Many of us learned what an “alfresco” lunch meant from Zero Mostel in the original movie version of “The Producers.” It sounded exotic to Leo Bloom, but it turned out to be just a dirty water dog in Central Park. Recently I was among the 80,000 people jamming Chicago’s Grant Park as part of the Lollapalooza festival. Of course, I was interested in what the food offerings were and was pleasantly surprised by many of them and the short waiting lines to get to them. It proved that you could do quality, interesting work on a mass level instead of just phoning it in.
Let’s start with local restaurateur Graham Elliot who recently upped his Q Rating with an appearance on “Top Chef Masters.”
His restaurant set up shop along the Balbo Ave food row and sold food which was gourmet-adjacent but still appropriate for a big, sweaty rock concert. And what was really impressive was that he was THERE, every day—on the line, making sure it was all good. Sure he posed for a few pictures with some of his fans (it IS a rock festival, after all) but he was there to work. No Rocco DiSpirito here. And being a musician himself and a fan, he was also there to see some bands at night—we chatted about some of his faves. 
On the menu was a lobster corndog with a lemon aioli. Terrifically meaty and tasty on the inside and delicately quick friend on the outside. Didn’t even leave a grease stain in the cardboard. 
Another great option, even for us carnivores, was the portobello satay with the spicy peanut sauce—a nice balance of sweet and spice with meaty pieces of mushroom, also on a festival-friendly stick like the corndog.Or how about the black pepper-parmesan-truffle popcorn? Less successful were the buffalo chicken wings with a blue cheese foam, as the ones I got were cold and flabby,and hard to eat while you’re juggling a beer, but that’s the type of thing that’s hard to pull off in a mass catering situation. Nevertheless, I was impressed by his food and the effort he put into the weekend and look forward to visiting his real restaurant on my next trip to town.
As pedestrian as it sounds, I also really enjoyed the cheeseburgers by the Old Towne Smokehouse (don’t think it’s a real restaurant) stand. Good smokey flavor, fresh bun (a little sticky being warmed in foil) and totally manageable while walking to see your next band.]
Given the sweltering heat, and the dodgy bathroom situation (too much?) I was a little taken aback by the overall lack of options that didn’t involve deep frying, sausage, or beef. Normally, as in my Spring Training Baseball trip, I’d be all in, but this wasn’t the time or place. One option which was a really pleasant surprise was the black bean burger served up by Goose Island Clybourn, a pop up from a local brewpub.
Coming on a warm pita with some shredded cabbage it was spicy (especially with a little extra sriracha) and completely satisfying. They also offered beer-fed pork sliders and a grilled cheese pretzel, but, hey, the festival was only three days long. When I escaped the park and got out and about, I was able to sample some Chicago classics including Twin Anchors, covered in a previous post, the upscale and excellent Weber Grill (brought to you buy, duh, Weber Grills, and the inimitable Diner Grill in Lakeview, home of the infamous “Slinger.” Got some great video of that to post when I get a chance.
Rock On.
--Savage
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