Trio Kitchen Table

[robyn]

I would like to know where one would purchase atomizers.

Anyone know?

Any perfume department at a high end store (like Neiman Marcus). Robyn

Here is a picture of one of the atomizers we were served...

That's not a Neiman Marcus thing. That's a dime store thing. Probably made in China and ordered by the 1000 (or 10,000). I don't know if the restaurant fills the things itself - or whether it contracts the work out. Robyn

[robyn]

It took me two visits to work out why I loved it.

And why did you love it? Why did it take you two visits? Robyn

[robyn]

Throughout our meal, I kept thinking that the experience reminded me of someone or something yet I couldn't quite identify what.  Then, 4 atomizers in a small bowl filled with ice, arrived at our table.  We were told that the course was "virtual shrimp cocktail."  We spritzed the atomizers into our mouths and sure enough, their contents tasted exactly like shrimp cocktail.  It was in that moment when I figured out who Chef Achatz reminded me of--Willy Wonka--and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways.  The only difference being that Chef Achatz is real and possesses an intensity that could boil Wonka's chocolate river with a glance.

Doesn't remind me of Willy Wonka a bit. It's the process of "deconstructing" food - pure and simple. Similar to deconstructivist art - or architecture. What would you have thought if the entire dinner was sprayed into your mouth? Would you have considered it a "meal"? Robyn

[ronnie_suburban]

Throughout our meal, I kept thinking that the experience reminded me of someone or something yet I couldn't quite identify what.  Then, 4 atomizers in a small bowl filled with ice, arrived at our table.  We were told that the course was "virtual shrimp cocktail."  We spritzed the atomizers into our mouths and sure enough, their contents tasted exactly like shrimp cocktail.  It was in that moment when I figured out who Chef Achatz reminded me of--Willy Wonka--and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways.  The only difference being that Chef Achatz is real and possesses an intensity that could boil Wonka's chocolate river with a glance.

Doesn't remind me of Willy Wonka a bit. It's the process of "deconstructing" food - pure and simple. Similar to deconstructivist art - or architecture. What would you have thought if the entire dinner was sprayed into your mouth? Would you have considered it a "meal"? Robyn

Robyn,

Have you eaten at Trio while Chef Achatz has been there?

Edited to add that I would hate for anyone to base their opinion of Chef Achatz or Trio on my description of 1 course I had there during a 28-course meal; which also included multiple preparations of duck, beef, lamb, pork, etc.

=R=

[Bicycle Lee]

I sincerely hope that the vehemence held against the avante garde food movement dissipates and it becomes accessible enough where any major or semi-major metropolis will have an avante garde restaurant as an option.

I think this depends on the simpletons. Anyone read A Canticle For Leibowitz?

[Suzi Edwards]

It took me two visits to work out why I loved it.

And why did you love it? Why did it take you two visits? Robyn

i've waxed lyrical about trio lots already and i really don't want people to get bored of me saying the same thing time and time again. did you read the very long report i wrote? it's at the top of the third page of this thread.

i personally find grant's food stunning. it works on all of my intellectual and emotional levels. my first meal was so incredible (and i mean that in the truest meaning of that word) that i had to go back. it was not a case of really not knowing why i loved it after the first meal, it was a case of needing to have my reaction to it checked again. it was like reading a great book for the second time. if that book were ulysses.

and to be honest, my third visit was even better than the first two. there's something about watching dishes evolve. makes my heart beat a little faster...

[Suzi Edwards]

I sincerely hope that the vehemence held against the avante garde food movement dissipates and it becomes accessible enough where any major or semi-major metropolis will have an avante garde restaurant as an option.

I think this depends on the simpletons. Anyone read A Canticle For Leibowitz?

nope, tell me more :-)

[Suzi Edwards]

Throughout our meal, I kept thinking that the experience reminded me of someone or something yet I couldn't quite identify what.  Then, 4 atomizers in a small bowl filled with ice, arrived at our table.  We were told that the course was "virtual shrimp cocktail."  We spritzed the atomizers into our mouths and sure enough, their contents tasted exactly like shrimp cocktail.  It was in that moment when I figured out who Chef Achatz reminded me of--Willy Wonka--and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways.  The only difference being that Chef Achatz is real and possesses an intensity that could boil Wonka's chocolate river with a glance.

Doesn't remind me of Willy Wonka a bit. It's the process of "deconstructing" food - pure and simple. Similar to deconstructivist art - or architecture. What would you have thought if the entire dinner was sprayed into your mouth? Would you have considered it a "meal"? Robyn

but the whole meal wasn't sprayed into ron's mouth.

why doesn't it remind you of willie wonka? why should one atomiser make you think of deconstructivist architecture? i have a basic understanding of what deconstructivism means in terms of buildings (a dismantling of the core elements to disrupt the visual harmony), so transferring that to food, an atomiser of shrimp cocktail isn't deconstructivist at all as it's the flavours of a shrimp cocktail sprayed into your mouth and it still tastes like a shrimp cocktail. it's not abstract, it's a whole flavour profile, it just happens to be served in a different way.

jose andres at the mini-bar has produced one deconstructivist dish. he recreates white wine through flavour profiles. i think his clam chowder and caesar salad might fall into this realm, but i'm not sure the analogy really stands up when you think that the food is still recognisably a clam chower just broken down. all of the constituent elements are there...

i'm thinking about how a lack of visual logic would translate into food terms and i think it has to come down to flavour. so for a dish to be truly deconstructivist, maybe something radical would actually need to happen to the flavours. there was one incredibly dissonant dish from my first meal at trio but i don't have my menu here so i can't talk about it in depth, but i'm wondering if dissonance could be the key element of decribing food as deconstructivist.

or maybe it's the fat duck's jellies. one's beet and one's pepper and you think from looking at them that you know what each one is. but the flavours don't match the colours. hummmm. lots to think about. but i have work to do.

[ronnie_suburban]

but the whole meal wasn't sprayed into ron's mouth.

Exactly...28 courses, one of them served via atomizer and I mentioned it specifically to highlight the playful and whimsical nature of our meal at Trio.

I'm sorry but I cannot put into words my experience at Trio. IMO, the only way to truly (attempt to) understand Trio and Chef Achatz's work, is to eat there...and time is running out (but happily, Alinea is forthcoming)

=R=

[Bicycle Lee]

I sincerely hope that the vehemence held against the avante garde food movement dissipates and it becomes accessible enough where any major or semi-major metropolis will have an avante garde restaurant as an option.

I think this depends on the simpletons. Anyone read A Canticle For Leibowitz?

nope, tell me more :-)

It is a book about rebuilding culture, society and all forms of human life after a nuclear holocaust. The "simpletons" felt that the reason humans had nearly killed themselves off was because of knowledge, specifically scientific knowledge, so they made it their goal to destroy all forms of knowledge and keep things "simple".

[robyn]

it was like reading a great book for the second time. if that book were ulysses.

Well - Ulysses was only semi-incomprehensible. Finnegan's Wake was totally incomprehensible. I suppose if Finnegan's Wake were a restaurant - one might have to try it 4 times to "get it" (if you got it - and I never got it).

That said - despite the general "sturm und drang" - no one answered my question. If one course that consists of non-toxic perfume sprayed into the mouth is ok (or just terribly amusing - which is the sense I get from reading these messages) - would many courses of the same constitute a meal? Or not? Robyn

[guajolote]

. . . no one answered my question.

you never answered the question whether or not you have dined there while chefg has been the chef.

[Bicycle Lee]

it was like reading a great book for the second time. if that book were ulysses.

Well - Ulysses was only semi-incomprehensible. Finnegan's Wake was totally incomprehensible. I suppose if Finnegan's Wake were a restaurant - one might have to try it 4 times to "get it" (if you got it - and I never got it).

That said - despite the general "sturm und drang" - no one answered my question. If one course that consists of non-toxic perfume sprayed into the mouth is ok (or just terribly amusing - which is the sense I get from reading these messages) - would many courses of the same constitute a meal? Or not? Robyn

of course, if a chef had the gall to present a degustation that consisted of a row of atomizers set up in escalating order that represented your entire meal, I would not consider it a meal....and I do not think anyone here will disagree with me.

What our point is, those in dissent I mean, is that why take out the noveltous, cerebral, and introspective nature of food for the sake of simple sustinence? The fine dining industry thrives on people who look at food more than just fuel.

Sucking your dessert from a clear lucite tube while taking the scent of raspberries and roses, spraying a flavor into your mouth, inhaling (tasting) the wafting aroma of hay into your nose as you taste pheasant with your tongue... these are not courses that are designed only to fill your gullet, but are designed to tickle your creativity, trigger memory, and stimulate all six of our senses.

As was stated above: one course spritzed into your mouth is a nice distraction from "reality"...and only ONE of almost THIRTY courses. I personally applaud not only Chef Achatz, but also the management and owners who, undoubtedly, encourage this type of movement.

edit to add:

As a whole, I do not understand Finnegan's Wake, but Robert Anton Wilson describes many pieces of it in alarming clarity and it helps me realize the unadulterated genius of Joyce.

Edited July 9, 2004 by Bicycle Lee (log)

[Suzi Edwards]

I would like to know where one would purchase atomizers.

Anyone know?

Any perfume department at a high end store (like Neiman Marcus). Robyn

Here is a picture of one of the atomizers we were served...

That's not a Neiman Marcus thing. That's a dime store thing. Probably made in China and ordered by the 1000 (or 10,000). I don't know if the restaurant fills the things itself - or whether it contracts the work out. Robyn

i just noticed this. robyn, this is trio we're talking about, not burger king.

[robyn]

i just noticed this. robyn, this is trio we're talking about, not burger king.

Perhaps the picture doesn't do it justice - but it looks like a cheap plastic atomizer to me. Robyn

[ronnie_suburban]

i just noticed this. robyn, this is trio we're talking about, not burger king.

Perhaps the picture doesn't do it justice - but it looks like a cheap plastic atomizer to me. Robyn

I think Tarka was referring to the likelihood of them being filled off premises--very slim, IMO.

=R=

[robyn]

Sucking your dessert from a clear lucite tube...

That's what the astronauts do - and I consider it clever when I see it - that someone has come up with a way to feed people who are living with weightlessness. Ditto with MREs - particularly if they're edible.

But in the context of a fine restaurant - it simply strikes me as a gimmick. Just like it's a gimmick to serve meals in beds instead of on tables (like some restaurants do). A self-conscious gimmick that says "how terribly clever we all are".

As for people caring about eating physical food at these places - they must care an awful lot since they eat massive quantities of it if you're talking about 20-30 courses.

If the chef is a great chef - I think he can and should let his food speak for itself. He doesn't need a gimmick. Unfortunately - in these trendy times - I think all too many chefs think they need a gimmick in order to stand out. Also unfortunately - their perceptions may be correct (I've seen all too many people here and elsewhere talk about the gimmicks - or the sheer number of courses - much more than they talk about the actual food). Robyn

[robyn]

I think Tarka was referring to the likelihood of them being filled off premises--very slim, IMO.

=R=

I'm not familiar with this restaurant - but I don't think many restaurants have the manufacturing capabilities to package and seal sterile plastic containers which hold material for any type of human consumption. I sure wouldn't hold it against a restaurant if it had this kind of job done by an outside professional food packaging outfit. Robyn

[ronnie_suburban]

I think Tarka was referring to the likelihood of them being filled off premises--very slim, IMO.

=R=

I'm not familiar with this restaurant - but I don't think many restaurants have the manufacturing capabilities to package and seal sterile plastic containers which hold material for any type of human consumption. I sure wouldn't hold it against a restaurant if it had this kind of job done by an outside professional food packaging outfit. Robyn

I don't think they need to be sterile any more than standard silverware does. They're basically intended for service in the restaurant. Our 'to go' units were probably the exception. I'd bet they were purchased from a lab equipment supplier.

=R=

[robyn]

. . .  no one answered my question.

you never answered the question whether or not you have dined there while chefg has been the chef.

I passed up Trio last time I was in Chicago. From what I read - it sounded like a self-conscious gimmicky kind of place. Perhaps that's unfair to the chef - and simply reflects a bias on the part of the people who write about the restaurant. Anyway - it was a short trip - and I had things I wanted to do that were higher on my list. Robyn

[mikeczyz]

If the chef is a great chef - I think he can and should let his food speak for itself.  He doesn't need a gimmick.

i have eaten at trio 5 times over the past 18 months. everything about my experiences have been nothing but exceptional. i think something that isn't brought up enough is the integrity of the flavors at trio. it's easy to get caught up with the spray bottle and all the other different serving pieces, but what people don't realize is that the FLAVOR of the food is exceptional. i've been lucky to enjoy the tour de force at trio and within a week, dining at the french laundry. i have to say that not only was the 'wow' factor MUCH higher at trio, but the food just plain tasted better too.

the highest compliment i can pay to my experiences is that after every visit, my expectations were raised, and i was never, ever disappointed by the ensuing visit. i encourage all of you naysayers who have never eaten there to visit, and THEN make up your mind.

mike

Edited July 9, 2004 by mikeczyz (log)

[Bicycle Lee]

I passed up Trio last time I was in Chicago.  From what I read - it sounded like a self-conscious gimmicky kind of place.  Perhaps that's unfair to the chef -

No, that was unfair to you.

ANYthing can be considered a gimmick.

There is no way I am going to convince you that Chef Achatz' food is spectacular since you already deem it to be gimmicky. I prefer the word fresh, surreal, and gestaltic. But that is why there aren't chains of Trio's and there are of Olive Garden's. Pallettes are, on the whole, duller than a baked roll with no butter.

[jschyun]

any more news on whether chef g is leaving and if so, when? I am about to reserve plane tickets and a reservation for 2 at Trio, in early Sept.

Lovely pix.

[sashimi]

Err.. it has long since been established that he is leaving. He'll be gone by the end of the month to open his own place, Alinea.

[jschyun]

sorry, I'm catching up and i'm a slow reader.

thanks.