Truffles, anyone?

We dine out often but very seldom do we dine upscale. I always hear about truffles and truffle oil and how these ingredients can transform a dish, but I have never experienced it. The closest I have gotten were the parmesan truffle fries at Eddie Merlot's, and my wife and I both agreed that we would not order them a second time. Is there any fairly accessible dish in Louisville where I can be sure that I am experiencing the magic of truffles?

We dine out often but very seldom do we dine upscale. I always hear about truffles and truffle oil and how these ingredients can transform a dish, but I have never experienced it. The closest I have gotten were the parmesan truffle fries at Eddie Merlot's, and my wife and I both agreed that we would not order them a second time. Is there any fairly accessible dish in Louisville where I can be sure that I am experiencing the magic of truffles?

Bistro 1860 usually has something on the specials menu with truffles.

Also, Whole Foods usually has some truffle chesses that are great.

That's like asking, can we get the cheap foie? Is it possible to get the freshest tuna at the good sushi bar for the price of the salad? Would you substitute my parmesan cream sauce for the uni emulsion for the same cost?

There are just some things you have to pay the cost of. Truffle oil is usually decent olive oil with crumbs of white truffle, at best. Most truffle oils are made with chemical flavorings. If you want the real experience, pay the cost.

That's like asking, can we get the cheap foie? Is it possible to get the freshest tuna at the good sushi bar for the price of the salad? Would you substitute my parmesan cream sauce for the uni emulsion for the same cost?

There are just some things you have to pay the cost of. Truffle oil is usually decent olive oil with crumbs of white truffle, at best. Most truffle oils are made with chemical flavorings. If you want the real experience, pay the cost.

He did not mention trying to find cheap, in fact, he mentioned that he went upscale at times.

Now me, I am a cheap SOB, and wouldn't know what a truffle is if not for the food network.

[Robin Garr]

That's like asking, can we get the cheap foie?

I agree with Jerry. What's this all about, Bob? The original post didn't say a thing about wanting truffles on the cheap, only where to get them. Woke up a little cranky this morning?

We dine out often but very seldom do we dine upscale. I always hear about truffles and truffle oil and how these ingredients can transform a dish, but I have never experienced it. The closest I have gotten were the parmesan truffle fries at Eddie Merlot's, and my wife and I both agreed that we would not order them a second time. Is there any fairly accessible dish in Louisville where I can be sure that I am experiencing the magic of truffles?

Here ya go, mate!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

Stop in. Chef will make truffles happen for you- at a reasonable cost. It doesn't have to be an omelet (which is on our happy hour menu at the moment.)

By accessible I was trying to impart a dish that one would not need a refined palate to appreciate, something like a gastropub offering. I don't want to get dressed up and drop a few hundred on a dish I might not care for. As I indicated, the addition of the word 'truffle' to the word 'fries' did nothing for me, though others rave about them. But thanks for trying.

Last time I was at whole foods, they actually had whole fresh black truffles for sale, sitting in arborio rice. Right next to the mushrooms.

Try the real stuff.

Avoid truffle oil

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/04/rant-enough-with-the-truffle-oil-already.html

Generally, if I see the words "truffle oil" on a menu, I'm not going to order whatever the dish is, because truffle oil very rarely has anything to do with actual truffles, and is just marketing on a dish.

I've been fortunate enough to have good, fresh truffles twice in my life, given they're super, super expensive (and impossible to find fresh!), but the difference between those and the truffles you tend to find around town (though I can't speak for any restaurants -- again, I avoid it, maybe someone local actually has nice truffles) is the difference between really good caviar and the single digit stuff you find at Kroger. Both just have this awful, fake taste to them, that tends to overpower anything else in the dish. Not so with the nicer kinds. And then you have the added complication that even when people do get "real truffles", they're often not fresh, and the difference between fresh, real truffles and not fresh ones is the difference between a fine steak and a Buffalo Wild Wings hamburger. :/

In short, unless you have a _lot_ of money to spend, you're generally not going to find good truffles anywhere near here, unless I'm really missing out on something -- and if so, someone tell me so!

I had the truffle butter at Jeff Ruby's this weekend and it had great/real truffle flavor.

Thanks for the insight. I now know better than to purchase a bag of the Wavy Lays West Coast Truffle Fries potato chips!