Charlie Trotter's Lincoln Park Home For Sale
By John Dodge
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The home of late celebrity chef Charlie Trotter was placed for sale this week.
The asking price for the 5,200-square foot Lincoln Park home on North Dayton Street is $2,695,000.
Trotter died of a stroke in his home in November. The building that housed his now-closed Charlie Trotter's restaurant is also for sale.
The eat-in kitchen is beautifully appointed with Mission-style cabinets and granite counter-tops but not necessarily spectacular. It includes a large island with ample seating, a large Wolf gas range and other high-end stainless steel appliances.
The home includes five fireplaces and large master suite with five closets.
The lower-level media room has built-in cabinets with space for a huge flat screen television. Of course, the home has a wine cellar. Trotter only served wine at his famous restaurant, never liquor, because he believed it ruined the taste of the food.
The third floor of the home has a conservatory with a rooftop deck and views of the Chicago skyline.
The 2.5-car garage is not just for cars and tools.
It has a fireplace and a pizza oven.
Trotter never went to culinary school (he was a political science major at the University of Wisconsin) and was totally self taught. His initial interest in food came from watching his college roommate fix meals. He took a year off from school to immerse himself in the art of cooking.
On the day after the restaurant closed, Trotter sat down with CBS 2 to talk about his career.
Producer Ed Marshall recalled Trotter as gracious, offering champagne (politely declined) and setting out pastries and coffee.
Trotter spoke of working as a busboy at the Ground Round Restaurant in Plaza Del Lago in Wilmette as a teen in the late 1970s.
Trotter said it was then, despite the menial nature of that first kitchen job, that he decided he loved working in a restaurant.
