He’s used to being #1.
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Yesterday, Alex Perry from Time Magazine crowned England’s L’Enclume as the rightful heir to El Bulli’s “Best Restaurant in the World” crown once the Spanish institution closes in 2012. Not so fast, says Gridskipper, which picked our home town boys as the true successors. While this is all terribly premature, and assumes that El Bulli will actually close, we’d can’t hide enthusiasm to see some kind of culinary competition to come out of all this. Bravo should get involved. For now, at least, we’ll just have to compare quotes.
Time Magazine’s reasoning for L’Enclume:
A gastro-laboratory in the middle of nowhere that redefines the notion of food? Is this yet another paean to Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in northeastern Spain? Actually, no. This is a paean to Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in the village of Cartmel at the southern end of England’s Lake District. When El Bulli closes for two years in 2012, L’Enclume will be the world’s best restaurant. At least in my view.
Gridskipper’s reasoning for Alinea:
Bottom line: Alinea’s the kind of place that delights and surprises but never lets whimsy get in the way of flavor. It excites in ways not unlike El Bulli does, but it is unquestionably unique. Achatz is a perfectionist who cares – maybe a little too much – about being original; he hasn’t hit 40 yet and shows no signs of stopping.
Who Will Fill El Bulli’s Place? Our Pick: Alinea [Gridskipper]
