The Experience of Graham Elliot (Rough Draft)

[Written for the New York Times]

Located in the gallery district of Chicago, Graham Elliot is a hip, laid back version of fine dining.  A short flight of stairs takes guests from the street level into the dining hall, a modern, yet modest room adorned with simple black tables and lit by dim hanging lamps.  The hundred-year-old brick walls and the floor to ceiling windows of the former 19^th century printing warehouse add to the trendy yet professional atmosphere.

            The restaurant is owned by Graham Elliot Bowles, a tattoo clad chef who has appeared on two seasons of Top Chef Masters on the Bravo network.   At the age of 27, Bowles became the youngest four-star chef named in a major U.S. city.  In 2008, Bowles opened Graham Elliot with the ideology that fine dining should be a fun, approachable experience.

When guests arrive, they are escorted to their table by friendly and accommodating staff.  Water is poured soon after sitting and a bowl of popcorn sprinkled with chives and Parmesan cheese is put in the center of the table in place of bread; a tasty and less filling pre meal snack.  The menu is broken down into five categories, Cold, Hot, Sea, Land, and Sweet.  Guests can also opt to do the Tasting, a five course meal, the Experience, a ten course meal, or the Repertoire, a fifteen course meal.  Menu includes refined items Fluke Tartare, Heirloom Duck, and Hog Cheek.   But a note at the bottom telling patrons that, “in order to ensure the optimum awesomeness of your dining experience, we ask that the entire table participate in tasting menus” is also a reminder that this is a not your typical strict dining experience.  Assuming your eyes can read the small print in the dim lighting of the restaurant, the cutesy theme is also seen in the wine list, which is broken down into categories like “Pop Music” “One Hit Wonders” and “Karaoke.” 

While the relationship between the wines and their categories are not obvious, the sommelier will be able to suggest a wine that suits both the meal and the diners personal taste.  I enjoyed an excellent pinot from the “Garage Rock” section.  When it comes to the table, the wine is poured into the type of beaker you might find in a high school chemistry lab, with all the measurements written on the side.  Yet the process of the wine pouring resembles that of finely rehearsed dance.  Keeping to their goal to redefine fine dining, Graham Elliot combines fun and sophistication, creating a relaxed atmosphere with a feeling of professionalism. 

When choosing what to eat, the Experience is a great way to try a large portion of the food served at Graham Elliot.   It includes a sample of two dishes from each of the five menu sections.  The meal takes about three hours to complete, so patrons should leave their nights open if they plan on trying this ten-course meal.  Seven o’clock is a good time to make a reservation.  The restaurant is only about half full, and the noise level is at a quiet murmur.  A hip mix of music including names like Ra Ra Riot, Arcade Fire and The Hold Steady, plays in the background, setting the mood without being intrusive.  As the restaurant fills up throughout the night, it can get a little loud.  The dark atmosphere seems to be prefered, and as it gets later, the lights may be dimmed even further.  Those who show up late will have an even more difficult time reading their menu.  

The first course is a Fluke Tar Tar with shaved fennel, sea cress and pink peppercorn.  The fluke is delightfully fresh, the raw fish mixing with the crisp sweet shave of the peppercorn.  Bubbles are artfully smeared across the top, giving the whole dish a surprisingly sour flavor.

The deconstructed Caesar salad combines an excellent mix of flavors and textures.   The dish consists of white anchovy stacked on romaine lettuce with parmesan fluff, placed atop a brioche twinkie.  The fish is extremely salty, and contrasts well with the cheese filled brioche.  The crisp romaine lettuce mixed with the slimy anchovy and soft bread creates an interesting combination that works well together.

The third course is a new take on an old classic: chicken noodle soup.  The broth, a rich hen veloute, is served from a beaker into a bowl containing a carrot marshmallow, celery five different ways and a single noodle of tagliatelle wrapped around a very moist piece of chicken.  It is suggested that diners first sample the soup, and then mix in the marshmallow before continuing.  There is a substantial difference in flavors from the salty, gravy like soup, to the sweet mixture that the melted marshmallow adds. 

After four courses of appetizers, the more substantial meals are served, beginning with black bass with a side of smoked leek, a marcona almond puree, and tomato marmalade.  The bass has a decent flavor and the texture is appealing, and the leek atop the marcona puree adds an earthy tone, tasting much like onion and peanuts.  The real star of this dish though is the tomato marmalade.  It has a hint of the taste of tomato, and yet it is sweet and sugary.

The sixth course, Atlantic monkfish with a cheddar hushpuppy, and lobster roe, is probably the most disappointing one in the line up.  Being fried and filled with cheese, it’s hard not to enjoy the hush puppy, yet it doesn’t add anything to the fish.  Each item on the plate separately tastes fine, but they do not have the same chemistry as the other courses, and seems to lack their zazz.

For the first course of dessert, they serve an almond cake with orange gelato, blood orange sauce, and a honeycomb.  The honey is delicious, yet almost unbearably sweet.  Eaten with the thick cake and fruity gelato, they make an incredible combination.  Three different flavors of sweet. 

The final course is a cardamon cremeux, a chocolate gel, and a cinnamon stick and a cocoa curry powder sponge cake.  The taste of cinnamon is almost overpowering in this dish.  Everything chocolate has spiciness to it.  It is an interesting dish, though between the two desserts, the orange would have been a better closer.

The experience is indeed quite the experience, and a highly recommended one.

Fluke Tartare 

Deconstructed Caesar

Chicken Noodle Soup

Sweetbread Empanada 

Black Bass

Heirloom Duck

Wagyu Beef

Orange Blossom 

Cocoa Gateau