Trotter to open new restaurant

Charlie Trotter, an iconic chef whose name is synonymous with Chicago's gourmet cuisine, wants to dish out a second helping of his five-star meals.

Trotter, a Chicago native whose self-titled restaurant draws gourmands and members of the expense-account set, announced Wednesday he plans to open a second Chicago eatery in a new 60-story luxury hotel and condominium project.

Link to Chicago Tribune Story

SSDD

He should first try focusing on fixing the numerous problems at his Trotters To Go Store.

Last night, I had another extremely disappointing experience there. It is one of at least a half dozen that I have experienced in the past year.

I stopped in to buy one of his $13 lavendar scented rotisserie chickens for dinner.

When I arrived home, I discovered the bird was half raw. The legs and thighs were bloody and the breast was completely raw from the breast bone to about a quarter way up to the skin.

I didn't take it back though I should have. I was too disgusted with the lack of attention to detail in that place to waste my time going back there. Instead, I dumped it in the garbage.

For the prices that TTG charges, they owe their customers the experience of, at least, delivering food that is edible. Other places that sell rotisserie chickens for far less manage to conquer the doneness challenge quite well.

For instance, Tony's Finer Foods on Elston has never delivered one of their $4 rotisserie birds to me raw. As a matter of fact, they have refused to sell them to me in the past due to the fact that they weren't done yet.

I do believe that I have made my last visit to TTG.

Will you REALLY need to let them know this.

this thread reminded me...

Charlie Trotter was supposed to be opening a seafood restaurant in the TimeWarner Center in NYC... apparently these plans have been canceled for over a year... who knew! http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/nyreg ... yt&emc=rss

Didn't he also cancel a planned restaurant in London?

Best,
Michael

NYC was cancelled becasuse the costs spiralled way too high.

London was cancelled because the investors and CT couldn't agree on "control" of the restaurant.

Snark wrote:NYC was cancelled becasuse the costs spiralled way too high.

London was cancelled because the investors and CT couldn't agree on "control" of the restaurant.

i don't understand how he can say it was stopped because the costs spiraled too high..... what does that mean! he was attempting to open a 4-5 star restaurant in the space right next to Per Se in the nicest brand new building in Manhattan overlooking Central Park.... hmmm ... doesn't seem like rocket science that it would've been cheap!

...which reminds me. this month's (december for those who have really really good postmaster) issue of Details magazine has a great article on the new breed of Yuppies... the highlight of the article is a full page dedicated to TimeWarner Center with arrows pointing to all of the Yuppy things in the building...

dddane wrote:.... hmmm ... doesn't seem like rocket science that it would've been cheap!

Knowing it wouldn't be cheap is one thing, realizing that it is going to be even more expensive and not a fiscally sound business plan is another.

SSDD

Yeah, I think the deal was that Trotter wanted to open something that was a bit more casual than Per Se and Masa. I seem to remember it involving a raw bar. Obviously he knew it would be an expensive endeavor, but as the costs kept increasing it didn't make any sense economically to move forward given the desired price point of the planned restaurant.

I could suggest a couple of names for his restaurant. How about "Jackass" or "Swollenhead"?

saps wrote:I could suggest a couple of names for his restaurant. How about "Jackass" or "Swollenhead"?

C'mon!

Unlike most other celebrity chefs, CT has not been very successful in growing the brand. This might not be such a disappointing failure for diners. Think Molto Mario, Bobby Flay, or Jean-Georges.

CT works best when he is focused on his home turf, which is still deservedly one of the best restaurants in America. Chefs like Trotter have all of these money men making pitches, and what do they know ... It sounds like easy money.