If you haven’t heard about the audacious new restaurant by Grant Achatz, the chef/owner of Alinea, follow these directions: (1) Look up. (2) Remove the rock under which you’ve been living. But even if you have been following the story, this primer might help. Next (953 W. Fulton Market; nextrestaurant.com) will change its entire menu and cuisine a few times a year and sell nonrefundable tickets instead of taking reservations. The first menu—Paris 1906—is an homage to Auguste Escoffier, the turn-of-the-century chef credited with inventing the modern restaurant’s kitchen brigade system and making French haute cuisine widely accessible to cooks. After three months, David Beran, a 29-year-old Achatz acolyte and Next’s chef, will start from scratch with the second menu; they’re leaning toward something involving Thai street food. At presstime, details were still being tweaked, but the multicourse menu should average around $85 per person (excluding beverages, tax, and tip). Here, for a taste of the past according to Next, is Beran’s work-in-progress hors d’oeuvres selection.
GOUGÈRE |
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SALMON |
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RABBIT |
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FOIE |
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PIG |
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ANCHOVY |
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LEEK |