The chameleon-like Next restaurant releases an enigmatic video with each new cuisine it serves (check out The Hunt and Kyoto, for example), so those of us who love the place wonder what we’ll see in support of the new Vegan menu, which begins May 8.

Over on Twitter, Christian Seel just shared a screen grab from that coming video, which has me wondering …

… what does that image have to do with a Vegan cuisine?

My guess? Actor Stephen Bernacki is about to strip off his work clothes, toss away that briefcase, abandon the urban lifestyle, and go back to the land.

Can’t wait to see whether I’m right. And, as usual, can’t wait to get back to Next!

If you know anything about me, you know I like to make every meal count. So when I head off to a convention, I do my research. And with LoneStarCon 3 right around the corner (hey, when you’re making strategic plans like these, what can I say, August does seem just around the corner), I’ve already scouted out where I want to eat in San Antonio.

First on my hit list—did you know that the Culinary Institute of America, training ground for so many fine chefs, has a branch in San Antonio? And that they operate a restaurant? I had no idea, but it’s called Nao, and I aim to eat there either the Friday or Saturday night of the convention.

That’s their causitas made with purple potato puree and crab above, which I look forward to seeing on a plate in front of me in a few months.

Next up, Bliss, where chef Mark Bliss, considered a San Antonio legend, does his stuff.

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When we learned a few months back that the National Gallery of Art would be hosting a massive exhibit on the Pre-Raphaelites, we decided that we’d visit there on my birthday. And when Tim Carman’s review of New Big Wong appeared in the Washington Post just a few days before we were set to go, it seemed like serendipity.

The restaurant was within walking distance of the museum, so it seemed like the perfect spot for a birthday feast, especially after reading that it was “a popular destination for bartenders and restaurant employees in the wee hours,” and seeing that Chef José Andrés of the famed minibar had “eaten there over 50 times” and Jeffrey J. Barrientos, also of minibar, had “dined there 100 times that I can remember.”

So after gorging on the Pre-Raphaelites, my wife and son and I walked a half mile north to New Big Wong, where I expected to gorge far less metaphorically. And also, to be wowed.

I was not.

The dishes we ordered resulted in a bifurcated meal, in that my son and I shared the more adventurous Jelly Fish with Pork Loin …

… and Sauteed Duck Tongue with Black Bean Sauce …

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The ever-changing Next restaurant is currently in the middle of its meat-heavy menu, The Hunt, which will end April 28, to be replaced by its antithesis, Vegan, beginning May 8.

Those of us who love Next are all wondering what form that new menu will take, and this week, Ulterior Epicure, at the start of The Hunt, was lucky enough to be presented with a single Vegan dish as an amuse-bouche.

And it sure was beautiful.

Wish I didn’t have to wait until my May reservation to find out how it tastes!

I’m about as non-Vegan an eater as you’re likely to find (because everything tastes better with bacon, right?), but when it comes to food cooked at the level that Next can provide—I’m counting down the days.

I’ve occasionally left a restaurant miffed with a chef. But Saturday was the first time I’d ever left a restaurant miffed at a food critic.

Back in September, Pete Wells of the New York Times reviewed the reinvented menu at Eleven Madison Park.

In front of Eleven Madison Park, currently ranked the #10 restaurant in the world.

The restaurant, which currently ranks #10 on the list of top 50 restaurants in the world, had recently assembled a tasting menu meant as a tribute to New York and its culinary history. Which meant that the servers kept up a running narrative in order to put each course in context.

Wells didn’t care for this, and wrote, in part:

While people come to Eleven Madison from all over the world, those who live in the city may have to fight back the impatience and urge to interrupt that come with the keys to every New Yorker’s first apartment. The narrative tone isn’t sharp, it isn’t quick, it isn’t wised up, and it assumes the listener knows nothing: in other words, it’s not a New York voice. By the end of the four hours, I felt as if I’d gone to a Seder hosted by Presbyterians.

Ouch!

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Two months ago, Irene and I were lucky enough to be part of the initial seating at Range on the first of its pre-opening preview nights, which surprisingly resulted in me being interviewed by the foodie site Eater about the experience. Saturday night, we headed back to the Chevy Chase Pavilion with two other couples to see how Bryan Voltaggio’s newest enterprise was coming along … and to try a few of the dishes even we didn’t have room for the first time around.

We hadn’t intended to repeat ourselves, but there were a couple of dishes so good that eating at Range and not ordering them would rank as some sort of sin. So we once more ordered the cornbread with bacon marmalade, as well as the Brussels sprouts fried in bacon. (Are you noticing the bacony theme here?) The rich, smoky spread contrasted well with the light cornbread, and those Brussels sprouts … man! Never before have vegetables seemed as enticing as candy. Which is why we went through two orders.

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I’m not only obsessed with what I’m going to eat in the future—I’m also fascinated with what I could have eaten in the past. Which is why when I discovered that the New York Public Library maintains a database of restaurant menus going all the way back to the 1850s, I immediately rushed back to the oldest bill of fare I could find—this ragged Revere House menu from May 18, 1851.

I’ll have some of that corned beef with dandelions, plus some pigeons in cases on the side, please! How about you?

Anybody got a time machine I could borrow?

As you know, I was one of the Guests of Honor at Immortal ConFusion a few weeks back, which means there’s one thing you’ve all been wondering since then …

How was the food?

Because when I wasn’t pontificating on panels, getting intimate with a kaffeeklatsch, hanging in the bar, or leading new friends in a ukulele singalong, I was out on the streets of Michigan seeing what gustatory delights could be found. I didn’t get out much—after all, I was in Michigan on the con’s dime, and I wanted to make sure they got their money’s worth—but still, I did manage to visit three restaurants, thanks to the kindness of the committee.

Joe’s Coney Dog

I’m not sure I’m the best judge of what makes a good coney dog. I grew up in Brooklyn, for several years living about a mile from Coney Island. To me, a Coney Island hot dog means a Nathan’s hot dog with mustard, sauerkraut, and nothing else. Others might add a little relish, but little else, with the dog itself being a major player in the concoction.

So when I found myself in Dearborn, surrounded by dozens of restaurants proclaiming a Coney Island heritage, I knew I had to see what this was all about. I prevailed upon my hosts to bring me face to bun with a coney, and so on Saturday, we hit the road and ended up at Joe’s Top Dog.

I ordered the Jim Padilla special—which is a hot dog topped with ground beef, chili, mustard, and onion—for the full experience, and when it arrived, I stared at it and thought, “How the heck am I supposed to eat this thing?”

I also thought, “Is there really a hot dog under all those toppings?” (more…)

With August so far away, it’s early to be thinking about this year’s World Science Fiction Convention, better known as LoneStarCon 3 … or is it? Regular readers here know that there’s more to any con than the con itself. There’s also the food!

And because I’m not just about expensive and difficult to get into gastronomical marvels like Alinea, Next, Astrid y Gaston, and Steirereck, but also down-to-earth comfort food such as burgers and BBQ, one of the first places I head when researching a city is Adam Richman and Man v. Food.

So what does he have to say about San Antonio?

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One great thing about staying wired while traveling is that you’re not stuck with only the info you were able to dig up before hitting the road. You can keep researching while on the ground—and continue to get tips from friends as well. And it’s a good thing, too, because that meant a friend was able to let me know via Facebook that if I was in Vienna, I’d better get myself over to Cafe Landtmann. And I’m glad I did—because it resulted in the best bowl of goulash of our trip to Vienna.

Two weeks ago Monday, on New Year’s Eve, we spent the day wandering the tram system to explore Viennese neighborhoods we’d yet to see. We’d planned for a late lunch, because I wanted to be able last long enough to cobble together dinner from the food stalls I knew we’d find later that night after we stumbled from Die Fledermaus (which was what had brought us to Vienna in the first place) out into the celebration-filled streets.

Which meant we arrived at Cafe Landtmann mid-afternoon, so we didn’t have that long a wait to get seated for a late lunch. My wife ordered the fried chicken, and while I was tempted to order Wiener Schnitzel, I went for the goulash. How better to learn the difference between competent and great goulash than to order it often? (more…)