Big Lou didn't come from a lunch wagon.Photo courtesy Lou Elrose
The
Times, touching on a
story Grub Street broke in October, had a big feature on the dearth of experienced pitmasters Sunday, pegged on GS pal Big Lou Elrose of Wildwood. The piece marvels at the quick ascent of Big Lou from working an Ozone Park lunch wagon to his current post, but in fact, Elrose’s bones were made as Adam Perry Lang’s right-hand man in competition; the lunch wagon was just a lark. Still, the city’s top pitmasters are as baffling to food writers as they are to the general public. Their job is hard to understand, because nothing they do happens while customers are present to observe. There is one factor that never changes, though, and will always separate real pitmasters from merely titular ones.
Most Commented
Daily Intel
Last 7 Days
Vulture
Last 7 Days
Grub Street
Last 7 Days
The Cut
Last 7 Days