These days chefs are like rock stars. They sign autographs, they make celebrity appearances and throngs of fans follow their every move. Now one of Chicago’s hottest chefs is opening a restaurant paying homage to a band that pretty much showed rock stars how it’s done.
During the summer of 1971 Keith Richards and Anita rented a villa in the south of France. He and his fellow Rolling Stones drank, smoked, consumed copious amounts of drugs, and recorded much of what was to become “Exile On Main Street”, considered by many to be their best album. Photos from the time show an opulent mansion occupied by barefoot, bohemian musicians who found any corner and made it their own.
This week Chef Jared Van Camp and nightlife empresarios Chris Freeman and Chris Dexter are opening their own Nellcôte. The decor is also opulent, with crystal chandeliers, wrought iron gates, bleached herringbone wood floors and Italian marble stairs. But at $15 and less the prices are bohemian and the food is local. Van Camp is even milling his own flour, a first in Chicago and already in demand by other chefs.
The grand opening is Thursday, but there’s a special, invitation-only “Evening of Exile” on Tuesday. And we’ve got invitations. Five pair of them, to be exact.
How do you get them? Tweet this:
“Shake Your Hips @thelocaltourist and tell @jaredvancamp I Just Want to See His Face & Let It Loose”
by 11am tomorrow morning (Monday, February 27) and we’ll randomly pick five of you to go to this exclusive party. Not on Twitter? Leave a comment with your favorite Rolling Stones song.
It’s only rock and roll, but I like it.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.