Next: A Thailand Tour

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I had the pleasure of dining at Next, the new restaurant of the fabulous Grant Achatz. For those of you that don't know, the restaurant is founded on the principle of "What will happen next?" Every three months, the menu is completely changed.

The first menu featured "Paris: 1906." I've heard it was amazing. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunity to eat there as this isn't a call-and-make-a-reservation type of place. They sell tickets - either a 2-top, a 4-top or a 6-top. Through their site, you purchase you pay for dinner, drinks, tax and gratuity. All that is left to do when you arrive is eat.

While we missed out on the Paris menu, we were chomping at the bit to grab tickets for their current menu: Thailand! On the day the tickets were released, there was something like 14,000 people vying for 2,000 tables. On top of that, the web site crashes. A lot.

Steve finally managed to get a 4-top for a Sunday night at 9:30pm. For this menu, they gave the option of wine pairings, "drink" pairings (cocktails, beer, wine, etc) and non-alcoholic pairings. We opted for 3 drink pairings and 1 non-alcoholic. I ended up being the sober sister of the group, and I enjoyed every single moment of it.

In any event, let the photos of the food speak for themselves...all photos by my fabulous husband, Steve of Steve Koo Photography.



The first course was an experience. Featuring Thai street food, our server spread out a Thai newspaper on the table before bringing the food out. Featured was a prawn cake, a raw shrimp with garlic and chile, a fermented sausage with peanut and scallion, and a roasted banana with garlic.


Oh yah, and steamed buns with beech mushroom and green curry. AMAZING. I hate mushrooms and could have eaten 20 of these.


Clearing the newspaper away, we were on to a spicy tom yum soup with pork belly. Yes friends, I did indeed say pork belly. But I also said spice. While I do like a little heat, this soup added such a punch that I started to sweat while eating it!

This dish also featured mushrooms, which I also devoured. Maybe Next is changing my view on fungi?



We were then treated to containers of sticky rice (my first love) and different sauces to try out. Some were spicy and some were more mild. One was called "the funk" by our server. Our table thoroughly enjoyed the funk.

The sauced in the bottom left hand corner of the picture was a salted duck egg with green mango and white radish. Yum.


And of course, with each course there was a different drink. Mine focused on teas and juice drinks. Sometimes the alcoholic version would be what I had with liquor added. Other times it would be a beer or wine.

For one of the courses, they wanted to pair it with a beer but could not find the perfect brew. So, of course, they had Half Acre brew one especially for this course. I sampled Steve's and it was very tasty.


The rice was the base for our next two courses. First up was a wild catfish braised in caramel sauce with celery and coriander root. Simply melt in your mouth.


We then had a panang curry with braised beef cheek. I've been ordering a lot of panang from our favorite Thai restaurant. But that night at Next, I realized what a real panang was like. The peanut was very subtle and the coconut and lemongrass shone through.


After a palate cleanser of watermelon juice and lemongrass, we were on to dessert!

Four coconuts arrived on a bed of hot rocks and then were served to us. Our server took the top off of each coconut and filled the empty shell with a coconut sorbet. The other half of the shell was filled with...


...amazingness! The menu lists "coconut, corn, egg and licorice." I don't know that I could accurately describe this dish if I had it sitting right in front of me. All different textures were represented: crunchy corn "nuggets"; some sort of mousse; tapioca-like pearls; slices of mango. Normally I'm squeamish about weird textures, but everything in this shell just made sense.

I also specifically remember my drink pairing: pineapple, corn and basil juice. Delicious.


For our final dessert, our server brought out a long-stem, hot pink rose. The rose was so heavily perfumed we wondered if it had been sprayed with extra scent.

We were then each served half of a dragon fruit that had been treated with a rosewater syrup. Wewere given our instructions: eat some of the dragon fruit, then take a big whiff of the rose and try the dragon fruit again. The scent of the rose should enhance the perfumed flavor of the dragon fruit. And yes, it did.


Finally, as a parting gift we were each left with a bag of Thai iced tea. This method of serving the tea (a heavyweight plastic bag with a straw and closed off with a rubber band) makes completely sense and one can assume this is how you would see it on the streets of Thailand.


Our dinner truly felt like a whirlwind trip around Thailand and filled with flavors that I've never had at any Thai restaurant before.

And now I can only wonder...what's next?


Interested in taking a tour around Thailand at Next? If you're in Chicago, they release a few same-day tickets almost every day. Check out their Facebook place and "Like" them to see updates about tickets. You'll also find out via Facebook when they release tickets for upcoming menus. Create an account on their site to purchase tickets the next time they release them...and good luck!

June Restaurant (& high school reunion!)

A week before Steve and I left on our California trip, I was down in my hometown of Washington (outside of Peoria) for my 10-year high school reunion. The true reunion festivities were a Saturday night, but the Friday night before was a casual get together at a local bar. My friend Darcie and I opted for the more casual trip to the bar vs. paying $40 for a chicken dinner at a local venue. I think we chose wisely.

While it was interesting seeing many people I haven't seen in the flesh in 10 years, I realized what many of you had already mentioned to me: Facebook really has replaced reunions. I didn't feel an overwhelming need to talk to people because I'm friends with the majority of them on Facebook. I know who is married, who lives locally and who has moved away. And if we're not close friends to the point where we catch when we're in town, then why do we need to catch up in person? That may sound very unfeeling of me, but I honestly wouldn't have known what to ask some people because I see what's happening with them in my daily Facebook news feed.

I did see a few people that it was fun to catch up with, but I'm very glad that opted to forgo the official get together on Saturday night. Instead, Darcie and I checked out a new(er) restaurant in Peoria, June. Boasting local, organic ingredients and chef Josh Adams who has Alinea on his resume, we were both psyched to eat here. And, umm, compared to larger cities, their 7-course tasting menu was a bargain at $85. You could add wine pairings for $130 total. We skipped the pairings because in Peoria cabs aren't an option, so we needed to be functional enough to drive ourselves home.

We arrived at 7:20 for our 7:30 reservation. They said our table wasn't ready (really? the restaurant was only half full). So we headed to the bar for a cocktail. The bartender asked us a few questions and we settled on something with orange and not sweet. We ended up with an orangey cocktail that was very sweet. Pretty good, but tart would've been better.


First course was a cold "whipped" carrot and ginger soup topped with wild ikura roe. Underneath was a gelatinous pocket of machta green tea that kind of oozed when you poked into it. The texture of the soup was intriguing but the roe was a little too fishy for me. Presentation was great, but the overall flavor profiles kind of lost me.


The second course was an upgrade from the first. Scallops, perfectly cooked with a delicious dashi broth, black garlic, radish and matsutaki mushrooms. This dish was cooked to perfection.


The third course was salmon with sea beans, radish, purpelette onions, and a cucumber creme fraiche. This was a good dish but not a stand out for me.


For the fourth course we were served veal sweetbreads. Piping hot, tasty and fresh off the skillet, served with Parisian gnocchi, baby fennel and picked fennel. The sweetbreads were just perfect. I'm about the world's pickiest eater, but I love, love, love sweetbreads.


Fifth course? Beef! Skirt steak served with a rich sauce of white truffle-roasted beef fat aioli (yum!). I usually don't like fresh green beans (I know, I'm a horrible person who loves canned green beans), but I devoured these. And on top? A ton of black summer truffles!


Want a closer look? Mmmmmm....truffle. It was a truffle lover's delight. Our server who brought out this dish was a little on the younger side and was so excited to explain this dish. She said she had just had it herself that week and loved it. She explained the truffles as "very exotic." I got the feeling that was her first truffle experience, and she was smitten.


Course number 6 was the first of two desserts. It was a plum cake with a million thin layers paired with a homemade vanilla ice cream. The cake was just perfect: light and tangy and lively flavors. I've never really had plums, and this cake totally won me over.


And finally, lucky number seven! A chocolate bread pudding paired with a homemade hazelnut ice cream. Divine. I wouldn't have thought I'd have room for more dessert at the end of this meal, but I definitely devoured this bread putting. It was more homey vs. fancy, but that was fine in my book.


Here's a shot of the open kitchen, as seen from our table. The atmosphere was very serene as the dishes were prepared. Having the kitchen in full view was fantastic. However, we were there for a LONG time. We were seated at 7:30 and didn't walk out until 11pm. Yes, 3 1/2 hours. While the time didn't exactly drag on, there were lengthy gaps between courses as well as periods where we didn't have wine yet when we were served a course (we ordered wine by the glass, and were rewarded with some extra splashes due to the delay, but still).

All-in-all, it was a great meal and overall experience and a good value. A 7 course tasting menu, 2 glasses of wine and a cocktail ran me about $140 (with tip). Service definitely needs to speed up, especially when the restaurant isn't fully booked, but overall this is a great option for fine dining in Peoria!

Girl & the Goat

I'm so sad that I missed posting yesterday, but I had a good excuse...last night we went to the studio opening of a fabulous photographer, Kevin Weinstein, and before the party Steve and I grabbed a drink and a bite at Stephanie Izard's new restaurant Girl & the Goat. Nom, nom, nom, the food was out of this world!

The main dinner menu is broken down into vegetable, fish and meat. Here's a sneak peak at the fish section. Are you drooling yet?


We each started off with a beer. Steve opted for the Sofie, and since I like to choose beers based on the name, I chose the Victory Golden Monkey.


They have a breakmaker who makes the bread daily. We ordered the Buenos Dias bread, which was a loaf spotted with cranberries (I think?) and served with coffee butter and blueberry oil. Coffee butter needs to make a regular appearance in my every day life a.s.a.p.


Off the fish section we ordered the soft shell crab with sweet corn, lime and chili aioli. Sorry for the wonky picture - we had already split it in half and I had to hold myself back from just diving my face into it. Seriously, the corn was so flavorful and the crab just tasted amazing. I'm still dreaming about it.


Finally, we ordered the beet salad, which had green beans, anchovies and an avocado creme fraiche. Steve said this was the best thing he had off of the menu. I liked the overall flavors, but anchovies and beets aren't my cup of tea. I was still thinking about that crab...


Overall, Girl & the Goat was incredibly well executed. We had a great spot at the bar to order our drinks and bites, everything is served family style so it's fun to order a lot of dishes to share, the restaurant as a whole had a comfortable, loungy feel and you're hit with a wonderful bacon-y smell right when you walk in the door. Yummmmm.

Celebrating with a Little Adventure

I love, love, love giving presents - I'd be the ultimate philanthropist if I actually had any money. However, since I don't anticipate ever having oodles of money to just give away as I please, I make sure to put a lot of time and effort into gifts for my loved ones.

However because Steve's birthday is in the middle of January, I tend to be a wee bit tapped out on great ideas that will dazzle him. So, last year I decided to take him out for a total splurge dinner at a restaurant we had wanted to try (which I fully intend to blog about soon, Steve and I still talk about it a year later). This year, it only made sense to continue with tradition and hit up another great restaurant.

Since Steve had been talking non-stop about Top Chef finalist Dale Levinsky's new endeavor, Sprout, my decision of where to go was pretty easily made. Check out this article to read about how Dale ended up at Sprout and the inspiration behind his menu.

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I love that Sprout is doing a prix fixe menu but calling it an adventure. Who wouldn't love to go out to dinner and choose the adventure option? For $60 per person on weekends ($40 on weeknights) it includes a starter, main, and dessert, along with a splash of wine, a little sorbet between courses and a yummy cheese course. The weeknights adventures are cheaper because they don't include the little extras, but the little extras were totally worth it in my book.

Ok, enough details - let's dig in! (Oh, and please note: we got to the restaurant and I realized that my camera was dead - so sad! Fortunately, Sprout has so fabulous pics of their food on the Web site.)

Steve started off with the scallop, which featured corn, parsnip, sage and peanut. I really really really wanted this dish, but it was his birthday so I let him win. I had a bite, though, and it was divine. I started with a yummy veal dish, however, no pictures or description are on their site right now.

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Steve chose the rabbit for his main course, featuring celery root, chamomile, golden beet and hazelnut. Yum! We flip-flopped dishes so that we could try each other's mains.

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I had read online that the short rib was amazing, but I was still torn as to what to order. I asked our waitress for suggestions, and when I ended up choosing the short rib her eyes just lit up. I knew I had hit the entree jackpot.

The short rib was super tender, flavorful and featured mushrooms, chicory, manchengo and TRUFFLE. Well, truffle dumplings, to be exact. TO. DIE. FOR. I really could have just eaten a whole bowl of the dumplings and been a happy camper. Since it was Steve's birthday, I managed to share two of them with him before scarfing the rest down.

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No culinary adventure is complete without a cheese course, and I really don't think any cheese course could compare to Sprout's grilled cheese with sharp, aged cheddar, sauteed onions and Dijon mustard. Yummers. (And yes, you are correct - the whole top half of the sandwich is cheese that has gotten all brown and crackly in the pan, the best part!)

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Our desserts were just as good as the rest of the meal. Steve went for the chocolate option, which featured a milk chocolate (I think) mousse, a dark chocolate dipping sauce, and a cookie for dipping. I chose the lemon, which included a cherry lemon poundcake and a tart lemon filling.

We had so much fun at Sprout from start to finish. We realized we hadn't been out to dinner just the two of us since our honeymoon back in September. It felt good to splurge a little.

The truffle dumplings were hands down the highlight of the evening. The only down side to the night? While Dale came into the dining room multiple times, surveying the room like a proud parent, he did not stop by our table. Waaah. I would loved to have told him in person how great our meal was, and that he most definitely should have won Top Chef, of course. He was totally robbed.

A happy happy birthday to my wonderful husband - I will make sure every year's celebration is filled with fabulous food and wine!