The food world is reeling with the shocking news that chef Charlie Trotter was found dead this morning at the age of 54. The Chicago chef was a culinary icon, a pioneer, a great talent, and, yes, a notoriously difficult person to work for (but you should also read this piece about how great it was to work for him). Condolences to his family and friends for this unexpected and tragic loss—he touched and influenced so many people in his 54 legendary years.
This past weekend, I was definitely giving thanks for all the wonderful people in my life. Birthdays are a great time to take stock of your life. How lucky to have my grandma here for my (epic) birthday lunch on Friday, and an intimate dinner with sweet friends at Outerlands on Friday night. And how much fun did I have dancing to deep-crates disco with my dear friends at one of my favorite San Francisco clubs on Saturday night? I have been going to The Stud since I moved to San Francisco in 1994, and it was pretty awesome to meet someone on Saturday who was telling me about his memories of coming to The Stud for his first time in 1977! I bow down. (I also bought him a glass of bubbles. Hopefully someone will do the same for me 20 years from now.)
So, I was up late burning the midnight oil on this hefty column—we have a bunch of openings this week. Let’s dive in. I’ll see you Friday!
Birthday dream menu: Deep-fried uni with Tabasco rémoulade at Butterfly. Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Nov 5 2013
