Up until Sunday, I’d been to Next—the restaurant that reinvents itself three times each year—six times for five different menus—Sicily, Kyoto, The Hunt, Vegan (twice!), and Bocuse d’Or. For a variety of reasons, I had to miss out on Next’s 2014 cuisines, but once it was announced that the Nebula Awards would be held in Chicago this year, I knew I’d have a chance to go back, and was thrilled.

It will give you a sense of my priorities that the first thing I’ve decided to share with you (well, after my acceptance speech as Groot) is the weekend’s dinner at Next, for which the cuisine was Tapas.

Once I was seated at our table with my three dining companions—Kate Baker, Eugene Fischer, and Barry Goldblatt—the first thing I noticed was a postcard, supposedly sent from Barcelona, because the chefs had travelled to Spain for inspiration.

Also on the table were three varieties of cocas—a type of flatbread—which we found difficult to resist nibbling on before our server could describe them.

(And forgive me if the photos that follow are a bit dark. The light levels were low in the restaurant, and I’m not one to disturb the other diners with a flash.)

Cocas (flatbreads):
Anchoas y aceitunas (anchovies and olives),
tomate con coliflor púrpura y queso de cabra
(purple cauliflower with tomato and goat cheese) and
hongos y cebolla (mushrooms and onions)

Hard to pick a favorite, though perhaps the hongos y cebolla knocked me back the most. Umami!

The next two dishes arrived together, the second requiring a bit of audience participation.

Pulpo y berenjena (octopus and eggplant)

Mejillones enlatados (Canned mussels)

We were told that many fisherman can their catch on the boat, and Next was trying to replicate that sense by bringing mussels to the table canned.

Those familiar with Next will recognize a few familiar names on the label, such as Executive Chef Dave Beran …

… Nick Kokonas, co-owner of Alinea and Next …

… and Chef Grant Achatz. It was up to us to pop the tops and open the cans ourselves, revealing …

… the mussels!

Once the table was cleared, the next two dishes also arrived as a pair.

Cebollas a la parrilla (grilled onions)

Next to the serving tile was set a charred piece of tree trunk, on top of which were what appeared to be chunks of burnt wood, which turned out to instead be …

Cerdo y romesco (charred pork belly and croutons with romesco sauce)

And as usual for those times when I encounter perfectly prepared pork belly, lo, there was much groaning.

Then three more dishes arrived together …

Yema de huevo frito (fried egg yolk)

Aceitunas de Albert Andria—served on the original El Bulli spoons!

I’ve always longed to taste one of these famous reconstituted olives which represent the essence of oliveness, and it was everything I’d hoped for.

Brandada crujiente (deep-fried emulsion of salt cod and olive oil)

Then came another doubling up of courses …

Datiles con jerez y chocolate (dates with sherry and chocolate)

Pomelo quemado y pinones (toasted grapefruit and pine nuts)

This dish involved another bit of audience participation. We were instructed to each take a glass tube from the block of ice, tilt our heads back, put one end to our lips, and then push the contents from the opposite end until they whooshed into our mouths.

Then came another trio of dishes …

Patatas bravas

Esparragos y sepia (asparagus and cuttlefish with egg yolk)

Jamón ibérico de bellota

The delicate ham was sliced so thinly we used tweezers to serve ourselves.

And then it was time for …

Steak “on the bone” and tortilla

Those who wanted the omelet runny were advised to begin scooping immediately, as it would continue to cook within the extremely hot pan.

As for the steak being “on the bone,” you can see that it was on the bone but not on the bone, if you know what I mean.

Then came two logs, along with a vase filled with olive branches. And on the logs were …

Gambas con fresas y habas (prawns with strawberries and beans)

Hidden in these branches—and unfortunately unphotographed by me—were bars of olive oil candy. Plus, as you can see—Barry Goldblatt’s eye!

The final courses were …

Tarta de queso. (You know … cheesecake!)

Never lighter, never smoother.

Chocolate con arandanos y avellana (chocolate with blueberries and hazelnut)

Which we scooped up with toast crisps. Though I was tempted to use my fingers to get every last bite.

Fartons

We dipped these in a glass of sweet horchata, all four of us blissful at the end of another amazing meal at Next.

If Next’s latest menu (of which we were each given a copy, as you can see above) looks like your kind of thing, act quickly—it only runs through September 6, and then is gone forever.

As for what the team will come up with for next year, when the Nebula Awards will again be held in Chicago … who knows? The only thing I know is that I will be there.

(And my thanks to Eugene for pics of two of the dishes I forgot to photograph, so great was my urge to dive immediately in.)