I enjoyed this article from NYT, about visiting Alinea a long time after its heyday. https://archive.is/ZYaiG
I personally visited just once, maybe 12 years ago, and found it to be a bit underwhelming. To be sure, it had been built up in my mind and I was ready for the absolute best of the best. But by then I’d already had a lot of “molecular gastronomy” type stuff and most of the gimmicks felt…gimmicky. There were way too many gels for my taste, and some interesting technical issues: At one point a small “campfire” was placed in the middle of the table as we ate some course; the next course (wagyu, I believe) was, we discovered later, supposed to be cooking in the center of the fire, unbeknownst to us. The server went to dig it out and it was totally carbonized; he had to run to the kitchen for a replacement. But mostly, it just felt like style over substance; almost nothing was truly delicious.
None the less…when I think back on various tasting menus I’ve experienced over the years, it immediately comes to mind! So despite my walking out disappointed, they did something absolutely right, and I immediately clicked on that article upon seeing the headline this morning…interesting how memory works 
