Ouch, Charlie

This is not technically a restaurant review. This is more of an ode to one of the greatest restaurants that Chicago has ever seen, one that will be closing in just a few weeks. Needless to say, that really hurts. Charlie Trotter's has been a mainstay of Chicago cuisine and the culinary world since it opened almost 25 years ago. I was lucky enough to go there with a friend of mine who worked in the kitchen at the start of his career; a weekend that he says allowed him entrance to some of the other great kitchens in Chicago. The best part of this meal was that Chef Trotter typically doesn't use butter or heavy cream in his dishes and instead allows the flavors of the produce to shine. Not a menu for the picky eater, Trotter's requires an open mind and a discerning palate. Not to go all food snob on you, but there is food, there is cuisine and then there is Charlie Trotter's.

The Vegetable Menu:

Globe Artichoke with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts & Mint

Never in my life would I have expected cauliflower and mint to go together, much less artichoke and mint. Roasting the vegetables helped to bring out the naturally sweet and earthy flavors of each and a quieter mint flavor eased the transition.

Poached French White Asparagus with Broccolini, Manchego Cheese & Fire-Roasted Red Peppers

Though white asparagus are typically flavorless, the char on the broccolini and the heat of the peppers helped round out the subtlety of the asparagus. The creaminess Manchego paired perfectly with the grilled flavors and the peppery flavor of the nasturtium leaves.

Crispy, Silken Tofu with Georgia Peaches,

Red Curry & Pea Blossoms 

Curry and tofu? Yes. Curry and peaches? Well, also yes apparently.I didn't love this dish because the crispy tofu didn't soak up the flavor of the red curry very well but the sweetness of the curry spices was the perfect match for the nectarine. 

One-Hour Poached Hen’s Egg with Morel Mushrooms, Swiss Chard & Liquorice

This was one of my favorite dishes. I love mushrooms and morel mushrooms are among the world's best. They're smoky and salty. Eating them with the egg and chard was like sprinkling a better version of Lawry's Seasoned Salt over the whole plate. The egg must have been poached at a very low temperature because the yolk was still very runny and made a sort of dressing for the chard which was, obviously, perfectly cooked: soft enough to chew but not so cooked that it gave no resistance. The chewiness of the mushrooms backed up the softness of the egg and the ruffled texture of the head was the perfect juxtaposition to the smoothness of the chard.

Miso Tortellini with Red Cabbage, Turnip Confit & Ponzu

This was my favorite dish, bar none. The tortellini were filled with a liquid miso that was perfectly salty and savory. The tortellini wrapper was particularly dense so when you took the first bite, the miso exploded out of it, whereas with a softer pasta it might have leaked. The wine-braised red cabbage added acidity and brightness and the turnips were used two ways: cooked whole and as a puree of the leaves. Spring turnips are softer and smaller and sweeter than their grocery store counterparts and it is this natural earthy sweetness that brought the dish full circle.

Cantaloupe Sorbet with Anise Shortbread & Rosemary Consommé

This dish was meant as a palate cleanser; not overly sweet or savory, the transition from dinner courses to dessert. The cantaloupe sorbet was so intensely flavored it was like putting a piece of frozen melon in your mouth. The anise shortbread crumbs stuck to the outside of each bite, like a sorbet sandwich. The pieces of honeydew floating in the consomme or broth were good but the tiny, crunchy watermelon cucumbers were better. They offered a refreshing bitterness not unlike the skin of a garden cucumber and a satisfying crunch to play against the soft texture of the rest of the dish.

Zucchini Cake & Blossom with Whipped Basil & Saffron Reduction

This was perhaps the busiest plate of all. Incredibly rich pieces of zucchini cake, crispy fried squash blossoms, sweet basil foam, dragonfruit sorbet and saffron reduction all played a part in this dish. The basil foam was one of my favorite things I tasted all night: it was sweet and herbal and the texture was disarming--like cappuccino foam almost. It was hard for me to believe that this is the same basil that gets used in savory Italian dishes when it had such a light and unobtrusive presence on this plate. The zucchini cake was unquestionably the best I've ever had--rich with cinnamon and other warm spices. The fried squash blossoms didn't do much for me but the combination of the hot blossom with the cold dragonfruit sorbet was certainly appealing though I'm not sure how different dragonfruit tastes from Tazo Passion tea. The saffron gel I found unpalatable and overpowering but who the hell am I to tell that to Charlie Trotter?

Strawberry Sorbet with Wine-Poached Strawberries & Chocolate Espresso Cake

The final course was prepared by a friend of my dining companion who was apparently quite new to the restaurant scene. If I didn't know that before sitting down to the meal, I would have assumed a trained pastry chef with at least a decade of experience constructed the dish. The wine soaked strawberries melted in your mouth and the plate was sprinkled with bitter coffee powder and intensely flavored cacao nibs. It was the best coffee-chocolate cake I have ever tasted and I can never hope to recreate something so good. The flavor packed a one-two punch, first hitting you with the bitter coffee and then the darkness of the chocolate. That chocolate sauce on the plate was so incredible it took everything I had not to lick it off the plate.