Day 3: Kitchen Table At Next, Tour of Thailand

Let's not pretend this is something it's not. Dining at Next wasn't the only thing I did on Sunday, but that's why most people will read this post. What makes this post different from other Next restaurant posts? We're Thai, my parents grew up in Bangkok and own an upscale Thai restaurant, we consider ourselves food enthusiasts and critical thinkers. So without further ado, let me launch into "Day 3" which is just a review of our experience at Next.

In case you aren't native to Chicago, Next is the latest project by Grant Achatz. The restaurant reinvents itself every three months to represent a different time and place. The first menu was Paris 1906 and until October you can take a Tour of Thailand if you're lucky enough to get tickets. Yeah, tickets. Getting a seat at Next is a pain in the ass. I don't consider that a complaint -- it's a fact. You can watch and read more about the restaurant and saga here, here and here.

We miraculously snagged tickets for the kitchen table and had dinner there last night. We chose four standard pairings, consisting of wine, beer and mixed drinks, and two non-alcoholic pairings. Just as a disclaimer, it was dark and I did the best job I could taking photos without using a flash. Flash photography isn't prohibited, but it is tacky.

A view of the kitchen from the table. My sister poses.

We'd been talking about this meal for a while and my parents, my sister and her husband flew into Chicago to dine at Next (and to visit me!). The exclusivity and hype move many to make a very special trip for this meal but my family is not the type to romanticize -- I was in the minority of the group because I was optimistic about the meal's outcome.

Let's talk about the food.

Course 1: Street food spread

First course was served on Thai newspapers with pink paper napkins and plastic spoons. We received both punch and spiked punch (guava, mango, papaya) in plastic cups. The snacks included: roasted banana, prawn cake, sweet shrimp, fermented sausage (Issan sausage) and steamed buns with green curry.

We thought the banana was the best one. The fried garlic really made it.

Our favorite snacks were the roasted banana, the prawn cake and fermented sausage; the steamed bun came in last. The first bonus course was a bite each of chicken heart, strawberry and squid served on a portable grill set up at our table. 

Course 2: Grilled bites. Left to right: strawberry, chicken heart, squid.

Not gonna lie, I thought the strawberry was gross but I really enjoyed the chicken heart and squid. This course marked the final bites in our street food experience and I was a little sad to see it end. The newspapers and disposable utensils successfully created an atmosphere of fun. The next bonus course was som tum, made table-side by Chef Dave Beran.

Six servings in about ten minutes. Nice split.

Som tum is a green papaya salad that typically includes long beans, tomato, lime, fish sauce, fresh chiles, dried shrimp, palm sugar, garlic and peanuts. Chef Dave added green mango and salted crab, left out the dried shrimp, and substituted the fresh chiles for dried ones.

Course 3: Som Tum. Green papaya and mango salad, salted crab.

This is where our expectations began metamorphosing into frustration. 

I had a hard time with this dish, especially since I liked it. I missed the taste of fresh chiles and the pungent smell of dried shrimp. I get that the food at Next isn't supposed to be 100% traditional or authentic, but to me, the spirit of Thai food is the balance between strong and subtle flavors and textures. The changes to this dish stripped away layers of flavor that, to me, make it a cohesive whole. Moreover, it added some flavors, like the sweetness of the mango and crab, that weren't countered with another component. While I liked the dish, it didn't have the true essence of som tum and to people for whom this dish has a strong identity, it's a bit of a disappointment.

You can definitely argue that capturing and maintaining the true essence of a dish isn't the point of  Next and it's my fault I'm disappointed. I'd agree with you. When I asked Chef Dave what he might say to someone who called Next a completely self-indulgent exercise, he readily agreed that it was. This is a wonderful opportunity for him to explore ideas and fund it with an endless demand of diners and interns (they have a bunch juicing coconuts around the clock). At this point in the meal, I began to have an inkling that maybe I was looking at this the wrong way. The next course kept that feeling going. 

Course 4: "Pad Thai." Rice noodles, tamarind, peanuts. 

I thought this tasted really good but again, I missed some classic elements of the dish that make it satisfying for me. We were all a little saddened by how they turned a hot, pan-friend noodle dish into a cold noodle salad and I think that both this dish and the som tum -- this is going to sound borderline racist and offensive -- seemed arrogant and typical of a Western view of Thai food. The interpretation of both dishes resulted in two perfectly good plates of food but ultimately these are less vibrant, less balanced, and less complex versions of their originals. That's fine if you don't like spicy food and want to experience a night at the most popular restaurant in the universe; honestly not knocking it if you do. But, if you, like me, thought that coming to Next Tour of Thailand meant that you were going to get some great Thai food that's prepared from scratch, you'll probably think the food is a little sterile.

Course 5: Hot and sour broth, pork belly, tomato, ginger (pre-broth). 

Course 5: Hot and sour broth, post-broth.

We never have tom yum with pork. It added a richness to the dish I didn't like. Again, technically a good dish.

Course 6: Relishes. Banana pepper, watermelon and duck egg relishes.

An assortment of relishes on my plate.

The sixth course, the course of "relishes" or nam prik, was the toughest course for all of us. We were brought six or seven relishes and rice and asked to sample all the relishes by eating them with the rice. Nam prik is a condiment in Thailand. Yes, we eat it with rice, but not only rice. Usually you'll have vegetables like cucumbers and fried eggplants to use as vehicles for the normally blazing hot nam prik. When we were told to make the rice and relishes as the focal point, I think that's when they lost us. This is the equivalent of eating hamburger buns with ketchup and mustard. It was really bizarre and honestly showed a lack of understanding of the cuisine. We talked a little bit more with chef Dave with this course and he admitted to not knowing exactly how many of the nam prik were supposed to taste and, having nothing else to go off of, just went with what tasted right to him.

That was the moment when I realized I couldn't be upset with anything. Next is a hype machine whose very concept will always ensure that he has the resources to fuel his own culinary education. Once I started viewing it as a completely self-indulgent exercise performed for their own edification rather than a quest for truth or authenticity, it was a lot easier to eat the food.

Course 7: Catfish, caramel sauce, celery, coriander root.

The fish course was okay. The caramel sauce tasted a lot like white pepper to me.

Course 8: Panaeng curry with beef cheek

The panang curry was good. Chef Dave told us that they go through something like 800 coconuts a day. The great thing about Next is that if they can created something from scratch, they will. I was really impressed with their dedication to making fresh coconut milk for curry. The curry had a very fresh coconut flavor that you'd be very, very hard-pressed to find anywhere else. I can't think of any Thai restaurants that do this.

The beer that came with the curry was made by Half Acre especially for this course and was incredible. It was made with mangosteen, hibiscus and Thai pepper. Best pairing of the evening.

The last courses were dessert. The first of which was my favorite part of the evening.

Course 9: Coconut treats!

Course 9: Coconut, corn, egg, licorice.

The other half of the coconut had some coconut ice spooned into it and I mixed everything together before eating it. This was the only dish that actually succeeding in transporting me to Thailand. I thought the refinements made to this dish only augmented it since the individual components are normally made with powdered mixes. I loved it. 

Course 10: Dragon fruit, rose

I didn't love this so much. The dragon fruit had a cloyingly sweet layer of rose syrup poured over the top and it was just too much for me.

Course 11: Thai iced tea

Last course was Thai iced tea. Such a fun presentation.

My dad with Chef Dave. He's from Syracuse, too!

We got to step into the kitchen at the end of the meal and my dad insisted on getting a photo with Chef Dave. Don't misread my critical commentary -- we still had a great time!

Remember Doug from the other day? He e-mailed and asked if our experience is worth the effort of procuring tickets. My answer to him for the Thai menu is no. A few reasons:

• After talking with Doug over dinner at Great Lake, I get the impression that he's an appreciator of authentic Thai cuisine. Without getting into an argument about what it means to be authentic, let me just say that such an appreciator probably likes the strong spicy and pungent flavors. You won't find this at Next. Nothing here is going to knock you on your ass -- in fact, most of the food wasn't spicy at all to me -- and that makes me sad.
• The time constraint inherent to the restaurant's concept makes it impossible for them to truly understand the complexities of a cuisine with which they're unfamiliar and this inevitably results in playing with elements of a dish in a way that, in my mind, misinterprets their meaning.
• The ticket system is a pain. If this were any other restaurant where it wasn't a big deal to get in, get a table and enjoy dinner, this would be a very different post. It would mostly focus on what a great time we had, how nice the staff was, and how interested the kitchen was in exploring Thai cuisine. Instead, it's about how they fell short of the mark. I get the sense that the staff lives in a vacuum, separated from the drama of the ticket system and Facebook page. For those of us who have to deal with the reality, the stress involved with getting tickets builds your expectations up so high that disappointment is almost inevitable.

Ultimately, I thought the experience was a good one, but that was only after I adjusted my expectations. I think a lot of the criticism over being able to get "better" Thai food elsewhere in the city is misguided. You don't pay for "better" at Next; you pay for the quality of the ingredients and the labor involved in creating the dishes. A can of coconut milk that you can open in three seconds costs a lot less than 10 coconuts and the time spent opening and juicing them. Once you understand that the price and approach aren't about capturing the authenticity of Thai cuisine but about a group of people exploring an idea, it's hard to argue that there's something wrong with Next.

Still, I'm sure plenty of people bought or will buy tickets thinking that they're supposed to get transported to Thailand and that's really not what it's about. If Next were clearer about the liberties they're taking and the fact that they're interpreting dishes rather than recreating them exactly, I think it would be a better experience for everyone involved.