According to The New York Times, Next's first menu will be Paris, 1912. Not surprising given the introduction of Escoffier dishes to Alinea's menu over the last year or so.

Also, there will be no transactions occurring at the restaurant. No reservationist, no bill will be presented, no tips accepted, etc. They say it's being automated as a cost-saving measure. The Times also notes that building gratuity into the ticket cost allows them to distribute that money as they see fit...

Kennyz wrote:What's the difference between a ticket and a reservation that requires payment in advance? Media attention?

Ticket - No need to worry about paying more because everything is covered.
Reservation with payment in advance - Good chance you'll need to shell out extra.

For bigger groups, a ticketing system makes so much sense because it eliminates the awkwardness of splitting up the check. Mr. Dollar Short will have nowhere to hide now. Think about it, no need to multiply by .15 to .20 at the end of a meal!

Also, you get a nice souvenir instead of a receipt.

kl1191 wrote:Also, there will be no transactions occurring at the restaurant. No reservationist, no bill will be presented, no tips accepted, etc. They say it's being automated as a cost-saving measure. The Times also notes that building gratuity into the ticket cost allows them to distribute that money as they see fit...

This is a new and interesting concept (at least for me).

Imagine, showing up, no lines, head inside and have a meal and a few drinks, not having to deal with doing the whole credit card/creating a tab (I do understand that there is a tab involved but it will behind the scenes), not chasing down a bartender at the end of the night, not having to figure out a tip after a several of the said drinks.

Maybe they will include valet parking too?

I think it is cool (but expensive)!

Panther in the Den wrote:

kl1191 wrote:Also, there will be no transactions occurring at the restaurant. No reservationist, no bill will be presented, no tips accepted, etc. They say it's being automated as a cost-saving measure. The Times also notes that building gratuity into the ticket cost allows them to distribute that money as they see fit...

This is a new and interesting concept (at least for me).

Imagine, showing up, no lines, head inside and have a meal and a few drinks, not having to deal with doing the whole credit card/creating a tab (I do understand that there is a tab involved but it will behind the scenes), not chasing down a bartender at the end of the night, not having to figure out a tip after a several of the said drinks.

Maybe they will include valet parking too?

I think it is cool (but expensive)!

I'm not sure this system applies to the Aviary (which is the "bar"). It's probably just for Next, which is the restaurant.

I'm most excited about being charged less for going at off-peak hours. I'd certainly rather go on a Tuesday at 10pm for $40 than a Friday at 8pm for $75.

gleam wrote:I'm most excited about being charged less for going at off-peak hours. I'd certainly rather go on a Tuesday at 10pm for $40 than a Friday at 8pm for $75.

Me, too, and not just because the price is cheaper.

It seems like they'd need to have some way to pay for add-ons at the time of. What happens when some absent-minded person forgets to add wine when they buy their ticket? Are they just SOL when they arrive and realize their mistake? I suppose that could be workable, if annoying, if one person has done that for a whole table, but what about the one person in a party of 4 who has no wine?

Overall it sounds like a really cool concept. I'm really interested to see how it unfolds.

Panther in the Den wrote:Maybe they will include valet parking too?

IMO, they should become the first restaurant in Chicago to offer bicycle valet (regardless of fee inclusion).

-Dan

Hello all-

Well, this is exciting news indeed. I'd eat at Alinea every few months, were it not for the cost involved -- and this looks to be a great way to sample their work a little more often without breaking the proverbial bank.

Here is a (perhaps obvious, but not yet explicitly stated) thought about the tickets: I always treat Alinea (and other places of its ilk and expense) as MORE than just a meal -- it's not merely food as food*, but also food as theater. I could certainly see them keeping that aspect up in this new venture (especially given that they include dates in the description of the possible menus). And i think the idea of having a "ticket" just reinforces the idea that you're not just getting food, but also a performance**.

In any event, color me stoked.

-jim

*don't get me wrong -- the stuff is delicious. there's just also a performance aspect to it.

**and it's this idea that helps me justify the (very) occasional expense at alinea -- i'm getting a meal, but also a visual and interactive experience with the food and the drink that has independent value.

el refrito bandito wrote:I always treat Alinea (and other places of its ilk and expense) as MORE than just a meal -- it's not merely food as food*, but also food as theater. I could certainly see them keeping that aspect up in this new venture (especially given that they include dates in the description of the possible menus).

I definitely agree with this. That's kind of what I was thinking in regards to the concept.

And yes, how wonderful is the idea of selling cheaper "seats" for less popular times? I would surely buy an off-time for a cheaper price. I've chosen early/late dinners on Open Table to get the bonus points.

Next may just revolutionize the dining scene in Chicago. Not that the concept of "ticketing" hasn't been done before, but I wouldn't be surprised to see more restaurants in Chicago using this method.

I cannot wait. Especially after just spending half my GDP at Alinea the other night ...

Who wants to bet that the first round of tickets sells out in a matter of minutes?

The cheaper seats for less popular times isn't so new either, they're just marketing it differently. Le Buchon and many others have been selling a cheaper prix fixe on certain weeknights for a long time. In many cases, the menu is the same as what you'd get on a Sat. night.

What's really new here is the idea of pre-payment, gratuity included. Perhaps, someone, somewhere is doing this already, but I've never had a dining experience (where I was paying) where the entire meal experience was free of financial transactions. I have no doubts that this could be arranged ahead of time with almost any restaurant, but as a basic business practice it's new to me and interesting.

Best
Michael

Any plans to offer untaken tables on Hottix? Just askin'.

I suspect the various underground and farm dinners are one inspiration for the no-money-involved thing.

Interestingly, T.R Reid did a piece on high-end geisha dinners in Japan once and there's absolutely no hint, during the dinner, that anything so base as money is involved in the experience, during which you are plied with the finest food and the graceful attentions of your hostess (also there will be corn, as Smoove B would say). The next day, a bill is discreetly sent along to your office (you wouldn't have been allowed to attend in the first place if you weren't a figure of such corporate or political importance). (He talked about it on Splendid Table, you can find the episode here.)

To me, no bill and no tip is evocative of the idea of a house account. I believe there are a few restaurants in Chicago that offer the option of settling up at the end of the month to extremely frequent diners. Depending on how it's implemented and handled, it can come off as ostentatious if you're trying to flaunt it to the ladies at the bar or extremely convenient in the case of business meetings or when entertaining guests whom you'd rather not trouble with the thought.

wow, sign me up. i'm so grateful that chicago is a place where folks can afford to take some chances that aren't based (at least IMO) on trends...

Mike G wrote:(also there will be corn, as Smoove B would say)

Recipe, for those who are interested.

-Dan

I'm really looking forward to this. I think the concept for Next is very intriguing and in these hands, I'm confident that it will be satisfyingly executed. I wonder if the space itself, staff attire or table settings will be adjusted to match up with the menu concept being served at a given time.

=R=

I like the idea of a different menu style every quarter. I was wondering if they would be "contracting out" some experts for each of the menus. Kind of like when musicians collaborate with their idols.

But SFOB mentioned that Alinea has been going in an "Escoffier" type direction. Having not been to Alinea, I googled "alinea, escoffier" and ended up here!

So, I guess at this point one would assume that the menus will be their interpretations of the various cuisines. They will be channeling the masters of those domains.

It's nice to see that people think that the ticket/pre-pay system is a good thing. There are a few third party reservation/marketing systems out there that will be offering a similar service. One service about to go live is based on finding dining "deals" in Chicago. Say you want to go out tonight, tomorrow, Friday night and want to find out which restaurants are offering a deal. You go to the site/service, find out who has a deal, book it, pay for it (tax, tip, wine pairing) and show up. The deal is based on the restaurant "selling" seats that may not otherwise get filled. The deals are all tasting menus, some with several choices in each category. Kind of like restaurant week meets open table meets orbitz. The difference between this service and restaurant Next is that restaurants use this service in addition to walk-ins, regular reservations etc. But, both of them show an interesting way of offering both value and convenience to diners without really giving anything away (think groupon).
The convenience part hasn't really been done before in restaurant dining, at least not to my knowledge. We prepay our flights, hotels, vacations but not our meals unless they're underground dinners or deliveries.

Not sure though how restaurant Next is going to avoid all transactions as guests are going to want to splurge on extras--maybe purchase a celebratory bottle of champagne at the last moment or a cocktail, extra course, etc.

I would like to attend one of these.

art wrote:But SFOB mentioned that Alinea has been going in an "Escoffier" type direction. Having not been to Alinea, I googled "alinea, escoffier" and ended up here!

Probably more accurate to say that for the past couple of years, they've been working an Escoffier dish (or two) into each Tour menu (see the Trout Monseigneur dish and accoutrements in this post, for example). I've really enjoyed these dishes, though because of their ultra-traditional aesthetic, they've almost seemed out of place compared to many of the other courses. I really look forward to having an entire menu which focuses, if not entirely on these dishes, at least on the era in which they were conceived.

=R=

I am just a regular guy (i.e. no "foodie") who has lived in Chicago for many years and I have no desire to go to Alinea. However, I find Next absolutely fascinating. Well, the concept of Next. Of course, if I don't like the place or time when it opens, I need to wait 3 or 6 or 9 months until the next (no pun intended).

I'd like to travel the world here, but I do hope one of the place/time periods is Chicago/19??. Maybe an establishment that has been closed for many years but with a great reputation. A virtual time machine.

Yes, I signed up just for this. Excuse my rambling.

I wonder how the year subscription program will work? Will it be a sliding price scale, too? Do you have to commit to the dates in advance as well? This is fascinating.

Whoa! You guys weren't kidding about the Escoffier thing. I followed ronniesuburban's link and saw the barquettes on the trout dish. On one hand I'd be looking for the hidden camera but on the other I guess such a classical preparation must have fit into the story that was being told at that meal. How did you interpret it ronniesuburban within the context of the meal? Forgive me if u explained in that thread.

art wrote:Whoa! You guys weren't kidding about the Escoffier thing. I followed ronniesuburban's link and saw the barquettes on the trout dish. On one hand I'd be looking for the hidden camera but on the other I guess such a classical preparation must have fit into the story that was being told at that meal. How did you interpret it ronniesuburban within the context of the meal? Forgive me if u explained in that thread.

I've had a few Alinea meals during which an Escoffier-inspired dish was served. My main impression of them is that they show how genuinely talented the kitchen is because the execution of these dishes has always been flawless. The core food at Alinea is so unique and reflective of its own vibe, sometimes it's easy to lose sight of just how well-grounded these folks are the fundamentals and the classics.

Then, a dish like this comes out to the table and it's almost like you're at a concert of an artist you love, listening to song after song. In between songs, the artist stops, looks you in the eye and reads a poem without singing it. Emotionally, the artist is still communicating with you -- imagination to imagination -- but the mode has changed. Without the trappings of the music, the message becomes even clearer. It provides deep, universal context for all the songs you've been listening to all night. In the end, from a purely stylistic perspective, it doesn't exactly fit with the rest of the progression but it still takes on a memorable significance. It's a lens through which you can view the rest of the experience with a greater understanding.

=R=

I read the article on Next and aside from the fact that something about automating a creative process bothers me, I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. So I logged on to specifically see what you guys were saying about it. What seems to be missing from your discussion is the dynamic of this subscription business. Does it occur to any of you that a subscription system is just another way of determining who is a VIP customer? I mean it sounds like its fair and egalitarian but the reality is that in most places that offer subscriptions, most of the good slots are used up by the subscribers and the occassional customer is relegated to a lesser time/seating. Case in point. I tried to purchase tickets for the new Sondheim show on the day they went on sale. But I couldn't get orchestra tickets because the show was being staged by the Roundabout Theater and they offer subscriptions to their productions and the orchestra seats are reserved on a first come basis for subscribers. The same thing happens at museums. Depending on the size of your donation, you get offered tickets to better time slots when they have important shows. Same at sporting events etc. Those courtside tickets at the Bulls games are not available to Joe Blow unless he gets them from a scalper. So subscriptions ultimately lead to scalping because it allows/forces people with money to corner the market on a specific location/time. And since the concept of selling subscriptions is nothing more than a financing scheme, if a business puts restrictions on reselling the tickets, it reduces the amount of subscriptions they will sell.

Does anyone have any info on how the subscription thing will work? I wonder if it will allow people to actually choose the dates for all four seasons...if that's the case, then Steve's vision of some of the more desirable slots being snapped up early by subscribers before the one-at-a-time folks have a crack at them could conceivably come true. If so, I wonder if they'll limit the number of subscriptions they'll sell to prevent this situation.

On the other hand, maybe a "subscription" will be like paying a discounted price for four meals, then receiving a code or something that one can enter during the normal reservation window to select the date you'd like to dine...in this case, subscribers would be competing with the one-at-a-time folks for dates/times, only they'd end up having paid less for the meal. If this ends up being the case, then there wouldn't be a problem.

Guess it depends on how the subscription concept is implemented.

Either way, I hope they do inadvertently restrict the number of subscriptions they sell by refusing to honor resold tickets. The last thing we need is StubHub and Gold Coast Tickets peddling prime Saturday evening dinner slots for $300 apiece, and scalpers on the sidewalk outside the restaurant hawking day-of tickets: "dinners! I got dinners! 7! 7:30! 8! Dinners for two, $400!"

I'm not a fan of buying subscriptions, I would rather pay as I go. I agree with Steve that it just complicates things for all non subscribers. It reminds me of a cruise ship, which I also dread.

Steve Plotnicki wrote:I read the article on Next and aside from the fact that something about automating a creative process bothers me, I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. So I logged on to specifically see what you guys were saying about it. What seems to be missing from your discussion is the dynamic of this subscription business. Does it occur to any of you that a subscription system is just another way of determining who is a VIP customer? I mean it sounds like its fair and egalitarian but the reality is that in most places that offer subscriptions, most of the good slots are used up by the subscribers and the occassional customer is relegated to a lesser time/seating. Case in point. I tried to purchase tickets for the new Sondheim show on the day they went on sale. But I couldn't get orchestra tickets because the show was being staged by the Roundabout Theater and they offer subscriptions to their productions and the orchestra seats are reserved on a first come basis for subscribers. The same thing happens at museums. Depending on the size of your donation, you get offered tickets to better time slots when they have important shows. Same at sporting events etc. Those courtside tickets at the Bulls games are not available to Joe Blow unless he gets them from a scalper. So subscriptions ultimately lead to scalping because it allows/forces people with money to corner the market on a specific location/time. And since the concept of selling subscriptions is nothing more than a financing scheme, if a business puts restrictions on reselling the tickets, it reduces the amount of subscriptions they will sell.

Not sure how I feel about the automation element but I don't think it has very much to do with the creative process. Here, the automation aspect seems to be applied primarily on the business and reservation sides. That said, I agree that there are potential pitfalls with a subscription program and hope that they're handled reasonably. For now, though, it's just way too early to tell. Once more details are revealed, it will be easier to assess the program in a more meaningful way.

=R=

eli wrote:It seems like they'd need to have some way to pay for add-ons at the time of. What happens when some absent-minded person forgets to add wine when they buy their ticket? Are they just SOL when they arrive and realize their mistake? I suppose that could be workable, if annoying, if one person has done that for a whole table, but what about the one person in a party of 4 who has no wine?

Overall it sounds like a really cool concept. I'm really interested to see how it unfolds.

If you think about what happens when you buy a ticket for a trip or an event, you can always buy more once you're on the trip or at the event (upgrades on seating, food, etc.).

This concept reminds me a little of the White Album: a tour de force of different styles.

The way I imagine it will work (to be on-site transactionless)...

Once you buy your ticket, they have your credit card number.

Any additions (drinks, bottles of wine, additional desserts) would automatically added and you would see those charges when you get home.

I also imagine there would also be a 'menu' of items (valet parking, initial bottles of wine) that you would pre-purchase.