Oct. 05--What began as a one-off fling in 2011 between a couple of Michelin-starred restaurateurs has turned into a full-fledged romance. Once again this year, the restaurant groups behind Chicago's Alinea and New York's Eleven Madison Park are collaborating for an event.
This time, it's for the launch of The NoMad Cookbook, an Encyclopedia Brittanica-sized tome that's actually two books in one -- a hardcover featuring food recipes from the The NoMad, the restaurant inside the hotel of the same name in Manhattan's Flatiron district, plus a mini-book of NoMad cocktail recipes wedged into the back pages. The NoMad received one star in the most recent Michelin guide.
Of relevance to Chicago readers will be Page 218, which features the recipe for The NoMad's famed whole chicken with black truffle brioche stuffing. That chicken inspired Lee Wolen's beloved chicken dish when he was chef at The Peninsula hotel. (Wolen, an alumnus of Eleven Madison Park, now heads the kitchen at Boka.)
The event will take place 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at The Aviary. It's essentially The NoMad popping up inside The Aviary, with drinks from NoMad bar director Leo Robitschek and canapes from the restaurant. Tickets are available here; the $165 price tag includes the hardcover cookbook from Ten Speed Press, which retails for $100.
In fall 2012, Eleven Madison Park and Alinea swapped cities and restaurants for one week. In November 2011, The Aviary hosted a party to unveil Eleven Madison Park's new cookbook.
kpang@tribpub.com
Twitter @pang
