Lady T

Trotter spent approximately four years cooking both in Florida and California, so I'm told, and so his published CV confirms. While he did spend six months living and eating in Europe, he apparently didn't do stages in any European kitchens; I find no reference to formal European stage work in any official or unofficial (magazine articles, books, web sites and such) bio materials. Might've happened, mind you...but nobody seems to have documented anything if it did. Whether, or to what extent, this constitutes "extensive" training, or even "sufficient" training, could be argued -- especially on this board! -- for months on end, probably to no great lasting benefit for anybody. It certainly contrasts vividly with the classic French vie gastronomique, famously (and sometimes abusively) begun in childhood and peaking 15 - 20 years later, though. I have to wonder if, at this late date and with CT's now a solidly established 15-year-old fact, it might not be better to simply acknowledge that the guy didn't arrive by the route one might expect -- taking due note of the fact that in the US there hasn't BEEN an expected route for very long at all. Given that he's only 43, we can reasonably expect that he has a great deal more to contribute (and likely a great deal more for us to discuss!).

Just to add a touch of detail: The major Seurat we saw was 'La Grande Jatte' -- for Sondheim fans, that's the one which inspired the musical "Sunday in the Park with George". The Art Institute also owns one or two detail studies for that same painting, along with the rest of (brag, brag, brag...!) the stronger-than-most Impressionist collection. Caught 'American Gothic' too; not a lot of people from out of town seem to know that that one is part of the Art Institute's collection. We also paused at the Chagall 'America Windows', backgrounded in a blue which Cabrales compared to that in the stained glass at Rheims Cathedral. We didn't get a chance to check out a Warhol Mao portrait visible at the far end of a side gallery (it was near closing time, and the AIC enforcers are [hmph!] emphatic about getting civilians out of the galleries promptly), but what the heck -- there'll be another visit soon, yes? It's always a delight to meet other eGulletarians, and showing you folks around my home town a tiny bit was a hoot. Ahhh, but Cabrales: GOT to get you over to Sam's Wines and Liquors next time, if you're so inclined. All that French wine, all sorts of samples available, and some of it at wholesale prices! To answer a question for Jordyn: the "spaceship" skyscraper you noticed just north of Millenium Park is what some people refer to as "Pru Two" -- the building where, I understand, Prudential Insurance actually has its Chicago offices these days, rather than in the more clearly labelled, and more historically recognized, Prudential Building just south of it.

They surely are spring and early-summer mushrooms around here (Chicago). Sorry to hear you ran into a place that made a claim like that!

Cheese.

A tiny footnote for you, Suzanne: the microwave is also good for melting butter (for use in other recipes where real cooking is involved! ).

If it came down to that, I could subdivide the point still further: not just schizophrenia, but multiple personalities! If you watch reruns (or own tapes) of 'The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter', with a copy of the cookbook of the same name in hand, you will shortly notice that a number of the recipes in the book don't correspond with what you see the man cooking on the screen before you. I'm pretty sure I know why this is so, too: the 'sessions' were transcribed by one of Trotter's assistants, typing furiously into a laptop as CT improvised at the stove while the camera rolled. The chance of missing a seasoning or ingredient, a sprinkle of which-herb? into a sauce, a particular oil-infused-with-what-was-that-again, a temperature or length of cooking time not mentioned by CT doing his utterly unscripted thing at PBS speed...the more I think about it, the more surprised I am that more detail WASN'T missed. The preparations in the book mostly work, mind you; I've cooked a bunch of them. If the intent was to tweak what the chef did onscreen to be sure that the recipes would work for readers/home cooks with less-than-top-professional cooking skills, then the mission was accomplished. If the intent of the volume was to be a precise document of what the chef did, however, I'm afraid it's short of the goal. How much time would it have taken to review the tapes and test-cook through the dishes as they really were made? Other books connected with TV cooking programs manage to transcribe recipes better; I recall particularly a number of Julia Child's books in that regard, and Rick Bayless and Jacques Pepin likewise. This might almost be a separate topic. Opinions?

The first Washington State wine to really impress the daylights out of me was a Columbia Crest Merlot a few years back; it's nice to see that they're getting good notices these days.

Most of the business people I know blanch at the idea of a business meal that costs more than $50 - $75. Wine included. Where on earth did the 'Gourmet' people get the concept of Trotter's as a great business-meal destination?! It is true that Boeing's board celebrated, chez Charlie, their decision to locate their home base in Chicago...but Boeing is a megabucks operation. I can hardly wait to get my copy, to see what other peculiar conclusions they've reached for myself!

Try it with peaches/apricots, especially the last of the farmers' market offerings. Leaves guests whimpering in ecstasy every time.

I'd have said, a moment ago, that I certainly am NOT a food snob. Then I thought about my last trip to the local supermart: Beeline, straight from the front door, to the organic produce. Heirloom tomatoes. Michigan white peaches, so aromatic they could be smelled out on the street. Greens, couple different kinds. Bunches/packets of six different fresh herbs. Berries, last of the season but still great for cereal and baking. Nice fresh crimini mushrooms; half pound? Pound? Can't decide. Pound's better. Half a pound of Kona coffee, in the bean, at the deli section. Over to the bakery shelves: Fresh white boule, baked that day if I believed the label (which I do: tastes like it). On to the dairy sections: Organic half-and-half, wedge of Roquefort, plain yogurt. Straight past the canned sections, nose in the air, looking neither left nor right. Straight past the big frozen food arrays, with a contemptuous sniff. Ever onward to the meat stand (Eberly's organic chicken -- all goldang-fool $9.47 worth of it! -- for roasting) and the wines (low-budget this trip, no exotica: 2000 Beringer Chardonnay, 2001 Jadot Beaujolais, two bottles each). Checkout. Big ouch on the Visa card. I'm gone. Gulp. No plastic, no Frankenfood, nothing pre-prepared, nothing preserved with ingredients I can't spell. Dang. Sorry. By all standard assumptions about the middle-middle-class American diet, I'm a snob, for that trip anyway.

I stayed sober as necessary. That worked. When staying sober was unnecessary...well, I never got caught.

Apologies, Cabrales, I should've paid much more attention to the bottom line as I thought about those selections! Hard to do when I look at a list like that one though...and 'reasonable' is not, unfortunately, a word I usually use in the same breath (pause to inhale) as 'Trotter.' I do wish his markups weren't quite so exorbitant. I concur happily with the points made by MartyL above, particularly regarding the Jadot Clos St. Jacques: a more recent bottle will surely be a happier choice for your table. His suggestion of the 2000 Donnhoff Eiswein at $200 as a possible alternative to the d'Yquem is real intriguing, and if the Kitchen Table desserts look like they'll pair well with it, I'd endorse that choice. Did you also see the 1993 Tokaji Aszu "Birsalmas - 5 Puttonyos" at $98 for 500 mL (MORE than plenty if just four are drinking)? Interesting, no? Your 'B' list is lovely. No further comments on that one: I favor Haut Brion and its relatives too!

Cabrales...Based on the Kitchen Table menu available at the Trotter's website, and on a fast review of their wine list, my thoughts are these at the moment: Champagne: Call me a crank, but I'd take that lovely '95 Veuve Clicquot Brut out of the dessert category (where admittedly it'd do lovely service) and drink it here, up front. Nothing against the Mumm and Henriot selections at all, but I believe the Veuve would work better for the purpose. White No. 1: Again, based on the early course selections I saw on the Kitchen Table menu, I like the way the 1997 Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Vergers" would work. My impression of the 1999 Pouilly-Fume is that it might be a tad bit young for the food, but then I could be severely wrong about that by the time your party sits down, depending upon how CT tweaks the menu. White No. 2: That '92 Chateau Haut Brion looks awfully good! Dessert: Chateau d'Yquem Premier Grand Cru 1988? Lordy, I think I'd drink a little glass of this FOR dessert and let everybody else eat the sweets... If you permit, for exploration's sake, I might dare to mention that Trotter's has some real intriguing stuff among its foreign reds that won't break the bank. I had a big Spanish red when I was there last (on their list as Rioja "Aurus" Finca Allende 1996, at $175) that went wonderfully with the venison-over-grits it partnered (that might sound spooky, but BOY did it work!). Your call, of course. You will of course (please? please?) post a course-by-course, wine-by-wine review for us after the occasion?

Lord, Lord! Two or three bottles of absinthe and nobody'd NEED to kill you; you'd simply drop in your tracks and wake up to your eternal reward! (Are you quite certain, by the by, that Hell is the destination? The way you plan menus, I think rather that you'd end up at the right hand of Escoffier.)

No can do, Awbrig, got a rehearsal that night. Sorry... On the same topic differently: did you see the tiny TIME Magazine blurb that says Trotter's at The Hospital will be opening in March of next year instead of November of this year? Not unexpected at all, the way contractors in general work and the way they probably work in Britain in particular -- but I'd love to pin down (a) the date and (b) the reason. Have you heard any buzz?

Mr. Plotnicki: Sorry to be the bearer of bad rumor (not yet news; coming, however, from too many reliable sources to ignore), but I'm hearing that both Frontera Grill and Topolobampo have slipped several notches, allegedly because Rick Bayless is not spending enough time at the helm due to celebrity-chef-type commitments. Take that with a grain of salt. Take it with a LOT of salt, maybe...but I'm gonna count my shekels, and once the Days of Awe are over, I'm swinging over to Frontera after work to check the rumors out. Stay tuned, sports fans... In the meantime, the Chicago rumor mill offers you a couple of interesting new Mexican possibilities, both owned by one Geno Bahena: one by the name of Chilpancingo not far from Frontera, and one called Ixcapuzalco. (At least, I THINK those are the spellings!) The latter is, I believe, the older location and is certainly the one that started all the buzz. Prices are a tad bit lower than at the Bayless locations, and the one thing agreed upon by just about every foodie who's been there is that the service is WAY better. Check out the mole-of-the-day dishes if you wind up going to either place: they're never less than intriguing, and sometimes you luck into a flat-down-damn masterpiece. Trio is a place I haven't visited since Ackatz took over; I think I want to let a few more months go by and let him get both feet under him. At the local level, I'm hearing everything from "such imagination...he's a genius!" to "foam on/with everything...what a mope!" I saw Patrice's review too, however, and it's certainly recent enough. Your call! Aurora? Awbrig? Hopleaf? Have you folks been to Trio yet? Any light to shed? mk (that is honestly the lower-cased name of Michael Kornick's restaurant; I didn't forget to capitalize!) has a wine list that might interest you. Eric Aubriot, at his eponymous place virtually around the corner from Trotter's (Charlie's even been seen eating there...I would have loved to see the scene in Chef Aubriot's kitchen when they recognized the neighbor who'd come in for a bite!), has been doing top-flight food recently, and for slightly less dinero than Trio charges. Any interest in other cuisines? Let us know!

I'd have to add my vote for Veuve and Cristal in the actual-Champagne category, but if payday is REALLY that far away and I have a desperate inner need for bubbly, I have been known to resort to sparkling wine, buy a bottle of brut Freixenet, and chill it a bit. (*Lady T, expecting thrown produce and brickbats, dives for cover*)

Good to hear you're coming to visit, Mr. Plotnicki! I last hit Trotter's this past April with a friend who'd been underwhelmed on a previous visit, and we were both blown completely away. Superb food and imaginative, elegant food/wine pairings made it a very fine three and a half hours. We did make some major effort to make sure the phone-reservations people registered our likes and dislikes in advance, and we took the suggestion from the Lawler book "Lessons in Service" (the rest of that volume is, IMHO, hagiography; cute, and worth a read in the public library, but not worth purchasing) to go off-menu and let the Charlie & Co. kitchen cook for us. BIG return for the effort, and I recommend the tactic. A group of eGulleteers will be going to CT's in late September (Aurora will be there and so will I; check out the details pinned at the top in 'The Heartland', if you like), and odds are good that we'll be discussing and reviewing the outing, probably at high volume. As the date approaches and your plans develop, let us know if perhaps you might have an hour or two for drinks with some of us locals in the course of the weekend.

Suvir: I'm not a vegetarian, but...one of my all-time favorites is penne with spinach that's been sauteed in olive oil (EVOO, I believe, is the abbreviation in these parts) with garlic and/or shallot, plus mushrooms. (Quantities are at whim, according to level of hunger and/or number of guests to feed!) Sometimes I let the spinach/garlic poach a bit in broth or broth-and-wine mixed, before I add the mushrooms. I add shredded Parmesan to taste (not a option, of course, for folks who don't do dairy) and toss the entire assembly a bit before plating. A nubbin of butter at the end adds richness, if you can and if you like.

I've just finished Madeleine Kamman's 'When French Women Cook', which has recently been reprinted. It's tough to tell which I love better: the recipes (I've been cooking from the book practically every night as I read) or the narratives of Ms. Kamman's life with the eight women she profiles. Marvelous, marvelous stuff.

To digress slightly, on reactions to noisy disruptions in public: One of the most notable deployments I've ever seen of the 'sudden turn and evil stare' move came during a recording made live in concert at Symphony Center in Chicago. As always happens on these occasions, an official came out to the apron of the stage to ask that cell phones and pagers be turned off and coughing smothered/subdued/stopped with cough drops before the music started. As always seems to happen, a patron in the audience, obviously suffering from a winter cold, could not stop coughing, and of course, cut loose with what sounded like an entire pneumonia ward in pulmonary crisis during a soft passage (The work in question was the Debussy 'Trois Nocturnes'.). The 'take', of course, was ruined. The conductor stopped conducting, turned 180 degrees, and glared. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in all its formal-ties-and-tails splendor, turned and glared. And behind the Orchestra, a forty-voice women's contingent from the Chicago Symphony Chorus looked up and skewered the patron, in commendable unison, with an 80-eye evil glare of its own. The poor patron scrabbled in her purse for the cough drop she'd needed to deploy at the start of the piece, while the silence lengthened and deepened, and her fellow patrons joined in the glaring (less for the noise than the delay). Finally, the conductor said: "Ve start again," and restarted the music from the beginning. We did eventually make it through the performance -- and, as one might guess, the patron was not in her seat after intermission. Now there are obvious differences here: this was a 2,574-seat concert hall and not a restaurant. The patron was ill, not obliviously carrying on a loud personal or professional conversation in public. The hack attack and its ensuing embarrassment undoubtedly ruined the patron's experience as much as everyone else's. It might have been some sort of tribute to her dedication to classical music, or maybe a mighty determination to get her considerable ticket money's worth, that she showed up even though she was sick. Here's the parellel, though: why couldn't she -- and can't so many people -- take just the one more mental step necessary to ensure that the evening would be enjoyable for all? Most of the people who offend in this way are NOT brain-dead boors, but sensible decent folks. It takes so stinkin' little time or thought to take a dose of cough medicine, or to turn off a cell phone. What is the nature of this blind spot? Discuss?

On Wabash, a few doors north of Adams and on the west side of the street is Miller's Pub. It's a steak-housy, sports-bar sort of place, not haute at all -- but the steaks/chops/sandwiches/ribs are okay, the drinks arrive promptly and aren't watered down a bit, you won't be rushed, and the prices won't bankrupt you. You can put their wine list in the dictionary as an illustration for the word 'limited', but what's there will go well with the food, and will cost you within reason. Enjoy your stay in Chicago, and please do post reviews of all those good places you're going, when you get a chance!

Welcome back, Suvir! If you ever find yourself in Chicago, the most reliable place to look for beautiful ripe mangoes in season seems to be at the Hispanic-oriented markets. I have one such not far from my home, and am enjoying them often -- they're so lovely I don't do much in the way of preparation, but simply slice and serve.

Plain dumb quesadillas last night. At my place, these are: flour tortillas with good hot jalapeno relish spread on 'em to taste; last night's version got chopped tomato, sliced mushrooms, a little chiffonade of basil (again, to taste), ending with shredded jack cheese and a bit of chopped parsley as the top layer. All of the above got baked around 20 minutes or until the aroma was irresistible. Fresh grapes and good strong cider (not the sweet stuff) went along with it all just fine. I expect Rick Bayless (runs Frontera Grill and Topolobampo here in Chicago) would likely disapprove of my totally inauthentic approach -- but it tasted great, and I didn't have to keep the oven going long on a hot humid day! (Then again: Bayless never has turned his nose up at anything that tasted good, not in my presence anyway. Maybe he wouldn't disapprove after all.)

Last night: risotto with roasted mushrooms, chopped parsley and basil mixed in. On the side: farmers' market tomatoes, sliced/salted/peppered, with chiffonade of basil. Beringer chardonnay to drink, since that's what went into the risotto with the chicken broth. Light enough for summer, but still comforting.