This was the dish I was least excited about when I saw it on the menu before dinner because I didn’t think I liked catfish and I couldn’t get my mind around caramel sauce on fish. Our first main course was wild catfish braised in caramel sauce with celery and coriander root. Our servers brought two sets of these treats and replenished them throughout the rest of the meal. While they are traditionally used as condiments, we savored them with just rice. They left us alone to experience these flavors on their own before bringing the next course.
Salted duck egg relish with green mango and white radish, a sauce made with chili, shallots and garlic, and a mixture of pickled fruits and vegetables with basil. Not a single drop of the soup escaped our palates and then we were served rice and a set of traditional Thai “condiments” that we will use for the rest of the meal. The juice brought out the spiciness of the soup. The next course was a hot and sour broth with pork belly, tomato and kaffir lime, paired with a chrysanthemum, lemongrass and lychee juice. Rounding out the first bites were: fermented sausage with peanut, galangal, grilled scallion sweet shrimp with raw garlic, mint and bird chilis and a prawn cake (the only thing I couldn’t eat) with white pepper, coriander and lime zest.Īfter the street food, our table was transformed for the restaurant-style Thai experience. Though the sheer joy of eating of a gluten-free steamed bun with beech mushroom and green curry can’t be discounted. My personal favorite was the roasted banana with fried garlic, pickled shallot and cilantro blooms: (aside: Next’s Tour of Thailand iteration offers fruit juice pairings that are as creative and interesting as the food and truly highlight the cuisine) The meal commenced with a tray of traditional Thai “street food,” served on top of a Thai newspaper and paired with a guava, mango, papaya juice. Now, on to the food the fates favored us with! (There was only one small item they couldn’t make gluten-free and only one substitution.) There I was, eating at Next, and enjoying the same meal as the rest of the table, a rare treat! The fates were gluten-free that night! I was on cloud nine, the food gods were smiling down upon us. My foodie travel friend, Gareth, and I would dine with my Mom and my Stepdad, Victor. Check out this brilliant move by Grant Achatz and his business partner Nick Kokonas – they sell “seats” for dinner that includes tax and gratuity upfront, it eliminates a lot of the economic risks associated with running a restaurant – they have cash in hand, three months before some diners arrive) I was lucky enough to get tickets for a table for four on our first night in Chicago. Three days before departure to Chicago, I read that tickets were going on sale for the new Tour of Thailand at Next Restaurant. What I didn’t realize though was that the new Thai menu/theme for Next was gluten-free friendly and would launch the week of our Chicago trip. Though I did enjoy living vicariously through the pictures various friends and web sites posted of the menu. The tickets sold out quickly and they couldn’t accommodate gluten-free diners, so I didn’t give it much thought after first reading about it. The first theme was Paris, 1906-Escoffier at the Ritz. A mere three-day trip, with plans to fit as much deliciousness into the extended weekend as our time, stomachs and budgets would allow.Īlinea’s noted Chef, Grant Achatz, recently opened a second restaurant, called “Next.” Next revises its menu and theme every three months. Planning a trip to Chicago a few months ago, the highlight seemed to be a dinner scheduled at Alinea – only the top restaurant in the U.S.! Of course, I also got tickets to a comedy show at Second City, made some other restaurant reservations and had plans to take a couple of architecture tours, but the salivary glands were insisting that Alinea would be the star. This is the story of the fates smiling on me.
Sometimes you are the beneficiary of the fates.
Sometimes the fates conspire to create a perfect evening. Posted by A Gluten-Free Guide on July 25th, 2011
0 kommentar(er)
