For much of the past decade, I have had amorphous plans to dine at Grant Achatz's groundbreaking Next restaurant in Chicago. For the unfamiliar, Next pioneered the use of a "ticketing" model wherein reservations are prepaid, non-refundable and inclusive of all aspects of the meal (tip, etc.). It also features rotating themes that change every few months. Over the years since its opening, many of the themes have not tickled my fancy, but early this year the announced theme was "The Silk and Spice Road," which tempted us enough to spring for tickets. Thus it was that, last Wednesday, we traveled up to Chicago for dinner at Next.
Though I had expected a pan-Asian menu with perhaps an emphasis on Central Asian fare, in fact the theme was broadly interpreted to include spicing from around the world. The structure of the dinner was an 11-course tasting menu (9 savory, two sweet) and we chose the mid-level Reserve wine pairings, eschewing the higher level Ultra pairing both for financial reasons and out of concern of entering the Spoof Zone.
The meal began with three amuse bouches presented on a wrought iron mock pan balance, resting on small burlap sacks filled with spices (star anise was the only one I saw): an Indian "samosa" chip, a lentil pancake filled with a cardamom cream and a skewer of egg custard and green beans. With these, they served a drink of Niepoort 11 Year White Port mixed with Tonic water, a surprisingly refreshing combination. We were also given a collection of spices (green and pink peppercorns, star anise, juniper berries, ground cinnamon and ground allspice) and instructed to add whichever spices we wanted to our drink and then sample over time. I added juniper berries and green peppercorns which added an aromatic top note to the drink.
The second course was the "Rich Peasant," a two-part creation consisting of a small pile of Osetra caviar on the one hand and a small crab salad on the other. To this latter, some Buddha's hand citrus zest was grated on top. Served with these, which the server explained were intended to evoke the Tropics, was A. Margaine "le Demi-Sec" Premier Cru Champagne. This was a new producer for us. We were told that it had a high percentage of Chardonnay (50-60%) and it came across as quite dry, certainly at least as dry as some purportedly Brut Champagnes. This was one of the vinous higlights of the evening for us.
The next dish was "Mole & Rain," which consisted of a small cube of pork belly in a rich brown Oaxacan mole served on a hoja santa leaf. We were told to use the leaf as a "tortilla" to eat the mole. On a separate hoja santa leaf were the titular "rain:" little circles of a solidifed gel that tasted of cinnamon along with horchata "pearls". This dish was one of the highlights of the evening for me, rich and deliciously flavorful. The mole was full of complexity. Served with this was a Chenin, the 2013 Clos d L'Elu "Ephata" Anjou Blanc, slightly oxidative, saline and mineral with medium body. I thought that it was an inspired choice with the mole.
With the remains of our Chenin, we next had a "Vietnamese salad" that consisted of a green papaya ice, ginger "noodles", very potent cilantro and various other tasty goodies, all assembled in a compact mass in a bowl.
The next dish emphasized the theatrical elements of the meal. A "tea ceremony" involved a tea infused with dried enoki mushrooms that was used to cook a small cylinder of black cod that was served along with a bean paste that mimicked miso paste. All of this was done tableside and the "tea" was pure umami. Served with this was a wacky wine: 2016 Antonio Macanita "Isabella a Prohiba" from the Azores. Although Isabella is a hybrid grape, it most closely resembled a Petit Rouge from N Italy: high acid, lightweight, cranberryish flavors. I didn't get any foxiness from it, but this was the fourth wine of the night.
After that came a "Grains of Paradise" dish that consisted of several slices of spice-crusted squab meat served with black and white chips, the former formed from palm nut cream and the latter from garlic, as well as a round of eggplant gel and a bell pepper reduction. Served with this relatively simple dish was the 2016 Peay Vineyards Pomarium Pinot Noir. I've read a bit of this Sonoma Coast producer, but this was my first taste of their wines. It came across as a bit heavy and alcoholic but not out of balance. Still, a bit too big for our tastes, but not a bad pairing with the squab.
Next up was a dish called "Flat Bread & Candle." Prior to the previous course, a mini-tandoor was set up in the middle of our table and two rounds of dough placed on it to bake. At that same time, two "candles" were lit at the edge of our table and allowed to burn while we ate the previous course. For this dish, the naan were removed from the tandoor, with one side crisped and the other chewy, and a cinnamon-infused melted ghee was decanted out of the "candles" onto the bread. Paired with it was my WOTN: 2015 Foreau Vouvray Demi-Sec. This is a producer I know more by reputation than by experience, but I see now that this is a mistake on my part. The wine was entrancing, weightless but deeply flavored and in perfect balance, all the more remarkable in such a ripe vintage. I will have to do a side-by-side with Huet at some point.
The last savory dish was the most visually arresting. Called "Glass Canvas," it consisted of a wicker bowl filled with various spices. Placed atop the bowl was a circular piece of glass and on that glass was our food: two small cubes of wagyu beef, one spice-encrusted, served with 6-8 small piles of different spices. The ones I recall are ground pepper, za'atar, ground allspice, pureed garlic, and ground cinnamon. We were encouraged to dip the beef cubes into whichever collection of spices we chose. With this was the 2009 Xurus Cabernet Sauvignon Sonatina Vineyard, a perfectly respectable CalCab from Lake County but rather forgettable in this lineup.
The first of the sweet courses was more of a palate cleanser. "Mace" consists of a small pile of mace served with a citrus-flavored ice. This was followed by a true dessert course, "Marble," in which an ice cream was created tableside using a marble bowl that had been chilled to cryogenic temperature in liquid nitrogen (we were sternly warned not to touch and we had to explain our 35-year-long familiarity with the use and precautions of working with cryogenic liquids) and chocolate, coconut and peanut flavors. With this concoction was served the 2007 August Kesseler Riesling Auslese Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck. In truth, I would have preferred it without the dessert so I mostly just sipped it. Intense stone fruit flavors of moderate sweetness were accompanied by near-electric acidity. It finished absolutely clean on the palate and in fact did far better as a dessert than the ice cream IMO but that's how I'm wired.
Those of you who recall Jeff and Thor's descriptions of Alinea in this thread and this one, too may recognize the sense of theater that is part and parcel of the meal. The servers did tend to be more expository than what we typically get, but the service was brisk and efficient, perhaps even a touch too much so. A few of our dishes were replaced while we were still contemplating what we'd just eaten. I felt that the wine pairings were, on balance, quite decent, though not at all cheap even when compared to the price of the meal. The space itself wasn't nearly as well thought out as the food itself was, but was serviceable all the same.
Would I go back? If someone else was paying, certainly. Having had curiosity satisfied, I probably won't make it a destination again.
Your intrepid reporter,
Mark Lipton
Though I had expected a pan-Asian menu with perhaps an emphasis on Central Asian fare, in fact the theme was broadly interpreted to include spicing from around the world. The structure of the dinner was an 11-course tasting menu (9 savory, two sweet) and we chose the mid-level Reserve wine pairings, eschewing the higher level Ultra pairing both for financial reasons and out of concern of entering the Spoof Zone.
The meal began with three amuse bouches presented on a wrought iron mock pan balance, resting on small burlap sacks filled with spices (star anise was the only one I saw): an Indian "samosa" chip, a lentil pancake filled with a cardamom cream and a skewer of egg custard and green beans. With these, they served a drink of Niepoort 11 Year White Port mixed with Tonic water, a surprisingly refreshing combination. We were also given a collection of spices (green and pink peppercorns, star anise, juniper berries, ground cinnamon and ground allspice) and instructed to add whichever spices we wanted to our drink and then sample over time. I added juniper berries and green peppercorns which added an aromatic top note to the drink.
The second course was the "Rich Peasant," a two-part creation consisting of a small pile of Osetra caviar on the one hand and a small crab salad on the other. To this latter, some Buddha's hand citrus zest was grated on top. Served with these, which the server explained were intended to evoke the Tropics, was A. Margaine "le Demi-Sec" Premier Cru Champagne. This was a new producer for us. We were told that it had a high percentage of Chardonnay (50-60%) and it came across as quite dry, certainly at least as dry as some purportedly Brut Champagnes. This was one of the vinous higlights of the evening for us.
The next dish was "Mole & Rain," which consisted of a small cube of pork belly in a rich brown Oaxacan mole served on a hoja santa leaf. We were told to use the leaf as a "tortilla" to eat the mole. On a separate hoja santa leaf were the titular "rain:" little circles of a solidifed gel that tasted of cinnamon along with horchata "pearls". This dish was one of the highlights of the evening for me, rich and deliciously flavorful. The mole was full of complexity. Served with this was a Chenin, the 2013 Clos d L'Elu "Ephata" Anjou Blanc, slightly oxidative, saline and mineral with medium body. I thought that it was an inspired choice with the mole.
With the remains of our Chenin, we next had a "Vietnamese salad" that consisted of a green papaya ice, ginger "noodles", very potent cilantro and various other tasty goodies, all assembled in a compact mass in a bowl.
The next dish emphasized the theatrical elements of the meal. A "tea ceremony" involved a tea infused with dried enoki mushrooms that was used to cook a small cylinder of black cod that was served along with a bean paste that mimicked miso paste. All of this was done tableside and the "tea" was pure umami. Served with this was a wacky wine: 2016 Antonio Macanita "Isabella a Prohiba" from the Azores. Although Isabella is a hybrid grape, it most closely resembled a Petit Rouge from N Italy: high acid, lightweight, cranberryish flavors. I didn't get any foxiness from it, but this was the fourth wine of the night.
After that came a "Grains of Paradise" dish that consisted of several slices of spice-crusted squab meat served with black and white chips, the former formed from palm nut cream and the latter from garlic, as well as a round of eggplant gel and a bell pepper reduction. Served with this relatively simple dish was the 2016 Peay Vineyards Pomarium Pinot Noir. I've read a bit of this Sonoma Coast producer, but this was my first taste of their wines. It came across as a bit heavy and alcoholic but not out of balance. Still, a bit too big for our tastes, but not a bad pairing with the squab.
Next up was a dish called "Flat Bread & Candle." Prior to the previous course, a mini-tandoor was set up in the middle of our table and two rounds of dough placed on it to bake. At that same time, two "candles" were lit at the edge of our table and allowed to burn while we ate the previous course. For this dish, the naan were removed from the tandoor, with one side crisped and the other chewy, and a cinnamon-infused melted ghee was decanted out of the "candles" onto the bread. Paired with it was my WOTN: 2015 Foreau Vouvray Demi-Sec. This is a producer I know more by reputation than by experience, but I see now that this is a mistake on my part. The wine was entrancing, weightless but deeply flavored and in perfect balance, all the more remarkable in such a ripe vintage. I will have to do a side-by-side with Huet at some point.
The last savory dish was the most visually arresting. Called "Glass Canvas," it consisted of a wicker bowl filled with various spices. Placed atop the bowl was a circular piece of glass and on that glass was our food: two small cubes of wagyu beef, one spice-encrusted, served with 6-8 small piles of different spices. The ones I recall are ground pepper, za'atar, ground allspice, pureed garlic, and ground cinnamon. We were encouraged to dip the beef cubes into whichever collection of spices we chose. With this was the 2009 Xurus Cabernet Sauvignon Sonatina Vineyard, a perfectly respectable CalCab from Lake County but rather forgettable in this lineup.
The first of the sweet courses was more of a palate cleanser. "Mace" consists of a small pile of mace served with a citrus-flavored ice. This was followed by a true dessert course, "Marble," in which an ice cream was created tableside using a marble bowl that had been chilled to cryogenic temperature in liquid nitrogen (we were sternly warned not to touch and we had to explain our 35-year-long familiarity with the use and precautions of working with cryogenic liquids) and chocolate, coconut and peanut flavors. With this concoction was served the 2007 August Kesseler Riesling Auslese Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck. In truth, I would have preferred it without the dessert so I mostly just sipped it. Intense stone fruit flavors of moderate sweetness were accompanied by near-electric acidity. It finished absolutely clean on the palate and in fact did far better as a dessert than the ice cream IMO but that's how I'm wired.
Those of you who recall Jeff and Thor's descriptions of Alinea in this thread and this one, too may recognize the sense of theater that is part and parcel of the meal. The servers did tend to be more expository than what we typically get, but the service was brisk and efficient, perhaps even a touch too much so. A few of our dishes were replaced while we were still contemplating what we'd just eaten. I felt that the wine pairings were, on balance, quite decent, though not at all cheap even when compared to the price of the meal. The space itself wasn't nearly as well thought out as the food itself was, but was serviceable all the same.
Would I go back? If someone else was paying, certainly. Having had curiosity satisfied, I probably won't make it a destination again.
Your intrepid reporter,
Mark Lipton
