The Deconstructed Childhood of Grant Achatz

As soon as I heard that Chef Grant Achatz was tackling childhood food memories for his new menu at Next, I immediately flashed to that scene near the end of "Ratatouille" when Anton Ego, upon first bite of Little Chef's ratatouille creation, finds himself mentally transported back to a point as a young boy when he's standing in an open door, knee scraped and a sniffle, crashed bike in a heap in the background. He sits at the table, and his mother, with a gentle touch and a smile, places a warm dish of ratatouille in front of him. One bite and his frown turns to grin, and the moment leaps forward, back to the present day, to an astounded Ego. He unconsciously releases his critic's pen tumbling to the floor, genuinely smiles for the first time in the film, and eagerly devours his deliciously nostalgic meal.

My local Anton Ego (well, not really—I'm actually quite fond of Phil Vettel's work as food critic at the Chicago Tribune, and I'm generally not fond of crickets—I mean, critics…) just published a nice write-up of the new menu at Next, dubbed "Childhood." The concept of recreating childhood experience via food is fascinating—particularly if you can achieve it in a sophisticated way and without getting cute.