Hot Chicago dining: You pay in advance
Caneton Rouennais a la Presse is served at the new Chicago restaurant Next. The duck has as much flavor as an excellent dry-aged steak. (2011) Credit: Bloomberg News /Ryan Sutton
Next, a new restaurant in Chicago's Fulton Market district, has no bar seating, offers no choices on its menu, doesn't accept cash (only credit cards), doesn't take phone reservations and allows no walk-ins.
You pay in advance. And the price of the online-only "meal ticket" fluctuates depending on when you eat. That means $65 on a sleepy Wednesday buys you the same seven-course tasting menu as does $110 on date-night Saturday.
Are you a party of three? Sorry, Only groups of two or four are accepted for the dining room; a separate chef's table for six, which includes a longer menu and wine, runs about $2,500.
Need to cancel? Can't do it. Tickets are nonrefundable. You'll have to hawk them online to make your money back.
Next is shifting some of the burden of fine dining from the restaurant to the diners. Good thing the culinary experience is almost flawless. Thousands of people sign up to compete for the 10 to 15 tables released every day. Same-day tables are often announced via the restaurant's Twitter or Facebook account. More info at nextrestaurant.com.
