn Npn]

06:12 AM on 05/13/2012

Really? Now foodies have gotten so desperate for novelty that the number count of ingredients is a "cool factor"? Is it really necessary to have black licorice, anise and fennel? please. And with cherry, white beans and olives, this just sounds like a mess.

Next it will be the count on how many grains of salt a dish has - watch for Eggs 192.

[plasmaorb]

03:23 PM on 05/13/2012

When you become Grant and have one of the top 5 restaurants in the world, then you can make comments about that.. plus you never tried it.. your mind is too closed off to even try it.
I have eaten at Alinea and there is a true method to his madn.ess.... the restaurant will leave a permenant impression with you... and I say that in the best of ways... since I still think about it to this day and wish I could eat there more often, at least 1-2 times a year.

[patianneb]

01:29 PM on 05/14/2012

P.T. Barnum (attributed): "The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it."

[Npn Npn]

11:48 AM on 05/17/2012

I had similar micro or molecular or such and such cuisine in LA and other places. Perhaps a good idea by true originators but hard to replicate and mostly limp, drab overwrought and and overpriced anywhere else.

No thanks and I'm in a lot of good company on that.