Lollapalooza

In 2010, Lollapalooza is introducing a new & improved Chow Town. This year Lolla offers more dining options than ever. Chow Town is now two different food courts on the Northside and Southside of Grant Park. Look for about 15 new restaurants at the park, along with returning favorites, which together will offer a culinary line-up to match the festival’s hyped headlining musical acts.

Each week, our friends at Foodie will be showcasing these local culinary favorites, as well as tips and deals for dining around Chicago during Lolla weekend. Today’s feature is on the Lolla Culinary Director himself, Graham Elliot Bowles. Cheers!

In an era of rock star chefs, there are few emerging faster than Chicago’s Graham Elliot Bowles.

He’s the youngest chef in America to ever receive four stars when he helmed the kitchen at Avenues at the Peninsula Hotel. Then Bowles went on to open his eponymous River North “bistronomic” spot to raves two years ago, where he creates his signature “foilipops” encrusted with Pop Rocks alongside inventive dishes like hushpuppy-style sweetbread and deconstructed Caesar salad with a brioche twinkie while an array of indie, head-banger and classic rock flow from the kitchen’s iPod. He’s working on launching an upscale sandwich shop, Grahamwich, and will appear as a judge on Gordon Ramsay’s new show, Masterchef.

In 2009, he cooked at Lollapalooza for Perry Farrell and introduced the world to his lobster corn dogs as the first more-upscale chef to sell food to the festival’s masses. This year, Bowles is Lollapalooza’s culinary ambassador, where he gathered some of the city’s best chefs and restaurants to take Chow Town, the festival’s food court, to a higher level. We chatted with Bowles to see why he chose the restaurants he did and who he’d want to rock out with on stage.

Foodie: What excites you about Chow Town – and why did you want to be part of that and Lollapalooza?
Graham Elliot Bowles: We did Lolla last year and had such a great time with the crowd, C3 Presents team, bands, etc. To be part of something this massive, coupled with the memories that come with it, like having gone to Lolla in my younger years, was a no brainer. We’re just excited to be cooking alongside some of Chicago’s best restaurants in such a great setting. Where else can you get this food, hear this music and have such a beautiful cityscape to take in, all simultaneously?

Foodie: Why did you select the restaurants you did?
GEB: We wanted to showcase local independent restaurants and chefs that shared in the belief that food and music go hand in hand.

Foodie: What’s going to be on your menu for the festival?
GEB: Lobster corn dog with lemon aioli, truffled Parmesan popcorn and [a vegan] watermelon gazpacho.

Foodie: What does each restaurant bring to the table or what makes this group special?
GEB: Each restaurant has their own style and approach toward cooking … we have someone who specializes in homemade pie, someone who does amazingly fun and unique hot dogs, etc. We feel this food festival truly shows off the breadth of creativity that is alive and well in the Chicago food scene.

Foodie: Were there any other restaurants on your dream list that couldn’t commit to Chow Town?
GEB: Not really; I won’t say any names but we asked a few people that we thought would be a good fit, but for their own reasons they couldn’t commit to doing it this year. Maybe next time…

Foodie: Any other restaurants that haven’t yet been announced that we can talk about?
GEB: I’d say the list is 99 percent complete, however I wouldn’t rule out that there could be someone that gets in the game at the last second.

Foodie: What bands are you excited to see during the festival?
GEB: Soundgarden, Social Distortion, Lady Gaga, Chromeo, Arcade Fire, Hot Chip, The Temper Trap…

Foodie: Since you also play guitar [Bowles spent time in a band in his youth], if you had the chance to jam with anyone playing Lollapalooza, who would it be?
GEB: Probably Soundgarden; Chris Cornell is about as badass as they come.