Chicago- Charlie Trotters

Someone wrote:
>
>In case those who would be interested missed it, the latest issue
>of _Esquire_ gives a page long review/bio of Charlie Trotter and his
>namesake restaurant. I've never been, but I've always wanted to try
>it. (Still do).
>
>The article was overall favorable, but knocked the chef for being
>too "showy", a legitimate gripe IMO. There was a great passage:
>
>    "<why does a dish> -however good it might be- such as
>    `bobwhite quail over Hokkaido squash puree with white corn
>    grits strewn with foie gras and poached quail egg with
>    mushroom sauce and squab jus' sound like something you
>    hit with your car?"
>
>good belly laugh from that one.
>
>air
>ick
>

I was there last yr.....I'd agree with you, we let Charlie do the Chef's menu for our table.....(and our group has done some of the country's best)...we found him a bit too experimental for our taste....fish liver is ok if fresh and in the right setting, but none of us cared for it so rare it was still twiching.... still Charlie does a lot for the city and for kids, charities, etc....but for my taste, I'll use Le Francais this yr and would recommend Avanceri's, Ambria, The Ritz, Fairmount, Gordon's, or the Four Season's...