@Christine how’s about we put on some food network and break out the bacon lube (http://www.baconsaltblog.com/2009/04/our-newest-product.html)

@Jim. I have a picture of that soup on my nightstand. Care to come see it sometime?

i figured we weren’t being too literal about truffle vs. faux (yet occasionally tasty) truffle-esque things. Real truffle is far too rare (and expensive) for it to be a regular thing on a menu at a place that doesn’t charge a LOT.

my true “real truffle” stories are both indelibly marked in my mind. The first was the waiter shaving what seemed like hundreds of dollars worth of white truffle onto a pasta dish at Per Se (holy crap was that mind-blowing). The second is much sweeter–my girlfriend got a truffle shipped from France for me for Hanukah. Real truffle omeletes are the most decadently amazing breakfast i’ve ever made. And truffle robiola pasta from vetri’s cookbook = me very happy.

Thanks for the chime. And yes, facts are of the utmost importance here, and that’s why we made sure that after Dan had mentioned the fact that it was only essence, we followed up with Tria.

Stir a hornets nest? Nah, we here at Phoodie hate brash responses since we only do things with the utmost tact and respect. ‘narf.

So, Jose’s dishes are not truffle-riffic? And the above mentioned Claudio’s Truffle Pate? That’s a killer.

Funny you mention Italy, for that might have been the last time I had legit truffles. San Miniato 8 years ago. I guess it’s up to you to open a Truffle Restaurant.

Mon ami, you sure stirred up a hornets nest.

My thoughts, Dan (post#4) and Bob (post #10) hit the nail on the head.
The only person discussed here that actually uses truffle is Vetri.

Most preparations like truffle popcorn, truffle fries are garbage, there is 0% truffle in it.
As some have noted, truffle oil has no truffle which makes truffle honey just as useless.

The problem with these kinds of discussions is that strong opinions such as Bob’s get lost in the message. While it is probably a bad idea to try to dictate taste in general, at the end of the day accuracy is important and if people are out there raving about truffle experiences based on truffle oil, it would be like saying “Italy is a scenic amazing country with brilliant food, I have never actually been there but I have had several meals in south Philly”.

Yes it’s absurd but we should educate rather than disparage.
Delusion would probably be too strong but it is rather shocking just how large the number of people who assume that truffle oil is a truffle product and rave about things that would be otherwise delicious absent of the truffle oil.

The real rule of thumb is that if there is no waiter grating truffles at your table, there are no truffles in the dish.
Even the black specks are simply truffle peelings that have been mostly cooked till they are tasteless to produce truffle juice which is actually quite good.

Putting actual truffles on popcorn or french fries is like washing your car with an Hermes scarf.