On May 21 and 22, Chicago’s Lizzy J’s Café comes to Hudson Table Philadelphia, giving Philadelphians a chance to celebrate life with great food.
By Denise Clay-Murray
Because Philadelphia has a nationally known restaurant scene, one of the first things Philadelphians ask themselves when they travel is, “Where are we gonna eat?”
As a native of the Delaware Valley, Chef Jamie Gilmore knows this pretty well. In addition to her restaurant Lizzy J’s Café in Chicago’s Lincoln Square section, she has catered events all over the Delaware Valley.
On Friday and Saturday May 21 and 22, Gilmore will be bringing a sampling of the offerings she serves at Lizzy J’s to Hudson Table Philadelphia, 1001 N. 2nd Street in Old City as part of a two-day pop-up event.
It starts with Friday night’s Chef Experience Dinner, where Gilmore will be joined by another chef and prepare a four-course dinner that features cocktails, music and the date night atmosphere many of us have missed, she said.
On Saturday, there will be three seatings of the Lizzy’s in Philly Brunch, which features bottomless mimosas for an extra charge. Among the offerings will be such classics as shrimp and grits, and chicken and waffles.
The visit to Philadelphia is part of a tour that Gilmore says was inspired by visitors to Lizzy J’s. In a year where we’ve all been stuck at home and have missed the chance to interact with our friends and family, the chance to do so while having a great meal and cocktails can start to make up for lost time, she said.
“We noticed that we were getting tons of visitors from four specific areas,” Gilmore said. “We had a lady that set up a road trip from New York to Chicago and included us in her road trip. We realized that people travel to eat great food. So, we decided to take [our restaurant experience] on the road.”
“It’s a way of pushing back, of taking ownership of a year where many of us have had a lot of loss,” Gilmore continued. “We’ve lost loved ones. We’ve lost vacations. We owe [it] to ourselves to begin to celebrate the fact that we’re here.”
The tour is part of what’s been a pretty busy year for Gilmore. Earlier this year, she was a contestant on Food Network’s “Supermarket Stakeout,” a show that challenges chefs to cook a meal using only the groceries they can buy from shoppers coming out of the grocery store.
It wasn’t easy, but Gilmore says she really enjoyed the challenge.
“It was one of the most exciting, most fear inducing moments I’ve had in my life,” she said. “It was nice to come out of COVID and do that. I got to have fun and do something that I enjoyed.”
In addition to her stop in Philly, Gilmore will be heading to Denver, the Carolinas, Georgia, Utah and Los Angeles. The plan is to not only share her food, but share her brand, especially when it comes to Philadelphia, she said.
“The Delaware Valley has been home to me,” she said. “Who wouldn’t want to play in their own yard?”
The Chef Experience Dinner is Friday night at 6:30p.m. and tickets are $75 ($25 additional for the Signature Cocktail Package). Tickets still remain for the 9:30a.m. seating of the Lizzy’s in Philly Brunch and a 1:30 p.m. seating has just been added due to demand. Tickets are $55 ($15 additional for the Bottomless Mimosa package). The 11:30 a.m. seating is sold out.
You can get your tickets via Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lizzy-j-cafe-philly-pop-up-tickets-151547230847?ref=eios
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