Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Not surprisingly, Next felt the urge to show up every PDR in town, and theirs—poker-facedly named the Room at Next—is the latest and most elaborate expression of ideas Grant Achatz has been kicking around for a while about synesthesia—in this case, the blending of taste with the other senses involved in our experience of food. The showpiece of the ten-seat room is a cascading colored-LED sculpture arching over the table, like the Hollywood Bowl crossed with one of those car stereos that glows different colors with the beat, under which you will dine on a ten-course menu served nowhere else by new Aviary chef Andrew Brochu, plus cocktail pairings by Aviary mixologist Charles Joly, your own dedicated servers, and a private washroom. It instantly makes other PDRs look punk.
Another upcoming event demonstrates the economics at work. René Redzepi, chef of Noma, the Copenhagen foraged-twigs-and-lichen restaurant that a couple of years ago shot to the status of best restaurant in the world, will be at Balena on November 17, promoting his new book, A Work in Progress: Journal, Recipes and Snapshots. (The book is more arty artifact than book proper; there’s a small cookbook, a journal of Redzepi’s thoughts on food, and a little pocket book of snapshots from Noma.) Redzepi isn’t cooking—Balena’s staff will prepare some of his recipes—just talking. The price of all that, including a copy of the book: $135.
