Charlie Trotter


July 12, 2001. Poirier and I found ourselves in Chicago and decided to skip on over to Chuck's for some chili fries and a forty. We mentioned this plan in casual conversation with Gretchen and Paul, who live in the area, to see if they might be interested in joining us. Earlier in the conversation they might have said something about having a $500 gift certificate from CT, but I honestly can't remember that part very clearly. It certainly doesn't strike me as relevant now, and I'm sure it didn't then.

Paul and Gretchen were present at my first exposure to Charlie Trotter back when he had a restaurant at the MGM Las Vegas. Sadly, the only documentation I have of that outing is a brief report by Gretchen, in which she mostly fixated on the morels, the meddling waitstaff, and champagne spillage. My recollection was that every dish was near perfect and full of flavors and textures I'd never had in my mouth.

Or was it that I was dazzled by the tasting menu format? The closest I'd had to such a thing was a build-your-own-four-course at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in SF. This was during the Gary Danko years, so of course it was fabulous. But as someone who craves variety for variety sake, all things being equal, I'll take eight small plates over four medium ones any day.

For the past six years I had held Charlie Trotter as the stone cold nuts of tasting menus, the gold standard against which all food is measured. Was I setting myself up for disappointment?...

...I was. Though absent of major missteps, the food, for this mouth, just didn't work as well as the first time. But my big concern, bigger than one mere disappointing dinner, is that I've become jaded. That there can't be another first time, that I might never again be truly enchanted by a meal, that I've left the cake out in the rain and that I'll never have the recipe again.

In this month's issue of San Francisco magazine, food critic Jennifer Aaronson professes distaste for quotes on menus (e.g., "strawberry 'tartare'"), a sentiment with which I mostly agree. Offenders "Cucumber 'Soup'" and "'Lasagna' of Chantrelle Mushrooms" appeared on our menu. Smugly coy here, and yet absurdly deconstructed elsewhere: "Braised Lettuce Soup with Olive Oil"? I need to know this? And what can I do with such information given that I have but two choices on the menu?


Grand Menu

Spanish Bluefin Sashimi with Pickled Radishes      +4
Pave of Smoked Salmon, Napa Cabbage & Roasted Shallots
with Cucumber Gelee and Horseradish Ice Cream		      +7
Unlike other savory ice creams I've had, this was the real thing: genuine, full-sugar ice cream.


Alaskan Line-Caught Halibut
with Braised Fennel, Grainy Mustard Vinaigrette, and Caramelized Onions		      +3
The halibut could have used more salt. Astoundingly there were NO salt shakers to be found! Five-star my ass!@!!


Bob White Quail
with Saffron Infused Cannellini Bean Puree, Roasted Rutabaga, Capers, and Duck Confit		      +2
The original menu entry listed "crispy pig tail" but the tail was replaced with duck confit. The ol' bait-n-switch.


Jamison Farm Lamb Loin
with Collard Greens, Braised Oxtail-Trumpet Mushroom Tortellini & Red Wine-Boudin Sauce		      +3
Possibly the highest quality lamb I've ever had, though I prefer braised shanks or seared chop to these loin slices, lukewarm pink with a tan rind. I would have rated this more highly except the tortellini was barely edible. The pasta was crusty, the fillings an indistinguishable paste.


Vegetable Menu

White Asparagus
with Corn Broth, Baby Corn and Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette 		      +7
Roasted Yellow Beet Terrine
with Chevre, Spring English Peas, and Pinenut-Balsamic Vinaigrette 		      +8
Braised Lettuce Soup
with Morel Mushroom Flan, Fava Beans, Sunchokes, & Olive Oil 		      +0
The morel flan from the first dinner was much better. This time around it was gritty and soggy.


Ragout of Fifteen Vegetables
with Roasted Parsnip Sauce & Green Curry Emulsion 		      +4
Possibly the best ragout I've ever had, and I hate ragouts, medleys, etc. This was like a very good crudite platter, tossed with superb dipping sauces. Poirier did not like this nearly as well as I.


"Lasagna" of Chantrelle Mushrooms, Red Wine Braised Cabbage & Spring Garlic       0
Like the tortellini, the lasagna noodles were too al dente.


Desserts

Bing Cherry Sorbet
with Chilled Galia Melon Soup		      +4
Basil-Lemon Sorbet & Fennel Gelee
with Asian Pear		      +10
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake
with Roasted Banana Ice Cream and Caramelized Bananas 		      +4
Cheesecake
with Blueberries and Pear-Spearmint Salad 		      +5
Poirier rated this a +10. We don't often have wide discrepancies in dessert assessment, but this was one of several on this menu where we disagreed by a few points.


Trio of Tea-Infused Custards (panna cotta, creme brulee, flan)       +1
The panna cotta was the lightest I've ever had, but not the best-tasting. (The best panna cotta is at Locando Olmo in Oakland. It is also the heaviest. I've been known to plot a curve with fewer data points.) The creme brulee tasted like the Chinese dim sum "Joong." The flan was slightly rubbery.


Chocolate Torte
with Passionfruit Sauce and Anise-Infused Israeli Couscous 		      +3
The torte was dull, but I liked the dessert-couscous quite well.


Strawberry Rhubarb Tart      +9
Lucini Olive Oil Financier with Peaches, Apricots, Thyme Infused Mascarpone & Sweet & Sour Apricot Sauce      +6
Mignardises      +7

Miscellany

Bread with Butter      +7
Wine Flight (three half-pours)      +6
Service      +9
Bathrooms      +3
There is only one main bathroom; the staff will shepherd any loiterers to the "secret bathroom." Which is less nice, and smaller. But if you're the only one in your party who made it to the secret bathroom, you're pretty much required to speak of it vaguely and in a reverent hush.
Tour      +4
Everyone gets a chance to tour the facility. We were amazed at how unfazed the staff was by a large tour party blocking their paths, hanging over their workstations, etc. In addition to the kitchen, we got to see the room in which CT does kitchen demos for private parties and for his PBS show, and also peeked into the wine cellar.

CT has a special kitchen table seating for $175/head. It sounds like fun, but I suspect that sitting in the seats facing the wall are a lot less fun than the ones facing the kitchen, especially with tour groups bumping the back of your head all night. They should really use a triangular table, with no seating on the hypotenuse. Yeah, I could teach Charlie how to run a restaurant.


Other Food

Meson Sabika
(Naperville, IL)		      +4
A gigantic mansion, converted into a respectable tapas restaurant.
Oberweis
(Glen Ellyn, IL) 		      0
Park Avenue Cafe
(Chicago, IL)		      +4
Park Avenue Cafe is like a dim sum buffet, where waiters continue to bring plates of food (which you can reject) until you tell them to stop. Some things were very good, others much less so. At $36/head, it was not much better than the Bellagio Buffet plus service.


We also went to Green Bay to visit Poirier's family. Highlights include:
Buddha's Bratwurst      +5
Ma Poirier's Pear Tart      +9
Kaap's Chocolates      +8
Storeheim's Frozen Custard      +6
Cruiser's Burgers
(aka Harley-Davidson Burgers) 		      +3
Hinterland Brewery      +1
Eve's Supper Club      0
Non-food things
      Pooky cat (RIP)
      Green Bay Houses
      Disc Golf
     
+8
+4
+4



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