I guess Tru is a semi-big deal in Chicago because it is ranked a four-star Mobil, five-diamond AAA, Relais & Chateaux Relais-Gourmand restaurant…and their executive pastry chef Gale Gand is a considered a celebrity.
I have yet to come to Tru for a full-out 6 or 12-course dinner, but the 3-course set Dessert Menu ($40 per person) wreaks enough havoc on my wallet. Check out the full menu here. And so the desserts begin!
To start
We were offered a complimentary amuse bouche. Essentially, it was A Grapefruit mouse served with a grapefruit sauce, white tapioca pearls, and topped with a fried mint leaf.
Tastiness: B+. An excellent way to start, this was refreshing, not too sweet, fruity and light. The fried mint leaf was unique and I actually liked the grapefruit mousse thought I’m normally not a huge fan of grapefruit itself.
First Course
Nick’s: Star anise semifreddo – Pomelo, ruby grapefruit, honey sponge, fennel cont
Tastiness: B. I wasn’t impressed with the semi-freddo, which should have been like an ice-cream cake, but the texture was more mousse-like than creamy and dense. Funny enough, my favorite part was the little fruit segments…probably the cheapest and “easiest” component of the dish.
Michelle’s: Lime + blueberry “vacherin”- Cinnamon chiboust, pan-fried buttermilk cake
Tastiness: B+. The buttermilk cake was the best part, particularly the different textures of the layers – soft and cake-like on the top while crunchy on the bottom. The vacherin was more dense and sweeter than I expected, but enjoyable! Creamy and sweet. Despite how cute white sugar rod was, it didn’t add ANYTHING to the dish.
To Share
A complimentary plate of tiny vanilla butter Madeleine’s
Tastiness: B-. While the flavor was great (can’t go wrong with butter, sugar, and vanilla right?), I found the little cakes over-baked, dry, and cold. They had a good texture – a little chewy, dense yet airy, but a very unremarkable Madeleine.
Second Course
Nick’s: Chocolate bar – Coffee ice cream, burnt caramel mousse, malted caramel
Tastiness: A. I wanted to eat all of Nick’s dessert after that first bite. The slightly bitter coffee ice-cream went extremely well with the dense chocolate “cake” that was more like ganache than cake. The entire dish screamed chocolate!!! The chef was able to control the sweetness level well, and this was an overall beautiful and successful dish.
Michelle’s: Plum + sarsaparilla – Milk chocolate, ginger-lime meringue
Tastiness: C+. Great for diets because I didn’t want to finish this dish. I was not a fan of this dish at all and probably wouldn’t have finished it if it didn’t cost so much. The only thing that was minutely interesting was the sheet of sugar on top hardened with pepper bits inside. The dish was unmemorable and the texture combination of all the ingredients were awkward at best. You have the soft, stewed fruit (which you can’t go wrong with), and you have the overly tough “cookie” topped with an average-tasting milk chocolate. I wanted Nick’s dish. Period.
Third Course
Nick’s: Grapefruit gratin (Not listed on the Menu)
Tastiness: A-. The gratin was so incredibly refreshing and delicious I wanted to eat it all. Unlike most gratins, this one was so smooth it was like ice-cream. The other elements of the dish were cold refreshing ice-cream scoops that had their own citrus kick to it. Served with the stewed plums…it was pretty much perfect.
Michelle’s: Gianduja Soufflé – spiced pumpkin ice cream, hazelnut, roasted pepitas
Tastiness: A. This was a chocolate soufflé served with a side of pumpkin ice-cream. However, the highlight was the creamy hazelnut sauce that the waiter poured into the center of the soufflé…The best way to eat this is dumping the ice-cream into the soufflé! That way, you get the cold and the hot, the creamy and pillowy, the nutty and the fruity. Clearly, my favorite dish.
Dessert after Dessert
A rolling trolley full of bite-sized desserts was wheeled to our table after our 3-course dessert “meal”. I thought we’d get to pick a couple, but the waiter simply explained what each pastry was, and then proceeded to collect 1 of every piece for each of us.
Clockwise: Lemon marshmallow (Yum!!), Crystallized Ginger, Gingerbread French Macaroon (I requested 2 because I am obsessed with macaroon’s), Chocolate lollipop (ick – the only thing I didn’t finish), Espresso Chocolate, Almond Chocolate, Chocolate-dipped brioche (ick- gave mine to Nick),
RATINGS
Taste: 4/5
Plating: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Value: 3/5
Service: 4.5/5
Overall, it was a fabulous first experience to taste desserts of so many different textures, temperatures, and unexpected flavors all on one dish. On the other hand, no matter how beautiful something looks, high quality chocolate will always taste like chocolate and ice-cream will always taste like ice-cream. It’s the unique pairings and the experience that is worth going to.
Everything looks SO good…I am in chocolate heaven reading this post!
This looks like such a fun experience. The husband and I have been wanting to go to Tru but the funds are just not there:(
Some of these desserts look so amazing. The presentation is fantastic and they have my mouth watering!
wow desserts, much???? dannnnnng.
That grapefruit dessert looks WONDERFUL. YUM!
are you kidding me? a whole set dessert meal?!!!!!!!! *going to look up flights to Chicago* The chocolate bar and Gianduja Soufflé sound incredible!!! (I had to copy and past “Gianduja Soufflé” because there is no way I could spell that 😛 )
Yumm I am starving now! It all looks so amazing!!
Wow, I’ve seen this on TV but never dreamed we’d be able to afford to eat there! I’m glad you got to go for this cool dessert tasting. It looks really unique! When did you get back to Chicago?? We were just in the city Tues. and I wondered about you but thought you were still in Boston from the last few posts!
Oh my goodness that place looks amazinggg! I am a dessert girl, so this is totally up my alley. YUM!
❤ jess
xoxo
I’ve never been to Tru too and I’ve lived in Chicago all my life. I’m sure I’ll make it there one day when I move back after I graduate from college at U of I. I want to try Alinea too. The thing is I can’t decide if it’s TOO trendy for me. I just like good, healthy food. Not fancy small ass overpriced food. Lol.
wow, great review! I’d love to bit into that chocolate bar!
Oh wow, it all looks so beautiful. I would have eaten everything so fast that I never would have been able to rate anything.
wow it sounds like such a baller status place! and i love that there was dessert AFTER dessert. but i feel like i would have wanted something different then chocolate just bc of what you said about chock always just pretty much being chocolate
but as always stellar review
Wow, that all looks like it adds up to such a fun and tasty experience! Not sure I could do that much dessert even if the portions were super small (I swear, the older I get, the lower my tolerance is for sweets). Really nice, honest review 🙂
im sorry every single dessert wasnt an A+ but i probably would have loved all of them because i am so sweets obsessed LOL.
ive never done round after round of dessert like that but it sounds really cooL! thanks for sharing!!!
Wow must figure out how to get there. That pumpkin hazelnut extravaganza… wowww.
Grapefruit gratin? Oh my goodness, yum! Where ever do you find these gorgeous restaurants? I would LOVE to go somewhere so fancy someday! 🙂
that my friend is dessert heaven!! 🙂 drooled all over myself reading this post!
Only a really really awesome guy would take his lovely beautiful girlfriend to such a memorable tasting on her birthday, right? hehe. just kidding. love you, baby!
Oh my gosh, this place looks amazing!! So your Nick and my Nick and different in one aspect, my Nick HATES coffee, including the ice cream. Crazy huh? I love it and think he’s crazy not loving it like me, haha
The pumpkin ice cream sounds amazing, as does the burnt caramel mousse. Wow, this place just looks fantastic! You always go to the most unique restaurants. Thanks for sharing your pics and ratings with us, now I’m drooling and hungry 🙂
woo hoo!!!! desserts!!!
Love it! I have a huge crock pot and I think I never use it because it is too big. That is genious! One time I tried to do just two serving of overnight oats and it all burned, even on low 😦 Thanks for showing that little trick!
Wow! most of these dishes look to good to eat. Just have them frozen and up for display, lol! The desserts look mouthwatering! Awesome post! Will come back for more!
That chocolate bar with coffee ice cream looks to die for! I’m definitely a dessert girl….I start looking forward to it when I’m about half way through my main course, how sad is that!?!
I don’t think there’s a dessert on here that I wouldn’t eat 😉