In 2007, a high-water mark in white truffle excess was reached when Le Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni dropped $7,000 on a 1.1 pound white Alba truffle. Now see how the mighty have fallen: Last year NYC restaurateurs were outbid for the biggest truffle of the season by Chicago, and this year Philadelphia has made the Big Apple look like small potatoes. Philly steakhouse Barclay Prime just outbid Daniel for the biggest truffle to hit town this year, a 1.1 pound monster bought for $4,100. Grub Street has video of that bad boy, which sure could upgrade plenty of cheese steak sandwiches. Of course, as Mauro Maccioni once told us, "what really matters is firmness, not size."
NYC Can't Compete in White Truffle Game
Truffle Shuffle Season in Full $wing, With One Bargain in Queens
Click on the images for more details on truffle specials at Bottega Del Vino, Sapori D'Ischia in Queens, Marea, Gilt, Scarpetta, David Burke Townhouse, and Craft.
Recipe of the Week: Chevre Truffles
These truffles were inspired by Goat Lady Dairy, a Greensboro, NC farmer who makes chevre truffles using a blended ganache of about 60% chocolate to 40% chevre, with a bit of vanilla and salt.
Homeless Truffle Spurns NYC, Finds Fame in Chicago
The gripping saga of the giant truffle that came to New York City from Italy with stars in its eyes has come to a modest end in the Second City. After being jerked around by just about every hot shot restaurateur in town, the massive 2.15 lbs white truffle packed its bags and set sights on Chicago, where the Four Seasons decided to give the kid a shot. Tyler Gray, the truffle's business manager, tells us he inked a contract last week for "our regular price for large truffles, $3,200 per pound." We hear the talented tuber is really making a go of it over there, and was recently spotted canoodling with Oprah Winfrey's noodles.
King Size Truffle Fails to Fetch Princely Sum
Oh, remember how this time last year Le Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni thought nothing of dropping $7,000 on a 1.1 pound white truffle? Those were the days. Now, with Wall Street rapidly turning into Skid Row, it's hard out there for a truffle.
Mother of All Truffles Tours NYC in Search of $$$
You'll recall how excited everyone was—EVERYONE—last October when Le Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni bought a "perfectly round, pristine" 1.1 pound white truffle for $7,000. Child's play! Behold the 2.15 lbs white truffle that has just arrived on our shores from Alba, Italy. It's been acquired by Mikuni Wild Harvest, whose representative Tyler Gray writes:
A very excited Italian gentleman named Francesco the Forager stumbled / sprinted out of the forest mid afternoon in a haze of deliria and joy, grasping tightly to his most precious find ever...a 2LB WHITE ALBA TRUFFLE....2.15 lbs to be exact & by far the largest White Truffle to land in the USA in the last 3 years.more ›

