Next - Childhood Menu - Grant Achatz

Maybe I’m burying the lead when I say that I didn’t care much for the food at Next Childhood. Perhaps I should focus on how well the staff balanced whimsy with professionalism, creating an environment that invoked the child aesthetic without coming across as too kitschy. Maybe I should admire attention to detail that went into the plating and write about the thoughtful, tasty beverage pairings. But I can’t. Thinking about the non-food elements of the evening continues to bring smiles to my face, but the fleeting smiles are replaced by bitter frowns when I think about the food.

Tapioca maltodextrin abounds on this menu, and in each case it plays an unpleasant part. “Hot dog powder” – intended to be mixed in to macaroni and cheese – was chalky and artificial-tasting. Pebble-sized pieces of a variety of maltodextrined this-or-that saw there essences completely lost amidst a dish with a dozen kinds of fried leaves, vegetables, and “hay”. They did not fail to contribute their characteristic chalky, gummy texture though.

Presentation trumped taste in almost every dish. “Fish and chips” included a cute little stick figure made of some kind of balsamic syrup. Something had been done to the syrup to render it thick and paint-like, and it was nearly impossible to lift it off the plate to incorporate into a bite of a food. Sad, since the dish really could have used a hit of acid. Mac and cheese had 5 little pods of disparate toppings surrounding the outskirt of the bowl, creating a dish intended to induce nostalgia rather than make sense as a plate of food. Sweet potato pieces designed to look like campfire logs accomplished that goal, but the potatoes themselves were bland and in desperate need of more robust seasoning. A “hamburger” course had gelled mayo, a bun that had been pureed into a sauce or something, and some pretty colors. It was fun to look at and contemplate, and tasted maybe a quarter as good as an actual burger. Dainty brussels sprouts cups were blanched into flavorlessness, then filled with various gels and pastes. A plate of roasted brussels sprouts would have been more enjoyable.

To be sure, some things at Next Childhood tasted good, and adjectives like fun, entertaining, and professional described it well. Delicious, unfortunately, was not one of those adjectives.

Oh KennyZ! How can you be so mean to a restaurant that gave you a present!?!


Next Childhood - Present! by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - PB&J by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Chicken Soup by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Fish N Chips by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Mac & Cheese by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Autumn Scene by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Hamburger by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Brussel Sprouts by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Lunch Box by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Best lunchbox EVER by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - 'Foie'Sting and Donuts by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Sweet Potato Pie by agashi, on Flickr


Next Childhood - Campfire Sweet Potato by agashi, on Flickr

All in all, I do agree that the presentation and the service/environment was more successful than the actual food. The four of us shared memories of our childhood, and the almost complete lack of knowledge about the menu actually helped with the anticipation of the courses. I think the only items I really enjoyed were the foie frosting, chicken soup (not the noodles, just the broth), and mac n cheese (not with that hot dog powder!). But the whole experience for me far outshone the food.

I think KennyZ is just upset because his "dad" left him a "not so nice" note in his lunchbox.


Next Childhood - Kenny's note by agashi, on Flickr

This dinner should be accompanied by a reading of "The Emperor's New Clothes" . . .

I'm not sure it's fair to damn the entire season based on one report in the first week of service. Seems like Thailand got better over time. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out though.

jesteinf wrote:I'm not sure it's fair to damn the entire season based on one report in the first week of service. Seems like Thailand got better over time...

You may be right about that, but if so I think it is fair to damn the whole concept behind Next.

Kennyz wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm not sure it's fair to damn the entire season based on one report in the first week of service. Seems like Thailand got better over time...

You may be right about that, but if so I think it is fair to damn the whole concept behind Next.

Yes, this is certainly the flaw inherent in the concept...I won't argue that.

sundevilpeg wrote:This dinner should be accompanied by a reading of "The Emperor's New Clothes" . . .

LMAO! Maybe you should get a table and make up your own mind.

jesteinf wrote:I'm not sure it's fair to damn the entire season based on one report in the first week of service. Seems like Thailand got better over time. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out though.

There's no question in my mind that this is correct. Having been to Paris and Thailand 3 times each, I noticed substantial improvements in food and service between meals that were early in the run and later ones. I'm looking forward to my first reservation, which is around the middle of next month. In fact, I could have chosen an earlier table but I decided to give them a couple of weeks before venturing in. Even for a kitchen with this level of talent, the beginning of a given menu run is going to be a rougher road.

=R=

jesteinf wrote:

Kennyz wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm not sure it's fair to damn the entire season based on one report in the first week of service. Seems like Thailand got better over time...

You may be right about that, but if so I think it is fair to damn the whole concept behind Next.

Yes, this is certainly the flaw inherent in the concept...I won't argue that.

I'd say it's definitely a downside but given the upside potential, I wouldn't call it a critical flaw.

=R=

Agreed. But like you, I think I'm done going at the beginning of a season. We're going in December this time, which I think is perfect.

jesteinf wrote:Agreed. But like you, I think I'm done going at the beginning of a season. We're going in December this time, which I think is perfect.

Yes. I realized I couldn't possibly sustain going to each menu three times, so now I'm just going to go try to go twice.

=R=

Thanks to CrazyC for the great pictures and - more importantly - the really great company.

The pictures reminded me of some other presentation-over-taste issues I had with the meal. In the chicken noodle soup, the noodles were actually chicken-noodles, meaning they were chicken, not noodles. Clever I suppose, but they had pretty much no taste. The mac and cheese was served vertically in a glass cylinder which the waiter lifted off the bowl to allow the mac to descend. Problem was that in doing so, most of whatever that foam was remained attached to the glass and was returned to the kitchen. I suppose these and the issues I noted above are kinks which may get worked out, but to me they also represent a big philosophical divide between the way this kitchen likes to cook/ present and the way I like to eat.

This is the first time I have done Next early in the season, and the main reason was that I didn't think I can go a month without reading reviews or seeing photos. I think the element of not knowing what is coming up is pretty exciting. And I think Next Childhood recognizes that because this time when we were seated, we were not given any menus. In fact I thought we were done at one point and they corrected me... "Oh no... there is more!"

I finally read this first review that was posted up thread... And I see a few elements that has changed! So definitely Next Childhood is a work in progress. I also find that the company I was with contributed positively to the entire experience.

I had a great time, but then I am one of those people for which a great meal is 50-50 good food and good company. I believe we were the loudest table in the place, with my squealing when lunchboxes came! Channel your inner child, and I think your dinner will be so much more enjoyable!

What are the drink options?

Having just been an observer of Next, this seems like a step in the right direction, even if Kenny thought it sucked. Paris was a tough opening act to follow, but it seems like the best one possible. No one had anything but superlatives in describing it. Thailand never made any sense to me, or many others. By the end it still read like MJ playing baseball (except that he loves baseball and Achatz doesn't love Thai, from what I read). A show of crossover virtuosity that didn't always impress. This childhood the stuff -- deconstructionist food science to evoke memory -- is what put Achatz on the map at Trio and what blows people away at Alinea. On the other hand, an entire meal of science (never the case at Trio/Alinea) doesn't always (ever?) satisfy. See Moto.

mhill95149 wrote:What are the drink options?

If it's true to childhood, it'll be Kool-Aid, Sunny Delight, grape soda (or Red Pop), Mountain Dew, and a small taste of your dad's cheap crappy beer when he's not looking.

Having just been an observer of Next, this seems like a step in the right direction, even if Kenny thought it sucked. Paris was a tough opening act to follow, but it seems like the best one possible. No one had anything but superlatives in describing it.

Huh? I had problems with Paris (as did our dining companions, who went a second time and noted that, yes, the food improved several weeks down the line). Lots of people had problems with Thailand. Both (?) accounts of this current menu above either dismiss or disdain the food. I'd call this the ... wrong direction? I know Next can be awesome. It should be awesome. But what it should not be is a reality show where the contestants are challenged to come up with a concept menu from scratch every three months, for better or for worse. And the fact that the (quiet, kid-glove) consensus seems to be that the menus have each started out with a few misses and set-backs before straightening out and ending on better notes at the end of each cycle underscores the inherent flaw behind the restaurant - namely, the preparation curve. No restaurant of this caliber should be anything other than great from night one.

Vitesse98 wrote: I know Next can be awesome. It should be awesome. But what it should not be is a reality show where the contestants are challenged to come up with a concept menu from scratch every three months, for better or for worse. And the fact that the (quiet, kid-glove) consensus seems to be that the menus have each started out with a few misses and set-backs before straightening out and ending on better notes at the end of each cycle underscores the inherent flaw behind the restaurant - namely, the preparation curve. No restaurant of this caliber should be anything other than great from night one.

Yes, Vitesse, we know you have an issue with Next. Got it. But the owners have a right to do whatever they want with their concept. We can say we don't love it or that we won't return or even that we think it's stupid. I guess we can even say we think they're wrong although in the current context, I think that's kind of silly. What we can't do is keep expecting the world to change (or Next to change) because of our opinion.

I'd say that Paris was almost universally praised. Thailand had some issues, but seemed to find its footing as the season went on. I wouldn't judge either season to be a failure, but one was certainly more successful than the other (at least in my opinion).

I'd also add that even Alinea got panned a bit when it first opened (by you know who) and some others who don't post here. But it got better. It's rare to find a restaurant at any level that is "great from night one".

jesteinf wrote:I'd also add that even Alinea got panned a bit when it first opened (by you know who) and some others who don't post here. But it got better. It's rare to find a restaurant at any level that is "great from night one".

According to the Life, on the Line, Alinea was also panned by (I think) John Mariani as well as received a lukewarm review after Melissa Clark and Frank Bruni attended opening night. In any case, Alinea's opening months were bumpy (according to Nick and Grant) and the restaurant needed some time to smooth out.

Think Nick & Grant would ever consider scaling it down to either 4 month or 6 month intervals between menus?

mhill95149 wrote:What are the drink options?

There's a non alcoholic option which two of my table mates had. I didn't pay much attention, but it seemed like 8 different kinds of iced tea. Then there were two wine pairings - a regular one and a premium one. It was hard to get the server to say much about them - I guess it's a bit like trusting the itamae at a sushi restaurant: you just tell them how much you want to spend and trust that they'll do right by you. I had the regular pairing, which was an all-domestic assortment of tasty stuff. "Pairing" with this meal seems like fruitless endeavor, since so many of the dishes aren't really dishes, but assortments of 5 or 6 disparate mini dishes all on one plate (or lunchbox). I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a boozy-takes on-kid-drinks option. Seems like it would be easy, fun and fitting to put together adult versions of fruit punch, chocolate milk, lemonade, sodapop, etc.

I have to say, I'm normally more of a food over presentation person but even though I wasn't overwhelmed with the food from the Thai menu, the overall presentation/atmosphere/theatricality/etc. of the evening completely won me over. I was very happy to have gone. The fact that the meal was paid for long in advance may have helped. It was very nice not getting a check at the end (I know it shouldn't matter).

I do still wish Nick et al. would clarify/explain the policy on selling tickets above list price. As far as I can tell, they have chosen not to do so. I did call once and didn't get much of an answer over the phone. I don't care whether they allow it or not, I just wish it were clear (e.g. from their TOS, which is not clear).

Kennyz wrote:8 different kinds of iced tea.

How many sweetening options were there and how were they presented?

Completely missed the question about drinks.

I had the non-alcoholic pairing, as I thought it would be more interesting than water. Without giving too much details away and ruin the surprise, there were some fruit based ones (including a riff on lemonade and cider) and a couple of tea based ones. I liked majority of them, but there was one that was too perfume-y and sweet for my taste.

I just happen to be in Chicago (ate at Spoon for lunch today with Vital Info and Dickson,more about that later) so I thought I would put my two cents in about Next. I was invited to Thai by a local restaurateur and I thought it was fantastic. First of all I am certain that no one will ever find a Thai restaurant that uses that level of ingredients (I suspect that is the case even in Thailand.) And the way the dishes were cooked was an improvement over what you find at an authentic Thai restaurant. For example, the Pad Thai was the best version of the dish that I had ever tasted. After dinner when Dave Beran came to our table I asked him how they prepared the dish. He said that he and Grant went to sample dozens of different versions of the dish at local restaurants, and they decided to make it like Michel Bras makes his gargouillou with each ingredient cooked in seperate pots before being mixed together. That resulted in a Pad Thai where you were able to taste every individual ingredient while also tasting them combined. You will not find that level of clarity of flavors at any Thai restaurant in the world.

The other thing that is excellent about Next is that sustenance (eating to fill yourself up) has been subordinated to the concept of intellectual stimulation which in the case on Thai was mostly theaterical. That allowed me to enjoy the experience as theater with good food, without having to impose the test of: Will I want to eat this again? The answer to that question is no. I wouldn't want to eat the Thai meal at Next every other week any more than I would like to go see the same Broadway show every other week. But then again, some of the dishes, like the Pad Thai, were so good that they have the potential to add something unique to the cuisine that we eat everyday and it would surprise me to see other American chefs copying the approach that Grant and Dave took at Next with other soupy/stew like dishes..

Seeing the pictures of the current meal and reading (and knowing his palate, which I greatly respect) KennyZ's reaction, I don't plan to go to this iteration of NEXT. The chemistry of the restaurant and I don't mesh, I think. I was interested in Paris but not enough to go to lengths to secure tickets, the Thai concept didn't excite me as I've been to Thailand many times, and this concept and the pics don't appeal (as noted above) and finally, the El Bulli version reminds me of a meal back in March at El Bulli which I found thrilling in culinary acrobatics and genius but not warming to my heart.

I'm an outlier and I'll be criticized for commenting without going but my only point is that as an observer, this isn't a restaurant to which I'm drawn, especially if I have to jump through hoops to secure a rez.

You see I have a problem with my friend Dutch Muse's approach to Next. Going to Next in order to have an enjoyable meal in the traditional sense seems to be missing the point of the place. It needs to be evaluated based on what it is trying to accomplish which is an entertainment experience that incorporates good food. It's the same with El Bulli. The experience is not about eating the food in order to get full. It's about understanding the potential of what can be done with food. Whether someone likes to eat that way or not is personal. But judging whether the chef has been successful at what he has set out to do is a different issue.

Not all beauty is beautiful (in a traditional sense.) Just ask Picasso and he will tell you all about it.

Understood and very good point. I think it falls under the "different strokes" umbrella. El Bulli was very much food as theater (I, to some extent, put Masa in this category when sitting at the sushi bar with the master himself)--its just not a genre to which I gravitate. I think I'm more the exception, though. To illustrate--give me Humm's cooking over Achatz even though both are the best of the best at what they're doing. (Not that one can't enjoy both chef's cuisine--I do. I love Alinea! Just illustrating my stylistic preferences via their approach to cuisine.)

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Next the other night. Everything was playful and creative. All of the dishes worked to us. For me, the Autumn Scene was the star. If you can't tell from CrazyC's photo, dish is served on top of a carved out section of a log. Inside the log are various aromatics (twigs, applies, etc) that give off an intense woodsy fragrance. The dish on top is an earthy satisfying composition. Notably, and surprisingly, this dish is contains no meat. I thought the whole thing worked so well. I loved the burst of smells that hit you when you put your head over the dish.

There were a few elements here and there throughout the meal that didn't work. (The chicken-noodles didn't have that much chicken flavor.) But none of these individual elements distracted me that much from the overall dishes that they were a part of.

We didn't have hot dog powder, but a hot dog cube. To us, it tasted like beef jerky more than a hot dog, but was quite interesting (and no powdery taste).

We had the standard wine pairings. We especially appreciated that they brought two of the reds together to have over the course of two dishes so we could see how each wine paired with each dish. One of these was a Sangiovese by Caparone (who happens to make an excellent Aglianico also); I don't remember the other.

Our server was excellent. We had a great time talking him about the dishes, wines, the restaurant. He explained how nearly every dish was made. We talked to Dave Beran after the meal for a bit also, which was a nice treat.

PM me if you are interested:

Ticket: Childhood
When: 5:30pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
Party Size: 4 guests
Beverage Pairings: 3 x Standard Pairing, 1 x Non-Alcoholic Pairing

The non-alcoholic pairing can be upgraded.

PG - sent a pm if they are still available.