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I'm like an addict, fiending for a taste.

Going to Al Tiramisu tonight to see what Luigi Diotaiuti can do. Wondering who else in The District is using them in the kitchen at the moment. (How are they this season, anyway?)

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I'm like an addict, fiending for a taste.

Going to Al Tiramisu tonight to see what Luigi Diotaiuti can do. Wondering who else in The District is using them in the kitchen at the moment. (How are they this season, anyway?)

See the posts on Tosca--they have white truffles now.

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Last Friday Equinox was offering a pasta with white truffles that sounded incredible. It involved a poached egg, in addition to the truffles, and you had two pricing options depending on how much shaved truffle you wanted to spring for.

Alas...Equinox's web site is among the many restaurant sites that is not up-to-date. :lol:

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I talked to Roberto Donna the other night and he said that the truffles this year -- so far -- are excellent, much better than last year.

Two weeks ago I had white truffles on three different dishs at Enotecca Pinchiorri in Florence, and found them to be stunning. Much better than what I have had in the past, but I thought that it might simply have resulted from how close they are to Alba, and that they seek out the very best ingredients. It is still early in the season and they should be even better later in the season.

Edited by Sthitch
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On the other hand, black truffles are better than white truffles anyway, and at half the price.

You are crazy. Anyway, they are very different. Black truffles (which I do love) are more about flavor, and are generally cooked. The white truffles are always served raw, and thinly shaved. The white truffles are more about fragrance and the black are more about flavor.

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You are crazy.  Anyway, they are very different.  Black truffles (which I do love) are more about flavor, and are generally cooked.  The white truffles are always served raw, and thinly shaved.  The white truffles are more about fragrance and the black are more about flavor.

That is a bunch of $$ to drop for fragrance. I still remember a pasta dish I had in Sienna a couple of years ago, truffle heaven and not that expensive.

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You are crazy.  Anyway, they are very different.  Black truffles (which I do love) are more about flavor, and are generally cooked.  The white truffles are always served raw, and thinly shaved.  The white truffles are more about fragrance and the black are more about flavor.

You say fragrance, I say odor.

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I hear people say the same about brett in Rhones and Burgundys.

"This wine doesn't have a bouquet, it has a smell! A bouquet has flowery and fruity scents, it promises delights to come. This smells like the interior of a Datsun minivan. It doesn't promise, it threatens!" --Gareth Blackstock
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"This wine doesn't have a bouquet, it has a smell! A bouquet has flowery and fruity scents, it promises delights to come. This smells like the interior of a Datsun minivan. It doesn't promise, it threatens!" --Gareth Blackstock

laugh2.gif

I have had that wine, I think it was a Cali Zin. :lol:

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I hear people say the same about brett in Rhones and Burgundys.

Which reminds me of the time a friend took a deep whiff of 83 Beaucastel CDP and said: "Mmmmmmm, poop." :lol:

(We haven't done a Rhone tasting with him since, needless to say.)

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You are crazy.  Anyway, they are very different.  Black truffles (which I do love) are more about flavor, and are generally cooked.  The white truffles are always served raw, and thinly shaved.  The white truffles are more about fragrance and the black are more about flavor.

In several tries at home and in restaurants -- including one RockStar joint that features an informal cafe -- I've tasted white truffles that were far more about expense than either aroma or taste. It was almost as though you'd pressed 20-dollar bills into cardboard and shaved them atop the pasta. I did have a Laoratorio white truffle dinner that was pretty fucking amazing, though.

Black truffles seem to "work" every time, even in my inexpert hands (best Christmas present ever) and, as for their aroma, the first time I stuck my nose into a bag of black truffles I thought my sinuses were going to be blown out. That was funk not to be forgotten (or avoided, even from across the room).

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It is unfortunate that you have only had a great white truffle experience. The way most restaurant use them, they are senseless. One or two slices over an entire dish does not make any sense, however, a great dish of pasta or risotto covered with almost transparent slices of white truffle is almost transcendental.

When I cook I would rather use black truffles, there is just more that you can do with them, and I could not put an entire white truffle to proper use.

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It is unfortunate that you have only had a great white truffle experience.  The way most restaurant use them, they are senseless.  One or two slices over an entire dish does not make any sense, however, a great dish of pasta or risotto covered with almost transparent slices of white truffle is almost transcendental. 

For the $50 to $80 surcharge, it'd better be that and more.
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Anybody come across white truffles yet on the local dining scene? Where? Served with what? How good? How much?

I need a fix, and I need it soon.

Didn't I just read somewhere that Eve has them for a $100 supplement to the tasting menu? I am sure that Maestro has them too.

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Where? Served with what? How good? How much?

I had risotto w/ truffle shavings and tagiliatelle w/ truffle shavings at Tosca 2 weeks ago. The chef came out to shave the truffles...the shavings were pretty generous. IMO, the risotto was a better base to savor the truffles. It was $40 for the appetizer portion.

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I had risotto w/ truffle shavings and tagiliatelle w/ truffle shavings at Tosca 2 weeks ago. The chef came out to shave the truffles...the shavings were pretty generous. IMO, the risotto was a better base to savor the truffles. It was $40 for the appetizer portion.
I am going to be attending a white truffle dinner in a couple weeks at Tosca. The last one I had there was one of the best meals I have ever eaten.
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Tony at Notte Bianchi and I are currently puting together the plan for an eight course black and white truffle dinner for early December, I'll let you know when I know more.

Ohmygaw. Do you have a potential date in mind? (Please don't say Dec 7, 8, 9 or 10.)

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Anybody come across white truffles yet on the local dining scene? Where? Served with what? How good? How much?

I need a fix, and I need it soon.

You could always go up to NYC for a cocktail - this from the New York Magazine blog site:

At Tini Ristorante, a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, owner Enzo Lentini is shaving Piedemonte white truffles into a martini served in a three-foot tall, 74-ounce glass (to put this in perspective, that's the equivalent of four Texas-size drinks at Dallas BBQ). The rarefied buzz will run you $165.

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Alba white truffles are on the menu right now at Komi. Last night they were being served with tagliatelle and a little bit of butter and parm. Delish!

Last night they were served atop the Komi version of pasta carbonara and they were heavenly.

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This weekend at Vidalia we are shaving albas on 3 dishes:

Briar Hollow Farm Rabbit Sausage

with creamy risotto, chanterelles and truffle butter 17.50

with shaved alba truffles add 25.00

or with shaved burgundy truffles add 10.00

Hand Rolled Pumpkin Cavatelli

with crisp veal sweetbreads, chanterelle

mushrooms and sage butter fondue 13.00

with shaved alba truffles add 25.00

or with shaved burgundy truffles add 10.00

Creamy Anson Mills Polenta

with parmesan reggiano and alba white truffles 22.00

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We used a pund of truffles for our dinner. The price was stupid, almost $300 an ounce wholesale. THe quality was superb! Incredible aroma and good flavor. There have been rains starting September 30 in Piemonte, a little later in Marche. Not sure about Toscana. Truffles take 40 days to mature after the rains so the prices should moderate a litttle.

Piemonte's truffle harvest continues to decline as the area becomes more of a monoculture of grapes. Acqualagna continues to be the largest part of the truffle ahrvest although most Acqualagna truffles get marketed as Alba and Norcia.

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