The dress code was ‘Dress to Impress’

We were very graciously invited to see Charlie Trotter bid farewell to 25 years of culinary excellence at this restaurant on Friday night.

Instead of the normal menu, they had different food stations set up. Graham Elliot, Bill Kim from Belly Q and Urban Belly, Mindy Segal from Hot Chocolate, and Food Network star Anne Burrell all participated as well as more stations set up by Charlie himself.

Adam had to convince me that going to this momentous event with a large Nikon strapped to my neck would be uncouth. I was so excited that I wanted to take pictures of every single thing and remember it forever. My iPhone is broken so I couldn’t even sneak pictures with that.

When we arrived, not having a camera actually put me in the minority. People were taking pictures everywhere. Of the food, of the celebrity chefs, with the celebrity chefs. But in the end I was pleased that I was able to enjoy the event without getting all snap happy.

We tried lots of small bites and everything was absolutely delicious. I loved how playful Graham Elliot was with his. One was a reconstructed caesar salad. There was a square crouton, hollowed out and filled with dressing. Laid across the crouton was a bite size romaine heart topped with a white anchovy. The shot of corn chowder was so popular that there wasn’t any left by the time we got there! The guy sitting next to us said he had five shots. I hated him instantly.

Toasting Charlie on the Steps of his Restaurant

I also thought Bill Kim’s dishes were delicious. One of my favorite was a salmon dish that was asian in flavor with lentils and edamame and a squirt of sauce.

Mindy Segal provided three different kinds of desserts as well as an assortment of cookies. A peach cobbler, a ‘candy bar’, and a brownie with frothy frosting.

In the end of the evening everyone piled into the street to toast Charlie. People talked about their experience with him. Charlie called one loyal customers up to introduce him. In 2000, when they thought the world was ending, he sat for two dinners in a row.

The city named a street after him, you can see it on the corner of Armitage and Dayton. His wife talked about how hot that was for her. She was hilarious. His biggest cheerleader!