January 31, 2010  |  News

The Gorbals

Ilan Hall's restaurant The Gorbals in downtown Los Angeles

Third Wheel holds regular business meetings, and since we all enjoy eating, we hold business meetings over meals. It’s more fun that way. We use it as an opportunity to get out and sample some new restaurants that we might not otherwise try. Today was no exception! Since all three of us are avid “Top Chef” fans, we decided to check out the restaurant of Season 2’s Ilan HallThe Gorbals.

The name refers to an area of Scotland known for its Jewish population — also where Hall’s father grew up– and the influences of both of those cultures are apparent in the food. The place is charming and I got a big kick out of watching Chef Hall work his magic in the kitchen. I’m not going to pretend that I’m a food critic, and The Gorbals has already seen plenty of critiques, but I will tell you that the brunch I had there today was quite delicious. Challah french toast with orange marmalade? Yum. But the cheese blintzes with brown butter? Ohmygoodness. Completely to die for. As in, if I were to request something as a last meal, those could quite possibly be it. (I’m unwilling to commit to such a thing as of yet. But I would want to be prepared with a list of options in case the occasion arose.)

So, before this turns into a full-on food blog, I want you to know that we discussed all sorts of interesting things that were musically and business-ally related to Third Wheel. But some of them are TOP SECRET! So I can’t disclose all the juicy details. Just know that there are great things ahead this year. Really, really great exciting things. You will want to be a part of them.

As we were leaving the meeting, we noticed a few other places in the neighborhood that could be fun for our next rendezvous.  What do you think?

Weeneez

Weeneez? Really?

Big Man Bakes

Rich is excited about this one. Can't you tell??

Tough financial times call for extreme creativity … apparently that extends to store names as well. As far as marketing campaigns go, I can just imagine that the possibilities for a restaurant called “Weeneez” would be endless. But good job, Big Man Bakes — it’s definitely about time that luxury cupcake industry started catering to their male audience!