The Achatz-Keller Show: Michael Nagrant Has Dinner With 'A Razor, A Shiny Knife'
Palate-about-town Michael Nagrant spent Saturday at underground dining club A Razor, A Shiny Knife's recreation of last year's $1500-a-head Keller/Achatz dinners. The Chicago iteration came on the heels of an NYC version, so presumably the team had their routine down pat.
Then again, there are always wrenches waiting to throw into the works — though in this case, they only serve to add to the charm. Given the gourmet-in-a-back-alley sensibility, the ideas of sous-vide-ing in a garbage bag or using a bathroom with the window open as a walk-in fridge start sounding less like acts of desperation, and more like acts of crazy MacGyver genius that completely justify the dinner $300 price tag.
And then, of course, there's the deliciousness factor, upped by Blymire-esque levels of technical proficiency::
ARASK’s cornet of salmon, “Hot Potato, Cold Potato,” rose-raspberry transparency... and a Concord grape shooter with yogurt and mint were all pitch-perfect examples of the originals. (ARASK’s “Hot Potato, Cold Potato” even featured doppelganger molded wax serving bowls fashioned by Sullivan.) While its lemon-sphere garnish had frozen unexpectedly and never made it to the plate, the deconstruction of lamb was otherwise cooked spot-on and served with an aromatic tableside centerpiece that wafted toasted coffee and fennel seed perfume.
The sense of fun pervaded, though — just in case the guests got too transported to the hushed halls of Alinea or Per Se, Nagrant reports that a spontaneous hip-hop dance party broke out just before the dessert courses. That's the kind of thing that'll remind you where you are, and why you're there.
Sharp Crew: A Razor, A Shiny Knife’s Alinea tribute [TOC Blog]
[Photo: Michael Nagrant/TOC]
