Halsted St.
Chicago, Illinois 60614
USA
Phone: 773-248-6228
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Cuisine:
Charlie Trotter's Description:
Dress: Ties suggested, jackets required. Reservations are accepted up to 4 months in advance.
Three daily degustation menus are offered, one of which is vegetarian. Offers wines by the glass, aperitifs, cognacs, cordials, and digestives; no cocktails.
It is hard to believe that Charlie Trotter has maintained his perpetual quest to better himself and his staff for 20-plus years. He was the first to introduce the idea of the kitchen table, one of the first to offer a vegetable menu and even experimented with the idea of a "no menu" restaurant. His obsession with what he calls "excellence" has not ceased---nor has the quality of what his kitchen turns out. Menus undergo spontaneous metamorphosis, regular restaurant events throw extra wrenches at the stalwart kitchen team led by Matthias Merges, and servers constantly challenge their own mettle striving to go the extra mile. There is little question that Trotter seeks out the best products (from more than 90 purveyors, in fact), whether they hail from Michigan farms or the waters of Tasmania. Therefore, there is justification for the (another Trotter phrase) "price of admission." Dinners consist of dégustations of six or more courses, and all change nightly: the grand menu ($165), the vegetable menu ($135) and the kitchen table menu ($225). The kitchen table seats four to six for a 12 to 14 course up-close experience, and it's advisable to reserve months in advance. Examples of dishes (though the kitchen prides itself on "never serving the same dish twice") include salt-crusted beets with anise hyssop, wild licorice and whole grain mustard; Japanese hamachi with toasted wild rice, braised oxtail and pomegranate; and Arkansas rabbit loin with curried tortellini and wilted mustard greens. Artfully plated reductions and sauces are made with little cream and butter, resulting in a welcome, light style. The wine list has few equals in the city: a special section lists many bottles for less than $100, and a good selection of wine is available by the glass and half-bottle.
2009-06-18 21:02:01.0
I know what tastes good and what does not. I read the review where someone questioned their palate and thought perhaps they were not "worthy" of the food. Let me tell you - our palates are not the problem. It is the food.
Allow me to explain. Banana and eel do not go together. Try it at your local sushi restaurant. Get a piece of unagi and accompany it with a spoonful of baby food banana puree. It does not work and is actually kind of disgusting.
The salmon dish with dried rose and foam had a mushy consistency that was somewhat nauseating. I actually started to feel queasy by the second or third course. At this point we turned to each other and thought we had just made the biggest mistake of our culinary lives, and were in for a LONG evening ahead of us.
One of us opted for the non-alcoholic drink pairing with the dinner. The majority of the drinks were HORRIBLE - nearly undrinkable. The menu sounded incredible - different herbs, juices and combinations of flavors. In reality, they were salty with odd flavors that had little to do with the dishes. If drunk on their own you might think you were sampling last night's dish water.
Finally we left the cold appetizers and seafood dishes and started to receive the meat courses. The duck and veal courses were actually excellent, but by this point half the meal had already passed to our great and utter disappointment. I must say though the veal/sweetbread dish was sublime - incredible actually.
We did also enjoy the desserts. There were two courses but we received all four dessert options for the night so were able to try everything. There were many interesting combinations of olive oil, dried cherries, meyer lemon, chocolate, and sesame ice cream. The desserts were novel and fun to sample.
For a bill of over $500 for dinner for two, the missteps, inconsistency of the food, and truly horrible flavor combinations in certain courses are absolutely inexcusable. I felt ripped off and remain angry over this meal (Note: we ate this dinner two weeks ago and are still thinking about it). I can't see how anyone would ever eat in this restaurant twice or recommend for even one meal.