Tchefuncte's On Tuesday

An awful lot of space in our publications is devoted to Tchefuncte’s in Madisonville because it is my favorite restaurant. What I love about it, beyond the gorgeous environment, great staff, superb food, and wonderful views is the price. This very elevated cuisine is the same price as far less worthy offerings all around town.

When I ran into Chef Michael Gottlieb a few weeks ago at the restaurant show, he mentioned that they have a special Italian night each Tuesday through November. I was immediately wild about this idea. If Michael Gottlieb was going to cook Italian food, I was automatically going to love it.

Two weeks went by before we could get over there. Two days later we were set to go and it was a horrible weather night. We weren’t going anywhere. Then the restaurant had a buyout.

Finally, we made it there, and it was even better than we imagined. I wrote a detailed piece in the last newsletter. I have often said that 90% of everything we eat in restaurants is fine, but we will never think of it again after we leave. About 2% is on the other end of the spectrum, and the remaining 8% may even wow us. That is a common experience here. But that first Italian night meal left me more wowed than I can remember any place. The tiramisu was so spectacular I thought about it often after we left the restaurant, and counted the days till I could get back and have this again.

We did just that a few days ago. My brother joined us, making it a foursome. He’s late for everything so while we waited we had the same three appetizers we had the previous visit. 

There were garlic knots on the table, as well as meatballs, and arancini. The first time we got this arancini the stuffing was short rib. On this night it was Taleggio. These come in a threesome with a generous puddle of truffle cream sauce. That is spectacular, and we eat every scrap of it, wiping up the sauce with the garlic knots. Delicious!

The polpette came in a serving of three with just a smidge of sauce, These were soft and loaded with garlic and spices. We liked these a lot.

One of the main reasons I wanted to return, besides the tiramisu, was that we didn’t really have any pasta that first time, except the Cacio e Pepe, which is prepared here tableside. We went straight to the Carni section of the menu to order Bistecca Fiorentina, which is rarely seen in the States. It was sensational, but this time we would stick to the pasta.

We didn’t. I got the short ribs this time, but not before we had ordered the Pomodoro, and ML got the Ravioli. Michael Gottlieb came to defend his honor (I was not crazy about the Cacio e Pepe that first time.) This time it was great. It was a better-sized portion, hotter, and generally much more of what I expected.

But it paled in comparison to some of the other things at the table. We served ourselves sort of family style. The Short Ribs were shared by all. The two pieces of meat were perfect. Tender, with a delectable flavor enhanced by the demi-glace sauce below, this was absolutely terrific. There were small roasted carrots and a small roasted tomato in this dish. 

ML ordered the ravioli, which was a nice portion of sweet potato stuffed ravioli with a black truffle sauce, crispy sage, and brown butter. This was so fantastic I could hardly believe it. Bits of truffle in the sauce remained on the plate after the ravioli was gone, and I took my knife and scraped it from the sides of the bowl.

But the star of the night was the lowly Pomodoro. There were four of us at the table, and as each of us tried a bite of it our eyes literally popped out. None of us had ever had Pomodoro remotely like this. We almost got another bowl. Michael came to the table and we asked him what made it so divine. There was a sauce at the bottom that when blended with the tomato sauce took it to that exceptional place my brother kept referencing.

We got the tiramisu again but it was not like the first one we had. Someone had over-dusted it with cocoa powder. That hardly ruined it. The cloudlike mascarpone and the almond flavor and crunch of the Amaretto cookies were still superb. 

This time we returned for the tiramisu. Next time it will be for Pomodoro. I have never had the like, and don’t expect to experience anything like it again.

My brother had never been to Tchefuncte’s, and all night he kept marveling at the thing that I always say about it. Everything there is “next level,” and you get it for ordinary prices. Yeah. but don't say it out loud.