I'm going on Thursday (1/9). I will try to report back

The tweets are doing their job by making the menu look pretty cool.

I certainly agree about the idea of diminishing returns on foodstuffs such as steaks. I also appreciate the idea that there are only so many dining dollars (for me at least) to go around.

My wife got a gift card to Bavettes, that will satiate my steak desires unless I find a deal to Next somehow.

The menu looks good.

The price still submarines the entire concept with which the restaurant began.

Still tickets available for every night of the menu and 3-5 four tops available almost every night from 9-10 pm. Seems like they should cut some of the tables in half to allow more 2-tops at these prices. It will be interesting to see how this lack of scarcity affects the resale market (people are still expecting to get face value on FB) and if they'll continue to offer same day tickets when there are still plenty on the website. The first week has plenty available and opening night has nine 4-tops still available. Either prices have gotten too high or last year's menus didn't live up to expectations. Alinea's calendar also shows a lot of availability on weeknights this month.

Apparently cold weather is to blame for slow ticket sales, not bloated pricing, a declining experience, uncreative menu concept or anti customer policies such as non-refundable tickets and no substitutions. Really, really??!?!!?!!??!!!?


http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... /140109932

Gonzo70 wrote:Apparently cold weather is to blame for slow ticket sales, not bloated pricing, a declining experience, uncreative menu concept or anti customer policies such as non-refundable tickets and no substitutions. Really, really??!?!!?!!??!!!?


http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... /140109932

Cold weather always keeps me from buying stuff on the internet

I went on April 27 at 6PM to the Next Paris menu for all in $129 per person including tax/tip and wine pairing. I'll just put a bid out there for the same price for the steak menu. I think that's fair

Has anyone seen the full steak menu yet? I'm curious to know how many courses feature steak. I also saw a picture posted to twitter or instagram of a lot of mean vacuum sealed bags, presumably for sous vide. Does anyone know how they've been cooking the steaks? I feel like sous vide is a bit of a cop out for a steakhouse if that is the primary cooking method. Sure, it's best for consistency but for this price I'd expect a perfectly cooked steak over coals.

SolitaryChef wrote:Has anyone seen the full steak menu yet? I'm curious to know how many courses feature steak. I also saw a picture posted to twitter or instagram of a lot of mean vacuum sealed bags, presumably for sous vide. Does anyone know how they've been cooking the steaks? I feel like sous vide is a bit of a cop out for a steakhouse if that is the primary cooking method. Sure, it's best for consistency but for this price I'd expect a perfectly cooked steak over coals.

Just one steak course. Chef Achatz tweeted the menu and someone at friends and family posted pictures.

Interestingly even more tables are now showing for sale for tomorrow and Thursday - a full 50 seats available for Thursday last I checked.

SolitaryChef wrote:Has anyone seen the full steak menu yet? I'm curious to know how many courses feature steak. I also saw a picture posted to twitter or instagram of a lot of mean vacuum sealed bags, presumably for sous vide. Does anyone know how they've been cooking the steaks? I feel like sous vide is a bit of a cop out for a steakhouse if that is the primary cooking method. Sure, it's best for consistency but for this price I'd expect a perfectly cooked steak over coals.

There's a picture of the menu towards the bottom of this post. Something called Surf and Turf towards the beginning may have steak in addition to the ribeye.

http://eater.com/archives/2014/01/06/he ... e-menu.php

The prices are too high or else the concept not appealing enough given the number of tables available for the first two nights. 26 seats open for the first seating and 24 for the second seating on Thursday night. Incredible given how quickly tickets were snatched up in the past. But $180-185 per person with wine pairings for Paris and Thailand to $350 for Steak is significant inflation in three years. Seems like they've gone away from appealing to people excited by unique food and able to afford a small splurge, and now they're going after people willing to pay more for what had previously been an exclusive experience (given the difficulty in procuring tickets). It's understandable that high quality ingredients cost more, but the space is not set up for a high end fine dining experience that these prices indicate should be delivered (sharing bathrooms with Aviary patrons is just one example, the close together tables being another). I don't begrudge them trying to generate more revenue, but the market is speaking pretty loudly that they've priced this menu beyond what people will pay for what is labeled a steakhouse experience. And with the season ticket holders having already bought tickets, they can't exactly lower prices (although if they need to sell seats, lowering the prices for the post-9 pm tables seems logical).

Hopped Up wrote:

SolitaryChef wrote:
There's a picture of the menu towards the bottom of this post. Something called Surf and Turf towards the beginning may have steak in addition to the ribeye.

http://eater.com/archives/2014/01/06/he ... e-menu.php

If you look closely it list sweetbreads (for the turf) and mussels (for the surf) and tart cherries as the description for that course. Someone who dined at friends and family confirmed there was only one course with steak (not even a bone in cut). Definitely more of a seafood heavy menu (mussels, shrimp, lobster and salmon) than steak.

Does anyone know what exactly about this meal pumped its cost up to premium, then? I just assumed it was the, you know, steak, but if there's not a lot of steak ...

Any bets on when we first see Next tix on Goldstar?


I was able to treat three young folks to a first fine dining experience for the Childhood menu when I lucked into the $45 per person tickets for 10 PM Saturday table. What a thrill for us all. When Next opened, I was so impressed with the idea that they would range the tickets so those of us who cannot routinely drop $800 on dinner for two could still experience their art - and what a great way to build the audience for such fine dining. It really saddens me that that option vanished so quickly - and I'm sure not feeling bad about the market reaction to the latest pricing as a result.

It definitely seems like they're pushing the pricing bounds of the "Next" concept in general (not just this menu). The price creep of these menus reminds me of Alinea. When they switched to tickets, one of the often cited claims was that why should they pay 3 receptionists to say they don't have tables. When those costs disappeared, the ticket prices still went up pretty soon after. It's kind of lost it's allure on me.

Any reports from last night? I am going tonight and will report back tomorrow.

Vitesse98 wrote:Does anyone know what exactly about this meal pumped its cost up to premium, then? I just assumed it was the, you know, steak, but if there's not a lot of steak ...

You think those novelty match books are cheap?

that or "ice bowls".

I'll keep this short. Next Steak is a dud. It was too simple and it felt lazy. Even the service was terrible. Unlike previous menus, they did not leave the wine at the table for you to refill. Not a big deal, except no one came around to refill my wine at any point. Not good when the wine is meant to be paired with 2-3 courses at a time. I am very disappointed.

From start to finish, the food was just okay. It was bland. Lacked that "next level" and "pop" that Next usually brings to the table. The steak was great, but it was nothing special. Perfectly cooked? Yes. But I disliked that the steak came out pre-cut. This is a steakhouse.. I want to cut my own meat. The desserts and after dinner drinks were the best things I had all night.

You are better off just going to Bavettes. If you want to know more, I can elaborate further.

If you want to know more, I can elaborate further.

Please do. Any pictures appreciated as well. Does anyone recall how many, if any, changes occurred over the course of any given Next theme where they tried to perhaps correct any particular failings?

jbrady3324 wrote:I'll keep this short. Next Steak is a dud. It was too simple and it felt lazy. Even the service was terrible. Unlike previous menus, they did not leave the wine at the table for you to refill. Not a big deal, except no one came around to refill my wine at any point. Not good when the wine is meant to be paired with 2-3 courses at a time. I am very disappointed.

From start to finish, the food was just okay. It was bland. Lacked that "next level" and "pop" that Next usually brings to the table. The steak was great, but it was nothing special. Perfectly cooked? Yes. But I disliked that the steak came out pre-cut. This is a steakhouse.. I want to cut my own meat. The desserts and after dinner drinks were the best things I had all night.

You are better off just going to Bavettes. If you want to know more, I can elaborate further.

Thanks for the report; sorry the meal was not up to snuff, but can't say I am surprised at this point. I am feeling extremely relieved I did not renew my season tickets. Have Bavette's reservations next weekend and will hit Dave Burke's in March or April and those meals combined will be a bit less than one meal at Next (and will be able to enjoy large bone in aged rib-eyes). Curious what the size was of the single steak course and where the steak was from if you know.

borborigmy wrote:

If you want to know more, I can elaborate further.

Please do. Any pictures appreciated as well. Does anyone recall how many, if any, changes occurred over the course of any given Next theme where they tried to perhaps correct any particular failings?

Based on past history Next does not make significant changes based on particular items not being well received. They occasionally change a dish if it uses ingredients that are in season towards the beginning of the menu, but not late in the menu (i.e. for Kyoto the night I went they had just introduced a new dessert).

jbrady3324 wrote: I disliked that the steak came out pre-cut. This is a steakhouse.. I want to cut my own meat.

I'm curious what this is about. Was it one large platter served family style so you had to take slices - or were you actually served your own cut steak?

It is a platter, chrisch. Personally this is a detail that I don't care about, but I do understand the tradition of being given a knife and cutting your own steak in a steakhouse.

That is correct, it was a platter. It was a ribeye steak aged at least 30 days. The steak was from California and the only seasoning was salt. They come out during the appetizer course to show you the cut of steak and explain its origin. The steak course came with a bite size baked potato with the works (very tasty), french onion casserole (their take on french onion soup) a brussel sprout salad, and 3 sauces (bearnaise, Next's version of A1, and a peppercorn sauce). All of the sauces were fantastic especially the bearnaise and A1.

The entire menu is very rich, especially the salmon and lobster courses.

The reserve pairings were:
Table side shaken martini with two types of vermuth and orange bitters - This was pretty tasty and had a big orange punch
Reisling - Not usually a fan of Reisling but I did enjoy the wine a lot and luckly I was able to get a refill
Red wine with some volcano origins (forget what type) - Packed a tremendous amount of flavor for a red wine. I really thought this was one of the better wines I have had in a long time
Pipeworks Beer with fresno chilies and passion fruit - Very small pour but a good tasting beer. Not sure what this was supposed to pair with, it came out randomly. Maybe just a palet cleanser
Champagne Float - There take on a Root beer float
Two types of coffee drinks (depending on if you order decaf or caf) - My favorite drinks of the night. Both were scotch based.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures. It is by no means a BAD meal, it is just not on the level of what I expect from Next. The two tables around me shared the same feelings about the meal as myself and a couple I overheard waiting for a taxi were also disappointed. Hopefully they can make some positive changes to the menu quickly.

jbrady3324 wrote:That is correct, it was a platter. It was a ribeye steak aged at least 30 days. The steak was from California and the only seasoning was salt. They come out during the appetizer course to show you the cut of steak and explain its origin. The steak course came with a bite size baked potato with the works (very tasty), french onion casserole (their take on french onion soup) a brussel sprout salad, and 3 sauces (bearnaise, Next's version of A1, and a peppercorn sauce). All of the sauces were fantastic especially the bearnaise and A1.

The entire menu is very rich, especially the salmon and lobster courses.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures. It is by no means a BAD meal, it is just not on the level of what I expect from Next. The two tables around me shared the same feelings about the meal as myself and a couple I overheard waiting for a taxi were also disappointed. Hopefully they can make some positive changes to the menu quickly.

As I understand it Next is using ribeyes from Bryan Flannery at Flannery Beef. If anyone wishes to research, here's his website. Probably some of the best American beef out there.

http://www.flannerybeef.com

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures. It is by no means a BAD meal, it is just not on the level of what I expect from Next. The two tables around me shared the same feelings about the meal as myself and a couple I overheard waiting for a taxi were also disappointed. Hopefully they can make some positive changes to the menu quickly.

Any thoughts on what changes they could make that would make it more of a spectacular meal?

Disappointed to hear jbrady3324, but thanks for the report. Next has been slipping for some time in my view. Not sure what the core issue is- are they too focused on other endeavors to pay proper attention to Next? Combined with the climbing prices and the pre-paid ticketing process, this is what’s behind me backing off seasons tickets. Next is not special enough to tie up a lot of pre-committed time and money with anymore, and I do prefer somewhere with a more hospitable wine program for a light drinker like myself- and this town is lousy with great dining at all levels. I will be interested to see if there are any changes when I attend later in the menu run. I certainly hope so- I have had some really fantastic meals here and would love to see them back on their game at the level of the early days, it was exciting and fun to dine there in the past. I do think my remaining loyalty to the place as it exists is almost solely due to how wonderful the initial Paris and other early menus were.

I agree I have not seen them in the past change anything too much over the course of a menu, outside of modifications around seasonally available ingredients.

Table side SHAKEN martini? Sounds like the toughest detail to swallow so far. That being said I have been to Next 5 times and really enjoyed at least 3.5 of those visits so will reserve any outside judgement with tasting first.

Bourbon

The table side martini and table side salad (on an ice bowl) were, for the lack of a better word, lame. It took my server longer to try to scoop the salad out of the bowl than to actually make it.

To be honest, I am not sure what I exactly would change. Maybe, instead of being so traditional, why not take some "next" type risks. I mean, the shrimp cocktail was good, but come on I can get that anywhere. Past meals at Next have been more playful. This meal was not. I think, at the core, that is the big issue with this menu. They are not serving up anything you cannot get somewhere else.

Past meals at Next have been more playful. This meal was not. I think, at the core, that is the big issue with this menu. They are not serving up anything you cannot get somewhere else.

Do you think this is "pandering" to the more risk-averse population or something? I was really expecting them to have a shrimp cocktail redone to be a sphere of liquid nitrogen treated shrimp flavored with horseradish in it or something. Is it just a big shrimp with some cocktail sauce? That would really be lame for a Next meal.

borborigmy wrote:

Past meals at Next have been more playful. This meal was not. I think, at the core, that is the big issue with this menu. They are not serving up anything you cannot get somewhere else.

Do you think this is "pandering" to the more risk-averse population or something? I was really expecting them to have a shrimp cocktail redone to be a sphere of liquid nitrogen treated shrimp flavored with horseradish in it or something. Is it just a big shrimp with some cocktail sauce? That would really be lame for a Next meal.

It is 2 big shrimp with some cocktail sauce. The sauce was very good