Chicagoist Food Pr0n: Tru

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jun 20, 2012 3:00PM

Chef Martin\'s secret levitation machine. It involves liquid nitrogen and magnets. There\'s nothing physical holding that wafer in the air - you can pass a business card under it and it stays up.

The new incarnation of the famous \"caviar staircase.\"

A riff on caviar - made with white sturgeon, avocado and hazelnut.

The \"array of river salmon\" on a bubbling, foggy stream.

English pea soup, without the soup.

The blob in the middle is a lavender creme fraiche.

Dashi flan with California caviar.

Black forest ham with fava beans.

Sous Vide Halibut with ginger.

A traditional cheese cart - the first we\'ve seen in a long time.

\"Linens out to dry.\"

Vanilla parfait with banana, \"compliments of george.\"

Another view of the magic.

Tru has long been one of the name-dropping standbys of Chicago dining. "Have you been to Tru yet?" was a touchstone question for foodies in the early 2000s, but in recent years the venerable restaurant has been a bit overshadowed by places like Next and Alinea. Expect that to start to change. Chef Anthony Martin is coming up with presentations that equal (or exceed) anything else to be found in Chicago.

At Tru, food levitates magically off of a column, a salmon dish is a dead ringer for a foggy trout stream at dawn and fruit "laundry" hangs over a field of fresh grass. Take a look, and don't let anyone tell you that Tru is out of the game.

Tru is located at 676 N. St. Clair St.