Food The best restaurant I've personally ever been to is closing this year.

Borla · Jan 2, 2012

Link to story.

He put Chicago on the culinary map.
Whether they woke up with hangovers or a spring in their step, that was the New Years’ Day reaction of some of the city’s top chefs to the news that Charlie Trotter plans to close his world-renowned eponymous restaurant after 25 years.
“He put us on the food map worldwide,” Urban Belly and Belly Shack chef Bill Kim said after the Sun-Times broke the news that Charlie Trotter’s on Armitage will close in August so that Trotter can study for a master’s degree in philosophy and political theory.
Kim, one of many kitchen stars who cut their teeth working under Trotter, said that even after he left Trotter’s restaurant and went it alone, “wherever I went, from the East Coast to the West Coast, even in Singapore, [Charlie] was the first thing people ask me about.”
The sky-high prices at Trotter’s restaurant — often ranked one of the world’s best — meant most Chicagoans never got the chance to taste his pioneering food-and-wine pairings or tasting menus. But the Winnetka native’s efforts to develop a modern American cuisine that replaced French cooking as the choice of chic diners means the city ought to be proud of him, his longtime sous-chef and chef de cuisine Matthias Merges of Yusho said.
“He took risks and he stayed true to what he believed in,” said Merges. “He’s definitely been a pillar in the foundation of American cuisine. People undervalue that.”
Curtis Duffy, who runs the kitchen at Grace, said that the three years he worked for the perfectionist Trotter were “the hardest I’ve ever worked.” He’s sad Trotter’s is closing but glad that his former boss, who has won 10 James Beard Awards, is going out on top and will pursue other interests. “It’s amazing to have operated at that level for 25 years,” Duffy said.
Trotter’s occasionally sharp elbows saw him clash publicly over the city’s foie gras ban in 2005 with friend and onetime rival chef Rick Tramonto, whose liver he once suggested was “fat enough” to provide “a little treat” for diners. But Tramonto said Sunday that he “always had the utmost respect for Charlie,” comparing Trotter to basketball great Michael Jordan. “He started it all in Chicago,” Tramonto said.
News of the closure came as a shock to former Bon Appetit magazine editor Barbara Fairchild, who now edits online food magazine Real Eats.
“In a way it’s like him to want to do something like this: He’s an interesting guy with an inquisitive, restless mind,” she said. “He has been a mentor to so many. I do hope he really does come back with another restaurant in the future.
“It would be fascinating to see what he comes up with for the next chapter.”
While chefs owed their starts to Trotter, Carrie Nahabedian — whose Naha is an established Chicago fine-dining stalwart — helped Trotter on his way, when she recommended him for a job at Sinclair’s on the North Shore in 1982.
When Nahabedian interviewed him, she was struck by the young wannabe chef’s “good hands,” she said. “Everything he did was very thoughtful and had a purpose,” she said.
“I’m sure that whatever he does next will be a meaningful extension of what he’s done for the last 25 years, and I’m going to eat at his restaurant as often as possible this year.”
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It's been named the "Best Restaurant in the World", and has been named among the Top 50 in the world every single year for the past 8 years. When we went, we got the Kitchen Table. We literally got to sit in the kitchen and watch 17 chefs (not including their helpers) at work, had the Sous Chef at our table much of the night, and just generally had the coolest dining experience I've ever had. We also got a private tour of the wine cellar, which is the most exclusive one I've ever seen, by far (check out their wine list if you are interested, it's crazy).
Link to site.

If you have the ability to get there sometime before they close, I highly recommend it.

Fremen · Jan 2, 2012

Even I, with my fast food-loving sensibilities, have heard of this guy.
It's a shame people won't be getting to dine on his cuisine for some time after this year, but with him getting his master's in philosophy and political theory, they might change his way of viewing how he goes about creating his dishes.

Here's hoping he doesn't stay away forever.

ralphie250 · Jan 3, 2012

I just saw that in the news here. Said he would reopen another one after he got his masters degree.

Remixer · Jan 3, 2012

I'm just here to get some soy sauce.

Daval · Jan 4, 2012

I've always wanted to eat at one of his restaurants. Not likely to happen any time soon with the prices though. A full tasting menu with wine pairings would be the best experience I think.

aquafox · Jan 4, 2012

on a side note... I learned the tavern on the green thing in NYC closed awhile ago :-( I always wanted to go there.

snowy · Jan 4, 2012

aquafox said: ↑

on a side note... I learned the tavern on the green thing in NYC closed awhile ago :-( I always wanted to go there.
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I've been. It's not my best memory of food. The lamb I had was overdone and bland.

aquafox · Jan 4, 2012

snowy said: ↑

I've been. It's not my best memory of food. The lamb I had was overdone and bland.
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Everyone I talked to said the food sucked and was overpriced... I mostly just wanted to go cause it was seen in ghostbusters and futurama.

Charlatan · Jan 5, 2012

Charlie Trotter seemed to have just missed the boat on the Food zeitgeist that hit us all in about 2006... He was the foundation upon which much of Chicago's great restaurants were built (see Alinea, Moto and Grahame Elliott). He just doesn't seem to have risen with the wave...

This isn't to say that his food and his restaurant weren't (aren't) great. They are.

I met him when he came to town last year. He was a bit of a mess (to be polite).

That said, as boring as his TV show was (could he be more uncomfortable in his own skin?) it was amazing to watch him reel through ingredients and make some absolutely incredible food. If anyone is interested in learning to cook at a high level (in their own kitchen) watch this series.

It will be interesting to see what he does next.

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Food The best restaurant I've personally ever been to is closing this year.

Borla Moderator Staff Member

Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

ralphie250 Fully Erect

Remixer Middle Eastern Doofus

Daval Getting Tilted

aquafox Getting Tilted

snowy so kawaii Staff Member

aquafox Getting Tilted

Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

Log in or Sign up

Food The best restaurant I've personally ever been to is closing this year.

Borla Moderator Staff Member

Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

ralphie250 Fully Erect

Remixer Middle Eastern Doofus

Daval Getting Tilted

aquafox Getting Tilted

snowy so kawaii Staff Member

aquafox Getting Tilted

Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

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