Thursday, March 27, 2014

Next Restaurant - Chicago Steak

I've been a Next follower since the day I moved to Chicago and I'm always excited about going there. For the first theme in 2014, Next chose Chicago Steak, to emulate the good old Chicago's meal courses during its industrial boom. 




Crudités - Kale, Dill Pollen, Baby Fennel

We started off the evening with a little veggie in preparation for our heavy meal. Each vegetable is chilled, drizzled with a little bit of seasoning and house made ranch, which wasn't as creamy as the regular ranch but has all the flavor. A pretty traditional way to start off the evening.


Shrimp Cocktail - Fermented Tomato, Horseradish, Yellow Celery

This is another pretty traditional dish in old time steak house. A shrimp cocktail dipped in a house made horseradish and fermented tomato sauce. The sauce has quite a pack of kick due to the fresh horseradish while the fermented tomato sauce bring in the tomato-y portion for the shrimp.



Surf Clam Siciliano - Saffron, Orange, Capellini

I have the Surf Clam with a little capellini as my third course. The chilled pasta is quite tasty and nicely seasoned. There's a mysterious thing that create a nice crunch (I think its some kind of bread crumbs). I actually expected a little clam here but I couldn't find it. Oh well.....

Levasseur Salad - Frog's Legs, Watercress, Pine Nuts

Another play-on with the traditional classic dish in old school steakhouse. A chilled butter poached frog leg which was fairly tender served with a vinaigrette dressed salad. I personally find the salad to be refreshing but it was a bit overdressed. I do like the crunchiness coming from the pine nuts. However, I wasn't a big fan of the frog legs. It just tasted a bit fishy for me.



Salmon Coulibiac - Duxelle, Fines Herbs, Brown Butter

This is one of my favorite dishes of the night and a play on with another traditional classic: Beef Wellington. Here, we have a King Salmon baked while wrapped around with a crust, encased with mushroom risotto. The fish is cooked perfectly. It's moist and flavorful, the crust is crumbly and the risotto gives off a nice earthy flavor. This is just a masterful way of making fish and I wished I can have more of it. 


Lobster Thermidor - Apple, Sherry, Thyme, Foccacia, Brioche Crouton

Another one of my favorites of the night. This lobster dish reminds me of a regular lobster tail combined with lobster bisque. A nicely cooked lobster is served with a base of creamy sauce. The sauce reminds me of a creamy bisque, which is combined with apple and a stringy crouton, creating a nice crunch and a lightness to counteract the heavy cream base.



As usual, Next team rolls out the main entree for us to see before serving it to us.


30 Day Dry-Aged Ribeyes

A nicely flavored Ribeyes. Tender and flavorful. It's hard to not like the meat.


Onion Paysan

This is a play of the onion gratin. A little cheese on top of all the grilled onion at the bottom. Creamy and cheesy.


Brussels Sprouts Salad

The brussel sprouts is nicely roasted to go along with the other greens. Making this a nice compliment to the steak.


Two-Jacket Potatoes

The star of this dish is supposed to be the meat, but this Potato definitely stole the show. The potato is cooked twice, which make its skin crunchy while the inside is creamy. Added in with a little bacon, this potato skin is probably one of the best potato skin I've had thus far. Its flavorful, crunchy and creamy, this is definitely a dream comes true for potato skin lover.



A compilation of all the food to go with the steak.






Champagne Float (Brioche ice cream)

A simple refresher after our heavy courses. A simple brioche ice cream with a little bubbly, making this a nice pallet cleanser. The ice cream itself tastes like butter and sugar. 

Cheese Cake Crème Brûlée 

A very traditional steak house dessert. The Crème brûlée has a smooth custard texture, while it's flavored like a cheese cake. A very traditional dessert.




Norwegian Omelette - Hazelnut, Cigar, Malt

This is definitely one of the most original, fun, yet dangerous dessert I've had thus far at Next. The outside is encased of meringue, which we set it on fire then blow out. Inside the meringue is a home make ice cream composed of hazelnut, malt and tobacco. When I say tobacco, it's really cigar. The ice cream flavor tasted a bit of hazelnut. The fun actually starts after you swallow the ice cream. The tobacco substance causes a tingly affect after the ice cream goes down, just like how your lips would feel when you have a cigar on your lips for awhile. The craziest part is, this ice cream totally wakes you up since there's nicotine in it. Me and my dining companion were wired after this dessert. 


Mint a la Fango - Chocolate Mint

This chocolate mint is very refreshing, I feel like I was eating a piece of mint. It's a good idea after the previous cigar course.



Black Peppercorn, Black Currant, Highland Scotch Whiskey

A nice berry tasting drink, which help to calms our nerve after such a heavy meal.

I actually had a bit of expectation before coming in to Chicago Steak as I want to see how Grant Achantz would be able to spin off on the old school theme. The food does taste good (the salmon, the lobster, the potato skin) and it brings in some really interesting and great dishes (the Norwegian Cigar). I did hear some negative feedback about this go around, as people do expects more when it's at Grant Achatz' level of cooking. However, to me personally, Chicago Steak captures the very essence of Next, where they go in with a theme and reinvent it with their technique. Regardless, I can't wait to visit when Next rolls out their new menu.


Saturday, March 15, 2014

Feast & Imbibe

Underground dinner has been a stable in Chicago's dining scene and, alot of times, it's either you know it or you don't. I stumbled across Feast & Imbibe, which has been doing underground dinner since early 2013. Feast & Imbibe usually host in Evanston and when they announced that they'll pop up in downtown Chicago, I jumped onto it right away. Feast & Imbibe is helmed by Chef D'Andre Carter and his partner Heather Bublick, both Chicago native and Moto alum. Hence, I expect the meal to consist of some flare of Moto.




Shrimp & Grits - Spot Prawns, Corn, Housemade Bacon

I am actually a huge grits fan and this shrimp and grits does not disappoint. The creamy grits goes well along with the crunchy corn and nicely cooked prawns. The best part of this dish is actually the gravy as it's got a nice kick to it, mainly in the form of spice. The bacon added a little extra bite to this dish, giving it a more textural balance. 



Chicken Alfredo - Lemon, Perigord Truffle, Camembert, Chicken Crackling

One of my favorite of the night. This Chicken Alfredo has made all other chicken alfredo pale in comparison. A creamy alfredo sauce made with Camembert, along with crunchy and flavorful chicken crackling, has elevated the pasta. The mushroom also add a nice consistency to every bite. Lastly, there's a little shaved truffle, which gives off an earthly aroma to this dish. Imagine a creamy, yet a  little bit earthly in every bite of your pasta, that's what the end result of this dish. 


Beef & Broccoli - Short Rib, Black Garlic, Carrot, Tofu

Our last savory course is a playful version of Beef and Broccoli. The braised short rib was tender and flavorful. I like the carrot and ginger sauce as it adds a mild sweetness to the beef. The tofu is a nice addition to balance out the heaviness of the beef.



Pineapple - Lemongrass, Blueberries, Borage, Yuzu

Our first dessert is actually a cocktail presented with dry ice, which create a cool smoky effect. The cocktail is refreshingly sweet, with a nice citrus yuzu kick to it. The blueberries is nice as you get to munch on something while you drink the cocktail.



Cheese Cake - Strawberry, Cream Cheese, Graham

Another one of my favorite of the night, This is a deconstructed strawberry cheesecake. The cream cheese moose is airy, creamy and mildly sweet. Along with the graham crackers and strawberry, this dessert reminds you of a nice strawberry cheesecake when you eat it all together, without the heaviness of the cheesecake. One of the diners actually recommended serving this for breakfast as it's very light.


Chocolate - Walnut, Salty Caramel

The Chef surprised us with a nice little parting gift of chocolate. It's mildly rich and has a nice crunch due to the walnut. I can do a few more of these.



I was thoroughly surprised of how the food came be, as I didn't have any expectation going in. The flavor, the texture and the simplicity of the food is well balanced. In contrast to what I thought it would be due to Chef Carter's association with Moto, the food is simple and focused on flavor, something that I appreciate. I do have one complain and that's the portion size, perhaps I'm a bigger eater than most, but I was left a bit hungry after dinner. But no matter. I can see great things going on with Chef Carter's underground dinner as he further fine tunes his food.