TT Continued... That
night we all dressed up and Roger drove us (didn’t
he trust our rented Empire State Building-on-wheels?)
to Rick Tramonto’s new Italian restaurant “Osteria
di Tramonto” just a few miles away in Wheeling
(601 N. Milwarkee Avenue Tel; 847 777 6570). It sits
next to his Steak & Seafood deluxe restaurant
at the same address (Tel; 847 777 6575). Rick and
his talented partner Gail Gand (who worked for Mel
at Jams in NYC in the 1980s) own it and so we were
excited to try their newest endeavor. Rick is now
one of the most acclaimed chefs in America and also
owns Tru in Chicago
Anyway Osteria Tramonto is an amazing restaurant
design! You enter the foyer adjacent to the hotel
and are led into a dining-room with a massively
high domed ceiling with a monumental chandelier
floating in space above your heads. The entire dome
is made from faux bricks that look so real I defy
even Michaelangelo to tell the difference. Whatever
will they think of next – false titties?
We tried a lot of his dishes, the calamari fritti,
pizza with heirloom tomatoes and basil, capellini
and shrimp, rigatoni with fresh corn and grilled
chicken. Everything was simply prepared with no
bells and whistles. The service was attentive and
the check would have been less damaging if we hadn’t
been persuaded by the wine waiter to buy a Sicilian
Merlot which cost over $90 per bottle! Altogether,
though, it was a rather corporate experience. Stunning
architecture and décor, correct fare and
professional service. I just missed the passion.
We told Roger we would far rather we had dined at
his enchanting home again in stead.
We returned home to Denver the next day and went
directly onto the terrace at ‘Annabel’s’
(At Holly and Orchard, Tel:303 488 2662) to share
Adam Mali’s delectable duck quesadillas and
sip our Tortoise Creek Chardonnay (I had the Sauvignon
Blanc which Mel made specially for me!). We watched
the sun going down over the Rockies knowing that
just 7 minutes away was home. How spoilt is that!
events/news ->>>
