Next - Chinese: Modern

Today is Karen's birthday, Yeah! Saturday night we went out for dinner to celebrate. We again found ourselves at Next Restaurant. We've been there before but since they completely change three times a year the experience is different every time. We've been there for Chicago Steakhouse, The Hunt and the Sicily theme. This time the theme was Chinese Modern.

Chinese Modern was interesting. It mixed flavors completely foreign to me with very well know Chinese food concepts. My idea of Chinese food is based on the local Chinese restaurant's egg rolls and fried rice. Next's Chinese Modern is not that thankfully. You get hints of tradition with plenty of whimsy. All of it was wonderful and I was happy to have experienced this version of Next.

Pressed Okra
 The meal started with us at the table and a centerpiece between us. Little did we know that the centerpiece was our first course. The server came out and explained that our first course was hot and sour soup. He preceded to begin cutting open the large piece of Chinese Okra in the centerpiece. The soup was inside! The centerpiece was pressed down and the soup was poured. A nice start to the meal. The soup was aromatic and finished with a nice taste of cilantro.

Bamboo Shoot and Lily Bulb - Jasmine, Candy Cap, White Cardamom
This course eased us into the what would be a marathon of Chinese food. Light, delicate and wonderful. I really enjoyed this dish.

Scallop Dumpling with Watercress and White Fungus

Pork Dumpling with Jujube and Cuttlefish

Congee as a Hot Foam with Pork Floss

 

These last three were served together as dim sum. All three incorporated pork in some way. It's interesting to note that all three are dough free. Instead of dough, Next uses a scallop and pork mousse to create the illusion of a dumpling. All three were fantastic. I think the scallop was my favorite but ask me again tomorrow and I'd probably give you a different answer.

Monkfish with White Asparagus in a Roasted Spine Broth
One of my favorite dishes in the meal. A wonderful, delicate dish. A nice balance of heat and coolness. The aroma was crazy. The fish was amazing. I could have stopped at that point and I'd have been happy.  

Crab with Green Chili Paste and Fresh Coconut
This is the best crab salad I've ever had. It was served in a coconut to create some whimsy. The server also shaved coconut ice at the table and put it over the salad. The best I can recall there was green chili paste, crab, potatoes...I think, coconut ice, mushroom and sprouts. There was more but I just can't remember. A pretty complicated but wonderful crab salad.

Tiger Salad with Cold Skin Noodles and Seitan 

Tingly Squab with Tarragon and Sumac

 Skate Chops in the Style of Muslim Lamb

These last three were another trio. They were all very distinct strong flavors. The squab left my lips tingling even though is was not hot. While all three were good the squab stood out to me. It was probably the best single thing I had all night.

Shrimp in Duck Yolk "Sand"
This course presented the entire shrimp in varied textures. It started with a small bite to get you ready for the main event.

Beef and Broccoli in Liquid and Solid State
There is not much to explain here. The liquid state was basically a beef consomme with broccoli oil on top. The solid state was dried and oiled beef with fried broccoli on a wood board. I liked this course even if it was a bit heavy. It was a nice play on a classic Chinese-American staple. 

Duck in Layers - Sour Plum, Kyobancha, Osmanthus
This course came out in stacked layers.   In those layers were steamed buns with duck, mustard and dandelion greens, a poached duck egg over cabbage and of course, duck.

 

 

"Pulling Threads" with Sweetbreads, Taro Root and Banana - Goji, Walnut, Black Vinegar

This was a fun course. Think sweetbread magic shell. Pieces of sweetbreads, taro root and banana were served on a large hot plate covered in caramel. Obviously, everything was extremely hot. We dipped the hot pieces in the cool sauce. Within seconds the pieces had a sweet coating. A nice sweet and sour dish.

Frozen Rice Soup with Legumes and Whipped Vinegar

Frozen peas and nuts.Ok, maybe that's a bit too simple. This course was interesting.  I kinda think you just have to try it. It's hard to explain. 

Dragon's Beard Candy with a Pressing of Honey

I really like this course. Our server pressed a honeycomb at our table explaining where the honey came from. He suggested we dip our finger in the honey and try it before mixing it with the other ingredients on the plate. I'm happy he did. The honey was amazing. 

 Fortune...
Of course the meal ended with a fortune cookie. We had a giant fortune cookie with a copy of the menu inside. We also had bubble tea. A fun way to end a great night.

Chinese Modern was complex and full of whimsy. I enjoyed the experience from beginning to end. Bravo Next Restaurant for another great night.

 

Next - The Hunt

I recently had the opportunity to find my way back to Grant Achatz and Dave Beran's Next. Instead of having just one style, Next completely changes its menu every few months. The focus could be on a specific time period, menu or concept. The first menu was Paris 1906. After that Next has done a Childhood menu, Kyoto menu and other concepts. Last time I went the menu was focused on Sicily. Big thanks to Jeff & Karen for having us. While the meal was awesome yet again, the company was even better.

Like Sicily, a note from the chef waited for us at our table. It explained what was to come from tonight's meal.

The meal started with a terrarium being placed at the center of the table. I was asked to open it. As soon as the lid opened I was hit with the scent of rosemary. Inside the terrarium was hen of the woods mushrooms on top of hot rocks. Under the mushrooms was onion, garlic and fresh rosemary. I speared the mushroom with a utensil, I'm not sure what it was. The mushroom was woody and delicious. A great start to the meal.

Served with the mushroom was this little bowl of consummé. Imagine French onion soup, the best you've had. Multiply that by a thousand. That's what this tasted like.

The next course featured two types of fish, trout and walleye. 

In the jar was walleye rillettes with pumpernickel toast. Creamy goodness with a crunchy  pumpernickel toast. The piece of fish was a cold and hot smoked lake trout. I'd never heard of cold smoking before. This was a very good course highlighting the wonderful taste of fish.

The next dish came on a log. Seriously, on a log. The server explained that this course could be thought of as charcuterie. There was five small bites served on cross sections of deer antler. From left to right is rabbit pate, elk jerky, boar salami, venison heart tartare and blood sausage. Every bite surprised me. The elf jerky was really spicy. The venison heart was very mild. Everybody agreed the stand out was the blood sausage.

The next course was one of my favorite savory dishes. It was explained that the chef harvested these carrots and onions at first frost when they are the sweetest. They were then packed, put in a cellar and aged for six months. There were cooked using some technique I cant remember other than it involved butter, so that's good. What came out of all of that was the best carrot I've ever had and probably will ever have. It was sweet, but still had plenty of bite. Nothing mushy about this carrot.

Up next, duck tongue. To be accurate, duck two ways. On the left was a scrambled duck egg which was then wrapped in radicchio. On the right was duck tongue on top of apple with rainbow radicchio. The duck tongue was crispy. It tasted like bacon. We all agreed this dish reminded us of bacon and eggs.

Then all of a sudden things got fancy. Candles came out. The plates had gold on them. Our next course came out. Poached sturgeon in a butter sauce with caviar. I'd tell you is was beyond wonderful but I'm sure you've figured that out on your own. 

Woodcock was the next course. Two small bites of woodcock.  I couldn't hear when the server explained but I think on the left is huckleberries. I know shaved truffle was also mentioned. A good dish. Not my favorite but still very good.

Then it got really interesting. Pressed Squab was the next course to arrive at our table. The server explained that there could not be a hunt menu without one course in which the whole animal was used. This was that course. The first picture is the main plate. Squab breast is placed over a confit squab leg. The sauce comes from the juices pressed from the carcass and mixed with all sorts of other good stuff. The green near the center is bread crumbs stuffed into the head. You can kinda see the beak if you look close enough. The breast was perfect and worked with the sauce. The leg was very tasty. Now back to that beak. We were told to pick up that head by the beak and if you popped it in your mouth you could eat out the brains. I have to admit I wasn't sure about that. In the end I went all zombie on that squab and ate the brains. It was good, I really liked it. I'm probably not making it a part of my snacking routine but I'm glad I tried it.

The carcass was placed at the table. We were told to used our hand and just go at it. The server told us that any chef will tell you the best parts are always on the carcass. This was true. 

This course came with a bowl of steel cut oats with more of the blood sauce. 

Up next was fallen leaves. On a piece of bark was fried kale, pumpkin seeds, parsnip,  edible bark, I know I saw a leaf, purple cauliflower, a small onion and kidney mustard. I was surprised by how much I liked this course. Everything came together to make a perfect dish.

Put together Bison and a really hot rock and you have the next course. Pretty simple. Place Bison on rock for fifteen second and enjoy.

Oh man, let me tell you. This next course, the transition to dessert, was so good. The best dessert I've ever had. You remember in December I wrote about Takashi? Check it out if you didn't see that post. Part of the dessert was a macaroon which I loved. This dessert made that macaroon look like a hostess cupcake. What is it that has me raving like a crazy hobo? The bone marrow creme brulee. Sorry guys, no way to describe this other than best ever.

Next was a grain pudding cooked like risotto. It was served in a hot cast iron pot. The server placed a tray of toppings on the table. There was cherries, pecans, vanilla sugar, english toffee and mint. I could have had so much more of this, it was very good.

The final course was a fun and tasty way to end the night. The server brought out a plate of snow. Bourbon Maple syrup was then poured in the snow. I rolled up the syrup with a stick making a wonderful taffy. 

Another awesome meal which pushed me out of my comfort zone a bit and I'm happy it did. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.