Next 2014 Dinners

Next has just announced their 2014 dinners. It will be interesting to see what Next does with steak, and also whether the three meals are so compelling that they will sell out. (I'm not sure that reviving an Achatz meal from ten years ago is the right choice, when one can get Grant's latest vision at Alinea, but we shall see).

This is from their email:

January - April 2014
Next: Chicago Steak

We admit it -- we have a love / hate relationship with steakhouses. Too often it's just 'meat on a plate' without sauces and a bigger-is-better, size-trumps-all attitude.

We love a perfectly cooked, dry-aged cut of beef, marbled, juicy, & delicious. A great lobster thermidor. Perhaps a succulent shrimp cocktail, a silky bisque, simple but perfect vegetables and a few potatoes. Mix in a cocktail to start, a trophy red in the middle, and a digestif with dessert. Big music, big smiles, and a casual satisfying time for conviviality. Perfect night, right?

Next: Chicago Steak will marry the simple and delicious with wonderfully sourced ingredients, modern techniques, and an old-world vibe. Expect a party.

** please note: due to the cost of high-quality dry aged beef this menu will be priced slightly higher than previous Next menus.


May - August 2014
Next: Chinese: Modern

What happens when a thousand year-old cuisine collides with the mind-set of culinary innovation? As China goes, so too does our Chinese Modern menu at Next.

Noodles, buns, dumplings, seafood, poultry, pork -- all the basics could be covered. Chinese cuisine typically favors small portions of each dish but many bites, not unlike many of the menus at Next. But while we honor the ingredients and traditions, we will bring a unique Modernist attitude to this menu. Recognizably Chinese.... recognizably Next.

Chinese take-out anyone? You never know....


September - December 2014
Next: Trio, January 20, 2004

Approaching the 10 year Anniversary of Alinea in 2015, our Grand Menu for the year will revisit the Tour de Force Menu that chef Achatz served on January 20, 2004.

Documented in their book Life, on the Line, the meal was the start of a conversation between Grant and Nick about building a restaurant. Barely over a year later Alinea opened.

A unique retrospective on the nascent ideas that became an identifiable cuisine... as well as a few 'classics' that were long ago put on the shelf, this menu will transport diners back to a great time in chef Achatz' career. But it is hardly a museum piece. The cuisine remains vibrant, startling, and delicious.

Next: Steak sounds so boring to me.

In thinking abut this, I am a little surprised that their large menu is an homage to Grant (as good as Trio used to be), rather than an homage to Charlie Trotter (Trotter '87), but perhaps that will be considered next year.

Next Steakhouse will be a wait and see for me I think.

I knew about Trio before I could ever afford to eat there.

I could see that menu being a fun time for someone like me.

GAF wrote:In thinking abut this, I am a little surprised that their large menu is an homage to Grant (as good as Trio used to be), rather than an homage to Charlie Trotter (Trotter '87), but perhaps that will be considered next year.

Its widely known that they weren't too fond of each other.

What a boring line up. This makes dropping my subscription an easy decision. It really feels like they're phoning it in with the Trio menu. The Chinese menu is the only one that really interests me.

I am on the fence about renewals based on this list. I agree the Chinese menu looks the most interesting of the three....unless they have something up their sleeve I cant imagine what they might do with steaks you cant get by just going to....a steakhouse.

edithpiaf wrote:I am on the fence about renewals based on this list. I agree the Chinese menu looks the most interesting of the three....unless they have something up their sleeve I cant imagine what they might do with steaks you cant get by just going to....a steakhouse.

Molecular steak: beef turned into foam with dipping dot steak sauce.

I'd like them to go back to the original concept. Fine dining with original concepts at lower costs due to the advance ticket sales. $75 per person + $40 wine pairings.

steakcicles

frite steaks*

steaknuts



*filet of potato w/thin strips of deep fried steak, of course

bnl: I completely agree. They lost what I liked about the restaurant: the more dramaturgical dining experiences (although I guess Chicago steak is one) and the lower costs because they could plan in advance with little to no waste. I have to say, when I saw that in addition to the Grand Menu of Trio (which I am assuming means it will cost as much as El Bulli etc.), that the Steak concept is going to higher priced too, I basically threw up my hands in defeat. I know people will pay for it, so they continue to do this, but the relative affordability, which set this place apart in my opinion, is completely lost. If I am going to spend that type of money, I am not going to a rotating concept that could be hit or miss.

Jarvis wrote: If I am going to spend that type of money, I am not going to a rotating concept that could be hit or miss.

This. In a nutshell. I'd add, and with the fairly consistent drumbeat from diners about inconsistent service...

Yeah, the value proposition is getting harder to accept. I went to the Bocuse menu last week (which was $375 each after standard drink pairings + tax/tip) and the meal didn't justify the price. Nothing was really memorable after the first two courses (veal terrine, caviar on beurre blanc) and some things were way too salty (mushroom consomme). Vegan was interesting, but not always delicious. The standout dish from the Hunt for me was the porridge. Sadly nothing has topped the duck from Paris and beef cheek from Thai and those were both a lot lower in price than the more recent, less satisfying menus. Last year was around $1,000 for tickets for 2 to the three meals with no drinks. If the steak + Trio pushes it up to $1200 or more before drinks I'm unlikely to renew.

It will be very interesting to see how well tickets sell. We purchased a table for four on a Thursday with premium wine, and the total came to nearly $4000 for some meals that would not be eaten for nearly a year. I was vastly disappointed with much of the Vegan dinner (which was excellent Vegan food, but nothing more) and while I loved the Bocuse dishes, I was relatively unimpressed with many of the Bocuse d'Or dishes, which seemed routine modernist cuisine. My guess is that Next, even with a ticketing system, will become more like a "normal" restaurant (with a rotating menu) in which one can purchase tickets a month or two in advance.

Next is still a restaurant at which I hope to dine and it can be excellent at its best and despite inconsistencies I do admire Chef Beran, but today Next is not a restaurant that I will invest $4000 in for three four-top meals.

Hopped Up wrote:Yeah, the value proposition is getting harder to accept.

So true. Looking at my Paris tickets I paid $129.00. That's for two people, including tax and tip. Back then I could easily overlook some of Next's shortcomings such as set wine pairings, no substitutions and ticketing that doesn't allow cancellations, but now it's really hard to do so.

Don't get me wrong, Next is a fun restaurant, but I'm on the sideline this season. Honestly, I'm excited to use my restaurant budget elsewhere. There's too many great restaurants here in Chicago to be tied down to one place.

Anyone here ever snag the $35 table?

I picked up one in Childhood, it was an amazing deal.

Which was one of the things I really liked about Next. I enjoyed trying to find a time I could afford to go.

Now that every seat and time is between 95 and 120 ish dollars, the affordable part of the experience is gone

I don't know, man. One of the best meals of my life was Trio circa 2004. I might finally get to Next.

I took my parents there that year-- we met GA and I promptly put myself on their emailing list--ahhhh the good old days...from there, I signed on to the same when Alinea was announced and booked a table for the 3rd week they were open. Of all the Next menus they've announced, this one would hold some allure, if they could guarantee Trio-like service. Funny how that has been my issue with both Next and Alinea--too many off-putting, inexplicable occurrences in service.

We're dropping our subscription next year. There are just too many other restaurants in Chicago we could eat at for the same cost of 3 Next menus. As someone who has had every meal they've served, this year was a real downer for us.

I think I"m giving most of my seats to a friend who felt left out of our four top. I might do Trio though. Bocuse d'Or was the only one I enjoyed this year. But comparing it to other meals that were the same price, it is not a great deal. I understand why Michelin not only hasn't starred them but gave them low marks for comfort. Service, menu construction, pacing, and consistency are just not up to the level I expect at that price point.

To contrast, I increasingly find Brochu's food at The Aviary alluring. During the Bocuse d'Or menu I kept thinking about some of his dishes, particularly the foie gras chocolate bar.

I was excited in the beginning; became a season subscriber. Then the price went up and the experience seemed more about them than the diner (sort of getting it backwards.....). In a nutshell, they seemed impressed with themselves. I dropped off the list because of the above--cost and experience.

I had scored a 4 top for Childhood at either 35 or 45 per and it was such a treat -- that early commitment to making some tables available to those of us who cannot drop $1K for an evening is a real loss. And while the meal was wonderful and memorable for us, the service was not.

That said, I actually rather like the lineup in theory - steak could be fun in a mad men nostalgia sorta way, a new take on Chinese might be interesting and I was not here in the Trio days - but given how much I've heard about less than good delivery and service, I'm not saving up for these.

Sad - I had so wanted to be a fan.

Next just sent out their announcement for season ticket holders, which indicates that the "public" (those without tickets) can be able to purchase season tickets in two days (Monday, I presume). While I may attempt to eat at Next (especially for the Modern Chinese menu), I don't plan to make the investment for meals for a year from now. (P.S., the prices don't include beverages or service charge or tax). But best success for Next. (I checked out the website and it is currently working).

Dear 2013 Season Ticket Holders:

The time to renew season tickets for the 2014 menus is now!

We have sent out this email to the 2013 season ticket holders. If you log in now using the email account of the primary Season Ticket Holder you will have access before the public for 2 days. There are enough tickets for everyone.

The Schedule for 2014 is:

Chicago Steak - January to April 2014
Chinese: Modern - May to August 2014
Trio: 2004 - September to December 2014

Pricing for the 2014 menus is as follows:

Chicago Steak Chinese: Modern Trio: 2004
Wed $155.00 $120.00 $245.00
Thu $160.00 $125.00 $245.00
Fri $165.00 $130.00 $245.00
Sat $170.00 $135.00 $245.00
Sun $155.00 $120.00 $245.00


Note that for our Chicago Steak menu we will have a few wine surprises that you can purchase at the restaurant if you choose. While completely optional, we will have a few 'trophy bottles' of big reds for sale... if you decide to enjoy one we will simply credit your pairings cost against the bottle purchases.

As before, the tickets are billed as three transactions on your credit card statement so that you may transfer tickets as you wish. Note that if two purchases occur and the third is denied for any reason you may be partially fulfilled. We can correct any such rare errors manually.

We look forward to welcoming you at Next in 2014 for what should be our most exciting, fun, and delicious culinary explorations yet!

Chef Grant, Chef Dave, Nick

$1400 for three Thursday night dinners for 2 with water pairings. Not exactly a bargain as the first menus felt like. But the fact that it's only available for less than four months creates some demand. I'm interested to see what they do for the first two and never got to experience Trio so I'm looking forward to it, but getting the expense all at once (right before Christmas shopping bills too) and then having to wait almost a year for the last meal is kind of hard to take today. But it's my choice and it's 3 nights of the year with something cool to anticipate.

I skipped. I'll get tickets to Chinese whenever, and with the other money I'll buy tickets to NYC and eat at Ko.

I skipped too, though another friend eagerly took my spot. I looked at the prices and thought of other places I could go for the same price and it wasn't worth it.

After a surprisingly brief discussion, we decided not to re-up: tables far too close together, uneven service, dark and somewhat off-putting room, prices...even Dave Beran's extraordinary skills couldn't overcome that. Indeed, Chef Beran's skills were ultimately the only positive that gave us pause. Add in Kokonas's unremitting self-centered and self-involved tweets, we've decided to spend our money elsewhere this year. Paris 1906 was the best meal of my life; but that Next is gone.

We may miss a great meal or two, but great food in and of itself is no longer enough. It's the whole experience and Next doesn't seem to understand that any more. We had a superb dinner at Grace recently that not only impressed enormously, but allowed us to re-experience fine dining in a luxurious atmosphere. For slightly more money than the price of the steakhouse meal, we'd rather go back to Grace and be relaxed and well-served, not Next where we're shoe-horned in and too many servers (and their attitude) change regularly.

It's a shame and a pity. Maybe a steady exodus of season ticket-holders will eventually suggest to someone that something might be wrong. I have no doubt the places will be snatched up eagerly (witness Nick's obnoxious tweets about how much money they pulled yesterday), but the fact that so many people who care so much about great dining are leaving says something. Is anyone listening?

Reading your post Gypsy Boy I'm a bit annoyed my friends did take my tickets I guess, I won't be counted as having not renewed. I think for them the novelty and the desire to not miss things outweighed the inconsistency of the experience.

I think the last straw for me was immediately encountering errors when I logged in yesterday, which Nick didn't seem too phased by on Twitter "Next Season Tix Live: $ 1,020,000 in 34 minutes. Glitches include: bank denials for 3 quick purchases. Will sort those w/ customers."

He's selling this system to other restaurants? To me that's crazy. My friends who renewed were also not part of my original table, which at one point we went to our reservation for Sicily and discovered the ticketing system had eaten it and they did not offer us a new one initially until I sent some angry emails about the software. That's probably the biggest, but certainly not the only bug I've encountered. I think they used the same software dev as healthcare.gov. Ultimately I was the person of my table that had to deal with it too, but now I've handed off that honor to someone else.

We too opted not to renew our season tickets for reasons similar to what Gypsy Boy eloquently stated. We loved the Next experience in 2011: Amazing food, personal service, whimsy. 2012 I felt as though they slid a bit, especially with regards to service and in 2013 I was underwhelmed by the food to boot. While the 2014 menus are intriguing, I certainly am not going to renew at these vastly higher price points. It seems as though Nick Kokonas has become all about expanding the Achatz empire and making as much $$$$$ as possible rather than focused on making Next and Alinea the best venues possible (Alinea has been my favorite restaurant but sadly I had a subpar meal there as well recently). Chef Achatz for now seems content going for the ride, but hopefully wakes up before his reputation is permanently tarnished and he becomes regarded as a celebrity chef past his prime. He is still young and possesses such unique talent that I hope he wakes up and reverses course before it is too late.

I really hope that Next improves in 2014 but am sadly not optimistic. I may still partake in some or all of the dinners, but not at these prices or with committing to a meal so far out (I believe there will be a lot of last minute discounted sales on the Next Facebook page). Eventually Kokonas will reach a breaking point where profits are maximized and the number of diehards decrease to a level where tables sit empty and the buzz is more negative than positive. Quite a shame how Next has deteriorated after a magical start, but I am joining the chorus of those fed up and not blindly paying what Kokonas demands for a slipping product that has the goal of maximal profits rather than a world class dining experience. At this price point (or less) there are so many superior dining experiences in Chicago (El Ideas, Elizabeth, Senza, Boka, iNG, Schwa, Goosefoot and more) that it is silly to pay so much and have to commit to dates several months out.

I wish Next the best of luck, but need to see increased quality in the cuisine, more consistent service, lower prices and more flexibility (i.e. with regards to substitutions for dietary restrictions/aversions, wines by the glass and a better system for exchanging/selling tickets when commitments arise precluding one from making the date they purchased so long before the meal).

You know I didn't even realize this until today, but I think season ticket holders pay more for their tickets than same day ticket holders. Which is a bit crazy. It's like the opposite of a CSA or a kickstarter, where people who invest upfront pay less for dedicating their money in advance.

For example our vegan menu for four was 893.09 minus 312 for wine, which came out to 145.24 per person just for the food. Same night dinner only tickets were $125 for that day