An Ever Changing Menu

Every restaurant change sits menu from time to time. They have to in order to garner a crowd and keep themselves fresh. However imagine changing your entire menu every three months. One restaurant has done this. it not only keeps the attitude fresh but keeps customers and regulars guessing.

This was the subject of an article written by Julia Moskin in yesterday's Times Dining section. the article is about the appropriately named Chicago restaurant Next. the chef and owner Grant Achatz has his menu go through a complete metamorphosis. Right now he's featuring the foods the great 19th Century chef Georges Augustus Escoffier made, mining a wealth of sauces that have been rarely tasted since then. His other inspirations are Kyoto on the springtime, Palermo int he late 1940;s and surprisingly Hong Kong in th e future 2036. There is also the dark date of 1996 when he found out he had oral cancer (luckily for us he has been completely cured)he has a knack for using creativity and time honored recipes. it must be interesting working with and for him .

This concept is a new one and I can see Mr. Achatz opening up a branch in New York and possibly even Los Angles.It would be fun t o see what s next on a brand new menu. The big question would be would it appeal to some diners. I know New Yorkers and even some New Jerseyites who would flip if their favorites were taken off the menu for a good six months to a year or expecting pasta and bruschetta and being only offered coconut shrimp and mei fun instead. How would that play out?

Next is a bold and promising idea that I hope takes hold here. Imagine a restaurant that reinvents itself more times than Madonna and Lady Gaga. Now that's some wild eating