Next Announces New Menus, Going Vegan For One

Looks like Grant Achatz's Facebook-polling for menu ideas didn't exactly work; Next has announced their upcoming menus post-Kyoto, and sadly, our favorite suggestion Titanic did not make the cut.

The Chicago Tribune reports that after wrapping up their Kyoto menu, the Chicago restaurant will debut a menu titled "The Hunt" in January, focusing on outdoorsy, survival-esque food, followed by one based on the Bocuse d'Or cooking competition and another that will be strictly vegan food.

The first menu will reportedly launch the second week of January, with dishes like bear jerky and venison heart tartare. In September 2013, the Bocuse d'Or menu will take over, and the menu will follow all the complex rules of the international cooking competition. Apparently, Achatz, who is a judge for the competition, is thinking of allowing diner interaction, such as allowing customers to choose the protein.

In May 2014, Next will be going all vegan, somewhat surprising for the restaurant in meat-centric Chicago. But Dave Beran tells the Chicago Tribune that seasonality and vegetables will be a main driver in the menu, as opposed to faux meat and tofu.

"The guy who goes to Gibsons and eats a Porterhouse steak and thinks vegetarian cuisine is unsatisfying, I think those people will be very surprised," Achatz said. "Knowing the techniques we can employ to manipulate vegetables, we can even, to a point, make it taste like meat."

In any case, Next is also expanding to seven days a week in the upcoming spring, meaning there will be that many more reservations to go around. Alinea and The Aviary will eventually follow suit, the Tribune reports.