Nov. 21--We had no sooner announced the "at cost" white-truffle pricing at Boka (1729 N. Halsted St.), where a four-gram serving of the prized tuber is a mere $32, when the fine folks at Eataly (43 E. Ohio St.) piped up to say, "Ahem."
Eataly, you see, opened a popup restaurant earlier this month called "Il Tartufo" (three guesses what that means). The second-floor restaurant, which will stick around through Dec. 6, offers a tidy menu of a la carte treats, any of which can be augmented with 4 grams of shaved white truffle for just $28.
Now let's face it: Whether the price is $28 or $32, you're getting a tremendous deal on these prized and monumentally expensive priced truffles. (Once I paid $20 for a few grams of truffle over risotto, but that was 25 years ago.)
In addition, on Sunday, Eataly will celebrate Truffle Day by offering the supplement, at the same $28 price, at all of its full-service restaurants, including Baffo, and you'll be able to buy white truffles at retail ($5.80/gram).
That makes Eataly the discount truffle king in Chicago, at least until my phone rings again.
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic
