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What Joel Stein Sampled at Next

A bluefoot hen breast covered in Albufera sauce
A bluefoot hen breast covered in Albufera sauce Photo: courtesy of YouTube

We first heard about Joel Stein’s interview with Grant Achatz when he suddenly appeared in the first video for Next exclaiming, “This tastes new!” He had us excited to say the least. And now we can see how his full meal went down in this feature in Time. It’s not absolutely complete. Grant and company only had “a day to work on the meal,” so the fish course was skipped, and the dessert course was just put together quickly. But it’s a really great glimpse of what you might expect from the hotly anticipated restaurant. We decided to break things down by course, to see how this meal would be laid out.

Amuse-bouche: “Three one-bite gougères filled with Mornay sauce with white truffles.”
Stein Says: “Achataz already is unhappy…Whatever. They’re awesome.”

Soup: “a velouté with hazelnuts and black truffle.”
Stein Says: “It was nutty and deep and, like everything I would eat that afternoon, ridiculously rich.”

Second Course: “A bluefoot hen breast covered in Albufera sauce.”
Stein Says: “A simple, elegant white-on-white dish with just a touch of gaminess.”

Third Course: Deboned chicken legs “stuffed with mushroom duxelle and covered with a veal glace.” Served with “roasted oyster mushrooms and pommes puree.”
Stein Says: The legs “still had their claws attached, which were pointing at my face, threateningly.”

Salad: Salade Saint-Sylvestre which features “carved circles of artichoke, celeriac, and a walnut mayo dressing.”
Stein Says: “Even the salad was rich.”

Sneak Preview: A Taste of Grant Achatz’s Next Menu [Time]

What Joel Stein Sampled at Next