I haven’t been there in years, but I do think the food is just fantastic.
It had been several years for me as well until a wine dinner there in late-February. I was with a couple of regulars, but it was as good a meal as I’ve had in several years - really special.
The same article is posted in the Achatz thread, too.
Beat me to the punch on posting this. I too think this the place is amazing but he must of rubbed some folks the wrong way in the past. For all that Chef Achatz has been through both good and bad(health) -I was surprised to see him digging this out of the past- the dude holds a grudge. I’ll never forget getting a tour of the kitchen after we ate at Trotters and getting this sense of pure (adrenilized fear) amongst the staff. It felt like the sterile barracks of a Marine Corp boot camp A La- Full Metal Jacket. The meal and service was perfection…
Not only was my last meal there the worst fine dining experience I’ve ever had, I’ve never met anyone in the industry in Chicago who has a good thing to say about him.
He lost me when he joined the anti-foie crowd.
combining Charlie’s anti-foie stance along w/ the puzzled looks of last night’s Top Chef judges when Richard made foie ice cream, 5yr anniversary dinner in 2002 at Trotter’s he was serving foie gras ice cream with tuna belly and it was damn good.
I ate at the chefs table in Vegas once and it was brilliant! That said, I am not surprised by his inability to delegate responsibility to those probably more capable than himself (a necessity to expand his empire). Letting go is a hard thing for a chef to do, even harder for one with a Napoleon complex like Trotter.
I have spent an evening cooking in Trotter’s kitchen and I can tell you that his team is afraid of him and IMO does not really like him. He was not nice to me.
That does not make him a bad chef.
George
The food is good there. This is not news to anyone in the industry; no surprises.