[From “This Chicago Chef Rocks” in the Toronto Star, August 7, 2010]
CHICAGO—Chef Graham Elliot Bowles believes you should be entertained when you dine out, not just satisfied. Pretty early on in a visit to his Chicago restaurant, it becomes clear the 33-year-old aspiring rock star with a physique Pillsbury would endorse has a bit of Spielberg in him.
Popcorn is the first indication you’re in for a show. At Graham Elliot, it arrives in a basket where bread would go at just about any other place; it’s drizzled with truffle oil, parmesan cheese and chives. Bowles could scoop loads of the stuff into brown bags and sell it on the down low to those he’s addicted.
The two-year-old restaurant is a riot of whimsy — from the food to the bouncy staff who walk it to the tables to the jovial group behind the scenes — and it has created a buzz in this city’s outrageously dynamic food scene that has found the attention of Michelin.
Read more in the Toronto Star.
Adrian Brijbassi 
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