Dining At Ilan Hall's The Gorbals

Oh, Ilan Hall. First, the top cheffer moved to LA, to join in on the then young food truck revolution. But, that idea was scratched in favor of The Gorbals, which was, but then wasn't, and then (wait for it) was. The Gorbals added lunch service with its recent reopening and the people have spoken. Thinkage...down below.

The Super-Fresh News: "... Ilan Hall makes good use of ingredients others might throw away... Offal is common on high-end dining menus today, and Hall fully embraces the nose-to-tail philosophy. But he doesn't always start with the whole beast--he goes right for what would normally be discarded." Tasty example? "He uses gribenes--crisp chicken skin--as a replacement for bacon in a GLT on rye." [Tasting Table LA]

The Eclectic, Quirky and Sometimes Delicious News: "The lamb breast is very fatty, juicy, with a crisped outer crust. It's really rustic and wild, and if there was a lamb version of pork belly, this would be it... It's wonderful and sinful, and like some dishes at Animal, best if shared with 2-3 people..." [CH]

[Photo: Flickr: alossix]

More Animal News: "I think Ilan is trying. Maybe a little too hard. It seems to want to be Animal, but it doesn't have the teeth..." [CH]

Unfortunate Service Issues: "Gosh Gorbals, you are a hot mess. Although your food is quite delicious, the rest of the dining experience is not quite up to par." [Yelp]

More Unfortunate Service News: "For the first night, The Gorbals exhibited all the unfortunate problems of an inexperienced restaurant: Dinner took nearly 3 Hours(!) because of pacing issues. Sometimes the wait was between 30 - 40 minutes before the next dish arrived. The final dish I had ordered - Turkey Wing - never showed up; after waiting about 30 minutes, the server curtly says, 'Oh, sorry, we don't have Turkey Wing tonight. I just found out.' Sigh... based on the glass half-empty or half-full viewpoint, I could see it being rated anywhere from 5.0 - 7.5 depending on what was ordered [CH]

The Too Salty News: "There was one big "error" in my book and perhaps it was just a today thing. But many of the dishes suffered from over salting. The fries were close to inedible unless you brushed off the excess salt, which we did.
Also in the saline overload catagory, the Arugula Salad." [CH]

The B*tchy Opening News: "No, it's not easy to open a restaurant, even in good economic times. So it's all the more dismaying when one opens with a horrible name, slapdash soup kitchen decor, and a menu with dishes that generally seem, at best, enigmatic."> [Eater Comments]

Dear Chef: "Ilan please work on your bar. Alcohol should never run out and there needs to be more selections on the menu. So spruce up the place a bit and you have yourself a winner." [Yelp]

Twitter News: " I like the gorbals. it reminds me of [a large] living room. sit at counter. Ilan or Jesse will chat it up while they cook for you." [Twitter]

Latke News: "Very nice latke. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Sunchoke cream, though nice, just wasn't my thing. Can you really beat applesauce with a latke? I think not." [Food She Thought]

Delicious News: "The sweetbreads and corn followed. The sweetbreads were crusted in flour and deep fried until crispy and served over fresh sweet corn. This was a dish I really enjoyed. Think of it as an elevated and reconceived chicken nuggets and corn. But better. The sweet corn was a delicious complement." [Gastronomnom]
— Daniela Galarza