The GORBALS | 501 South Spring Street | Los Angeles, CA 90013
The Gorbals is open for dinner 6 days a week | Monday-Wednesday 6pm – 12midnight | Thursday-Saturday 6pm – 2am
Downtown Los Angeles is crawling with unknowns from the secret worn down buildings that house exquisite art to old architecture that, upon opening a pair of glass, iron, or wooden doors, lead you into a world crawling with the culinary unknown. One night, my stomach began to beckon and my taste buds began to revolt. It was time to discover something I’d only recently realized was in existence. Imagine if you will, a tale of how matzoh and bacon came to be. A tale where the two embarked on a happy journey leading to a palate arousing marriage. Now imagine this: An open lobby and a wooden door painted in chalkboard paint. Nothing fancy but everything about it screaming, “want to know who I am?” THAT is The GORBALS. A dichotomy in it’s own right. The GORBALS is where you go to please your mouth. Owned by one of my all time favorite “TOP CHEF” Chefs, Chef Ilan Hall is not only one inventive master of the kitchen, he is also my secret hero. Really…
Before I let you read the “Who” part of GORBALS, I must mention that Ilan Hall was on Top Chef when it first began. It was one of my all time favorite shows and HE was actually one of my favorites ever to be on the show. Broadcast in 2007, the continual arguing and banter between Ilan and Marcel was not only entertaining, it was incredibly educational. Each Young Chef offered culinary creations I had never been introduced to before. So in essence, I owe my passion for innovative food and gastronomy partly to Ilan. Something about his goofy glasses and misshapen mohawk made him sweetly endearing. That and his ability to make you both love pigs and want to eat them.
As for Chef Ilan Hall and my first introduction to him on Top Chef, the most endearing quality about him was his childlike love for what he does, choosing integrity more often than not, and innovation in every meal he produced at any single one of the challenges. When critiqued by the panels of judges, he listened and while he was continually going head to head with the biting expertise and young ego of Chef Marcel Vigneron, Ilan’s preparation and thoughtfulness was undeniable every time. That said, I was beyond thrilled to step inside of his lair of culinary irony and sit down to dine.
When you enter, everything is dimly lit with an organic sense of ambiance: blocks of wooden stools adorn the bar of sanded and imperfectly polished metal, wood and iron chairs situated in an orderly yet somehow open fashion, flooring that just feels like it’s rustic and raw, candles lit, and this underground feel like you’ve just stumbled upon an unknown art house that serves intoxicating food. Oh, and a rather eclectic selection of beer and wine. While I came on a quiet evening, if you check their site, there are unique bands that come to play here as well. With a menu categorized by the animal you’re about to devour, it’s safe to say The GORBALS has no shame in asking you to envision the happy, meaty life they’re all too willing to prepare for you.
Does this even need an explanation? This is something you must try. The squishy herb-ed textured matzoh wrapped with fatty bacon coupled with hints of dill and shavings lying in a bed of aioli is something you can’t get just anywhere. Plus, think about the concept. Sure, they may have done it way back when (or so we’re told) but this dish alone sets the tone for a meal that begs you to let go of preconceived notions.
Yes, it does sound odd but it was so strangely different, it was hard not to like it! Vibrant purples saturated in risotto with cucumber, feta, beets, all basking in the light crunch of the crushed pistachio and this was one of the food adventures that seemed unique enough to try. And so we did. And it was good and – interesting. And well, purple!
Need I say more? Ok, fine – I will. This was seriously bold for a cucumber. A plate that doesn’t ask much of you except that you like your vegetables with flavor. Yes, it may appear simple but cucumbers slightly roasted with the brush of garbanzo dressing, and the perfectly cooked bean – not your regular veggie plate to be sure (thankfully!).
Typically, Vietnamese Bánh mì are sandwiches filled with marinated pork, cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro, pepper, and other Vietnamese spices and ingredients. Ilan leaves the bun behind and instead smothers this tasty concoction of little piggy and Vietnamese-influenced tradition over good old fashioned French Fries. Throw in some cream sauce with a touch of their in-house version remnant of Rooster sauce and what you have is comfort food.
To drink —
The bouquet holds fresh red berries and a paper-esque earthiness. The earthiness carries over to the palate chauffeured by sweet cherry cola, silky tannins, dry spice and a sparkle in its eye.
Glass – $13 | Bottle – $45
A perfect balance of body and structure, drinkability and flavor; this is the Antonio Banderas of wines.
Glass…15 Bottle…52
The GORBALS isn’t a stop you come to on occasion. It’s rare enough AND affordable enough to warrant making it back whenever you get the urge to – eat. So, while it’s been a handful of years – this lives up to the expectations. Easy, tasty, casual, and quirky, this is a Downtown restaurant I encourage you to find.
Too often the food world is hidebound by labels. When choosing a place to eat we look for ethnicity, location, head chef, price, celebrity. Spanish. French. Raw. Mario Batali. Asian-Italian fusion. New York. LA. The Gorbals cannot be so narrowly defined.
Its inspiration is a neighborhood in Glasgow, Scotland. This is where Ilan’s father, the son of German and Russian-Jewish immigrants, grew up.
The post-war Gorbals, much like New York’s Lower East Side, was where poor immigrants (mainly Jewish, Indian and Pakistani) made their homes, cooked their meals and lived their traditions while excluded from the mainstream culture. The Gorbals of downtown Los Angeles is also and amalgam of many different ethnicities and tastes. It is Scottish, Jewish, Spanish, American; it is haggis burgers, paella, chicken skin sandwiches, gefilte fish ‘n chips, and bacon-wrapped matzoh balls.
But unlike its namesake, The Gorbals treats the foreign flavor as a chance to try, not a must to avoid. The Gorbals is not limited to a certain ethnicity, preparation method or niche. The Gorbals is a spot for new and diverse ideas. For tasty, oddball food that is there for anyone who is willing to eat something that does not fall into a category. It is not an Italian restaurant, or an Indian restaurant, or a Scottish restaurant, or a Los Angeles restaurant, nor is it new age, traditional, old school, fusion, pretentious or plain.
It is simply The Gorbals.
Born to travel-hungry Scottish and Israeli parents of Eastern-European descent, chef/owner Ilan Hall was exposed to international food from an early age.
At seventeen, Ilan went to Florence where he studied at the Lorenzo de Medici School’s Apiciusprogram and cooked at the Al Lume di Candela restaurant. After an externship at Charlie Palmer’s Aureole in New York, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and subsequently got his certification in Baking and Pastry Arts at the school’s Napa, California campus. While there he worked at the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant; back in New York Ilan cooked for Tom Collicchio at Craft, then for Mario Batali at Casa Mono under chef/co-ownerAndy Nusser, originally of Batali’s acclaimed Babbo.
At 24, on the series still most-watched episode, he won Bravo TV’s reality competition, Top Chef.
Ilan has been traveling the world all his life; his restless nature and tradition-shattering style have now spawned his indefinable first restaurant – The Gorbals Los Angeles.
Ok, one more shot of the bacon wrapped matzoh for good measure:
“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” George Bernard Shaw The experience of food is often an emotional journey. The moment a piece of culinary heaven glides past your lips and indulges your tongue, it heightens your senses, your body becomes submissive to the fare your ingest, and you become intoxicated by its flavor. Food is a statement. My goal is to find the food that gives you a unique experience and satisfies your need to take an adventure with every bite.
The Mangalitsa* (MON-go-leet-sa) was created in 1833 by the Hungarian Royal Archduke Jozsef.
Unlike all popular breeds of hogs, which are meat-type, the Mangalitsa is an extreme lard-typebreed.
Meat-type breeds efficiently produce lean meat. Lard-type breeds produce high-quality fat and very marbled, juicy and flavorful meat.
Raised properly the Mangalitsa’s genes allow it to produce some of the world’s best meat and fat.
* In Hungarian, Mangalitsa is spelled mangalica. There are three Mangalitsa breeds: Blonde, Red and Swallow-belly. They taste the same, so we refer to all of them as “Mangalitsa”.
Mangalitsa fat is more unsaturated than normal pig fat, so it tastes much “lighter”, “cleaner” and melts at a lower temperature. The fat is also healthier and keeps longer, due to higher levels of oleic acid.
Mangalitsa meat has stronger flavor and more than double the marbling of average pork.
The Gorbals is like a music festival except instead of music we have food. Lots and lots of awesome food. And instead of drunk kids in neon clothes we have really fantastic beer and wine and cocktails.
So if you think about it, The Gorbals is actually kinda cooler than a music festival… not to toot our own horn or anything.
