EL Ideas

Inside the “Ball Cave”—the West Side prep kitchen for the Meatyballs food trucks—chefs Phillip Foss (Lockwood) and Andrew Brochu (Kith & Kin) are operating a ten-seat “micro-restaurant." EL, whose name is short for “Elevated ideas,” serves a $125 tasting menu to only ten diners a night. It's a brash idea, and they have the culinary background to pull it off. But the courses that come out of the kitchen (chowder with a blood clam, a smoked oyster with horseradish) are full of overly aggressive flavors and overcomplicated platings, making for a risky dining experience.