I had the privilege of dining at Next for the Charlie Trotter menu in October. My partner and I took a special trip to Chicago for this as I had always wanted to eat at Trotters and grew up as a young chef reading his books. It was really cool to get to experience dishes I knew intimately on paper but had no idea how they ate. Flavors were crisp and clean, and bolder than I would’ve guessed they’d be.
Courses: -a delicate ribbon of daikon radish over crème fraîche and herb purées with uni, caviar and tobiko. Gentle flavors and textures to start.
-a chilled tomato soup poured tableside with brioche micro croutons and basil sorbet
-eggplant and potato cannelloni with red pepper sauce. Bold curry flavor and delightful texture. I really enjoyed this course and the plate it was on. Speaking of plates they used sets from Trotter’s.
-chilean sea bass pan roasted with veal reduction, chantrelles. Meaty flavors paired with the pristine fish were really tied together with the mushroom.
-poussin with a truffle foam, pretty little sage leaves, and a small twice baked potato covered with alba white truffles. Sometimes in life we get things better than we deserve. The potato was out of this world.
-venison with mole, cashews, apples. I really liked the spicy mole against the venison and the textures of the apples and cashews were super.
-Nancy Silverton’s panna cotta. Dried fruits and purées to match. Very clean presentation and I enjoyed the puff pastry base as a contrast to the smooth panna cotta. My favorite flavor mix in was the pineapple.
-we were given a bonus black truffle ice cream course. It had a truffle orange caramel and toasted hazelnuts that were just a smidge bitter and were a beautiful contrast in flavor and texture.
-last was the molten chocolate cake with bananas and chocolate sauce. I really enjoyed the warm cake and liquid center as well as the nice crispy tuile cookie. I was pretty full by this point so didn’t do the best at finishing.
Also did the n/a beverage pairing. I really enjoyed a lot of the drinks. They ranged from dealcoholized wine to shrubs to fruit beverages. Glad I tried it. I think it was a really special experience for me in the end. My partner felt it was a meal similar to some we’ve had in France and I guess if that’s true I’d be okay with that. I know Charlie got a lot of inspiration from Europe. I give it a solid 8.5/10. We traveled all the way from Alaska for this:)
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I had the privilege of dining at Next for the Charlie Trotter menu in October.
My partner and I took a special trip to Chicago for this as I had always wanted to eat at Trotters and grew up as a young chef reading his books. It was really cool to get to experience dishes I knew intimately on paper but had no idea how they ate.
Flavors were crisp and clean, and bolder than I would’ve guessed they’d be.
Courses:
-a delicate ribbon of daikon radish over crème fraîche and herb purées with uni, caviar and tobiko. Gentle flavors and textures to start.
-a chilled tomato soup poured tableside with brioche micro croutons and basil sorbet
-eggplant and potato cannelloni with red pepper sauce. Bold curry flavor and delightful texture. I really enjoyed this course and the plate it was on. Speaking of plates they used sets from Trotter’s.
-chilean sea bass pan roasted with veal reduction, chantrelles. Meaty flavors paired with the pristine fish were really tied together with the mushroom.
-poussin with a truffle foam, pretty little sage leaves, and a small twice baked potato covered with alba white truffles. Sometimes in life we get things better than we deserve. The potato was out of this world.
-venison with mole, cashews, apples. I really liked the spicy mole against the venison and the textures of the apples and cashews were super.
-Nancy Silverton’s panna cotta. Dried fruits and purées to match. Very clean presentation and I enjoyed the puff pastry base as a contrast to the smooth panna cotta. My favorite flavor mix in was the pineapple.
-we were given a bonus black truffle ice cream course. It had a truffle orange caramel and toasted hazelnuts that were just a smidge bitter and were a beautiful contrast in flavor and texture.
-last was the molten chocolate cake with bananas and chocolate sauce. I really enjoyed the warm cake and liquid center as well as the nice crispy tuile cookie. I was pretty full by this point so didn’t do the best at finishing.
Also did the n/a beverage pairing. I really enjoyed a lot of the drinks. They ranged from dealcoholized wine to shrubs to fruit beverages. Glad I tried it. I think it was a really special experience for me in the end. My partner felt it was a meal similar to some we’ve had in France and I guess if that’s true I’d be okay with that. I know Charlie got a lot of inspiration from Europe. I give it a solid 8.5/10. We traveled all the way from Alaska for this:)