Next - Chicago, USA

Sooooooo, did I eat at Next in Chicago on my DANGFAMUSA trip in July 2018? You bet I did. Am I deciding to post this now more than a year after I ate here? Yeah pretty much, it's my blog, I can do what I want. Enjoy these photos below with barely any descriptions, because let's be real, who remembers that kind of level of detail after so long.

Not gonna lie, Quynh and I booked a Chicago trip as part of our DANGFAMUSA trip because we really really just wanted to go to Alinea. We had watched Grant Achatz's story on Chef's Table some years back and was so inspired to go. However, we got our the booking dates mixed up and missed out. The next best thing was literally Next, Grant Achatz's 2nd venture in Chicago. The premise was an ever changing menu that changed every 4 months. We were lucky enough that this June - September menu was Alinea's greatest hits from their 2005 - 2010 menus. This would have to suffice.

Yes, I am one of those strange people who voluntarily drink sparkling water

PB&J

Peanut, bread, grape

Pretty much bread to start, cool. Very American.

Oyster Cream

Lychee, Osetra, Chervil

Heart of Palm

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

English Peas

This dish came served atop an inflated pillow. As we ate, the pillow deflated releasing lavender aromas. So extra, I loved it obviously. 

Tofu, Ham, Pillow of Lavender Air

Cucumber

Mango, Several Aromatics

Skate

Traditional Flavours Powdered

Hot Potato

Cold Potato, Parmesan, Black Truffle

This dish was pretty cool. The hot potato was torched and we were told to dip it in the cold potato below. Just a unique sensation of hot and cold when eaten together.

Lamb

Doesn't that rosemary look familiar? It was our table centrepiece as seen from the first photo. They simply plucked it off the table and adorned it on our next dish.

Mastic, Date, Rosemary Aroma

Verjus

Lemon Thyme, Beets, Olive Oil

Watermelon - Fresh Coriander, Tamari, Bonito

Table ornament or garnish?

Tomato

Balloon of Mozzarella, Complementary Flavours

Crab

Honestly, such a massive plate for a little serving, but that's fine dining for you.

Cashew, Young Coconut, Floral Vapor

Details

Wild Turbot

I loved loved loved the presentation of this dish, just soooo pretty with the flowers. Water was poured in to intensify the fragrance.

Pretty as a picture!

Shellfish, Water Chestnut, Floral Vapor

Beef

Elements of AI

Beautiful tender beef

Orange

Olive Oil, Almond, Picholine Olive

Birthday Treat

Chocolate

Chicory, Dandelion, Banana

Overall, what a fantastic meal. I definitely was quite happy by the end of it but  I cannot say it absolutely blew my socks off. It did not have all the theatrics that Attica would have had, but it was good enough given the circumstances. The servers were easygoing and friendly. Obviously it was quite expensive with the USD to AUD conversion, approximately $400 AUD per person but we accepted it knowing that this was not a place we could easily try at home.

Cheek - CBD

On a random Wednesday night a group of us decided to pay Cheek a visit. It is the sister restaurant of Dexter, one of the best restaurants in Melbourne, in my opinion. It is fair to say, I had high hopes. Located smack bang in the CBD on Swanston Street, an unassuming set of stairs leads you to the restaurant which can be accessed via a sliding door on the left. Our group of 6 ordered plenty of small plates, large meatier portions and sides to share.

Almost walked past the entrance!

Sweet n sour Cauliflower

To start, we ate the battered sweet n' sour cauliflower with miso ranch ($15). It looked very inviting but would've preferred a bit more crunch. The miso flavour was very prominent and definitely packed a punch.

Meat Donuts

I was super excited for the meat donuts. It is such a standout dish at Dexter so I had really high expectations for Cheek's version. They sold a Sichuan hot meat donut with mango jam. It was pretty underwhelming. Meat donuts are such a novelty that is fun to eat but I was expecting a lot more spice and a lot more flavour. Thank-you, next.

Daily Tacos

The daily taco ($8ea) was a chicken and avocado combo. The taco itself was a tad too hard and the double shelling was overkill.

Beef Tartare

Our next starter was the plum leaf tartare with Korean pickle ($18). Quite a small serving but quite tasty. There was a very prominent sesame flavour throughout it.

New York Strip Steak

Time for mains! One of the large dishes to share was the New York Strip Steak (300g) with bone marrow sauce ($37). I would've loved more bone marrow sauce because that is liquid gold but the meat itself was tender. Pretty good standard steak for its pricepoint.

Kurobuta Pork

The rare breed kurobuta pork (350g) ($33) was the dry aged special of the night. It was exquisitely tender and the apple slaw was a nice touch.

Smoked Short Rib

The winner of the night was the smoked short rib (650g) served with a sesame caramel ($65). It was the most tender piece of meat and packed the most flavour. I loved that it was paired with thin ribbons of kolrabi (I am guessing). This is a must-try at Cheek.

Bone Marrow Mash

To accompany our mains, we couldn't not order the mash and gravy ($9). Just as great as the original bone marrow mash at Dexter. Bottle this bone marrow up, it is that good.

Dirty Cream Corn

We also got the dirty cream corn ($17), which was topped with XO, creme fresh and lime. On paper, it looked divine but I guess the flavours were a bit strange to me. Corn that didn't quite taste like corn, probably not worth a try.

Onion Rings

The onion rings ($9) were a winner. They were very thinly sliced and the batter gave it a great crispy texture. The red eye mayo was fab.

Smoked Eggplant ($16)

Mixed Leaf Salad ($8)

My friend, who is a Vegetarian bravely came along to the meatiest joint out, and ordered a few of their vegetarian-friendly options above.

Overall, I had an enjoyable meal at Cheek. Some dishes were better than others. I was told by the waitress that Cheek was a more refined version of Dexter but I couldn't justify the cost for its prime CBD location. It was quite pricey as the sides come separately. Service was fine but I just would have preferred that the dishes all came out together rather than one at a time. It was literally one in one out. Still dreaming of that bone marrow mash tbh.


Taste: 7.5/10
Presentation: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Value for Money 6/10







  

Easey's - Collingwood

We went to Easey's in Collingwood for date night Wednesday's. I had completely forgotten about the novelty of having burgers inside a train carriage on top of a roof. This most likely would have puzzled the servers at Easey's when we sat at a booth downstairs but they were kind enough to offer us the upstairs area.

Extensive Menu

We had specifically chosen to eat at Easey's because of their limited edition FOMO burger (fried chicken and poutine mashies) but sadly it was sold out for the day. Instead we opted for our server's favourite burger: Louisiana Fried Chicken Sandwich ($15). It was Southern Fried Chicken, Bacon, American Cheddar, Slaw & Spicy Aioli which they kindly switched out to Ranch as per our request. God, ranch is just so bomb. This was a great burger, with a great composition of flavours. The chicken itself was coated with a lovely spice. Just yum.

Louisiana Fried Chicken Sandwich

We also got the aptly named Rowdy Cheeseburger ($14). There was 1 Smashed Patty, American Cheddar, Bacon, Jalepenos, Pickles, Onions, Ketchup and Mustard. This was your typical cheeseburger. No frills, saucy and to the point.

Rowdy Cheesburger

To top it all off, we got the Cheese and Gravy Chips to share. Even though gravy soaked chips lost its crunch, it still mopped up all the great favour there.

Cheese and Gravy Fries

Overall, we had a great time at Easey's. The food was great, burgs and beers, what else can you ask for. The service was really friendly and vibe was easygoing. If the weather was a tiny bit warmer, I would've loved to sit outside. Really cool concept of the rooftop trains as well. Bit of a drive to Collingwood but it is a good burger joint to visit if you are in the area.

Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 7/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Service: 8/10

Borsch, Vodka & Tears - Windsor

Polish food is not a cuisine I often eat but the urge to eat was real, so off we went to Borsch, Vodka and Tears in Windsor. I had heard great things about this place so was quite excited to see what all the hype was about. It was dimly lit with warm red hues with quite an extensive bar menu. It was a standard Tuesday night so unfortunately we didn’t try any of its namesake: vodka.

I did order the Sex in Krakow ($17), which was a concoction of cranberry vodka, clear polish vodka and cointreau shaken with cranberry and lime. It was quite sweet but I could definitely taste the alcohol. E had their bestseller, Pinta Pierwsza Pomoc ($10.50). It was described as a crisp and clean Czech style pilsner, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Safe to say he liked it. It had quite a sweet aftertaste which I couldn’t quite distinguish.

We definitely had to order the Zakuski, described as favourite bites inspired by our travels to the Motherland. We selected the Farmer’s Zakuski ($35) which had an impressive repertoire of Vodka-cured kangaroo "tartare," lamb croquette, venison & smoked duck terrine, devils on horseback, wild boar salami, ham hock fritters, rich man's butter, rye bread and bottomless pickles.

Wow where to even start? 

The vodka-cured kangaroo wasn’t gamey at all and I forgot that vodka was an element. It sat atop a rye crisp. To be honest, it was quite salty but when paired with the mint jelly or saukeraut, it was a lot more enjoyable. The single lamb croquette was very rich and dense. The venison and smoked duck terrine was thinly sliced with pistachios peppered through it. It had a nice meaty taste. Wild boar salami? Tasted like good quality salami. The devils on horseback was an interesting one. Not quite a pate spread but not quite a stand-alone component. The ham hock fritters were a winner. Tasty shredded meat with a good mustardy kick from the sauce. Don’t even get me started on the butter, rich man’s butter indeed. Velvety smooth and so easily devourable with the rye bread. Bottomless pickles? Enough said.

We had to get the traditional Polish dumplings here and ordered 2 Beef and Chicken Pierogis and 2 Porcini and Sauerkraut Pierogis ($18). Love me some variety. The pierogis were good and well flavoured. I actually preferred the latter as I felt the porcini mushrooms really shined.

We also ordered the Lamb Goulash, which comprised of all things yummy: lamb and capsicum ragout, baked semolina dumplings and pickled red cabbage. The semolina dumplings sold me on this dish and I was not disappointed. Very pillowy and the perfect vessel to mop up the flavorsome stew. The lamb chunks were beautifully tender. Highly recommend this dish.

Overall, we had a fantastic time at Borsch, Vodka and Tears. The waitresses were personable and made us feel at ease. The food was fantastic and we were very comfortably full and definitely happy with our food choices. I am excited to go back to try their other dishes and maybe a tasting platter of vodka...or 2. It is definitely worth a visit to satisfy your Polish cravings or experience this cuisine for the first time.


Taste: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Service: 8/10

Pontoon - St Kilda

A couple months ago, we caught up with a long lost family member over dinner at Pontoon in St Kilda. It was a lovely balmy night, so obviously we opted to sit indoors.

Popcorn Chicken

To start, we got the popcorn chicken. There was the tiniest bit of spice, barely discernible but a nice bite.

Eggplant Chips

We also got the eggplant chips. Quite nice and the sauce was yummy.

Tuna Ceviche

The tuna ceviche packed some serious flavour. I’ve never had it Asian style before and loved all the textures.

Lamb Shoulder

To share, we got the slow cooked 12-hour lamb shoulder ($69), accompanied with pita bread, tzatiki and paprika oil. The meat was cooked beautifully and fell off the bone. It was quite salty though, so the yoghurt provided much relief. The lamb was quite a heavy dish so we ordered a grain salad to lighten the whole meal. You can’t ever go wrong with a gain salad TBH.

Overall, we had an enjoyable time at Pontoon. We actually spent the longest time chatting away and the staff was friendly and patient. It was quite affordable for the amount we ate and I was properly full. Not bad Pontoon, not bad at all. P.S the menu has basically completely changed. Oops.



Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 8/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Service: 8/10