The Truffe be Told
In this week’s review of Andrew Chadwick’s on Rutledge Hill, I mention a lovely dish of carpaccio topped with black truffles, which Chadwick is importing from Périgord for $1,400 a pound. With just a scintilla of the so-called “black diamonds” shaved over the buttery rose-red beef, the truffle tasting goes for a mere $27. And, like I said, it is lovely. I would love to have some right now, just as I would love to sit in the serene lounge of Chadwick’s, beside the glowing fireplace, with a neat cocktail in my hand.
But am I alone in thinking that, for $1,400, I would rather pay off a chunk of my mortgage than buy a pound of fungus? Truffle-lust, for me, is elusive. Admittedly, in the course of my life, the combined truffles that I’ve ingested probably weigh less than the film that forms on a mug of hot milk. But still, I got nothing. Like Pilates, Webkins and Celebrity Apprentice, truffles do nothing for me.
Maybe if they were more affordable, I could more excited about them. But until prices drop to something closer to the range of, say, Christie Cookies, I can’t get past the equation in which an F-150 loaded with pig food is as valuable as my residence. That just pisses me off.
Maybe the time of truffle affordability is coming. Several U.S. growers are working on cultivating black truffles, including one grower in Chuckey, Tenn., located at the eastern end of the state. (Read more about Tennessee and Oregon truffles in W magazine and The New York Times, where I swiped the photo above.) But then, of course, if truffles become accessible to the masses, will they remain alluring to the dining elite?
Comments
Carrington:
Loved the Pilates line. And even if truffl'ses are sold at Wal-Mart, peeps will still pay big Euros for the Gallic ones. Same with Cohibas,
single-malt, Ossetra, 500-thread, and Taschen.
Now, in my meager travels to Europa, I have yet to see a bona-fide red-blooded 'merican pickup truck. I've seen rape-vans, delivery vans, the weird motorcycle-pickup dealios, and Unimogs with wood fencing in the back. But no Fords with the sticker of the lil' boy micturating on the bowtie.
Posted 01/29/2008 at 03:56:18 PMTouché -- I meant a Le Truck
Posted 01/29/2008 at 04:10:00 PMtruffles, how i love thee. let me count the ways. i love you shaved over creamy cooked scrambled eggs, on pasta, in pasta, risotto, in savory custards and with potatoes. i love your essence in my olive oil the most because that is where we tend to rendevous even if you are merely a hint of your own true being in that form - but oh so affordable...
white truffles, with a bad season and a declining dollar - you were untouchable to me at $350 an ounce. but how i yearned for you... next year we shall meet - i am saving as we speak. a have a truffle fund because i NEED one.
as for the Tn grower, his are snatched up in futures by NYC top chefs. daniel boulard nearly took his entire crop. the bastard...
if the prices were to ever drop way down, i would buy them all. and then there would be none for you. although i might share. but i would be in charge, making me the truffle emperess.
hey - a girl can dream, right?
Posted 01/29/2008 at 04:11:47 PMUg.
Posted 01/29/2008 at 04:33:51 PMgnomey babyyy! i expected as much from you! now if they were cheap wouldja like 'em? or are they also on that long list of things that you won't touch with a 10 ft. pole?
gnomey - branch out! live a lttle! your taste buds must be mighty depressed...
Posted 01/29/2008 at 04:38:47 PMTtG -- I knew I would flush you out into the open with this post. Nice to have you back.
Posted 01/29/2008 at 04:42:11 PMHow truffles are like sex, IMHO
1. Sometimes they are best when you encounter them unexpectedly as part of an otherwise normal, yet potentially delightful experience.
Posted 01/29/2008 at 05:18:22 PM2. If you attempt to quantify their cost, you'll rarely be satisfied by their impact or frequency.
3. Those that are willing to pay for them do so unabashedly and never think they are doing anything at all wrong. Those that don't will never understand those that do.
4. They are best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, but it's alright to rush if you're getting an abundance.
5. The richer you are, the more you can get.
6. Once you go black...
My first experience with a black truffle was over a decade ago at a restaurant in Las Vegas that topped some mac and cheese with a couple of shavings. Mmmmm. I like 'em on French fries, too. Nothing makes standard 'merican food sublime like a shaving or two of truffle.
And, hey, I got a yard--how can I get in on this truffle growing. There's plenty of rabbit and deer poop out there--will that work to grow this fungus? What about cat poop? I've got plenty of that, too.
Posted 01/29/2008 at 05:47:07 PMHey, where'd you get that picture? It's either the moldiest broccoli I've ever seen or a close-up of Larry the Cable Guy's foot.
Posted 01/30/2008 at 12:18:43 AM
Posted 01/30/2008 at 06:09:25 AMceelcee - bravisimo! outstanding work...
I've never had truffles, just truffle oil. There I said it. I admire Claudia's willingness to spend on what she loves. It's the opposite of my puritannical upbringing,dammit. Perhaps with therapy...
Posted 01/30/2008 at 08:58:11 AMHow truffles are like sex: I never get any.
Posted 01/30/2008 at 09:11:37 AMfluff - it's a curse, i think... but i'm just on the oil... i didn't do the white one but how i wanted to. and you know what happened to my ny's eve truffle. i was robbed - but credited...
Posted 01/30/2008 at 09:14:53 AMWell CeeElCee started it, so here goes:
Posted 01/30/2008 at 09:41:34 AMHow are truffles like sex? A little goes a long way.
Good thing too. That's all some of us have...
Posted 01/30/2008 at 10:03:24 AMGood thing too. That's all some of us have...
Posted 01/30/2008 at 10:04:45 AMWhat are the vegetarian/vegan options for Andrew Chadwick's like? I'm tempted to make reservations for Valentine's day, but it won't be much of a gift if my wife can't eat anything.
Posted 01/30/2008 at 10:24:02 AMhey fluff! speak for yourself! seeeee, that's why i am NOT EVER getting married again...
Posted 01/30/2008 at 10:31:25 AMHow a truffle is like sex: The ones who want it most are pigs.
Posted 01/30/2008 at 02:04:42 PMWhile dinning at Babbo in NYC a few years back, I enjoyed a most ethereal dish consisting of only a few ingredients: papradelle bathed in butter, Reggiano Parmesan, and shaved white truffles from Alba. After one bite, I understood why my culinary hero Brillat-Savarin called truffles "the diamond of the kitchen".
Posted 01/31/2008 at 09:33:11 PMIn my opinion, you either love them or hate them... FYI, Fresh Market in Brentwood have on occasion,at 38.00/lb. black truffles from Oregon.