The Gorbals
Bacon wrapped matzoh balls with horseradish cream; Sweet potato fritters with fried sage; Cucumber salad with toasted garbanzo beans, chili threads and a crispy sesame leaf; Chicken sandwich on homemade rye with pickled turnips; Sticky pudding with sage and brown sugar ice cream.
It is not a pretty neighborhood. We walked down hobo alley – where there actually were men on the sidewalk playing dice for money (I thought that only happened in the movies!) – to get there. The Alexandria Hotel use to be a glittering home-away-from-home for the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart, Mae West, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Winston Churchill and several U.S. Presidents, including Taft, Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt. Now it is home to low-income residences made up of “Micro-Lofts®,” complete with community spaces and regular visits from social services. And The Gorbals.
To say that this is an unexpected location for a foodie paradise is a gross understatement.
The restaurant isn’t fancy. There is little to distract from the food – I’d describe it as Minimalist Rustic Industrial. Rough-hewn tables, exposed pipes and ductwork and an open kitchen with counter seating. The lunch menu is on a chalkboard over the tiny bar. If there is anything else on the walls, I didn’t notice. The only decoration I saw are the leaded glass windows that look out onto the lobby – I assume they are original to the building.
It was a bit surreal to see Ilan (Top Chef Season Two winner) bustling about in the kitchen. I went over to thank him for the beautiful meal, and he was gracious and warm. We talked about the food – he was curious to know what we thought of it. He really seems to be treating the restaurant as a laboratory, trying things out and modifying as he goes. It was the first day for the Sweet Potato Fritters, for example. They are absolutely delicious – crispy and caramelized on the outside, rich and creamy inside – and the unexpected addition of the sage leaves is the perfect foil for the sweetness. There was an issue with structural integrity, however. With no coating on the outside, they didn’t really hold together the way you’d expect something called a fritter would. Ilan is working on it, and in this workshop of a restaurant that seems just fine.
It’s a tiny operation. Well, maybe there’s a larger staff at dinner, but when we were there, there was Ilan, a sous chef and one server. Far from seeming neglected, the spare staff added to the homey sense of the place – almost like the chef is cooking for you in his home. I have great respect for a man who takes his prize money and spends it so carefully (the rent at the Alexandria must be cheap), and keeps the focus where it belongs – the food. I am enchanted by The Gorbals and its unassuming proprietor. I hope to go back soon to sample more of his outstanding food.