jfibro wrote:Why is he closing in August? I assume classes start in September.

He's closing on August 17, which I believe is 25 years to the date that he first opened....Aug 17, 1987.

chicagogrrl wrote:

jfibro wrote:Why is he closing in August? I assume classes start in September.

He's closing on August 17, which I believe is 25 years to the date that he first opened....Aug 17, 1987.

that makes much more sense.

Because it wouldn't make sense to close early so he could get more than a few days off before "classes start."

Habibi wrote:Because it wouldn't make sense to close early so he could get more than a few days off before "classes start."

Getting your parents to move you into the dorm can take a few days...

chicagogrrl wrote:

jfibro wrote:Why is he closing in August? I assume classes start in September.

He's closing on August 17, which I believe is 25 years to the date that he first opened....Aug 17, 1987.

Whatever the reason, it's nice that his employees have so much time to find new jobs.

Given the planned August closing, my dinner this past Friday night was most likely my last visit ever to Charlie Trotter's. There has been so much discussion in recent times about the restaurant, whether it's still worthy of high acclaim, and what its closing means to the Chicago dining scene. I've dined at Charlie Trotter's several times over the past 25 years and while I don't believe that it's gone downhill at all, I think that's sometimes perceived to be the case, perhaps because the dining scene in Chicago has really been elevated over the restaurant's lifetime. This at least in part due to Charlie Trotter, his restaurant and the chefs he's trained.

And I suspect that many of the reasons Charlie Trotter's stood apart from other restaurants for years (emphasis on great and interesting ingredients, perfectly cooked food) no longer earns a restaurant the high acclaim it once did, not with so many talented chefs cooking in Chicago and sourcing equally great ingredients, perhaps having even used Trotter's as a road map. And while Charlie Trotter used many less commonly used techniques before other chefs ever heard of them, it now seems that they might be playing catch-up at Trotter's with some of the finer restaurants in town.

So while I will say that my dinner Friday was less than a great value, in a past-its-prime dining room, with service leaning a bit too formal for my liking, and with food that I very much enjoyed but did not love, I will say that the loss of Charlie Trotter's in Chicago is truly a sad day for our city, with another one of the most premier fine dining destinations in our city riding of into the sunset and a super talented chef no longer training some of the city's up and coming talent.




Yeah, this is not a contemporary dining room. It all appears to be stuck in the mid 1980s - carpeting, wallpaper, design. And while so many restaurants have focused on comfortable seating for lengthy tasting menus, the seating at Trotter's seems ready for a makeover. Yet in many ways, I appreciated the short trip in the wayback machine.

We both elected the grand menu at $195/person, plus wine pairings at $125/person.


The Menu - a little passé and cheesy if you ask me, but oh well


We were served five different breads throughout dinner, including sourdough, brioche, pretzel, focaccia and whole wheat I believe (shown in that order below). Also delivered was beautifully soft and creamy butter with chives and perhaps sea salt or seasoned salt. All of the breads were delicious with great texture, although I usually prefer a more buttery brioche, but that's a personal preference.


Bread and butter service



Our first course was Geoduck Clams with Horseradish, Ramps and Preserved Celery. There was an unlisted element to the dish I can't recall. We were told these ramps were the first of the season, just picked that day. The dish was okay to start off the meal, but perhaps a bit too acidic a punch in awakening the palate.


Geoduck Clams with Horseradish, Ramps and Preserved Celery



Our next course was an Unagi Terrine with Grapefruit, Red Curry and Kaffir Lime. This was very tasty - delicious unagi, the curry and kaffir lime flavors not at all dominating, and I really enjoyed the way the grapefruit played with the other flavors.


Unagi Terrine with Grapefruit, Red Curry and Kaffir Lime



Coriander-Encrusted Bobwhite Quail with Black Sesame, Watercress and Pomegranate (and a liver sauce) was probably the most interesting dish presented this evening, and perhaps even my favorite. The quail was perfectly cooked, and the crust of the quail delivered a terrific crunch as well as some real spice, slightly confusing my taste buds and making them believe at times that I was tasting pastrami-like flavors and at other times, maybe even Asian flavors. On top of that, some freshness and peppery bite from the cress, a liver sauce underneath it all for a terrific richness, and some sweetness from the pomegranate which also helped cut some of the richness from the liver.

The only quail I've had at a fine dining restaurant in recent times was at Goosefoot, and while I enjoyed Goosefoot's quail, this really blew that dish away - just terrific.


Coriander-Encrusted Bobwhite Quail with Black Sesame, Watercress and Pomegranate and Liver Sauce



It would have been nearly impossible for the next dish to upstage that beautiful quail, but they tried with Poached Day Boat Maine Lobster with Red Beet-Infused Spaetzle, Veal Sweetbreads, Fermented Black Garlic and Horseradish Vinaigrette. I thought the sweetbreads, lobster and spaetzle were all individually delicious, and it was all just perfectly cooked (certainly a theme of the evening). But as much as I love both lobster and sweetbreads, the sum of this course's parts was less impressive than its individual components. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed it, but I was in no way blown away, despite the inclusion of a couple of my favorite ingredients. Maybe there was a way to eat all of this in a way that would have resulted in an "I get it" moment, but I didn't find that path.


Poached Day Boat Maine Lobster with Red Beet-Infused Spaetzle, Veal Sweetbreads, Fermented Black Garlic and Horseradish Vinaigrette



The Broken Arrow Ranch Venison Loin with Toasted Espresso, Crumbled Oats & Boudin Noir (also a Green Pea Sauce I believe) was probably my second favorite course of the evening. As you can see, the venison was a beautiful rare, the oats (and also a pork cracklin I believe) provided a nice crunch, and the flavors were pretty terrific. Looking at the picture of this dish I believe there were additional components that I just can't recall (and were not listed on the menu - sauces for example). But most of the components worked very harmoniously together and delivered big flavors. I will say that I didn't find the boudin noir to be as flavorful as expected and could even have been eliminated - perhaps appropriately, it's somewhat hidden in the picture below.


Broken Arrow Ranch Venison Loin with Toasted Espresso, Crumbled Oats & Boudin Noir



We then moved on to dessert courses, which at essentially five desserts was in my opinion two too many. Although two of the desserts were plated together, and one course was mignardises, I would have preferred the meal if they had replaced one or two of the desserts with a savory item or two (and let it be known that I have a huge sweet tooth).

The first of the dessert courses was referred to as a palate cleanser, but seemed to me to be a full fledged dessert. It was Granny Smith Apple and Greek Yogurt Sorbet with Meyer Lemon, Tarragon and Candied Pistachio. The cake was a delicious and moist pistachio cake and I really enjoyed the way the nutty pistachio worked with the tartness from the yogurt and apple and the herbal and licorice notes of the tarragon.


Granny Smith Apple and Greek Yogurt Sorbet with Meyer Lemon, Tarragon and Candied Pistachio



The next two desserts were plated together, Toffee-Glazed Banana Financier with Candied Hazelnuts, Date Jam and Frothed Pineapple, and a Criollo Chocolate Cake with Parsnip, Red Wine & Candied Vanilla. The banana financier was certainly tasty, but I can't say that it was particularly memorable and I found it to be very sweet.


Toffee-Glazed Banana Financier with Candied Hazelnuts, Date Jam and Frothed Pineapple



Although the Criollo chocolate cake was served liquidy in the middle, it was not served warm (and not sure if it was supposed to have been, although I would have preferred it warm). But it was very good. I appreciated the red wine (the gels atop the cake), but the parsnip ice cream did nothing for me, even if it properly cut the richness of this dish.


Criollo Chocolate Cake with Parsnip, Red Wine & Candied Vanilla



Although I had already had more than enough dessert at this point, that did not stop me from enjoying the Guava Mousse (also a Guava Sorbet if I recall correctly) with Caramelized White Chocolate and Passionfruit, a dessert that is actually listed on only the vegetable menu. I'm a sucker for tropical flavors and love passionfruit, and the white chocolate nicely cut the tartness of the passionfruit. This and the chocolate cake were my favorite of the desserts - I would have preferred to have eliminated the banana financier and I would have preferred a small palate cleanser in place of the first dessert (which was termed a palate cleanser).


Guava Mousse with Caramelized White Chocolate and Passionfruit



Finally, mignardises - clockwise from left in the picture below (portions removed pre-photo by my dining companion), mint meltaway, pate de fruit (blackberry?), bacon caramel and a nut nougat (peanut?). All were good but the nougat was my favorite. I must say that I've never been a big fan of bacon in my sweets so while the caramel had a great texture, I didn't love it.


Mignardises



Overall, I thought it was a very good meal (and I left quite full), and I might say that the food was even better than very good. Absolutely everything was perfectly cooked (although I would have preferred the chocolate cake served warm). That being said, only one of the savory dishes is one that really sticks out in my mind as very memorable - the quail - even though most everything was delicious. The presentation of the food also was not particularly innovative or interesting, both in terms of plating and service pieces. And unfortunately, the excess of dessert courses just seemed so odd and bothered me - breads, 5 savories and 5 sweets. And value-wise, I think some of the other fine dining spots in town are delivering a better value, although I think our only error was in going for the wine pairings at $125/person.

Service was excellent, but perhaps a bit too formal for my liking (talk to me as a server as you would talk to me outside the restaurant). But the quality of food and service would never give you any inclination that the restaurant is closing. The meal ended with a tour of the kitchen which was great and very fascinating. The kitchen was every bit the restaurant Charlie Trotter's, a mix of new and old - copper pots and a wood burning stove meet a cotton candy machine (there's a chamomile cotton candy on the vegetable menu) and an immersion circulator.


The Copper Pots



The Wood Burning Stove



The Immersion Circulator, apparently used at least for making 72-hour wagyu short ribs



The Cotton Candy Machine - from Bed, Bath and Beyond?!?


Precision


As Charlie Trotter's gets closer to both its 25th anniversary and closing date, I will fondly recall this as a very good meal, but one that I might have appreciated more 20 years ago, before the dining scene in Chicago really exploded, before plating, grass fed and organic became major concepts, and before the tremendous explosion of major culinary talent in the Chicago. But I believe it would be a huge mistake to look at the closing of Charlie Trotter's as merely a footnote in Chicago dining history. Rather, the impact Charlie Trotter has had on the Chicago dining scene has been tremendous and I suspect we reap the benefits every day without fully realizing it.

A Chef Whose Touch Will Last - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/dinin ... ref=dining

Mrs. EdB60035 and I were at Trotter's last night for our first and obviously last time. And it was very much as BR described.

Technical execution was very good on every plate, and some of the dishes were creative and tasty. But eight courses for $200 plus mandatory 18% gratuity plus wine... I couldn't help but thinking how many other places I would have enjoyed spending that money more. (The vegetable menu is $150, and we ended up going one-and-one). I am puzzled by the Phil Vettel gushing review earlier this year.

What I saw last night was a menu that would have been stunningly amazing in 1999, but today did not push the envelope at all. I mean, chocolate lava cake on the final course - really, that's on the menu at TGI Friday's now. A course with "Michigan blueberries", just after a frost that nearly destroyed the crop (e.g. the ones on the plate were tiny). A bosc pear course that had only little tiny diced cubes of pear, when the ingredient itself can be had at any supermarket for 50 cents retail. No amuse bouche, no palate cleanser, no surprise. Dirty dishes on the table until the next course was served, twice (the next table even complained about this to the staff). Even a little pressure to buy more wine.

The tour after dinner was a real nice touch, especially as we were lead through by Mrs. Trotter. The best was being in the show kitchen as the guests in that private dining room were about to be served a course. Mrs. Trotter was telling some story to us and Chef Trotter came in with another group, followed by the runners with the food for the diners in that room. Chef tried to get his mom to lead us on our way, and when that was unsuccessful, actually told one of our party to "zip your lips". It was said with a smile, and it probably fits with personality, and I understand why he wanted to get us out of the way so the runners could serve the food quickly. But it sort of summed up our evening, being rushed out the door with a wonderful happy mom being pushed by her son to stay out of his way, in a slightly rude manner that reminded everyone in earshot who the boss was.

We all decided we were grateful we had gone so we could say we had been. We enjoyed the company immensely and there were no issues getting in or out of the city despite the NATO situation. We even found a parking spot on the street across from the restaurant. And with BR's posting, we were prepared for how the evening might go. There were standout dishes, the venison was wonderful - the stinging nettles soup on the vegetable menu - the poached hen egg - the halibut with iberico ham - but no higher a caliber than many other wonderful plates available in this amazing city of ours. I'm sure Chef Trotter doesn't think he's phoning it in in these last few months of service, but he is surely done with trying to be innovative. Now it is just a matter of running to the finish line.

Since most of the commentary of late has been whether or not Charlie Trotter's has become stale and hasn't progressed, I thought I would dig out some old menus from the first couple of times I went there. I've posted the menus below (sorry for the long post). When compared to the menu I posted from mid-last year here, I think the conclusion has to be that the restaurant has not really progressed. The menus all seem pretty similar, even over the span of 13 years. While I think that works perfectly fine in France, where places like Le Grand Vefour can maintain three-star quality while serving traditional French food, I think that doesn't cut it in the U.S., where we have less of a national identity on food styles. So while I completely disagree with the desire to pile on Trotter as he exits, I can see where there is fodder for it.

10 or 15 years ago when I first ate at Trotters I had one of the best meals I had had up to that point.

Last year we went back after many years and I had one of the best meals of the last few years.

If that's "lack of progress" I'm all for it.

Jonah

John's post raises the interesting question of whether a successful artist needs to progress to succeed. Is great food from the 1980s still great food for those who have not become sated or blase by being exposed to the cuisine. Would new Monets or Rembrandts or Rothkos still be valued?

Jonah wrote:10 or 15 years ago when I first ate at Trotters I had one of the best meals I had had up to that point.

Last year we went back after many years and I had one of the best meals of the last few years.

If that's "lack of progress" I'm all for it.

Jonah

Don't get me wrong. I've always had great meals at Trotter's. The execution was certainly better when he was in the kitchen however. But what I was trying to illustrate was the relative sameness of the menus over the years. I think Trotter's is still a fabulous place for people to go to celebrate that very special event, when they don't normally do fine dining. For foodies however, I think we look for a little more than that.

John Danza wrote:I think Trotter's is still a fabulous place for people to go to celebrate that very special event, when they don't normally do fine dining. For foodies however, I think we look for a little more than that.

That is exactly how I feel after Saturday. I just got the OpenTable "how was Charlie Trotter's?" and it prompted me to read the reviews on OT for the place. With almost no exception, the last 30 reviews are five stars. There are two exceptions where people are highly critical of the same kinds of things that BR and I and others have commented on. But the rest are clear that they were once-in-a-lifetime experiences and for that, they loved it. And I am glad they enjoyed it, truly, because everyone should have the opportunity for world-class food.

With respect, I disagree as to what "foodies" want. I'm a pretty diehard foodie. The reason I went to Trotters (other than my wife's birthday) was because 15 or so years ago it was one of our first upscale dinner that wasn't French (think Le Perroquet). I wanted to go back and see if the years of eating at Alinea, Tru, L20, etc had changed by pallette and I would the meal good but uninteresting. Great food is great food, and, to my taste, it was as good as ever. I like the smoke and mirrors of Chef Achatz (ate his tour at both Trio and Alinea), but the key to his greatness is that his food also tastes great. Chefs have not improved on making food taste better, they have just come up with different ways of getting there that are novel and interesting. When food tastes as good (to me) as Trotters, the lack of some new technique or taste combination is irrelevant. For some people, deliciousness may not be enough; at that price level they need innovation; that's just not me.

Jonah, I agree with you for the most part. I'm not a follower of the latest & greatest techniques, and generally speaking abhor (might be a strong word) molecular gastronomy. I was referring more to the contents of the menus, which generally struck me as having a sameness about them. I enjoyed my visit to Trotter's last year. My only complaint is that I think it's generally overpriced at this point, or at least I expect a lot more from a thousand dollar evening.

Earlier in this thread Aug. 17 is mentioned as the last date before closing. Since Open Table is taking reservations past that date, does anyone have a firm last day?

Maybe it's the end of August. Every article I've read has said August, but most weren't more specific.

There is a countdown clock to closing on the website now:

http://www.charlietrotters.com/countdown.asp

Ursiform wrote:There is a countdown clock to closing on the website now:

http://www.charlietrotters.com/countdown.asp

The countdown is to 25 years. Nowhere does it say to "closing"

Whoops! My mistake.

JLenart wrote:

Ursiform wrote:There is a countdown clock to closing on the website now:

http://www.charlietrotters.com/countdown.asp

The countdown is to 25 years. Nowhere does it say to "closing"

hoppy2468 wrote:Earlier in this thread Aug. 17 is mentioned as the last date before closing. Since Open Table is taking reservations past that date, does anyone have a firm last day?

I've got an August 18 reservation, so they'll hopefully be open until at least then. If not, I guess we'll save a ton of cash and have a rare Saturday night free

John's post raises the interesting question of whether a successful artist needs to progress to succeed. Is great food from the 1980s still great food for those who have not become sated or blase by being exposed to the cuisine. Would new Monets or Rembrandts or Rothkos still be valued?

Well, I think it is difficult to draw allegories between a fine artist and a chef. First of all, chefs are more artisans than artists, and are first and foremost business people in the business of selling their product (a short term pleasurable experience) while trying to maintain a profit based on cost of labor, food cost, marketing, rent, capital etc. all while subject to governmental regulatory standards (health codes, city ordinances, zoning, liquor laws.) Plus there is no residual tangible asset that can be valued once the product is consumed.

That said, I understand the point. I think it is easy for people to get caught up in zeitgeist and equate being on the cutting edge of the trend in foods as a success. Kahan may be a good example, as he has his finger on the pulse of what is new and trendy in food, and can reinvent his menus of his older restaurants to keep it fresh.

However, if someone like Mr. Trotter could maintain his restaurant, cook his cuisine and continue to fill his tops and make money for 25 years, then that sounds pretty successful to me. So the fact he hasn't tried to push the boundaries like Aschatz, or built a Kahan like empire or a Bayless like brand, doesn't really mean anything in terms of success.

So the fact he hasn't tried to push the boundaries like Aschatz, or built a Kahan like empire or a Bayless like brand, doesn't really mean anything in terms of success.

But he did try. He had restos in Vegas and Cabo San Lucas at one point, both of which are closed, in addition to two aborted (and hugely expensive) projects: the NYC venture at the Time-Warner Center, and one at the failed Mandarin Oriental hotel project on Michigan Avenue.

But he did try. He had restos in Vegas and Cabo San Lucas at one point, both of which are closed, in addition to two aborted (and hugely expensive) projects: the NYC venture at the Time-Warner Center, and one at the failed Mandarin Oriental hotel project on Michigan Avenue.

Good poont, I am aware of those openings and closings - but I don't know the particulars so I didn't want to comment - I know that Vegas and Cabo had a terrible tourist drop off due to the recession and narco-violence respectively. I also believe that the NYC deal and the Chicago deal were cancelled due to the larger developments being canceled. In all cases I am not sure how relevant Trotter's actions, decisions or cuisine choices were to the closings.

Do you have any sources / references of news stories on these (not Wikipedia)?

He also has Trotter's to Go and packaged goods, a bunch of cookbooks and a few TV shows, so he's not just manning the line.

Jessewolfe1 wrote:

But he did try. He had restos in Vegas and Cabo San Lucas at one point, both of which are closed, in addition to two aborted (and hugely expensive) projects: the NYC venture at the Time-Warner Center, and one at the failed Mandarin Oriental hotel project on Michigan Avenue.

Good poont, I am aware of those openings and closings - but I don't know the particulars so I didn't want to comment - I know that Vegas and Cabo had a terrible tourist drop off due to the recession and narco-violence respectively. I also believe that the NYC deal and the Chicago deal were cancelled due to the larger developments being canceled. In all cases I am not sure how relevant Trotter's actions, decisions or cuisine choices were to the closings.

Do you have any sources / references of news stories on these (not Wikipedia)?

I don't think the Cabo restaurant closed because of "narco violence". Trotter's restaurants closed and Jean-George Vongerichten opened restaurants in their place.

Darren72 wrote:

Jessewolfe1 wrote:

But he did try. He had restos in Vegas and Cabo San Lucas at one point, both of which are closed, in addition to two aborted (and hugely expensive) projects: the NYC venture at the Time-Warner Center, and one at the failed Mandarin Oriental hotel project on Michigan Avenue.

Good poont, I am aware of those openings and closings - but I don't know the particulars so I didn't want to comment - I know that Vegas and Cabo had a terrible tourist drop off due to the recession and narco-violence respectively. I also believe that the NYC deal and the Chicago deal were cancelled due to the larger developments being canceled. In all cases I am not sure how relevant Trotter's actions, decisions or cuisine choices were to the closings.

Do you have any sources / references of news stories on these (not Wikipedia)?

I don't think the Cabo restaurant closed because of "narco violence". Trotter's restaurants closed and Jean-George Vongerichten opened restaurants in their place.

Here is an article about the aborted restaurant in the Time Warner Center: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/nyreg ... otter.html

Finally, I would very much say that Trotter did push the boundaries, though in a very different way than Grant Achatz. There weren't many places, esp in the US, doing multi-course tasting menus. The fact that Alinea does 20+ courses, and many restaurants offer chef's tasting menus, reflects the influence of Trotter (among others).

Vital Information wrote:He also has Trotter's to Go and packaged goods, a bunch of cookbooks and a few TV shows, so he's not just manning the line.

I've always loved "The Kitchen Sessions" TV shows and have all the VHS tapes (not sure if they're in DVD). The recipes work very well and I've found that in some cases, the way he does them on the TV show actually works better than the translation that is in the companion cookbook.

Agreed - at the time, the Kitchen Sessions was my go-to source. You can buy the book on Amazon (used) for as low as 3 cents.

John Danza wrote:

Vital Information wrote:He also has Trotter's to Go and packaged goods, a bunch of cookbooks and a few TV shows, so he's not just manning the line.

I've always loved "The Kitchen Sessions" TV shows and have all the VHS tapes (not sure if they're in DVD). The recipes work very well and I've found that in some cases, the way he does them on the TV show actually works better than the translation that is in the companion cookbook.

One of the key cooking lessons from this show is, "when in doubt, add butter."