Next Door

Next Door
1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 165
(901) 779-1512

Last week, Jiro (age 13) and I went to Crosstown Concourse to try out Next Door. (Satchel, age 15, did not want to join us, but did want us to bring him home some food.)



I was invited to a preview on the big Concourse opening day celebration and I got to meet Kimbal Musk himself.



I know we're all supposed to hate him for what he said a few years ago, but he came across as very genuine and sweet and fun and tall! (He's squatting down in this pic.) Anyway, the whole Colorado team was there and they couldn't have been friendlier.

Also, my BBF (Best Bartender Friend), Adam, is now working the bar. (Next Door is currently the only place to get hard liquor in the Concourse. Farm Burger is beer & maybe wine ? only.)



Anyways, I've been trying to get the monkeys to eat here for weeks, but all they want is Farm Burger. So, I was very happy when Jiro looked at the menu and immediately saw something he wanted to try: Slow Cooked Meatballs (Parmesan yellow grits, marinara, grilled broccolini & almond gremolata). "Wait, what's broccolini?" he asked.

"Dad buys it at the Asian market. It's a skinnier version of broccoli," I explained.

"And gremolata?" he asked.

"It's a sauce," I said.



Then Adam came over to say hi and we asked him for recommendations. He assured Jiro that the meatballs were delicious and there were no onions mixed in anywhere. Then he sold me on the Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon bowl (Pan roasted with tuscan kale, beets, quinoa & lemon). "A family in Alaska catches all of our salmon," he explained.

What.The.Fuck. "No way," I said, imagining some version of my kids fishing for salmon in Alaska.

"Way," he said. "All our food is like that." Then he had to go back to tending bar. But, whoever his manager is should take note that he quickly and easily sold me on the most expensive thing on the menu!

Since we were there during happy hour, and Jiro was starved, I ordered a couple of starters--the Charred Cauliflower Salad (Curry aioli, raisins & chickpeas) and Buffalo Chicken Bites (Celery, buffalo sauce & blue cheese). I basically have to order anything involving cauliflower and buffalo sauce no matter where I go. (In my mind, these two things were on the happy hour menu, but now I see they are just regular starters.)

Here's the Happy Hour menu:



Jiro was impressed that our waiter took our order on an iPad, but was not impressed by the room temperature water. "Where's the ice?" he asked.

"Supposedly room temperature water is supposed to be good for you," I said.

"Room temperature water is gross," he replied.

Luckily our snacks came out and he was happy again. The cauliflower was just okay. We both questioned the use of raisins.



The Buffalo Chicken Bites were delicious.



We seriously took turns running our fingers over the last dregs of sauce. I told Jiro that next time I came I was going to ask for a bowl of kale on the side and make this into a salad.

Our entrees soon followed. This is Jiro's "hurry up and take a picture so I can eat" face. He loved his and ate every bite. I was impressed.



Here's a close up:



I also loved my dish. A lot.



The salmon was exceptional. I asked Jiro if he wanted a bite, and he said, "Salmon is gross."

"Not this salmon," I said. "Come on, one bite..."

He took a bite and said, "Mmmmmm...that is good. I'd eat that." Then he proceeded to have several more bites. I could not convince him to try the kale, quinoa and beet mixture though.

We were both super full and happy, which is why I didn't scoff too much at our $55 tab. Next time, we will skip the starters. I also soothed myself with the rationalization that leaving Satchel at home saved me at least $30!

A few other things to note:

There's a lovely patio and they don't seem to mind folks lingering, as judged by this shelf of games:



It seems very kid friendly. There's no kid menu, but they do have a little area by the bathrooms where toddlers can play with magnets, they offer coloring pages, there's tons of high chairs and boosters, and the bathrooms have changing tables.








There are still several menu items I want to try, so we will definitely be back.