First molecular bar to open

Grant Achatz, award-winning chef and brains behind the molecular gastronomy restaurant Alinea in Chicago, has announced his latest venture is a new bar, Boom, where drinks will be at the forefront.

Achatz told the Wall Street Journal, Boom is “opening up new possibilities. I would love the opportunity to sit down at a bar and say I am going to have an alcohol tasting menu".

That is exactly what Achatz has planned for Boom and the menu is sure to be an extension of his creative approach to dinning – a rethinking of traditional cocktails and bar food. Expect to find lots of foams, tapiocas, gelées and surprising whimsical delights where you chew on your drinks and sip your appetizers.

Many chefs (Cathal Armstrong, Wylie Dufresne and Johnny Iuzzini) have become mixologists creating drinks behind the line to enhance the cocktail experience at their restaurants, especially with desserts, but Boom will be the first molecular bar in the world. Others are likely to emerge.

Blogs discussing Achatz’s announcement of Boom:  http://eater.com/archives/2010/02/01/grant-achatz-opening-a-molecular-bar-in-chicago.php

http://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/02/chef-grant-achatz-to-open-molecular-bar-in-chicago/