This year, I celebrated my birthday by eating lots of birthday dinners. And Charlie Trotter's is definitely the best place to have a birthday dinner! I love Charlie Trotter's! And, I loved everything about my experience here.
I enjoyed the food. By enjoyed I imply the following: I thought it was good but not great. Only 2 of the courses "wowed" me. In particular, I loved the toasted milk ice cream with nutmeg. And, I have to hand it to Charlie Trotter's....I have hated lamb my entire life. I have never enjoyed it, I just don't like it. However, the lamb shoulder with manchego cheese and parsley definitely "wowed" me. It was simply unbelievable, and this is coming from someone who does not like lamb. One course I actually hated...the cockles with serrano ham. I could not eat this course and neither could my ex-boyfriend (I know, I'm crazy, who goes to Charlie Trotter's with an ex-boyfriend!!). Charlie Trotter's more than graciously replaced this course with a fabulous beef dish. And, even though I honestly think the food is better at some of the other restaurants in this league (Tru, Alinea, etc...), for some reason I enjoyed my experience at Charlie Trotter's infinitely better.
And, yes, you have to order some great wine when you dine at Charlie Trotter's. Unfortunately, we didn't order the 1949 Haut Brion, but the half bottles of Volnay, Montrachet, and Tokaji were all fabulous and more than sufficient. However, I informed my ex-boyfriend that when his hedge fund takes off he better not forget about me, and that we are coming back to Charlie Trotter's to order some yummy wine.
The service...so great, so perfect. Not pretentious in the least, which is one of the reasons I like Charlie Trotter's so much. Alot of restaurants of this caliber and price have an air of pretention about them, and I hate this. In fact, this is one of the reasons Tru annoys me. But, at Charlie Trotter's they are so nice and friendly and really make you feel happy about dining at the restaurant. They were so sweet, and gave us a tour of the kitchen and the wine cellar, where I kept gasping in awe at all the fabulous bottles of wine.
And, most surprising of all, when I was leaving they gave me a gift bag. I have actually never encountered this before and was rather surprised. They gave me the "Charlie Trotter's Cooks at Home" Cookbook and another book called "Les Grandes Tables du Monde" (Great restaurants Around the World). And being a crazy foodie, this is the perfect book for me. They also gave me an organic yuzu-miso vinaigrette. It made me wonder if they do this for everyone who celebrates a birthday here. I have celebrated some special occasions such as anniverseries and birthdays at some extremely nice restaurants, and never have I received a gift. It just goes to show you how classy Charlie Trotter's is.
I have decided I will definitely be back to Charlie Trotter's for my birthday every year from now on. Nothing else will do other than Trotter's!! I wish everyone could celebrate their birthday at Charlie Trotter's, at least once.
I enjoyed the food. By enjoyed I imply the following: I thought it was good but not great. Only 2 of the courses "wowed" me. In particular, I loved the toasted milk ice cream with nutmeg. And, I have to hand it to Charlie Trotter's....I have hated lamb my entire life. I have never enjoyed it, I just don't like it. However, the lamb shoulder with manchego cheese and parsley definitely "wowed" me. It was simply unbelievable, and this is coming from someone who does not like lamb. One course I actually hated...the cockles with serrano ham. I could not eat this course and neither could my ex-boyfriend (I know, I'm crazy, who goes to Charlie Trotter's with an ex-boyfriend!!). Charlie Trotter's more than graciously replaced this course with a fabulous beef dish. And, even though I honestly think the food is better at some of the other restaurants in this league (Tru, Alinea, etc...), for some reason I enjoyed my experience at Charlie Trotter's infinitely better.
And, yes, you have to order some great wine when you dine at Charlie Trotter's. Unfortunately, we didn't order the 1949 Haut Brion, but the half bottles of Volnay, Montrachet, and Tokaji were all fabulous and more than sufficient. However, I informed my ex-boyfriend that when his hedge fund takes off he better not forget about me, and that we are coming back to Charlie Trotter's to order some yummy wine.
The service...so great, so perfect. Not pretentious in the least, which is one of the reasons I like Charlie Trotter's so much. Alot of restaurants of this caliber and price have an air of pretention about them, and I hate this. In fact, this is one of the reasons Tru annoys me. But, at Charlie Trotter's they are so nice and friendly and really make you feel happy about dining at the restaurant. They were so sweet, and gave us a tour of the kitchen and the wine cellar, where I kept gasping in awe at all the fabulous bottles of wine.
And, most surprising of all, when I was leaving they gave me a gift bag. I have actually never encountered this before and was rather surprised. They gave me the "Charlie Trotter's Cooks at Home" Cookbook and another book called "Les Grandes Tables du Monde" (Great restaurants Around the World). And being a crazy foodie, this is the perfect book for me. They also gave me an organic yuzu-miso vinaigrette. It made me wonder if they do this for everyone who celebrates a birthday here. I have celebrated some special occasions such as anniverseries and birthdays at some extremely nice restaurants, and never have I received a gift. It just goes to show you how classy Charlie Trotter's is.
I have decided I will definitely be back to Charlie Trotter's for my birthday every year from now on. Nothing else will do other than Trotter's!! I wish everyone could celebrate their birthday at Charlie Trotter's, at least once.
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