I may have let my season tickets to Next lapse once I no longer had that Syfy salary funding three trips to Chicago each year, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still interested in what the ever-changing restaurant has in store for 2015. I’ve been lucky enough to experience five menus there—Sicily, Kyoto, The Hunt, Vegan (twice!), and Bocuse d’Or—and have never been less than wowed.

Here, as just announced over on it Facebook page, are the three cuisines Next will be tackling next.

January – May

Next: Bistro

4 Years after opening with our Paris 1906 menu we embrace the more casual side of Parisian dining culture. With the great flood of 1910 behind them, Parisians embraced the Bistro. In 2015, Next will as well.

Every week we will introduce new items on our evolving 5-7 course chalkboard menu — we will also have specials and supplements on a daily basis.

Casual, delicious, and filling for the cold Chicago winter. And the kind of menu you’ll want to revisit every few weeks.

$80-$120 per person.
Please note: optional supplements of $ 15 – $ 75 will be available to order in the dining room.

——

May – Sept

Next: Tapas

A simple and raucous flow of a few dozen bites descends on your table satisfying the savory, salty, bitter and sweet. The order of the courses matters less than the enjoyment. Weather permitting we will utilize the sidewalk space to start your experience. Make new friends, visit the kitchen, maybe even dance (?!).

Small bites in Spain of Tapas or Pintxos are in many ways the predecessor of the long, modernist tasting menus of today. We present both traditional and modern takes on Spanish cuisine from North to South.

$70-$110 per person.

——

September – December

Next: Terroir

This wine focused menu pairs wines from the Northern Hemisphere’s greatest viticultural traditions with classic dishes from the same Terroirs. Burgundy, Alsace, Bordeaux, Chianti, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, California, Washington State… the juxtaposition of New World and Old World wines with dishes from the precise area where the grapes are grown and vinified allows for an incredible, delicious, and educational progression around the world of food and wine pairings.

Approximately 15 courses complementing 10+ vintage wines and a few surprises.

$295-355 per person, inclusive of all wine and food.

Please note: non-alcoholic, non-wine pairings are not available for this menu.

Though I won’t be angling for season tickets this year, if I do make it to the Chicago Nebulas in June, believe me, scoring seats for the Tapas menu will be a top priority.

And I will dance.

Who’s in with me?