30 Best Restaurants in America

Photo by: Credit: flickr/ Edsel L.

14) Alinea, Chicago
There's little question that Grant Achatz (The Daily Meal's 2011 Chef of the Year for America), whose training includes stints with Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, and Ferran Adrià, deserves the title of America's most creative chef. As soon as you think there's nowhere else to go, Achatz figures out that place and goes there. The menu at his Alinea can sometimes sound deceptively simple ... more 

Photo by: Credit: flickr/ Edsel L.

14) Alinea, Chicago
There's little question that Grant Achatz (The Daily Meal's 2011 Chef of the Year for America), whose training includes stints with Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, and Ferran Adrià, deserves the title of America's most creative chef. As soon as you think there's nowhere else to go, Achatz figures out that place and goes there. The menu at his Alinea can sometimes sound deceptively simple (lobster with carrot and chamomile), but what shows up on the plate is absolutely original and almost always dazzlingly good. What to expect next from a chef and restaurateur who serves squab "inspired by Miró," paints your table with dessert, and lists "Lamb...???...!!!" as a menu item? Hard to predict, but you're going to want to be there when the food is brought out.

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