Late last month a dead sea bass was slapped down at the back door of Lincoln Park’s Boka restaurant with a note stuffed in its mouth.
“Hear ye, hear ye,” it read, ” … The team of graham elliot hereby offer a challenge to the crew of Boka restaurant, to defend their honor by way of American football.”
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A week later, the Huron Street restaurant got its answer. Boka chef Giuseppe Tentori said he sent one of his cooks there “in the middle of dinner service to deliver a cow head with the note behind the tongue,” accepting the dare.
Gastronomic gauntlets thrown down, the two restaurants will face off at 11 a.m. Sunday at a football field near Diversey Avenue and the lakefront. The winner is set to play a team from Blackbird/Avec restaurants.
Tentori and Graham Elliot Bowles, who worked together at Charlie Trotter’s, said they were looking for a way to have a little fun with their hard-working staffs.
Will the top chefs take the field?
“Everyone here is very athletic except for me,” Tentori says. “They all have a six-pack and I have a one-pack, but I will play.”
Bowles confirms he’ll play too. “The winner should get a [WWE] type belt with the chef’s face on it to hang over the bar,” Bowles says.
“Get ready, Elliot, it’s coming,” Tentori warns. “And, we’re ready for you, baby.”
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From the grill to the gridiron
So which Chicago restaurant would field the best football team? Our picks:
Mike Ditka’s: With Da Coach screaming from the sidelines, the staffers might be too scared to lose.
Charlie Trotter’s: The question isn’t whether Charlie can play quarterback. The question is, who’s gonna tell him he can’t?
Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club: We don’t care if they’re any good. We just want to see the uniforms.
— Phil Vettel