Coming back from dinner at Next/Childhood, I was struck by how much like Moto the meal was (much more like Alinea, say). It was great fun (the waiters kept asking whether we were having fun and whether we were enjoying ourselves). But the only dish that was really distinguished in culinary terms was "Autumn Scene: A Walk Through a Michigan Forest." I could see ordering that dish again and again. But some dishes like the Hamburger (with Hamburger Bun sauce) were curiosities, as was the Foie'sting or Fish-n-Chips as drawn by a child (reminiscent of Moto's Road Kill raccoon). As performance theater Next was great, and the food was never unappealing, but one should go for the kindly humor and not because the tastes will live in memory. As at Moto (which I am on record as admiring), I will remember of the idea of the dishes when recall of their taste has passed. I am glad that I got to go to Childhood once, but I am glad that I can return to Alinea.

One of our servers informed me that the El Bulli dinner at Next might be limited to a single seating each night (thus, halving the number of diners). He indicated that they might have twenty courses per seating. (This is not official information, but it makes sense). I can only imagine the challenge to Nick's reservation system. Certainly (unless the price point is extremely high) the demand will be huge and the supply of tables low. I wish that they could rent out Carnivale - or maybe Soldier's Field for the three months run. Or establish the Next El Bulli.

Was in town this weekend - got into all 4 Achatz properties (Alinea, Aviary, Office in one night, Next the following day) in a 2-night span and will echo what others above are saying; the food at Childhood isn't going to blow your mind (though I really did love the Autumn Scene, PB+J, Truffled Oreo, and Mac N' Cheese) the way Alinea will (Brook Trout reflections of Steve Stallard, Squab inspired by Miro, and Dark Chocolate Butternut Squash, Lingonberry, Stout especially) but it was just plain fun. I was not a huge fan of the service at Paris, but this time they were spot on and everything was great.

I'll be interested to see how El Bulli plays out - the staff is clearly very excited about it and were fielding questions all night from diners around us.

On an aside, Grant looked really pissed at Alinea the night we went. Presented the Silpat dessert to both our table and one next to us without a single word. Kind of a bummer as it was my sister's first time there and she was actually in town for the art show and a tour of Crucial Detail's studio, but the food and experience were again beyond reproach.

uhockey wrote:Was in town this weekend - got into all 4 Achatz properties (Alinea, Aviary, Office in one night, Next the following day) in a 2-night span and will echo what others above are saying; the food at Childhood isn't going to blow your mind (though I really did love the Autumn Scene, PB+J, Truffled Oreo, and Mac N' Cheese) the way Alinea will (Brook Trout reflections of Steve Stallard, Squab inspired by Miro, and Dark Chocolate Butternut Squash, Lingonberry, Stout especially) but it was just plain fun. I was not a huge fan of the service at Paris, but this time they were spot on and everything was great.

I went with friends over the weekend--my first time at Next, they'd also been to Paris & Thailand.

Hands down our favorite course was the Autumn Scene. I'd agree with you re. the PB&J and Truffled Oreo. (I'd also add to that list the foie gras and the hamburger.) I found the mac & cheese as well as the chicken soup to be very very salty. No, it's not Alinea, but I really enjoyed the flavors and the whimsy of it all.

chgoeditor wrote:I found the mac & cheese as well as the chicken soup to be very very salty.

I didn't think either dish was particularly salty.

The same night as nsxtasy, I didn't find them salty either: different nights, different hands on the salt shaker.

Went Friday evening, glad to have avoided reviews and pictures for the most part. I think with this menu, the theme lends itself very well to 'dinner as theater'. Some of the courses really hit with my 'inner child'. In particular the lunchbox course, autumn, campfire, and the PB&J courses were a delight. These dishes really brought back some of the joys of being a kid with the smells and visuals. Who doesn't enjoy opening presents, or the smell of burning wood, or the visuals of fire. Who wouldn't enjoy seeing a Hulk Hogan WWF lunchbox? Also the Back to the Future music playing definitely helped set the mood. The mac and cheese was fine, not too salty. However, the chicken noodle soup was too salty, but the meyer lemonade pairing cut that saltiness.

I really enjoyed the non alcoholic pairings, especially the home made rootbeer, and the tea with vinegar. And while this was my least favorite of the three Next menus, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The food was solid, the theme and playfulness of the meal and staff was very entertaining, but unlike the previous two menus, I don't have an urge to go back right away.

It's like seeing a good movie, a few hours of entertainment, but no immediate rush to see it again, as the suprises will be gone.


I would recommend avoiding any reviews and experiencing Childhood unspoiled, try the non alcoholic pairings and enjoy the meal. Also be prepared to be stuffed... I was struggling to eat courses by the middle it, and I regretted not finishing some of the delicious dessert courses. But when you are full.. You are full.

Was in town this weekend - got into all 4 Achatz properties (Alinea, Aviary, Office in one night, Next the following day)

And that essentially kills the "great one-two punches" thread.

I too felt the Chicken Noodle soup was a bit much, and my salt tolerance is high. The noodle itself tasted like a boullion cube. Once I chopped it up thoroughly and mixed it with the broth it was better.

pizano345 wrote:

Was in town this weekend - got into all 4 Achatz properties (Alinea, Aviary, Office in one night, Next the following day)

And that essentially kills the "great one-two punches" thread.

Well - in a "one of those odd stories that seems too bizarre to be true" I will note that the visit to Next was a 10:15 seating with friend's I've not seen in forever...............after enjoying the last tasting menu ever served at Les Nomades by Chris Nugent during a 5:00pm seating.

It was one of those kind of weekends where everything went right, and I'm very glad for it.

DrkDragon wrote:Went Friday evening

Did you notice Carme Ruscalleda of the Michelin three-star Restaurant Sant Pau? She and her dining companion arrived around 8 pm and were seated at the last table on the left, closest to the kitchen. The waitstaff addressed them in Spanish throughout the meal.

Wow, did you recognize them on your own? That's some impressive Foodspotting.

OK, trying to play neutral agnostic here (that is, I'll stop making fun of Next qua Next): does anyone else find it disappointing, or at least strange, that Next's first menu of all-original material, as such, apparently doesn't knock it out of the park? The saying goes (sticking with a musical metaphor) that you wait all your life to make your first album and then you have six months to make your second. Many of the aforementioned takes makes this meal seem entertaining but ultimately kind of ... inconsequential? As I've mentioned myself somewhere up there, I'd really like to see the exceptional talent behind Next really fulfill its potential, and I think it would be too easy if not outright glib just to answer "then go to Alinea." With a move back into cover band mode for elBulli, not to mention having elBulli's principals on hand to help out (if not orchestrate?), I hope they're already working on future menus of original stuff that will truly blow everyone away. Especially since so many subscribers will be locked in blind to future menus many months in advance.

Vitesse, I think you're kind of missing the point here--these are ALL original menus. It is their choice to determine from where they'll
take inspiration, what they'll do with it, how they'll interpret it, what the utensils will look like and what the desired effect on the diner will be. Next "covering" another's menu, whether it be another chef or standards from another cuisine, is still original to me. That's not to say that it's necessarily what I want to eat--for example, their take on Thai just didn't appeal to me--not because I can get the "same" item in another restaurant but because their creations didn't sound that tempting to me. And, while Next is cheaper than Alinea, it's still a high dollar ticket (no pun intended) so I'm going to allocate those dollars carefully.

I think you may need to accept that they are not like other restaurants--because of who they are, they get to essentially do whatever the F they want--and the vast majority of people love it, even if certain things don't work or don't thrill or whatever the expectation. They have a model and a reputation that enables them to do something that most businesses only dream of--exactly what THEY want with people clamoring to buy. And from what I've read and heard, even when they disappoint or miss, it's still judged as an overwhelmingly positive experience (and it IS an experience, as opposed to just a "meal").

You, with, perhaps, more traditional expectations and desires, may just not be their target audience. Not that there's anything wrong with what you want. You just won't find it here and they don't have to give it to you.

And, for the record, I'm not sure I'm a fan either--I'm going to Childhood after a somewhat less than wonderful experience at Paris. But I can value what they're doing, admire their amazing success and applaud them for it, maybe only from afar in the future

Regardless, I believe that having Next in Chicago enriches our food scene, positively inspires other chefs and represents the ultimate entrepreneurial venture which I can appreciate.

I absolutely, 100% agree with your last statement! And you're probably right about what precedes it as well. I guess the sheer indulgence of it all is what bugs me, but they have the right to make a successful business model out of said indulgence. I guess in the end my own preference at this price point is consistency and creativity, but I concede that may be a matter of subjective perspective here.

I was going to post in response to GAF's post about his meal at Next, and his comparing it to Moto, but then Vitesse raised the same issue from a different perspective. In response to both of those posts I can add the following to the mix.

Moto - When I first ate at Moto during the first year it was open, I found the meal enjoyable but pretty weird. But at the end of th e savory service, Homeru came to my table and sat with me for 20 minutes explaining what he was trying to accomplish. After we finished talking, I found that I came to appreciate the meal even more than I did before our chat. The moral of the story? Context matters. As I always say, Oysters and Pearls is more enjoyable because Keller gave it that name. If it was just listed on the menu as oysters and tapioca in a sabayon sauce it would lack the same level of context.

Alinea - Despite popular acclaim, I always thought that Alinea suffered from a lack of context or culinary narrative. I know I am in the minority who feel that way (although I know quite a few people who agree with me) but I could never figure out what the restaurant's purpose was other than watch one of the greatest chefs in the world work his magic over 25 courses. To me that is acrobatics, not a culinary narrative. And while your meal would include a few outstanding dishes, I would come away from the experience scratching my head at what the narrative was. As such, while Alinea is a much better restaurant than Moto I actually enjoyed my meals at Moto more than my meals at Alinea because of this reason.

Next - Unlike Alinea, Next is all about the narrative. So much so that the food is secondary to the concept. And the reason it works is because a strong narrative that people already have a feel for like Paris 1906, Thai and Childhood have been reimagined into a modern culinary framework. But the narrative at Next is so implicit (maybe I should say explicit), it is impossible to go there and not understand what the experience is about.

Traditional Narratives vs Original Narratives - I haven't been to Childhood but the comments are pretty much as I suspected. Look it's simple: It is much easier to come up with an intersting take on something from the culinary cannon like pressed duck or pad that than it is to make bubblegum taste interesting. So it isn't surprising that people aren't as wowed by the original narrative as thy were by the familiar ones. With Childhood, Grant and Dave have taken on a much greater burden in terms of making it interesting than with the first two themes. The next theme, El Bulli will be the easiest to communicate to people because it is merely about replicating existing dishes and they don't have to make anything up (unless they want to.)

What ties all of the examples above together are that they are each unique applications of modern culinary technique (or molecular gastronomy if you will,) that demonstrates how flexibile the techniques are in their application. To me that is the most exciting thing about it because as far as I am concerned, the food can suck and still be entertaining because the chef is trying to stretch the boundaries and I am willing to give him some leeway because of the risks he is taking. Which is why my single favorite comment that I collected for the OA Survey was one about Moto where someone said: "I found the meal so entertaining that I enjoyed myself more than at restaurants where the food tastes better."

Does anyone happen to have two tickets they no longer need for this week?

Thanks!

Does anyone know if the $100 same day tickets offer via facebook include tax and service charge? 100 per person seems a little bit higher than the regular ticket prices for this menu if one were fortunate enough to purchase them on the day tickets were sold.

pacent wrote:Does anyone know if the $100 same day tickets offer via facebook include tax and service charge? 100 per person seems a little bit higher than the regular ticket prices for this menu if one were fortunate enough to purchase them on the day tickets were sold.

They only have one kind of ticket which includes tax/tip. $100 is cheaper than building a time machine.

For reference, my bill for same day tickets to Paris for 2 people with wine pairings was $387.70.

So tip and tax are included in the meal, but not the pairing?

It's $100 + Pairing + [($100 + Pairing) x 10.25%] + {([($100 + Pairing) x 10.25%] + $100 + Pairing) x 20%} if that makes any sense

I'm not sure if those are the proper percentages. But it has been discussed that the gratuity is taken from the total including tax. And both the ticket and the pairing are taxed (obviously).

So no, the $100 does not include tax or tip.

Thanks for clearing that up, I was just confused by spinynorman99's post.

pacent wrote:Thanks for clearing that up, I was just confused by spinynorman99's post.

Consider me confused by ziggy's post. Since when is tax and gratuity not included in the ticket price?

spinynorman99 wrote:

pacent wrote:Thanks for clearing that up, I was just confused by spinynorman99's post.

Consider me confused by ziggy's post. Since when is tax and gratuity not included in the ticket price?

Yes, isn't that one of the main aspects of their model?

=R=

spinynorman99 wrote:

pacent wrote:Thanks for clearing that up, I was just confused by spinynorman99's post.

Consider me confused by ziggy's post. Since when is tax and gratuity not included in the ticket price?

It's always included in the final ticket price. Pacent's question was whether the $100 price quoted for same-night tables was the base per-person cost (meaning tax and tip still had to be added) or if it was already all-inclusive.

spinynorman99,

If you purchased Next tickets through their website, the listed price does not include tax and the service charge, which gets applied when you check out.

The reason I question the pricing with their same day ticket offerings on Facebook is because the ticket prices being offered on FB are higher than the ticket prices available to those who purchased tickets when this menu was initially offered (100 dollars vs 60-90 IIRC, maybe there were some that were slightly higher, but the vast majority of the tickets sold were less than 100 dollars)

The listed prices for Childhood definitely did NOT include tax and tip. The charge made to my card (and listed in the confirmation email) was about 31% higher than the number of seats times the price listed on the calendar.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:Consider me confused by ziggy's post. Since when is tax and gratuity not included in the ticket price?

Yes, isn't that one of the main aspects of their model?

=R=

I initially thought so too. Yet somehow two $95 seats with the $55 (is that right?) regular drink pairings for the Thai menu cost me $413.90. I bought them during the big (second) online onsale.

Yeah, I think the $100 is pre-tax/tip/service charge based on what my final bill was for Paris and what Khaopaat is saying.

edit: if you go back to page 4 of this thread and look at yellow truffle's screenshots of the billing screens, tickets + drink pairings gives you a sub-total to which the service charge and tax are added. Things could have changed since then of course.

$200 a head just means I won't be eating at Next anytime soon.

Visited last night, and I really only have a couple of things to add:

1) The whole place smells like the Autumn Scene dish. Which is a pretty great smell to have around you the whole meal.

2) This is a LOT of food. I generally have a bottomless pit of a stomach, and I was stuffed full by the time the final course came around.

Overall, my companions and I really enjoyed the meal. The Autumn Scene is the real showstopper of everything we ate, but we also really enjoyed the lunchbox and mac and cheese dishes too.