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Found this waiting on my doorstep last night. It's the long-awaited Alinea book. And wouldn't you know, it's a monolith. I was literally afraid to touch it for fear that I might have a mindsplosion.
I'll have a review of this 400-page, five-plus pound omnibus as soon as I can. Until then, take a look at some of the pages. These are just the opening pages.
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it's a fucking restaurant, not the Second Coming.
haute cuisine pretension makes me want to barf.
bacon.
publican.
BACON at the publican.
OH! Pork belly!
Oysters?
Oh GOD.
Combining the marvel that is Alinea with what looks like a BEAUTIFUL book hits all my loves in one.
Ok, Scarlett Johanson HOLDING the Alinea book and I die of an aneurysm.
No shit, Shannon. What pretentious crap.
Food porn. Ug.
Yes, let us all eat salt pork and well water that stinks of sulphur. Then we will be pure.
Alinea and other gastronomical temples like Moto and Arun's aren't just about absorbing nutrients, they are about the art of food. Creating new and amazing ways of combining flavors, taking mere protein and carbohydrates and transforming them into monuments of human creativity that exist only as long as the hunger of the patron can hold out.
Like sand mandalas or ice sculptures, they are temporary and therefore not viewed with the same sniffing, stuck-up art love showered on paintings and sculptures. And unlike any other medium, food must also be delicious.
If you do not see food as art and those who create it as artists, then you have not eaten good food and I pity you that.
Yes, let us all eat salt pork and well water that stinks of sulphur. Then we will be pure.
Yeah, that's exactly what we were saying.
Creating new and amazing ways of combining flavors, taking mere protein and carbohydrates and transforming them into monuments of human creativity that exist only as long as the hunger of the patron can hold out.
As I said, pretentious.
If you do not see food as art and those who create it as artists, then you have not eaten good food and I pity you that.
Pity away, you sensitive soul you. I have the feeling you pity 99% of humanity in any case, so what are a few more tears shed for the proles?
Hey, I like good food, despite your assumption--even if I realize that food's primary function is to fuel biochemical reactions--but I don't treat it as holy, nor do I feel the need to embarrass myself with purple prose to celebrate it, either.
Temples? Seriously? Wow. That's more than a bit decadent.
And unlike any other medium, food must also be delicious.
Yeah, that high-def TV I nibbled on last night was uber-tasty, though it could have used a bit more horseradish, to be honest.
Yeah, I'm bored, and it's fun to play with you, Albany. You give so much to work with, and you always give it back pretty well.
Albany: I just threw up in my mouth a little after reading your post. Temple? Seriously?
Albany: these "temples" are also about taking yourself too seriously, ending up with your head straight up your own ass, and pumping out a 400-page book of overpriced edible art.
i, too, am rather insulted at the insinuation that because i don't drink the Alinea Koolaid, i don't like good food. there are other ways to go about bringing quality, well-presented food to the public than gushing all over oneself like this.
Let's put aside for a moment the snark and look at this with an eye for semiotics. What is holiness? A reverance? The hush of a cathedral, the closeness around a menorah, the beauty of a pagan bonfire? Holiness is standing in the presence of creation, often human creation. The Hagia Sophia, the Dome of the Rock, the necropolis of Alexandria? All holy in their time and in their way to their people, and all totally human.
But those places divide us. Religion is tribal, it's about who is and is not among the elect, the holy, the saved.
Food is universal. Everyone must eat. And when you must do something, when it is necessity, why not do it with an eye towards beauty? With a sense of reverence for that which sustains us, fills us, makes us able to enjoy the whole of creation.
You can find perfectly nourishing food at any on of a million places. Fills the belly, gives you what you need. Alinea and places like it take you beyond the transaction, beyond simple necessity. It takes us to the realm of the unnecessary. Art is not a requirement, it's not an evolutionary must, but it allows us to go beyond the mundane, beyond simply being. It opens our senses.
Have you been to Alinea? Or Charlie Trotters? Or Opera? Go. Really, GO. Don't cry poor, it's not that expensive even for those of modest means and you can have a wonderful meal and not end up on the dole. Go, taste and see. These are temples.
Not only have you cheapened the meaning of the word temple, Albany--and no, I don't buy your line of thought, though you get massive points for trying--but you have embarked on a line of reasoning that seems like a parody of itself, almost like a bad hair metal band.
I love good food. I have eaten good and great food of all price ranges in at least a dozen cities around the world and who knows how many cities in the USA. No, I clearly don't know as much about food as you do, nor do I share your obvious enthusiasm for food, but I like to think I have some perspective.
See, no one is arguing against good food, or the appeal of good food in both taste and presentation. That's a core part of culture. I think people here are just arguing against the decadence, pretentiousness and narcissism of this specific book. One can find the idea of the book silly or dim or stupid and still appreciate good food. And that's the exact point where your reasoning falls flat: As is typical from you, you equate a specific disagreement on a specific issue with a general dislike of all that is good or which makes live worth living--or, in this case, of good food in general. I don't understand why you often think like this.
I agree completely with this asessment and think you pay the topic three wonderful compliments.
Yes, the food and book is "decadent". But that's the language of class warfare. We are both typing on computers, likely ones with broadband access less than a few years old. How decadent this would appear to billions around the globe? The reduction of enjoyment because it is expensive or costly is pettiness. It is decadent, but what a wonder that it can be so.
Pretentious? Indeed, no one needs this book or these restaurants, this idols. They are exagerated and wild in their reach. But to reach beyond the every day and sometimes, just sometimes grasp it? That's human. Good on pretension, the wild claims and wilder ideas make life more interesting.
Narcissism? Absolutely. Shouldn't the chefs and chemists and farmers and bookbinders and designers and typesetters be proud, even boastful, of the wonderful things they create? Every dish and every page should be a celebration of achievement. The paean to humility, along with your comments about "cheapening" the meaning of a temple, are religious bunkum. Those who create should be proud of their wonders and well-rewarded.
And yes, I expand and extrapolate and widen my arguments quite a bit. Because when we speak of one facet of a gem we speak of the jewel entire.
I say this with no snobbery intended, but you just described Applebees.
Or any number of non-chain family dining establishments. Quality food, well-presented, nothing wrong with it, I eat at them regularly.
We're talking about a different breed altogether here. It's not just about nice presentation and good portions for your dollar. You're devouring art.
These places set trends, they change pallets. New York in the 80's and 90's wash awash in high-end sushi places, now you can get sushi at dominicks. The trickle down (drizzle down?) effect is well-documented. Places like Alinea change the way people eat over years. Their impact on the food consciousness is enormous.
I don't think you hate good food. I just don't think people who roll their eyes are art-cuisine don't see the inherent beauty and wonderful experimentation afoot. I think you're missing out.
Albany: Fair enough. I guess I am just not as enthusiastic about those three qualities as you are. I rarely find any of those qualities appealing, and would prefer that good work speak for itself. In any case, I have nothing more to add to that line of thought.
Because when we speak of one facet of a gem we speak of the jewel entire.
Well, no, not really, and certainly not all the time. That is a massive flaw in logic. Yes, things are connected in countless ways, and specifics always shine light on the whole, but criticizing one aspect of something does mean one dislikes the entire genre, so to speak. I think your thinking on this matter approaches the binary and absolute, no matter the mild poetry of your expression. Odd, in that you are arguing that people need to have a wider appreciation of the art of food--that is, a more open mind--yet, at the same time, you want to charge that any mind that doesn't grasp the same beauty you do is essentially condemning great food in general. That is another contradiction from you.
Not my point here, or elsewhere.
Your comment
Those are your words
Another's comment
Coarse language and grunts. Are you really calling upon me to have a more open mind? I started with hyperbole about salt pork. You're crafting your usual rondel here, taking a joke or a word out of context, stripping it bare and using it as a switch for the rest of the discussion. Old hat Matilda. Old hat. Calling me on my contradictions? Nonsense. The only person with a pure through line is a fanatic. Contradictions are inherent to the human condition. It's like pointing out I have a nose.
You're using the wrong words here as well. Food is not a genre, and if you can't see how places like Alinea are important, that's just myopia.
Coarse language and grunts.
You of all posters are complaining about that? Uh, OK.
ou're crafting your usual rondel here, taking a joke or a word out of context, stripping it bare and using it as a switch for the rest of the discussion.
And you are doing what you usually do when someone dares to disagree with the great ideas flowing from Albany--charging someone with arguing in bad faith, and generally distracting from the issue.
Contradictions are inherent to the human condition.
Indeed, but they always wound logic, don't they, and poke holes in binary ideas?
You're using the wrong words here as well. Food is not a genre,
Nor, really, is it a medium, as you described it, and some would take issue with calling it art (versus, say, craft, for instance).
and if you can't see how places like Alinea are important, that's just myopia.
Again, here you go again with "If you don't see it my way, you are simply a rube who can't appreciate beauty." That hardly suggests you are as civilized as you like to pretend, my friend.
My son and I went to Moto a couple of years ago and our bill was around $350 *choke*
And we LOVED it. We had a marvelous time. That lasered vanilla bean in the read wine was pretty, pretty awesome.
But on the way home we wanted a hamburger.
It is pretentious and it's too expensive...it's something that is fun to do maybe once...but even if I could afford it, I wouldn't go back.
I like good ol' peasant food. There is NOTHING in this world I like better than to make a pot of oxtail stew, crunchy bread a salad, open a bottle or three of red wine and have some friends over. I would take that over Moto or Alinea any day....even if I had 5 million dollars in the bank.
Albany, I wish I had your passion for fine food. Foodies or whatever they wish to be called intrigue me. To be able to get such joy out of a good meal is something I do not understand but thats just me.
Please, gird your loins a bit.
@Fed:
I don't like the term foodie. Gives the image of someone who can't enjoy things unless they're fanciful. I lived near a greasy spoon called "Lorraine's" at Chicago and Damen for a couple years. They made potato pancakes and hash browns that I would kill for. I think food can be a delicious art and a simple tasty way to not die of starvation.
Please, gird your loins a bit.
I suspect you think you are being clever, but ...
In any case, have a great weekend and enjoy your food.