Everyone hates the coronavirus-themed dish at Chicago’s Alinea
Creators have always used adversity as inspiration for their art, but when that muse is still the very present—and very deadly—Covid-19, one should probably tread lightly. Imagine the uproar when a dish from Chicago’s Alinea in Residence pop-up that resembled the coronavirus made its way onto Instagram. The canapé in question—a greyish round of coconut custard dotted with freeze-dried raspberries and Szechuan peppercorns—garnered hundreds of replies, and a hearty defense from Alinea Group co-owner Nick Kokonas on the post. “Art is often meant to provoke discomfort, conversation, and awareness. This is no different,” Kokonas countered to one of the many commentators. “Everyone on here saying we are somehow oblivious need to think just a single level upwards.” If that’s the hill you want to die on, sure, but we never had this problem with the Baby Yoda cocktail.
