Tru (French, New) - Chicago, IL 12/3/07
Tru is considered by many to be one of the top restaurants in Chicago. The Zagat ratings are through the roof, as are the prices. Executive Chef Rick
Tramonto and Executive Pastry Chef Gale Gand are legends in the food world. Tru is truly a destination restaurant. I was looking forward to this meal
for several weeks and I have to say, I was underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, the food was very good. But tonight I wasn’t expected very good.
Honestly I wanted to be knocked off my chair with amazing food and it just didn’t happen for me. When I returned from my trip I re-read the Zagat
review and sure enough the ratings were all 27 or higher. I didn’t notice something I missed the first time however. It said “N.B. the Food score was
tallied when founding chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand were still at the helm”. Now this could explain my less then stellar experience but both
Chef Tramonto and Chef Gand are still listed on the Tru website and on the menu. So I’m still not clear on their involvement as I’m writing this
article. Just saying negative things about such talented chefs feels a little unnatural for me but hopefully I'm able to explain my feelings.
Now let’s get to the positives because there were many. The entrance to Tru is very nonchalant. You could easily walk right by the revolving door
which leads you into a small reception area. Before you are seated at your table they escort you to a lounge with plush chairs. It’s smart on their part
because it forces you to order a drink and at $20 for a glass of wine.
Once into the dinning room it has a clean and modern feel. The door back to the kitchen is an automated door that reveals what looks like a very
efficient and organized kitchen and waiter station.
The service at Tru was fantastic. We had several people helping us through the night lead by our head waiter Michael who did a phenomenal job.
The menu is separated into two sides. On the left you have the tasting menus and on the right the prefix. The entire table must order from the same
side. We opted for the Chef’s Tasting Menu. At this point my expectations just went up another notch. Here is the Chef’s Menu currently listed on the
Tru site.
Selection of Sashimi Grade Fish, Complementary Garnishes
Alpine Bay Oyster, Tempura Uni, Sorrel
Duck Consommé, Duck Confit, Chestnut, Black Trumpet
Liquid Parmesan Gnocchi, Porcini, Serrano Ham
Nantucket Bay Scallops, Cauliflower, Chickpea, Meyer Lemon
Scottish King Salmon, Granny Smith Apples, Coconut, Thai Long Peppercorn
Roasted California Squab, Butternut Squash, Hazelnut, Farro
A Selection of Cow, Goat & Sheeps' Milk Cheeses
Chocolate-Port Semifreddo, Spiced Chocolate Bisque, Orange-Cinnamon Truffle
Our selection was pretty similar with the exception of the Salmon. Instead we were served what I believe was white snapper. Some of the dishes were
great while others were in my opinion forgettable. The clear standout to me was the Duck dish. The consommé was clear and full of flavor. The duck
was cooked perfectly. I wish I could have had a full meal of just this dish. The Snapper was liked by the entire table as well as the Squab. The Oyster
dish was ok but I wouldn’t order it again. The Liquid Parmesan Gnocchi was interesting. It was like a little gnocchi bubble that released this Parmesan
liquid when you bit into it. It was very original and tasted good as well. The Sashimi although very fresh didn’t seem that different from Sashimi I
have had elsewhere. I think some disappointment also was with the platting. In my opinion it was just very basic. Now I’m not saying I need things to
be extravagant but I was just looking for more. All of the food seemed to have the same color scheme. Every dish that came out was brown or white on
white plates. It just felt like the same thing one after another.
The cheese course was fantastic. They roll over a huge cheese cart and your hope is that they will leave it unattended for a few minutes so you can
have at it. We were offered a choice of three from about 9 or 10. Most of the cheeses were American which I was happy to see. I wish I could tell you the
exact cheeses I tried but after 4 bottles of wine I really don’t have a clue. The blue was fantastic.
The desert probably killed the meal for me. And this is totally my personal preference. I think most people would love it, especially chocolate lovers. I
am not one of them. It was chocolate on top of chocolate. For me it was overload. After the final course they come by with a candy cart filled with
probably 12 different handmade chocolates. I tried a chocolate orange candy which was very good. After the cart there was a tray of chocolate candy.
Again, very good but it was too much for me.
Overall the experience was very good. Perhaps my expectations were too high. But for the price I would not go back. I’ve had better meals for half the
price. And in the end there just might be a limit on how much I’m willing to spend on a meal and the return I get with the food.
Tru is considered by many to be one of the top restaurants in Chicago. The Zagat ratings are through the roof, as are the prices. Executive Chef Rick
Tramonto and Executive Pastry Chef Gale Gand are legends in the food world. Tru is truly a destination restaurant. I was looking forward to this meal
for several weeks and I have to say, I was underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, the food was very good. But tonight I wasn’t expected very good.
Honestly I wanted to be knocked off my chair with amazing food and it just didn’t happen for me. When I returned from my trip I re-read the Zagat
review and sure enough the ratings were all 27 or higher. I didn’t notice something I missed the first time however. It said “N.B. the Food score was
tallied when founding chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand were still at the helm”. Now this could explain my less then stellar experience but both
Chef Tramonto and Chef Gand are still listed on the Tru website and on the menu. So I’m still not clear on their involvement as I’m writing this
article. Just saying negative things about such talented chefs feels a little unnatural for me but hopefully I'm able to explain my feelings.
Now let’s get to the positives because there were many. The entrance to Tru is very nonchalant. You could easily walk right by the revolving door
which leads you into a small reception area. Before you are seated at your table they escort you to a lounge with plush chairs. It’s smart on their part
because it forces you to order a drink and at $20 for a glass of wine.
Once into the dinning room it has a clean and modern feel. The door back to the kitchen is an automated door that reveals what looks like a very
efficient and organized kitchen and waiter station.
The service at Tru was fantastic. We had several people helping us through the night lead by our head waiter Michael who did a phenomenal job.
The menu is separated into two sides. On the left you have the tasting menus and on the right the prefix. The entire table must order from the same
side. We opted for the Chef’s Tasting Menu. At this point my expectations just went up another notch. Here is the Chef’s Menu currently listed on the
Tru site.
Selection of Sashimi Grade Fish, Complementary Garnishes
Alpine Bay Oyster, Tempura Uni, Sorrel
Duck Consommé, Duck Confit, Chestnut, Black Trumpet
Liquid Parmesan Gnocchi, Porcini, Serrano Ham
Nantucket Bay Scallops, Cauliflower, Chickpea, Meyer Lemon
Scottish King Salmon, Granny Smith Apples, Coconut, Thai Long Peppercorn
Roasted California Squab, Butternut Squash, Hazelnut, Farro
A Selection of Cow, Goat & Sheeps' Milk Cheeses
Chocolate-Port Semifreddo, Spiced Chocolate Bisque, Orange-Cinnamon Truffle
Our selection was pretty similar with the exception of the Salmon. Instead we were served what I believe was white snapper. Some of the dishes were
great while others were in my opinion forgettable. The clear standout to me was the Duck dish. The consommé was clear and full of flavor. The duck
was cooked perfectly. I wish I could have had a full meal of just this dish. The Snapper was liked by the entire table as well as the Squab. The Oyster
dish was ok but I wouldn’t order it again. The Liquid Parmesan Gnocchi was interesting. It was like a little gnocchi bubble that released this Parmesan
liquid when you bit into it. It was very original and tasted good as well. The Sashimi although very fresh didn’t seem that different from Sashimi I
have had elsewhere. I think some disappointment also was with the platting. In my opinion it was just very basic. Now I’m not saying I need things to
be extravagant but I was just looking for more. All of the food seemed to have the same color scheme. Every dish that came out was brown or white on
white plates. It just felt like the same thing one after another.
The cheese course was fantastic. They roll over a huge cheese cart and your hope is that they will leave it unattended for a few minutes so you can
have at it. We were offered a choice of three from about 9 or 10. Most of the cheeses were American which I was happy to see. I wish I could tell you the
exact cheeses I tried but after 4 bottles of wine I really don’t have a clue. The blue was fantastic.
The desert probably killed the meal for me. And this is totally my personal preference. I think most people would love it, especially chocolate lovers. I
am not one of them. It was chocolate on top of chocolate. For me it was overload. After the final course they come by with a candy cart filled with
probably 12 different handmade chocolates. I tried a chocolate orange candy which was very good. After the cart there was a tray of chocolate candy.
Again, very good but it was too much for me.
Overall the experience was very good. Perhaps my expectations were too high. But for the price I would not go back. I’ve had better meals for half the
price. And in the end there just might be a limit on how much I’m willing to spend on a meal and the return I get with the food.
| Tru www.trurestaurant.com 676 N. St. Clair Street Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 202-0001 |
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