Marta has a new admirer. Grant Achatz, the molecular maestro behind Chicago's three Michelin star Alinea, is in town right now, and stopped by the pizzeria of the moment the other night:
At Marta rest. About to taste @NickAnderer 's stuff off their insane @GrillworksBen monster. Looks awesome. @abrochu pic.twitter.com/AYOCnJ74jt
— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) October 9, 2014
One of the best seasoned meals I've had in recent times @martamanhattan from @NickAnderer great use of b.pepper, salt and acid. Delicious.
— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) October 9, 2014
Back in April, Achatz promised New Yorkers a full-blown month long Alinea pop-up in October. There's been no word since, but could he be scouting locations? On Twitter he calls his adventure an "RD biz trip."
@charlene519 did ippudu for a quick lunch, @JeffreysGrocery then home. RD biz trip.
— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) October 9, 2014
So it's either that, or he's doing research for an upcoming menu at Next, which he's been known to do before. Update: Achatz tells Eater he was just doing R&D for his new Chicago restaurant, and that he's putting off the pop-up for now to focus on has various Chicago projects. But the good news is, they were also exploring "expansion opportunities," for something in the distant future.