Ellabess executive chef Troy Unruh.

Forget truffle oil. It isn’t even made from truffles, just like corn syrup isn’t sugar. But with truffle season in full swing until late December, you can revel in the real deal – “the diamond of the kitchen,” as the 18^th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called the fabled, if less poetic, fruiting body of the underground mushroom known for its earthy flavor and heady fragrance.

Next Tuesday, November 15, ellabess, the contemporary American restaurant with the e.e. cummings-style name at The Nolitan hotel, celebrates big with a five-course black and white truffle menu ($150, $70 optional wine pairing) devised by executive chef Troy Unruh. We talked to the St. Paul, Minnesota native about the truffle’s distinctive fragrance, the challenge of using real truffles in desserts and his favorite off-duty food. (more…)