grahamwich: a mixed bag

grahamwich, I wanted to love you. You know I did.

graham elliot remains one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Chicago and I still think that Graham Elliot Bowles is a genius. But I was underwhelmed by grahamwich.

Not because it was cash only. And not because the sandwiches were $10 apiece. Nope, neither of these fazed me. I will pay whatever amount of money however the chef wants it delivered as long as the food, or even the experience, is fabulous.

The restaurant was cute and the staff was nice. Until I asked if it was possible to order the turkey confit sandwich sans sage mayo. The hipster behind the register told me she'd strongly recommend against it. (I then remembered the "no substitutions" rule I'd read about at grahamwich.) I'm not a picky eater, so normally "no substitutions" isn't a huge deal for me. But Graham, crafty bastard that he is, managed to stick mayonnaise of some sort on virtually every single sandwich on the menu.

I explained the situation about my EXTREME aversion to mayonnaise (one of only four things I don't like, mind you) and the girl looked at me like I had four heads and was some lower form of foodie life. This bugged me. Fine, tell me I can't make substitutions. But don't judge me. I know for a fact that some of the most well-known chefs in the city share my aversion to mayonnaise. We know it's one of the mother sauces. We can't help it. We don't like it.

She tried to explain that without the mayonnaise, it'd be dry... and I'd miss out on the sage. I get that. It happens every time I order a sandwich without aioli or mayonnaise or whatever alias it's going by that day. I'm okay with the dryness. I hate mayonnaise THAT MUCH.

Ok, I said. I'll get the jibarito press, which are comprised of pork shoulder, pickled mango, queso fresco, habanero mustard and crispy plantains. No mayo there. Well... that was true, but instead of the crumbly queso fresco I'm used to... I got sneak attacked with some form of creamy white business that seemed to be a sour cream/mayonnaise deal in disguise! Sneaky, Graham. Very sneaky. I was unimpressed with the jibarito press. The idea was great, but the flavors were lacking.

Habanero mustard? Complemented by pickled mango? And succulent pork shoulder, offset texturally by crispy plantains? Genius. I thought for sure this was going to be a flavor fest. But it wasn't. Everything kind of blended together and what I tasted most was the element I didn't want: creamy white stuff. I understand that asking that a restaurant omit an ingredient affects the flavor and upsets the carefully crafted balance that the chef worked so hard to concoct. But if you hate one of the elements of the sandwich, you never get the balance the chef intended. Because the ingredient you taste more than anything else is usually going to be the one you hate. This was the case for me, but in truth, the rest of the tacos didn't blow me away either.

Cavoto had got the turkey confit, since she's not afraid of a little sage mayo. (Or anything, really.) It was good; but there was a lot of mayonnaise on that sandwich. I will say that since the turkey is shredded, it would have been a mighty dry sandwich without that mayo and it did impart some sage flavor. However, I couldn't eat more than few bites of my half because the mayonnaise tang was too overwhelming -- for someone who hates mayo. Otherwise, it was good. The rest of the elements included candied yams, stewed cranberries and field greens, all piled onto hawaiian bread with turkey confit and sage mayo. If you like mayo, chances are that this is probably a good sandwich.

The truffle popcorn made famous at graham elliot is a lot better at graham elliot. Too much truffle oil on the popcorn at grahamwich. I reeked of it for the rest of the day and I think I'm going to have to wash my coat because it still smells like truffles two days later. The popcorn at grahamwich is good, but it doesn't do the original justice. And don't wear anything down when you eat it.

grahamwich also offers housemade sodas, as they call them... I personally think of them as "pop," but whatever. Cavoto and I both had root beer and it was pretty tasty. Enjoyable, but nothing unusual.

And then there was brilliance. The cinnamon stick frozen yogurt is a gift from God. It is perfect in every way, shape and form. Flavorful (but not overpowering) cinnamon yogurt is topped with sweet roasted apple, lots of salted caramel and crumbled pie crust in some sort of parfait-like concoction. It's messy as all hell, but it's so delicious that you couldn't care less -- save the fact that you have to waste a precious drop of this fabulousness. grahamwich home run! I'd go back in a heartbeat for the cinnamon stick yogurt.
All in all, I was underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were too high. But since I work a block away, I'll be back for the cinnamon stick yogurt. And while I'm there, maybe I'll try the grilled cheese. Doesn't seem like there's any creamy white condiment lurking there. But... you never know!

If you want to get a sense of how great a chef Graham Elliot Bowles is, go to graham elliot. If you're around 615 N. State, don't have a strong aversion to creamy white condiments and are looking for a sandwich, give this place a whirl.

Grahamwich is OPEN!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, thank God. After two long years of limbo, Grahamwich finally opened its doors on Wednesday! Sadly, I was frantically preparing for a business trip, so I couldn't get there on opening day.

However, I do plan to visit next week and promise a full report. And lucky for me (less lucky for my wallet), Grahamwich is located just one short block from where I work! At 615 N. State, between Ohio and Ontario, I can confidently say that it will become a lunchtime favorite of mine.

Sandwiches by Graham, truffled popcorn and flavored sodas, you will be mine. (Don't worry, I promise to actually take some pictures here...)

Has anyone been yet? If you've already made it over, let me know how it is!

A Taste of Lolla

Lollapalooza was already one of my absolute favorite weekends of the year. And then something happened to make it even more amazing... Per my earlier post, Graham Elliot Bowles was made master of Lollapalooza's Chow Town this year.

He brought in a ton of new food vendors from many of the city's top restaurants. And I was pumped. Here's what I was able to try.

Item number one on my agenda was the acclaimed lobster corn dog from the graham elliot booth. The lobster corn dogs sold out every day last year and I couldn't wait to try one this time around! Unfortunately, I wasn't particularly impressed. The entire thing was pretty mushy and there was some sort of strange (read: not tasty) casing involved.

After chatting with some of my foodie friends who were lucky enough to sample the lobster corn dog last year, I learned that the casing was a new development -- and one that no one seemed to like. I'm sure there was a reason they decided to add it (maybe it's too hard to keep the lobster meat together enough to hold the corn dog shape?), but the taste and texture definitely suffered. Lobster corn dog, you were not terrible, but you were a disappointment.

Next up was the pulled chicken sandwich from Chicago barbecue powerhouse Smoke Daddy. Although I haven't made it to the restaurant itself, I love using the Smoke Daddy Mustard BBQ sauce when I'm barbecuing at home and was extremely excited to try something from the masters themselves. In hindsight, I probably should have stuck with the pulled pork sandwich, which is my all-time favorite BBQ option. But pulled chicken sounded pretty interesting and not every BBQ place offers it, so I felt it was my duty to give it a whirl.

Well, there's a reason not every place offers it: it's dry. As I am want to do, I saturated that sucker with BBQ sauce (Smoke Daddy's Original this time) and dug right in. Even with all of that extra sauce, the sandwich was just decent. By nature, chicken gets pretty dry when you shred it and dry is definitely not the name of the game when it comes to good barbecue. If you want a BBQ chicken sandwich, stick to a chicken breast that's served intact with lots of your favorite barbecue rub or sauce and you've got the potential for juicy greatness. Lesson learned: in terms of shredded BBQ sandwiches, there's really no match for pulled pork. Despite the pulled chicken incident, I look forward to visiting Smoke Daddy and trying the BBQ master of disaster that is pulled pork.

I had been hearing all kinds of great things about Franks N Dawgs since it burst onto Chicago's gourmet hot dog scene this spring. When I ambled up to their booth for dinner on Day 1 of Lolla, I was ready for greatness. And I got it.

I ordered the Chili Cheese Dog, which is an incredibly delicious dog topped with chili and shredded cheddar cheese melted beautifully over their amazing grilled-cheese-like bread. The bun on this thing has the buttery grilled/toasted wonderfulness usually reserved for grilled cheese and paninis. Completely brilliant to pair it with a gourmet hot dog. It elevates the entire creation to a level never before seen by a gourmet hot dog. (Please note that I have yet to visit Hot Doug's.) Regardless, this hot dog is truly excellent. I cannot wait to go to the restaurant itself and try some of the other dog options.

I have to acknowledge that I ate Lou Malnati's twice during Lolla. I know, bad form. I have discussed my unwavering love for Lou's previously and when I saw the hordes of people wandering around with it (a sizable slice of deep dish cheese is only $3 and definitely one of the most budget-friendly options at the fest), I couldn't resist. By Day 2, Lolla was just so hot and so crowded that I couldn't brave some of the lines at some of the newer and hipper booths. And as I soon discovered, the pizza was fabulous. They had about a million ovens going and the slices were as good as they are when you eat them in the restaurant. It's hard to execute something that consistently delicious working out of a booth at a street fest, so I have to give them credit for delivering an excellent product. I wasn't surprised, but I was delighted. Mad props, Lou. Keep up the good work.

Naturally, I had a gigantic scoop of chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone from Windsor Ice Cream Shoppe. It was amazing... and enormous. That one scoop was probably more equivalent to four regular scoops. It was a fabulous choice on a sweltering day. Definitely recommended. Sorry, it was melting too fast to take a picture -- or at least that's what I told myself so that nothing would delay my devouring it.

We also stumbled across the Sausage Haus shortly upon entering Lolla on Day 3. It was a little too early for a brat, but seemed like the perfect time to give their pretzel with whole grain mustard a try. The pretzel was far superior to your average stadium (or skating rink) pretzel. I'd highly recommend it should you happen across the Sausage Haus, which is actually in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Or... maybe just see if they're at Lolla again next year. FYI, word on the street is that the hot dogs and brats they were slinging were mighty tasty as well!

All in all, I respect Chow Town's performance this year. I think that there were a ton of amazing offerings, almost to the point of it being overwhelming. However, that's certainly better than the alternative! Well played, Graham, minus the lobster corn dogs.

Next year, I vow not to eat Lou Malnati's two days in a row -- no matter how delicious it looks and how efficiently their booth is moving through the lines. I also promise to try to stop taking bites out of food before I photograph it. I will try.

Lollapalooza: A Better Taste of Chicago

So my boyfriend* Graham Elliot Bowles was named the Culinary Director of Lollapalooza 2010, which is understandable after the crazy success of his booth at Lolla last year. Everyone wanted a piece of his lobster corn dogs, so the place was packed and sold out daily.

Well, apparently Lolla took notice and put him in charge of helping them get even more amazingly delicious food at the fest this year. Thanks in large part to Graham, many of the biggest names in Chicago dining are coming in hot with treats for all at the music fest that gets bigger and better (and hotter than a blazing inferno) every year.

All right, without further ado, on to the list of new restaurants added to Lolla's 2010 Chow Town:

Big Star
Bleeding Heart
Blue 13
Burrito Beach
Elate at The Hotel Felix
Franks ‘N’ Dawgs
Graham Elliot
Hoosier Mama Pie Company
Kuma’s Corner
The Metropolis Café
more cupcakes
Rockit Bar and Grill
Seedling
Sunda
The Smoke Daddy Rhythm and Bar B Que
The Southern
Trotter’s to Go

I mean, that is like a veritable "Who's Who" of Chicago dining -- and he may not even be done adding venues yet! Dare I say I'm even more excited about the food at Lolla than the music this year?

As such, I'll be armed and ready to go on August 6th, trying as many of these amazing places' offerings as possible -- and spending all the money I saved on my ticket by scoring one of the $60 3-day passes. And it will be worth it.

Move over Adam Richman: For those three days, it's going to be "Nan vs. Food."

*Creep Disclaimer: I only wish Graham Elliot Bowles was my boyfriend. We are not actually dating. Nor does he have any idea who I am. Awesome.

GRAHAMWICH?!

Graham Elliot Bowles is opening a River North sandwich shop, which will be called "grahamwich." Hilarious. This is one of many reasons I love Graham Elliot Bowles. (The others have to do with his fondness for taking the pretension typically associated with fine dining down about 400 notches by inserting subtle humor and incorporating novelties and childhood faves like Cheese Nips into his incredible culinary creations. And also his appearance on Top Chef Masters, where he came off as hilarious, humble, creative and completely down to earth. Hmm, Anthony Bourdain and Man vs. Food had better watch out; I think there's a new food man making his way into my heart.)

I have been dying to go to graham elliot -- and am counting down the days until Lollapalooza this year in part because I missed out on last year's lobster corn dogs that sold out at his booth EVERY DAY -- and now will add grahamwich to my list as well. Unfortunately, there's not much info out on the new place, which was slated to open in late May/early June. You can visit the website, which is cute but won't tell you much, here: http://www.grahamwich.com/

According to The Stew, we can expect street food and sandwiches at grahamwich, along with homemade sodas in five flavors from hand-pulled tabs. Also look for seasonal soft serve (!!!!), such as a roasted butternut squash ice cream with marshmallow in the fall.

Grubstreet reports that he's shooting for a mid-July opening (we shall see... I hope this is not another Girl & The Goat hoax), but also that he's working on a beer with Goose Island. Clearly, I will be sampling this as soon as it's released.

If you're curious about the new place -- or you just love Graham Elliot like it's your job -- check out the Hideout at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow night when he's interviewed by the Red Eye funny man Mark Bazer during "The Interview Show." For more information, visit http://www.hideoutchicago.com/writeups.html#INTERVIEW

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend, which makes me sad because of my love for Graham, but also because Mark Bazer's column in the Red Eye is flipping hilarious. If you're able to make it, PLEASE let me know how it goes!