It’s as if Graham Elliot Bowles, on the way to his final culinary exam, stopped at 7-Eleven for red socks but left with a bag filled with rice crispy treats, pop rocks, Snickers, and Budweiser. Instead of simply snacking before his test, he incorporated this gas station bounty into his Escoffier-driven curriculum. This unexpected merger of classic techniques and modern flavors is highlighted at Chef Bowles’ comfortable and intriguing River North namesake.
From the tree-lined west 200 block of Huron St, Graham Elliot is lit like a jack-o-lantern. A warm orange glow and a pot of simmering spiced cider draw guests inside. On the walls, infinite autumn is created with mini pumpkins and mirrors as an artistic extension of the Chef’s platings.
White truffle oil and parmesan was the popcorn of the night, as we started with musically-named cocktails incorporating classic spirits and unique liqueurs with fresh fruit and herbs. ‘London Calling’ is a refreshing apertif with Hendrick’s gin, ginger water, apple syrup, and cucumber soda, which paired nicely with the oyster flight. As we looked at the rest of the menu, we were informed that the food is organized to enable anyone to create a personalized tasting menu from the five simple categories: cold, hot, sea, land, and sweet.
Chef’s Bowles’ seemingly unusual creations started to wield their culinary power when the foie app landed. Foie gras: luxurious product for the elite, right, with toast and quince paste. How about rice krispies treats. Like frosting, the foie mousse was piped right on top of the treat, the sweetness of which blended seamlessly with the richness of the meat. Cut that with tart from a cranberry compote and the tang from yoghurt sorbet and a signature Graham Elliot Bowles’ dish is revealed.
Sommelier Scott Norman (Aliena, Powerhouse) introduced us to a pretty cool wine from Puglia using the Malvasia Nera varietal. This wine, with flavors of fruit jam, gravel, and chocolate, was chosen to accompany the larger plates, all of which had deep, robust flavors.
At the point my monkfish wellington arrived, I couldn’t help thinking about the game in which photos of heads, torsos, and legs are swapped to create bizarre and humorous combinations. I thought the Chef had played that trick on this dish: truffle, lentil, carrot, and pastry accompanied not by beef but by a fish. It totally worked! The wine as well. And the fish was cooked perfectly.
We ordered our sweets: molten carrot cake, deconstructed Snickers, and apple dumplings, and I had a little time to think about the culinary concept being presented at Graham Elliot. We don’t live in a ‘classic’ world. Sometimes dinner is from 7-Eleven. Rice krispies treats are damn good. And maybe Chef Bowles created a perfect embodiment of current society with his now famous ‘foie-lypops’: foie gras and pop rocks. We, as a culture, are still connected to past traditions, but we have created some pretty awesome things that are just plain fun. And Graham Elliot reassures us that it is OK to enjoy both.
