Achatz At Alinea [ Town & Country ] Alex Perry poses the big question today in TIME. His answer: L’Enclume , the restaurant helmed by Simon Rogan in England’s Lake District. Perry rhapsodizes about the restaurant’s $115 13-courser, referring to the “witty deception” that marks everything Rogan turns out: “Two examples: Chick O’Hake is a fish fillet topped with a crispy chicken-skin “batter” set on mashed brussels sprouts made to resemble the traditional English mushy peas. “Stiffy tacky pudding” is a variation on a Cartmel speciality, in which the ingredients come as five separate little balls.” Oh, and it’s also got serious locavore cred, as Rogan sources everything from his own farm. While it’s nice to read something as enthusiastic as Perry’s piece, we can’t help but suggest it’s highly unlikely that L’Enclume will be catapulted to anything close to El Bulli status once Adria does whatever it is he plans to do in 2012. In fact, it’s hard to think any restaurant will rise to that level — either because it’s not exclusive enough or doesn’t push the laboratory, crazy wizard ethos that El Bulli was so known for. If we had to pick the likeliest candidate to fill El Bulli’s place, it actually wouldn’t be The Fat Duck . While Heston Blumenthal’s Bray restaurant is a powerhouse and has for a long time held strong at No. 2., it’s hard to think of a place that has risen faster and more deservedly than Chicago’s Alinea. Chef Grant Achatz, a man with strong ties to both Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria , does not stop pushing the envelope at his five year-old Lincoln Park restaurant. The place is a few steps away from institution status.

Read the original here Controversial Predictions: Who Will Fill El Bulli’s Place? Our Pick: Alinea