Downtown: After much anticipation, Top Chef season two winner Ilan Hall debuted his upcoming eatery The Gorbals to a packed house last night. Seriously, packed. It was quite the feat to navigate around the relatively small space unless you were lucky enough to snag the seat of the house which, last night, was any of the bar stools lined up by the kitchen window. The space is not entirely finished just yet, but we did get an idea of what to expect; pretty stained glass windows by the entryway (the focal point of the room last night), a massive communal oak table, a handful of smaller wooden tables, and an open stainless steel kitchen. But what about the food you ask? Ilan solicited the help of another Top Chef season two contestant, Elia Aboumrad, and the two handed out small plates of Ilan's Scottish-Jewish menu to those sitting by the kitchen while his staff distributed bites to the rest of the room.
The night started out with a bacon-wrapped matzo ball, then transitioned over to the roasted lamb breast served atop a slice of bread with Welsh rarebit (sauce made from melted cheese). Ilan is certainly not calorie counting. The last two small plates involved a cucumber avocado salad and a version of mac 'n' cheese made with skinny egg noodles and bacon. As the night drew on guests slowly trickled out, but since since The Gorbals opens within the next 10 days, we're sure they will be back soon.
·Crucial Plywood Report: Ilan Hall's The Gorbals [~ELA~]
·Week in Eater: Ilan Hall's Gorbals, Ivan Kane's Cafe Was [~ELA~]
—Yolanda Evans
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