White Truffle Season

Two weeks ago we went to Sweets and Savories for the first time. During a great seven course dinner they told us they were having a special white truffle night in a few days, sadly we could not make the date. Last night we were deciding on what to do when my partner called Sweets and Savories to see if by chance they had any fresh white truffle left over. The response was yes and that the chef would be happy to make something for us; we never asked a price! Now, I've only had a fresh white truffle once, and it was an add on to a twelve course dinner we had at Trio with Chef G. I swooned. Fast forward, last night after the third course our server arrived with a whole truffle and a slicer and set them on the table and said " This is yours, handle it, smell it, what ever you like." I didn't even process the "This is yours" part. It was the most amazing smell ever - I was completely high. Gone. He then arrives with a foie gras risotto, and proceeds to shave the truffle on top, however he doesn't stop....................ever! He topped each plate with appx. 30 shavings each. I don't think I have to explain the aroma or the flavor. I was dizzy. I couldn't speak because my head and nose were completely saturated with that truffle. I spent about 20 mins on this one dish. A few other dishes came, they were great, however I was still covered in the truffle so I didn't eat so much of them as I was to busy smelling my fingers(sorry) and reveling in the lingering aroma. Later, the final course came out - a white truffle ice cream. OMG! They ground up the remaining truffle and made ice cream. I wish I was a better writer and could truly do this experience justice. Fantastic. Then the biggest shock of my life. During after dinner drinks our server told us our entire bloody truffle was a gift from the chef and had been COMPTED!!!! Why? I have no idea. The entire seven course meal was fifty dollars per person including the whole truffle. We moved to the bar and a friend met us for another drink where she was also given a scoop of this fresh white truffle ice cream for free. This was not going on at any other table, I swear.
After my first white truffle at Trio I've read and dreamed about going to Italy for the truffle season. Well, I no longer have that desire. This was the pinnacle. I will remember it forever.
Please go to Sweets and Savories. Support them. They are what dining in small neighborhood Chicago is all about. I know no one at this restaurant, however to say I was treated like a king is an understatement.
Jim

rhinopias wrote:our server arrived with a whole truffle and a slicer and set them on the table and said " This is yours, handle it, smell it, what ever you like."

Rhinopias,

Sounds fantastic!

For the Millennium my wife and I, along with another couple, rented a house in Tuscany just outside of Monte San Savino. We flew into Florence and went directly to the rental car company, we planned on spending time in Florence at the end of the trip. When we arrived, schlepping 3-weeks worth of luggage, the car rental office was closed for lunch.

We were dead tired, loaded down like pack-mules, at least my friend John and I were , and hungry. Luckily there was a restaurant next door to the car rental. It was a modest mom and pop place, small, cramped, and when we entered, luggage in tow, I could almost see the cartoon thought bubbles with "crazy Americans" above their heads.

They didn't speak English, we spoke no Italian, but, with the help of a travel dictionary, the specials board was easily decipherable. I opted for rabbit ragu w/tagliatelle with the optional add-on of shaved truffle, which turned out to be one of the best dishes I've ever eaten.

I almost did not have the truffle as this was early in the euro conversion, prices were still marked in lira, and we were so damn tired neither John, who has a masters in economics from the U of C, or I could figure out the conversion to dollars. The truffle was about 2400 lira additional and, at that moment, Jim Carrey's character in Dumb and Dumber would have had a better chance of figuring it out than us.

We're on vacation, so I say what the hell and go with the truffle, plate comes, literally, covered in shaved truffle, incredible, as you mention, smell, ethereal taste, the dish just blew me away. Turns out the additional truffle was $1.20, yep, $1.20! Seems it was the tail end of white truffle, and mid-black truffle season, and any number of restaurants had reasonable truffle add-ons. We were in truffle heaven, I even had my dream truffle meal of crusty bread, crisp white wine and a perfect soft omelet topped with an obscene amount of truffle.

Thanks for the heads up on Sweets and Savories and for bringing back fond memories of our Millennium trip to Italy.

Enjoy,
Gary