Is Alinea the Best Restaurant in the US?

So, dear hearts, Mr. Fashionista and I had the good fortune to go to Grant Achatz' restaurant Alinea, which was recently awarded three, count 'em three, Michelin stars. Oh and it was also named the best restaurant in North America. The question is, of course, does Alinea deserve all of these accolades?  

In a word: YES! At least for us it was our first adventure into 3 star restaurant land. We had been to a handful of the two star restaurants around town, but not the couple of 3 star joints yet. And let's just say this: one little star is the difference between memorable and unforgettable.

And what was so unforgettable? Well, we had 20 tasty and completely fun and unique courses. Let's break it down for you (spoiler alert--if you are going any time soon, do not read this as we'd hate to spoil the surprise!):

Courses 1-3: Crazy cocktails in one-inch square gelatin form. Specifically, they were LEMON (luxardo bitter, luxardo amaro, grapefruit); APPLE (laird's apple brandy, grenadine, thyme); and SQUASH (cynar, carpano antica, flor de cana 7 year).

In other words, super fancy jello shots. Fun, but not necessary, and the only courses I could have done without to be honest. Still I really enjoyed the sentiment and think it added to the fun of the meal.