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Next Teases Us With Childhood Menu Photo

“Rosebud… Henri… with mustard.” Photo: courtesy Next

Next Thai wrapped up Sunday night, and Chef Dave Beran has now officially started the “teasing us before tickets go on sale” phase of Next Childhood by tweeting a murky, distorted photo of the courses scribbled on a sheet from a legal pad. (Tomorrow, he’s reportedly going to be standing at a bus stop on Washington, muttering the menu to himself. Be there!) Of course, the point of the shot being shot this way is that you can’t read everything, but we played with it a little in Photoshop and here’s what we can make out so far:

1) Cocktails
2) ?
3) first word is “chicken”
4) ?
5) Mac & Cheese
6) Lunchbox
7) Autumn Scene
8) Brussels
9) Burger
10) Jello Mold
11) Sweet (something)
12) looks like “BG Float”
13) Foie/Cider Donut
14) Campfire
15) Hot Chocolate

That Next was laying in a supply of lunchboxes was talked about last week, and Autumn Scene would seem to be a variation of the Alinea dish where oak leaves are burnt at the table to evoke memories of fall in Achatz’s Michigan hometown. The funniest thing on the menu if we read it correctly is “Brussels”— apparently a course devoted to the things kids don’t like to eat. Otherwise the categories seem pretty conventional (“Campfire” will no doubt reference S’more’s in some fashion), and it’s interesting to note that nearly half of the menu appears to be desserts, but it will be Next’s transformation of these basic categories into something more complex and unexpected that everyone will be waiting to see.

If anyone has suggestions for what else might be scribbled on the pad, post below.

Next Teases Us With Childhood Menu Photo