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The third installment in the 2017 Next Restaurant menus was, as expected, fabulous. We went early - in September - so the food may change later - but here's what we were able to enjoy.
Course 1 - Rose - inspired by Quique Cacosta - Alicante Spain.
Rose, Apple, Pomegranate - it was kind of like a really fancy fruit roll-up inside the rose.
Course 2 - Jerusalem Artichoke - inspired by Geranium, Copenhagen Denmark.
Walnut and Rye - very tasty cracker.
Course 3 - An Oyster's Frozen Kiss - inspired by Mugaritz, San Sebastian Spain
Oyster and Radish Flower - Here you had to kiss the globe of ice to eat the oyster - very playful.
Course 4 - Eggs Benedict - inspired by Eleven Madison Park, New York USA
Caviar Asparagus and Ham - This was a scrumptious play on eggs benedict, including the mini english muffins. This dish was definitely a highlight - lots of textures and amazing flavors. Fun Fact: The tins we were served the dish in were actually on loan from Eleven Madison Park.
Course 5 - Marine Soil - inspired by Central, Lima Peru
Sea Urchin, Jicama, Razor Clams - very fresh tasting and an interesting marriage of flavors
Course 6 - Squid - inspired by Mirazur, Menton France
Bagna Cauda, Artichoke, Squid Ink - The rice cracker was very tasty and had squid ink added to it, the sauces on the plate were really good. The squid was good, but not great.
Course 7 - Tartare - inspired by Estela, New York USA
Bison and Sunchoke - very flavorful with pops of crunch from the sunchoke chips. The bread was from Publican Quality Meats and I would eat it every day if I could.
Course 8 - Badger Flame Beet - inspired by Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills USA
Badger Flame Beet - created by Dan Barber, I mean literally, he did all those biological and genetic things to create a new type of beet. This was served raw and cold with just olive oil, salt and pepper. It was sweet and earthy at the same time - Like Mother Nature's chips.
Course 9 - Riso Cacio e Pepe - inspired by Osteria Francescana, Modena Italy
Parmigiano Reggiano - this is an amazing risotto - creamy and cheesy. This recipe was created after the earthquake in Italy in 2012. During that , hundreds of thousands of wheels of cheese were toppled to the ground. Chef Massimo Bottura wanted to come up with a way to use the cheese wheels that couldn't be sold on the open market and thus this dish was born.
Course 10 - Langoustine - inspired by Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin Germany
Wasabi, Mango, Thai Vinaigrette - the flavors here are very unexpected for German cuisine, with heavy Asian influences, but they were tasty, if you like wasabi. Tempura fried langoustine, wrapped in wasabi mayo and panko crumbs, with mango and Thai vinaigrette.
Course 11 - Monkfish - inspired by De Librije, Zwolle Netherlands
Aubergine, Fermented Peppers - the monkfish was cooked with its skin on, to achieve the playful curl and the sauces on the plate, not only gave a nod to the Dutch color - Orange, but they were yummy too.
Course 12 - Vuelve a La Vida - inspired by Quintonil, Mexico City Mexico
Scallop, Beef Tongue, Salsa Bruja - A playful take on surf and turf. The tongue is brined for an insanely long time which provides a melt in your mouth texture. The Scallops were nearly raw and were tasty. The sauce pulled it all together and the presentation is really beautiful.
Course 13 - All Parts of the Pumpkin - inspired by Attica, Melbourne Australia
The skin, the seeds, the flesh - this sounds so simple but was a really lovely dish. The pumpkin was well cooked, coated in pumpkin seeds for texture and served with a delicious pumpkin flavored whipped cream on top.
Course 14 - Squab - inspired by Next - Chicago USA
Parsnip, Almond, Lavender - While technically not one of the World's 50 best restaurants (yet), this is Jenner Tomaska's entry to the party. It was smoked squab under a beautiful sheet of lavender infused almond milk skin. Very delicious.
Course 15 - Memory - inspired by Restaurant Andre, Singapore
Foie Gras, Black Truffle and Chives - While this dish tasted good, it was too much, too rich, to eat the whole thing. It needed something with texture to help cut through the rich creaminess, but in all honesty, there was so much food already, it was getting hard to eat more.
Course 16 - Apples - inspired by Relæ, Copenhagen Denmark
Chanterelles, Granite - This was the perfect course after the last super rich course. This was light and refreshing apple flavors with dried mushroom. Sounds like an odd pairing, but even a mushroom adverse person like myself was able to enjoy it.
Course 17 - Chocolate - inspired by Alinea, Chicago USA
Milk Chocolate, Blueberry and Yogurt - Um, remember when I said I was full 2 courses ago, yeah, so then this happened. Super Yum! The course is plated at your table by kitchen staff (we were lucky enough to get Jenner Tomaska himself) It's amazing how quickly Jenner was able to "plate" up this beautiful and delicious dish.
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