I flew to Chicago last weekend for, of all things, a Vegan meal. Those who know me, and have either accompanied me or been repulsed by me eating spicy horse tartare, will wonder … why? After all, I’m the kind of guy who’s never eaten even a vegetarian meal (which I’ve surrendered to from time to time in order to go with the flow of a group) without needing to chomp into a bloody burger on the way home.

Scott eating Vegan? Has Hell frozen over?

Not quite. But Next restaurant, the chameleon-like brainchild of Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas, and Dave Beran, where I’ve previously eaten cuisines built around Sicily, Kyoto, and The Hunt, had this time reinvented itself as a Vegan restaurant … and so I had to be there.

What could chefs operating at the level of Achatz and Beran do with only Vegan ingredients? Would the menu rise above the unsatisfying level of vegetarian food I’d experienced up until then, meals which always left me hungering for more?

This note awaiting us at the Kitchen Table made a promise …

… and that promise was fulfilled.

But you don’t have to take just my word for it. Phil Vettel, food critic from the Chicago Tribune wrote:

Chicago has seen vegetarian restaurants before, and vegetable menus before, but nothing, not even the vegetable tasting menus that Charlie Trotter offered during his long career, compares to the Vegan menu currently featured at Next. In more than 20 courses across four hours, Next dazzles diners with one inventive vegan creation after another. …

The only downside to Vegan is that this menu might spoil you for most other vegetable options in Chicago. Indeed, if you are a serious student of vegetarian and vegan food, from either side of the chef’s counter, this menu should be required reading.

The art of the possible is on display.

My wife, who’d previously joined me for Next’s Kyoto and Hunt menus, decided not to tag along (don’t worry—she’ll be back when it’s time for Bocuse d’Or), so I was joined by old friends Bill Shunn (below) and Laura Chavoen, plus a few new friends equally as interested in seeing what would happen as I was.

I’d joked—though it wasn’t a joke, not really—that I expected I’d need to head to The Purple Pig once the Vegan meal was over in order to inhale some bone marrow and restore my meat equilibrium. Surprisingly, after our three and a half hour meal at Next, I felt no such need. Because by the time we were done, I felt strangely … satisfied. Plus, there was no great hole at the center of the meal, no sense that something important was missing. These were things I’d never felt before from a vegetarian meal, let alone a Vegan one.

Here, as described in a menu we were given as we left, was what we were served.

And here are my photos. I missed a few dishes, I’m afraid, including the wonderful baby artichokes, as well as the fermented apples and lichen. (Yes, lichen.)

Nori dumpling, leek and banana, earl grey rambutan

Frozen baked potatoes

Lily bulb

Rice yogurt and white asparagus

Salsifies with oyster and dandelions (strawberry, rhubarb, black pepper)

Swiss chard and douchi

Kombu atoll (tamarind, aloe, pea)

Cherry blossom and almond

Spaghetti squash bolognese

Mushroom cart (huitlacoche, blueberry, bell pepper)

Red onion; inspired by Stupak (mango, galangal, kaffir lime)

Curry roasted cauliflower

Olive oil jam and bitter chocolate

Hibiscus and pistachio (malt, bitter chocolate, black sesame)

Sweet potato nest (purportedly inspired by Grant Achatz’s hair)

Steamed crepes

I was so gobsmacked by the meal that it’s the first Next offering I’m planning to experience for a second time. That’s how amazing Next’s Vegan feast was.

Though … I don’t want to give you the wrong idea—it’s not only because I was blown away by the meal. I’ve been blown away by all my meals at Next. I’ll be returning because by the time I go back in August, the menu will have changed drastically, asparagus giving way to corn and tomatoes, for example. I’ve been led to believe that 50% of the dishes will be new.

It all ends August 24, so if there’s any way you can get there, you really must. You’ll come away with a new idea of what can be done with fruits and vegetables, and enjoy yourself … even if you’re not a Vegan.

I’m certainly proof of that!