TrioNo one would have thought it possible for Evanston's culinary kingpin to reach new heights - until a young virtuoso chef arrived in town By Nancy Ross Ryan
Food photography: Laurie Proffitt
Interior photography: Stuart-Rodgers Photography
When Shawn McClain, four-star Trio's chef of seven years, left last year to open his own restaurant Spring, proprietor Henry Adaniya wouldn't have been criticized had he decided to hang up the shingle for good. McClain and Adaniya parted amicably, and Adaniya's track record at Trio had certainly earned him the right to rest on his laurels. His first chefs in 1993 were the dynamic duo of Rick Tramanto and Gale Gand. The critics raved and the superlatives soared. When Tramanto and Gand left in 1995 to open first Brasserie T (now closed) in Northfield, and, later, Tru in Chicago, McClain rose from sous chef to chef and Trio's reputation continued to soar. In the latest Zagat guide, Trio is listed on all Chicago's "Top" lists: most popular, top by food, top by cuisine, top by special feature, top by decor, top by service.
Then along came 27-year-old Grant Achatz, previously sous chef under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in Napa, and cooked for him. Adaniya revamped the dining room, sharpened the already savvy service, and restructured the menu. Trio now offers four-course ($75) and eight-course ($100) prix fixe menus, composed daily, with vegetable menus available in both formats. The serving staff has shed tuxedos and donned in-vogue black jackets. The French-country cozy has given way to an open, ultra- contemporary decor. White walls are pinned with artist Pavel Kraus' undulating mylar graphics which are stained with intense multi-colored dyes. And outside the private dining room, Adaniya has added a tranquil Zen garden.
Chef Grant Achatz, Henry Adaniya and Paula Haney
Achatz is an unusual combination: a lighthearted culinary heavyweight with all the intensity and focus of a superstar chef -- and no perceivable narcissism. He was brought up in a restaurant family (his father owned one) and always knew he would become a chef, yet he feels the profession chose him, rather than the reverse.
He explains that once the artistic creative side of cooking gets under your skin, it creates a fire that you can't extinguish. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and, in addition to his previous job as sous chef in the French Laundry, Napa, California, he has cooked with some of the world's best chefs. His stages (apprenticeships) include Charlie Trotter, Ferrand Adria and Martin Berasategui in Spain, Alan Wong in Hawaii, Daniel Boulud in New York, and Nobu Matsuhisa in Los Angeles.
Although I have so far described Achatz's "interactive" dishes -- things that go pop in your mouth, releasing a delicious flavor and sensation -- most of his food is less playful, but no less delicious. If I allowed only one word to describe his food in its entirety I would say "taste." His food, all of it, bottom line, tastes wonderful, even the bread. Servers come around with gleaming copper bowls and offer your choice of a sourdough or a toasted rice roll. Both are delicious, the rice flour roll being a little sweeter and more brioche-like.
Some wonderful dishes: Foie Gras -- sautéed to perfection -- on a rectangular plate with a little dab of Vidalia onion-chocolate soubise, a small heap of sautéed vidalia onions and braised baby leeks, sweet sauteed bananas and a dab of heavenly onion red wine pancetta reduction. The Cold Torchon of Foie Gras presentation was equally delicious. One night the little round of poached mousse was Moulard duck foie gras and it was accompanied by a Sweet and Spicy Compote of Pickled Santa Rosa Plums, perfect rounds of brioche and, at the corner of the plate, a little heap of sea salt and black pepper.
Another first course, Parmesan Consommé, Olive Oil Ice Cream, Nicoise Olives, Crisp Parmesan -- reading that first course on the menu was an eyebrow raiser. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and by whatever process Achatz makes a consommé from Parmesan cheese,the end result is a crystal clear, delicious little broth with a dollop of delicate ice cream that is anything but oily, complemented by tiny salty olives and the crunch of a Parmesan tuile.
Venison Chop, Brussels Sprout Leaves with Bacon and Sweet Potato Gratin
with Burnt Homemade Marshmallow.
The chef turns his creativity to regional American food with amazing results. Wild Virginia Striped Bass has all the flavor and freshness one could ask. Striped bass, like salmon, is a saltwater fish that swims to fresh water to spawn, and if I believe the menu (and my taste buds) this east coast fish has not been farm raised. It is perfectly sauteed, and shares the plate with a little heap of tender shards of braised ham hocks, two tiny perfectly braised baby turnips, and a coffee-red wine reduction which was an elevation of red-eye gravy to heights that that humble regional pan gravy (made by deglazing the ham frying pan with black coffee) never dreamed of. For for good measure there is also a little dollop of a delicious coffee cream.
Achatz can also transform bar food into a compliment for Sautéed White Quail. The Scotch egg, an objet de haute cholesterol, is something I plead guilty to have eaten both in London and in a couple of would-be British bars here: a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat and deep-fried. Grant takes the quail egg, poaches it perfectly, and coats it not with sausage but with light, buttery crisp Panko bread crumbs. Then he completes the plate with a delicious crunchy little risotto like dish of truffled Scotch oats, some sweet cipollini onions and adds a reduction sauce of McEwan's Ale.
Considering the variety, creativity and vibrant flavors in this food, my companion and I wondered on our first visit: Which wine? Sautéed quail is not such a hard match, but what could possibly go with the rest -- scotch egg, truffled oats cipollini onions and a hearty ale-based sauce? We depended on our server to match our wines to our foods either by the whole or half-glass, and he came up with not only a fine match but introduced us to a wine from Portugal: a 1997 Touriga Nacional from the Duoro Valley. Touriga Nacional, I learned, is one of Portugal's very best native red grapes, and the deep red wine in our glasses had just the right balance between tannin and fruit to stand up to everything on the plate.
The service at Trio stands up to the food, a tall order. On every occasion our server knew everything about everything: food preparation and ingredients, wines, varietals, regions and flavor profiles. And they had mastered the sensitive balance between giving too much or too little information ("Does this guest want me to stand here for 10 minutes delivering a culinary lecture or does he/she want the 35-second synopsis?")
The Four-course Menu ($65) is a tantalizing prelude to the food at Trio, but the Eight-course Menu ($85) is, so to speak, the full Monty. And, in an era where dining out is no longer just the start of the evening's entertainment, it is main event, dinner at Trio delivers a great performance. And I can only imagine what the chef's kaiseki tasting -- a sampling of all his current dishes -- at the kitchen table might be like. Someday perhaps. Meanwhile I still have a vivid flavor memory of some outstanding dishes.
The Cedar-Smoke Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Chop was juicy, tender and the faint fragrance of wood smoke didn't overpower the meat's delicate flavor. The Port-Poached Half Fig on the plate was the only ingredient at Trio that I have ever been served at any other restaurant (believe it or don't, prepared by Joe Rosetti at Molive´), but the broccolini was a first for me. Our server told us it was a hybrid vegetable from the broccoli kingdom, a very tender, flavorful green with no hint of bitterness. The Quinoa with Walnuts was creamy and crunchy and on the left hand side of the plate was that little pile of salt and freshly ground pepper, just in case we needed or wanted it. The lamb is a good example of how and how often Achatz changes his menu. The previous time we had lamb, barely a month before, it was from the same farm, but this time it was poached. The meat was completely uncaramelized because it had been poached in extra virgin olive oil for more than an hour at about 135°F. The color and texture were incomparable and there was no hint of oiliness or fat in the meat.
A word about the intermezzos: Sorbets at Trio are serious palate refreshers, not just dollops of flavored ice in a dish. The Concord Grape Sorbet was the very essence of grapes place atop a bitter lime jelly, and after the lamb, it did exactly what it was supposed to do, clear the palate for desserts. On another occasion, in late summer we were served Pink and Golden Watermelon Ice garnished with a bit of pickled watermelon rind.
Left: View of the chef's table in kitchen. Right: Forbidden Rice Chocolate Cake with Plum Jam and Chip, Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Pickled Plum Preserve, and Plum Chocolate Crisp.
Achatz has raised the bar on fine dining in Chicago, and this usually has a ripple effect. Chefs who have rested on their well-earned laurels are nevertheless competitive and prone to snap to, take notice and start polishing their pots and pans. When asked why he chose Chicago over New York, Achatz said that Chicago was home to some "very good players, and some up-and-coming players," that he felt Chicago was headed for the culinary heights and he wanted to be part of that climb to the top.
