Featured Restaurant on Rick's DineSite Journal

Atmosphere - Intimate and cosmopolitan, Tru is located downtown just off the Magnificent Mile. The only slight deviation from perfection is the somewhat visually cold and sterile setting that begs for some color and warm decoration. The stunning high ceilings add to the starkness of the one large white wall that has but one small white artifact. Compounding the challenge is the fact the two of the walls that are all glass windows facing onto the street are covered in plain white curtains. One chance to liven and brighten up the room with a large colorful bouquet is lost with a simple colorless stark bouquet (See examples - Bouchon, Aria) of eucalyptus in the center of the room. - Atmosphere - 4.5/5

Food - The traditional French cuisine met lofty expectations. They are a standard bearer for elegant high imaginative cuisine. Every course was fabulous with a different selection served to each patron. Each course was better than the previous one. The Hudson Valley Foie Gras was incredible - a memorable highlight of the evening, in addition to the imaginative 'caviar staircase'. Presentations were beautiful artistry (see pictures below). Food - 5/5

Wine - The winelist is extensive but it is well thought out and boasts an impressive array of wines for all palates and budgets - from the most demanding connoisseurs to the budget conscious neophytes. There are selections of top rated vintages and top producers as well as modest offerings from Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone, Australia, California as well as a very respectable list of Champagnes, stickies, and desert and port selections. There are deep extensive vertical selections for the first growth Burgundies and Bordeaux, as well as great selections of lesser depth for top seconds such as Pichon Lalande, Montrose, Gruaud Larose, Leoville Las Cases, and Ducru Beaucaillou, There are vertical offerings of Penfolds Grange, Bryant, Dominus and the like, without being pretentious or overbearing. These are tastefully mixed with entry level respectable selections. What is most impressive is the carefully selected vintages include all the top years that date back to 1961 and no space wasted on recent vintages that are not yet ready to drink. There are also some creative as well as hard to find selections that offer a lot of tempting choices for the learned wine aficionado. There are also a nice selection of large format bottles in magnums and double magnums, half bottles, and a small limited selection of wines by the glass. Our wine selections were fabulous and acceptably priced - Paloma Napa Valley Spring Mountain Merlot 2000, and Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Carneros Chardonnay 2001, (see Wine Journal - Tru). Wine - 5/5

Service was thorough, gracious, friendly, attentive and non intrusive that did a masterful job in pacing a long arduous flight of courses (see below). Staff were knowledgeable and articulate in presenting selections as well as the extensive cheese cart. Well done. 5/5

Overall - 19.5/20

Rick & Linda

Dr Dan