Next Restaurants - Tapas

Albeit late, Next Tapas is one of my favorite menu at Next Restaurant. This was a summer menu. But due to school, I wasn't able to post these in time. But below are the pics. 

Cocas - Flatbread

(top) Cocas de Anchoas y Aceitunas - anchovies, red pepper and Olives

(mid) Cocas de Guisantes y Chorizo - Peas & Sausage

(bot) Cocas de Hongos y cebolla - Mushrooms & White beans

We started off the night with 3 flatbread. They are all fairly good. However, the anchovy definitely is the clear winner for me as it reminds me of the Mediterranean the most. The fish and the olives really give the bread a brightness that starts you off the night right

Mejillones enlatados - Canned Mussels Pulpo Y Berenjena - Octopus and Eggplant puree

One of the coolest dish of the night. The octopus and is perfectly cooked and paired well with eggplant foam. The canned mussels is definitely the star as it brings in a touch of citrus along with the mussel flavor. 

Cebollas a la parrilla - Grilled spanish onion

Cerdo y Romesco - Pork Belly and Romesco

The taste of this dish supersede its look. The pork belly is extremely tender, buttery and goes really well with charred bread. I actually love the Romesco sauce as it carries a creamy but nutty flavor with it.

Yema de huevo frito - Fried Egg Yolk, anchovies, pepper

One of my other favorite of the night. The fried egg yolk is airy, light which provides a nice crispy to pair with the fresh anchovy and pepper. Reminds a little bit of the flatbread but I like the crunch of the fried egg yolk more.

Aceitunas de albert adria - Sphered Olives

How can it be a Tapas without some spheres! Here we have an olives sphere. Oh yeah, it sure did taste like olive and I like the popping sensation from the spheres.

Brandada crujiente - salty cod puree with cod crisp

The cod chip takes fish and chip to a whole new level. The chip is actually skin fried and has a nice cod flavor. The cod puree is the star. It's briny, salty but not too rich. 

datiles con jerez y chocolate - Sherry & Chocolate "dates"

pomelo quemado y pinones - burned grapefruit and pineput

We had two sweets back to back so our taste buds won't get stagnant. The chocolate meringue definitely throw my taste buds off. The coco nip that goes with it definitely makes me want a bit more (but I'm a sucker for coco nip). The second sweet is the grapefruit fruit jelly which goes well with the meringue.

Esparragos y sepia - Asparagus and Sepia (cuttlefish)

Un plato de jamon iberico de bellota - Bellota's Iberico Ham

Best ham in the world. Buttery, light and mild saltiness. I can eat these all day!

patatas bravas - fried potato and red pepper sauce

Chuleton tortilla - egg tortilla, ribeye steak

One of my favorite dish this evening and I did go back to Next Patio for many of these. The egg tortilla is out of this world. It's light, fluffy and eggy. It's just the best kind of egg you can have. The steak that goes along with it is flavorful. However, the star is definitely the egg. 

gambas con fresas y habas - shrimp with passionfruit, fafa beans flavor ice cream

This is an awesome dish because you would think you're eating a shrimp, but it's actually passionfruit jelly in there, along with the fafa bean ice cream, this dish is just delicious.

caramelo de aceite de oliva - olive oil candy

We actually had to find our little candy. This is an olive oil candy. It may look like chocolate, but it's just olive oil. Pretty fun to eat actually as the olive oil flavor starts to come out as you eat it.

Torta de queso fartons - farton's style cheesecake

Another one of the best dishes of the night. The cheesecake is phenomenal. It's soft, fluffy, light and you can just keep eating it till you drop. I did get quite a bit of these when they offered it at Next Patio. 

chocolate con arandanos y avellana - blueberry, chocolate hazelnut

I really do like this dish as the chocolate hazelnut wraps up the night so well. It's a good light, hazelnut chocolate that goes with some berries and a little crunch. The hazelnut chocolate is actually not too sweet, which makes this dish a good ending to this entire night.

Next Tapas is definitely one of my favorites of all the Next meals I've been. It's creative, fun and memorable. I definitely would love to have some of these dishes again and I did do so at the Next Patio during the summer. But this full meal will forever be ingrained in my memory as one of the funnest tapas meal. 

Next Restaurant - Bistro

2015 brings in a whole new theme at Next. The first of the season's theme is Bistro, which is Grant Achatz's take on a French Bistro. It is a distance from its usual theme as Bistro takes on an actual restaurant theme from being a tasting menu theme. 

To start off the night, we are offered bread from La Boulangerie in Lakeview area. I love the bread as it's crunchy, has a nice texture and can soak up alot of sauces (which is instrumental for later courses) 

Oeuf a La Beran - Egg custard with crispy chicken skin and chives

For our first course, we have an egg custard with crispy chicken skin. The custard is smooth, silky, and savory. The chicken skin adds a nice crunch to the dish. Excellent start.

Torchon au Foie Gras - Foie Gras with brioche toast points, huckleberry, murray river salt, and black pepper

The next course is a foie gras torchon. The foie is creamy, smooth and not too salty. The flavor of the foie is able to come across nicely and not overwhelm you.

Tete de Pore en Gelee - pig head terrine with pork aspic, watercress, and cranberry

The terrine is a bit on the lighter side. The best part of this dish is the gelee as it's light and mild but surprisingly flavorful. 

Aile De Raie Meuniere Avec des Capres et des choux de Bruxelles - skate wing with capers, brown butter, lemon and brussels sprouts

One of my favorite dish of the night. The skate wings offers a nice crunchiness and exceptional flavor from its flavorful skin. The fish meat is nicely cooked and not flaky. Along with the well seasoned brussels sprouts, the fish dish is definitely a great bite.

Pintade Roti Avec Des Radis Braises et Pommes Anna - Guinea Hen with Thyme, braised radishes, radish tops and pommes anna

Before we were served the guinea hen, we were presented it. The chicken is cooked surperbly as its meat is juicy, tender and delicious. We were also offered a gravy from the hen and it intensify the chicken flavor.

Champignons Sausvages - Wild Mushroom

Carotes Roties - Roasted Carrots

Cassoulet avec des leoulouse - Toulouse style sausage and duck casserole

Our final course is a duck casserole, along with some carrot and mushroom. The casserole is great as it has a really rich flavor of the duck, sausage and all the vegetable cooked with it. This dish feels like I'm eating at someone's home and not at a restaurant. The roasted carrot and mushroom were nice side dishes to go with this casserole. 

Baba Au Rhum - Baba Rum

The baba rum is sweet, has a nice cakey texture and as my dining companion mentioned, "boozy". I like the combination of the boozy flavor and cake. 

Blood Orange Tart

Our last dessert of the night is a blood orange tart. It carries a nice tart flavor along with the citrus sweet from blood orange. My favorite part is the actual tart as it crunchy and provides a nice base to go along with the blood orange filling.

All in all, I enjoyed Bistro. It's definitely different from a tasting menu of smaller bites. I actually can't finish all the food this time, which is surprising because I usually clean out dishes. It's a nice concept and I think this can be a nice trial run for Grant Achatz's less casual restaurant that will open next to Next.