Tramonto Dinner

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a truly remarkable dinner that was hosted by the Brown Hotel and featured the culinary creations of Rick Tramonto of Tru restaurant in Chicago. Chef Tramonto was accompanied by Tru's executive chef,Tim Graham along with the Brown's executive chef Laurent Geroli and his staff. The dinner was truly remarkable, in fact it was probably one of the best wine dinners the city has experienced.

Here is a copy of the menu and the wines served;

Amuse-Bouche
Tête de Cochon,
Lentil Salad, Truffle Powder

Sarsaparilla Quail
Smoked Cipollini, Fig, Hazelnut
Torbreck "Woodcutter's" Semillon, Barossa Valley 2006

Olive Oil-Poached Salmon
Daikon Noodles, Thai Long Peppercorn
Arlaud Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru "Les Ruchots" 2003

Intermezzo
Lemon Rosemary
Pâte de Fruit

Prosciutto-Wrapped Rib-eye
Whipped Raclette, Paprika Jus
Saggi by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, Columbia Valley 2005

Dessert
Chocolate Pomegranate Pavé
Sea Salt Caramel Mousse
Pomegranate Reduction
Sugar Stick
Mas Amiel Maury, Roussillon 2006

I saw some of Louisville's great chef's also in attendance; Anthony Lamas of Seviche, Clay Wallace of Cafe Lou Lou, and John Varnese of Varanese. It was really a unique experience and I was really glad that I got to attend.

That sounds amazing! How wonderful it would have been to know about - in ADVANCE. Was it widely publicized, and I somehow missed it? Was it a private, by-invitation-only event?

Marsha- There was in a big spread about it in Wednesday Courier and also some info on it in last Saturday's Courier. It sold out pretty quick.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So, we're down to "Courier-only" press releases for events, I guess. Boo.

Krista K. started a thread over a week ago. I remember seeing that noone replied, and it caught my eye because the mention of wine expert Dave Dubou, who I think is a pretty good guy. Bet Krista's saying right now, "shoulda listened to me..."

Obviously, I'm an idiot.

[Robin Garr]

Obviously, I'm an idiot.

No way! I didn't remember the original post either, and for the record, LouisvilleHotBytes did not receive a news release (or an Email or call direct from the chef or restaurant management) about this event.

It is certainly any agency's prerogative not to send a release to LouisvilleHotBytes, but this means that their client does not get its announcement in front of thousands of the city's most passionate foodies - many of whom don't read the CJ.

I love it when chefs or owners contact me directly about events. But I certainly don't mind news releases, although as a longtime journalist, I have the most respect for professionally prepared news releases that are concise, straightforward and factual and that don't try to BS me with hype and superlatives.

But I certainly don't mind news releases, although as a longtime journalist, I have the most respect for professionally prepared news releases that are concise, straightforward and factual and that don't try to BS me with hype and superlatives.

OOPS, guess I better start re-writing the PR for the Shrimp & Grits Throwdown.....

Deb

Robin- Sometimes ya just gotta post it yourself. If ya know it, post it!!

[Robin Garr]

Robin- Sometimes ya just gotta post it yourself. If ya know it, post it!!

Absolutely, David, although that said, if I find out that an agency or eatery sent a news release to the print media and skipped LouisvilleHotBytes, chances are it would make me real cranky. It would also make me think the agency doesn't know what it's doing, but that's a whole nuther story.

I know they also sent out invitations to people who had attended recent events there. We went to the English grille for thanksgiving and we got an invitation to this event a couple of weeks ago.

Regarding an agency not knowing what they are doing, I know the agency that handled this dinner and the Casa Grisanti dinner last night at Corbett's and BOTH events were sold out with a wait list. So I don't believe you can say they don't know what they are doing. Seems like the did their job very well.

[Robin Garr]

Seems like the did their job very well.

I'm sure, although in the case of events like this, the old saying about shooting fish in a barrel comes to mind.

IN GENERAL I hate to see local independent restaurants, in times like these, digging into their limited resources for paid public relations, when it's a job any reasonably intelligent restaurateur could do on his own with a few quick Emails or phone calls.