Thanks, JeffB. What you say makes sense (though it will always be bottarga to me). I asked the Lovely Dining Companion, using the Japanese name and she said it rang a vague bell, as in out of her childhood, something she hadn't heard in some time. Still, new to me and I thank you for the information. Intriguing.

Kazunoko is a bit like shad roe. I had a memorable breakfast prepared by oba-chan of kazunoko w/brown butter, a hit of soy and a bit of acid (lemon, or more likely yuzu). Kazunoko with "gesu butta" (her term). May have dredged it in rice flr prior to sauteing. As I said, shad roe.

Karasumi is probably a closer Japanese equivalent of bottarga than Kazunoko...

(From wiki)
Karasumi is a food product made by salting mullet roe and drying it by the sunlight. A theory suggests that it got its name from its resemblance to a block of sumi (inkstick) imported from China (Kara) and used in shodo[citation needed]. Karasumi is a high priced delicacy and it is eaten while drinking sake.

Thanks! I agree with this.^^ In fact, I'd venture that it's identical - I mean sundried mullet roe is bottarga, after all. I know I have had dried mullet roe at a Japanese restaurant, but it seems less common than the still relatively uncommon dried herring roe and my quick search didn't come up with anything. I'd assumed maybe what I had was a novel application, making do, or some kind of fusion. Not surprised at all that the ingredient is very traditional.

Just back from Next - Kyoto. I thoroughly enjoyed this menu; such complex flavors and interesting courses. This was my first time eating fish heads/skeletons and shrimp heads; I was a bit nervous at first - but they ended up being delicious and did not taste or feel odd at all once inside my mouth. I did not notice any major drop in service from prior visits; I do really miss some of the people such as Marlon that had become familiar faces - but I felt the current crew there was highly attentive and knowledgeable - perhaps not as personable as some of the staff that has left (hopefully that will change as they become more settled in, as interacting with the staff is something I really enjoyed at Next during previous meals). We had the first seating and were just a two-top so the meal went fairly fast compared to prior visits (right about two and one half hours), but we certainly did not feel rushed. The meal is not nearly as hearty as Sicily; I left satisfied but definitely not stuffed. I have been to all of the Next menus other than Paris and I would have to say that this was my second favorite menu (with Childhood being my favorite, El Bulli third, Thailand fourth and Sicily being my least favorite - though still quite good).

Next featured a new dessert tonight, replacing the roasted fig dessert (they explained that the new dessert has more of a cold weather feel - it is aptly titled first snowfall - so they decided to transition to this with the weather cooling off). Otherwise the menu is pretty much the same from when Gypsy Boy posted, so I will not repost pictures aside from the new dessert (Gypsy Boy's pictures are much better than mine anyways)! I had several favorites on the night (always a good sign) including the Corn Husk, Japanese Maple Forest, Sashimi, Ayu, Wagyu Soup, First Snowfall and Mochi. I did not dislike any course, but found the Abalone, the Matsutake and the Green Tea to be the three weakest. We just went with the water pairings tonight, so I can't comment on the beverages. I look forward to seeing what Next rolls out next year!

New Dessert - First Snowfall:

I thought it was nice. Not as good as Paris or Sicily, but better than Childhood or Thailand. We got two extra bowls of rice for our table of four and still wasn't totally stuffed at the end. All the other menus I've been about to burst and at Childhood I struggled to get down a single piece of the last course.

Hello

I have tickets available for this Wednesday 11/28 at 9:45 PM, please message me on here or it would be quicker to shoot me an e-mail at boomzdaddy@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Just had the Kitchen Table this last Friday. Like Sicily, I thought it was incredibly interesting and quite the culinary exploration, but in terms of flavor I found myself less than impressed for all but a few dishes. I did very much enjoy the maple forest, sashimi, and barracuda.

Did anyone else find over half the dishes to be incredibly salty? Is this just typical for Kyoto/Kaiseki cuisine and I was unprepared?

I found the latter half of my meal to be very, very salty. Almost unfinishable.

The other kaiseki restaurants I have tried in NYC were much more delicate, subtle, and not overwhelmingly salty at all.

It seems to be a rule that at least one dish at each of the Next iterations is overly salty. At Kyoto, the biggest oversalting complaint surrounded the corn husk tea.

kathryn wrote:I found the latter half of my meal to be very, very salty. Almost unfinishable.

The other kaiseki restaurants I have tried in NYC were much more delicate, subtle, and not overwhelmingly salty at all.

Did you send anything back?

The others at my table thought the food was fine, a little bit salty, and ate it anyway. So I didn't want to make a fuss at the time.

I've got a 2-top for 12/9 at 10PM with standard pairings I'm selling since I'll be out of town. If anyone's interested, let me know or email me at rebeccaskoch@gmail.com

No need to post more pictures. Suffice to say I thought the Kyoto meal was fantastic, even if I find that service (while improved from Sicily) is no longer at the level of similarly priced restaurants (and I don't really understand their issues in this regard. But anyway, the food:

I really loved the corn husk tea. And I was stunned how they managed to create such an intense flavor of roasted corn. The maple forest presentation was surely stunning visually, but it was also wonderful to eat, particularly the duck prosciutto and the uni. The miso with wagyu beef was also a stunner.

But I also thought they did a fantastic job with the abalone, pickles, chawanmushi and persimmon dessert. In fact, I can't say there was anything I didn't enjoy, and I appreciated not leaving the meal feeling too full. Plenty of interesting sakes and a terrific beer from Half Acre completed this fine meal. After leaving Next Sicily disappointed with the food, I was glad to have enjoyed this great evening - beautiful and delicious food.

Last night a friend and I had dinner at Next. Having visited Kyoto not that long ago, I was very excited to experience their kaiseki menu. Kaiseki in Kyoto is an art form, filled with many subtle flavors that build and morph as the meal unfolds across many dishes. I was interested in seeing how the folks at Next would do against my high expectations.

Since the meal has been detailed in depth elsewhere on these pages, I will skip the blow by blow and cut to the chase. I believe the kaiseki menu at Next is good, not great, but good. They certainly know presentation, and their flavors and textures were on the mark. Certain courses like the corn husk tea, actually did elevate their kaiseki menu by bringing in the "terroir" of the midwest. However, while there were a couple of amazing standouts, there were also a couple of dishes that did not inspire. The most disappointing aspect of the meal was the reserve wine beverage pairing which was not in harmony with the food and was underwhelming for the money. At the end of the meal I was left wanting, and in the name of gluttony and science, I needed do a taste test, so I headed for Katsu.

For my money, Katsu is what traditional Japanese food is supposed to taste like. They leave the mayonnaise at home, bring in amazing product, and prepare that product honestly and deftly. After ordering a range of hot and cold items, I can honestly say Katsu still delivers the best food, and their beverage pairing is better. What does this say about Next? Absolutely nothing. The amazing thing about Next is that without dedicating years to hone their craft, Next puts up a meal that is almost as good as Katsu. Chef Beran and company do kaiseki well, and it is only because of prior excellence that my expectations were so high.