Ten years and counting at Tru
Tramonto, Gand celebrate spot where diners 'come to stop time'
Restaurants make a big deal out of anniversaries, and can you blame them?
An estimated 60 percent of restaurants fail within three years. Making it past that mark -- heck, making it past a year these days -- is something to celebrate.
(Sun-Times file)
Hence the $295, 10-course, 10-chef gala on Sunday at Tru, the jewel in the Lettuce Entertain You crown that turns 10 this year.
The restaurant's chef-partners Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand are sparing no effort (or expense, it seems) to make the dinner as memorable as possible, starting with a star-studded culinary cast: Ming Tsai of Boston, Jose Andres of Washington D.C., Miami's Michelle Bernstein, New York's Susur Lee and Michael Laiskonis, and Michael Symon of Cleveland.
Did we mention the 10 courses? Seven savory, three sweet and goodie bags for good measure.
When Tramonto and Gand opened the restaurant at 676 N. St. Clair, they literally wrote out a 10-year plan.
"It was never a sprint, always a long-term marathon," Tramonto says. "We always set our goals really high.
"We knew we wanted to be four stars in all the magazines and newspapers. We knew we wanted to be Relais & Chateaux. We knew we wanted to write a Tru cookbook. We knew we wanted to really elevate the level of service and food in this town and be a global presence in the food world."
Check, check, check and check.
Tru was -- is -- fine dining with a dash of whimsy. There are Warhols on the walls; at the tables, caviar staircases and stools for one's purse.
In the beginning, Tramonto and Gand were married, working 18-hour days.
"We were the one picking the font, picking the tile for the floor in the kitchen," Gand says.
Ten years later, they're divorced (amicably) and have assistants who handle the day-to-day details while they work on the bigger picture -- books, public appearances, TV shows.
Chefs who came of age in their kitchen have gone on to bigger things, among them Graham Elliot Bowles, Chris Pandel and Randy Zweiban.
When it came time to plan the anniversary lineup, "We looked back and said who were we most inspired by and who did we have the most fun with," Tramonto says. "That was really important -- who did we have a blast with."
One of those was Tsai, host of the PBS series "Simply Ming" and chef and owner of Blue Ginger near Boston, whose friendship with Tramonto and Gand goes back 15 years.
"What happens at these events that I love is that everyone chips in to help you plate your dish," Tsai says. "I don't care how good you are, how experienced you are, it's always a push."
Gand and Tramonto were guests on Tsai's show this season. Tsai and his camera crew went into their homes to watch them cook.
"They have similar passions, and it's not just about the restaurants," Tsai says. "They're both raising families, which I admire. And back when I first heard about the divorce, it was like how do you possibly do all that? It's usually not amicable like this one is."
Visiting chefs at Sunday's dinner have been assigned specific courses. Gand got an unexpected treat -- her own course.
"Usually the guest pastry chef does their course and I get the mignardises [bite-sized confections that follow a meal or dessert course], but there usually isn't enough room in people's stomachs for everyone to get their own [dessert] course," Gand says.
So what to make to leave that lasting impression?
"It's less about cooking but more about allowing me to mark this important thing, this thing we did for 10 years," Gand says. "It's not just for me. This is a restaurant where people celebrate their birthdays and anniversaries, and celebrate that they beat cancer or finally passed the bar after three tries. It's where they come to stop time."
She chokes up at her own words.
In the end, Gand has chosen to pair rhubarb, in season and one of her favorites, with fraises des bois. The tiny, wild strawberries are so expensive, diners usually get only one or two on a plate, she says.
But Gand plans to use them, "like they're just Jelly Bellies. I want to share these very exotic fruits in a very generous way."
The lucky 100 who will attend Sunday's dinner certainly will make room in their stomachs for that.
Amuse bouche
Rick Tramonto, Tru
Gazpacho water, gazpacho tapioca
Razor clam, grilled zucchini, zucchini pistou
Nigella seed cured salmon, cucumber lemon
Course 1: Cold appetizer
Susur Lee, Shang, New York
Sashimi of madai with winter black truffle soya vinaigrette, salmon caviar, artichoke and puffball potato
Course 2: Hot appetizer
Michelle Bernstein, Michy's, Miami
Fennel-crusted sweetbread, sour orange
Course 3: Soup: Tim Graham, Tru
Artichoke consomme, summer flavors
Course 4: Fish
Ming Tsai, Blue Ginger, Boston
Sake-miso marinated Alaskan butterfish, wasabi oil, soy-lime syrup and
vegetarian soba noodle sushi
Course 5: Pork
Tim Graham, Tru
Pork belly, corn pudding, pickled leeks,
popcorn, nasturtium
Course 6: Beef
Michael Symon, Lola and Lolita,
Cleveland
Roasted beef marrow with spicy pickles
and grilled sourdough
Course 7: Game
Jose Andres, Jaleo, Washington, D.C.
Squab with "gargouillou" of young
vegetables and early summer fruit
Course 8: Fruit Gale Gand, Tru
Roasted rhubarb and fraises des bois "pie"
with white pepper ice cream
Course 9: Cream: Meg Galus, Tru
Creme fraiche mousse, sable Breton, lemon
marmalade, almond praline
Course 10: Chocolate
Michael Laiskonis, Le Bernadin,
New York
"Pain au chocolate" -- Maralumi chocolate,
cremeux, cinnamon toast ice cream