Aziz Ansari Ate At The Hottest Restaurant In America
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Feb 15, 2012 6:20PM
Chicago is home to the best restaurant in America in Alinea and the most-hyped one in Next, both owned by the team of chef Grant Achatz and business partner Nick Kokonas.
Achatz and Kokonas don't need to do much at this point to sell fans on the concept of Next as a restaurant that changes its menu to a different concept every four months. Their attention to detail and the quality and innovation in their cooking have made tickets to the restaurant more sought after than passes to the hottest local concerts and sporting events.
Next has billed its current incarnation, a three-hour, 28-course tribute to Ferran Adria's recently shuttered El Bulli, as a celebration rather than reverential homages to the French cuisine of Escoffier circa 1906, Thai cuisine or its recently completed exploration of favorite childhood staples. People looking to score tickets to Next hang on every update to the restaurant's Facebook page as though they're akin to Moses descending from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments.
One fan is Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari, who strayed away from Jurassic Fork for a an evening to dine at Next/El Buli and shared some photos on his Tumblr page, which he deemed "insane."
If we were to come up with a "Haverfood" description for the meal, "food harem" would be a slam dunk. Chocolate doughnuts would be "Chocolate Ft. Knox" Golden egg would be "Pre Goose." And the hot/cold roe tempura would be "IcyHot Fish Sticks."