Sicily at Next

One of many gorgeous plates. To see them all, go to Next's Facebook banner photo.

The German poet Goethe, shivering in his somber Lutheran land, longed for Italy. "Kennst du das Land wo die Zitronen blühn?" he asked in "Mignon's Song." Do you know the land where the lemons bloom? I've always shared Goethe's "Italienische Sehnsucht," the longing for Italy, and now Next has brought me Sicily, introducing the evening with a line from Goethe's Italian Journals: "To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all.

Grilled Artichokes

Next's menus each capture the spirit of various times and place, but each one also explores a specific aspect of the culture. Paris 1906 was haut cuisine, the pinnacle of an art form. Taste of Thailand contrasted a fancy form with street food, served on Thai newspaper. Childhood was Chef Achatz's reincarnation of a Michigan childhood, from lunchbox to campfire, with an edible  walk in the woods in between. El Bulli was an homage to one man, Ferran Adriá, and his thirty-year practice, again the pinnacle of an art form, but a contemporary one.
With Sicily, you are in the home of your Italian grandmother, if she's the mother of all cooking Sicilian grandmothers. Her food seems particularly well suited to the uniquely casual but educated and expert style of service that Next has developed and refined.
Our four antipasti: arancini, grilled artichokes, chick pea fritters and caponata could have made a meal. "Each household has its own version of caponata," explained the water. Our grandmother's was intensely sweet with tomato but had none of the condensed "red sauce" flavor that migrated to the U.S. Celery, capers, pine  nuts and other vegetables joined the mix, each one still crisp. The artichokes had a soft center you dig out with a spoon. 

Gemelli with fresh anchovy, bread drumbs and dill

Arancini, rice balls stuffed with lamb

Swordfish with mint pesto

Chickpeas fried and mashed with romanesco broccoli

 Two pasta dishes followed, fortunatly small but still filling: Thick, chewy bucatini with butter and the dried fish roe called bottarga; and gemelli with a sauce of fresh anchovy, tomato and fried bread crumbs. Swordfish cooked perfectly, just rare in the center, was served family style with the chick pea dish to the left. I could eat this heavenly combination daily for the rest of my life. Although subtle in flavor and garnish, it tasted like what it was: fish, mint, chick peas, garlic. Grandma knew ingredient-driven way back.

Pork shoulder with tomato sauce

And she roasted pork shoulder in tomato suace until you could cut it with a fork and spoon, and we did. How does this tomato sauce manage to taste as much of meat as of tomato? Only Grandma knows.
We were unable to do justice to either fish or meat courses and resorted to taking home leftovers, which Next generously accommodated. We greeted with pleasure and relief the sight of a small coupe of blood orange granita, the texture like snow, the flavor pure fruit. 

Erica Kast and granita

Slice of cassata, candied fruits

Cannoli, sweet fried ravioli, cookie

Slices of cassata filled with sweet ricotta were served with whipped cream flavored with nocino, a walnut liqueur. Candied fruits, miniature cannoli and tiny, chewy sesame cookies were the icing on the cake.
Next's non-alcoholic pairings are well worth trying, and we had one of these and one wine pairing, sharing both. Most interesting was a green-tomato-celery-garlic-white pepper drink served with the fish. If only I could do it all over again!