Graham Elliot Eyeing Los Angeles Restaurant

Just a couple months after opening g.e.b., Graham Elliot is already looking to open another restaurant concept —just not in Chicago. 

"I don't know how many more projects we can do in Chicago with my name on it before people start setting them on fire," he told The Daily Meal at Lollapalooza this past weekend. "It's not an ego-driven thing, it just happens to be the brand's name. But I think a lot of people start hating that and look down on it."

So where will Elliot's name pop up next? "What we're looking to do is open something in California, simply because the product out there is amazing," Elliot said. "My restaurant partner, Merlin Verrier, is from that area and I have to be out there to film Masterchef, so I just love that area. It's a good energy and I think what we do would translate well there."

Of course it seems like Elliot's other concepts are translating across the country, namely his gourmet food lineup at Lollapalooza. Next week's Outside Lands has a Lollapalooza-worthy lineup of local San Francisco vendors, while the Great GoogaMooga focused more on food than music. 

"I woudn't say they're copying [us], but we really started it," Elliot said. "You're realizing the whole hipster-fication of food with Instagram and taking pictures of everything you eat and tweeting it all. That's awesome. I think it's made food accessible to everyone, so when people come they realize this is a festival, not just going and seeing a concert. You don't just want a warm beer and a crappy burger."

Additional reporting by Molly Collins.