591752 Wed Jan 28 19:19:28 -0800 2009 275 33 Food Media and News 0 4367777 First thoughts: - Jeff is an idiot. when will he learn? K.I.S.S. - Leah was so worried about screwing up with her fish again that she ended up OVER-cooking it. i laughed out loud. - Jamie is "intimidated" by these past cheftestants? really? surprising. - and speaking of the returning chefs from past seasons..."All-Stars" my ass (Andrew & Spike notwithstanding) - i think it would be hilarious to see Nikki the Pasta Queen pitted against Mr. Ravioli - random thought re: Scott Contant - sure Scarpetta just got 3* in the NY Times, but why haven't they also mentioned Alto or L'Impero? Wed Jan 28 19:19:28 -0800 2009 103920 goodhealthgourmet 1 4367804 in the QF, Jamie picked fruit but she made shrimp? So Fabio can cook some meat dish and just have a side of veggies? Wed Jan 28 19:28:14 -0800 2009 4367777 180506 Ericandblueboy 2 4367819 Yeah, other than the nectarine salsa (which did NOT have oats in them, I don't think), her dish really did NOT fit her challenge - should have been a disqualification, IMO! Wed Jan 28 19:32:25 -0800 2009 4367804 10532 LindaWhit 2 4367822 yeah, Jamie was stretching it a bit with the fruit category. i know she was playing it off as though coconut is a fruit - many people believe it is - but technically it's a seed. but i guess since nectarine & avocado are both fruits, she got away with it anyway. Wed Jan 28 19:33:19 -0800 2009 4367804 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4368264 I thought Carla should have won the quickfire -- she was the only one who paid more than lip service to the requirements of the challenge. She used the oats as a major component of her dish, and in an innovative way, and the other major ingredients were from her required category. In contrast, Leah's oatmeal crust was barely visible, and Hosea's wasn't much more; Jamie used both the oats and the required fruit as minor components, basically garnishes. Stefan made a version of a dish you can buy at McDonalds (a parfait with oats). Fabio and Jeff both at least tried to fulfill the requirements, but failed in execution. Carla was the only one who met both the spirit and the letter of the challenge *and* executed her dish successfully. BTW, at judges table Tom mentioned that Carla had infused the crawfish into the stock, which was presumably made during the prep period. Perhaps the roux was also used to make the stock. Thu Jan 29 00:20:40 -0800 2009 4367822 10159 Ruth Lafler 4 4368886 I wouldn't have disqualified Jamie, but I agree that Carla deserved the quickfire. Fabio's eggplant looked vile. Why didn't he grind up the oats to make flour? I'm not sorry to see Jeff go -- I was rarely impressed with his chops. My only regret is that my friends and I will no longer be able to make lame jokes about the "Dildo" Beach Club. Worst. Name. Ever. Thu Jan 29 08:12:20 -0800 2009 4368264 18466 a_and_w 5 4368978 It's "DiLido" not "Dildo," and it was the name of the original Art Deco hotel that is part of the Ritz-Carlton that houses the restaurant. The tribute to the history of the building is good enough reason for me to suppress childish giggles. Thu Jan 29 08:32:15 -0800 2009 4368886 35525 Frodnesor 6 4369311 I also couldn't look at it w/o seeing it as "Dildo" Beach Club. Thu Jan 29 09:50:47 -0800 2009 4368978 13592 isadorasmama 6 4369754 No dil-duh it's Dilido. Thu Jan 29 11:32:43 -0800 2009 4368978 18466 a_and_w 6 4369784 I don't think knowing the history for me would have made me more mature about the name. I was just waiting for them to omit the second "i." Thu Jan 29 11:39:27 -0800 2009 4368978 10763 Miss Needle 5 4369956 I know what the correct name is, but this never stopped me--or my husband--from yelling "dildo beach club" every time I saw the name on the screen. I'm actually kind of relieved to know that we weren't the only ones being adolescent about this. Thu Jan 29 12:14:08 -0800 2009 4368886 179074 Nonsenseprecious 6 4370109 I guess living in Miami Beach and having driven by hundreds upon hundreds of times, I've finally grown out of it. Thu Jan 29 12:50:11 -0800 2009 4369956 35525 Frodnesor 7 4371227 not to mention that because it's pronounced with a decided dEE not a "Dill", the joke is rather lost. Oh, and don't forget that we have DiLido Island too to reinforce the pronunciation -- so those of us who've been around Miami for years pretty much only hear " Dee-Lee-dough"in our heads whenever we see the word. Thu Jan 29 17:57:17 -0800 2009 4370109 156760 karmalaw 5 4371925 IIRC, whenever they showed Jeff's name the "l" in DiLido wasn't capitalized. And I too, immediately thought "dildo". Now that I see people writing it with a cap, "dildo" doesn't pop out quite as quickly. Fri Jan 30 03:21:18 -0800 2009 4368886 189144 dmjordan 5 4372606 No worries guys. Most of you would fit right in if you visit South Beach. Fri Jan 30 08:37:43 -0800 2009 4368886 124704 Icantread 4 4369157 Agree about the quickfire and how about tofu coming out in the top again! As I recall the last time we saw tofu was in Season 4 with the winning Green Perplexed Tofu. When will the chefs truly embrace the versatility and wonderment of tofu? Also liked Andrea mugging Tom on camera. His laughter made him seem more human and less robo-chef. Thu Jan 29 09:18:40 -0800 2009 4368264 163246 tofuburrito 5 4369337 I take it you really like tofu, especially in burritos? Thu Jan 29 09:56:03 -0800 2009 4369157 180506 Ericandblueboy 5 4373477 i thought he seemed more human too. Fri Jan 30 12:38:09 -0800 2009 4369157 11854 LaLa 3 4368707 if were gonna get all technical here, though, shouldnt her use of avocado boost the fruit count in her recipe? Thu Jan 29 07:16:17 -0800 2009 4367822 108056 tex.s.toast 4 4382203 uh yeah and it was COCONUT shrimp? no one remembered that? Mon Feb 02 19:23:45 -0800 2009 4368707 242801 CoryKatherine 5 4383311 as i said above, her use of avocado helped her get away with it. technically coconut is *not* a fruit, though may people erroneously believe it is...so that may have been another consideration - i'm guessing the judges counted it as a fruit. Tue Feb 03 08:22:20 -0800 2009 4382203 103920 goodhealthgourmet 6 4383784 This is splitting hairs, but botanically, a coconut is a fruit. Tue Feb 03 10:21:57 -0800 2009 4383311 56054 dave_c 7 4384071 I think it's technically a seed, not a fruit. Tue Feb 03 11:33:55 -0800 2009 4383784 18466 a_and_w 8 4384562 yep, it's a seed, which is what i pointed out earlier in the thread...but most people do think it's a fruit. Tue Feb 03 13:54:41 -0800 2009 4384071 103920 goodhealthgourmet 1 4367816 You and Phaedrus ended up posting close to the same time - with a lot of agreement between your two posts! I broke out laughing when Leah overcooked the fish this time as well. And Jeff??? How many freakin' times has he SAID he overthinks things? If he knows he does that, fix it! Agree with your "all-stars my ass" comment - not REALLY! With the Bowl challenge, I'm thinking (hoping?) that Stefan has severely underestimated his All-Star, Andrea! He's thinking he picked an easy mark - what fun it would be if she outcooked him! Wed Jan 28 19:31:36 -0800 2009 4367777 10532 LindaWhit 2 4367839 Andrea, cook? Wed Jan 28 19:39:08 -0800 2009 4367816 180506 Ericandblueboy 3 4367845 It's quite possible - she was pegged as a vegetarian, but she said she's not. Let's see what happens! ETA: SEE???? LOL And Andrew's imitation of Stephan was great! Wed Jan 28 19:40:59 -0800 2009 4367839 10532 LindaWhit 4 4367868 i choked on my water when Andrew imitated Stefan. he's still freaking hi-larious! Wed Jan 28 19:52:11 -0800 2009 4367845 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4367874 wow.....I think the crowd is biased against Stefan. Wed Jan 28 19:55:07 -0800 2009 4367845 180506 Ericandblueboy 1 4367847 Hosea's cracking me up every time he calls Miguel "Chunk" (my fellow "Goonies" fans will get the reference)...and his salmon dish looked AWESOME. Wed Jan 28 19:42:02 -0800 2009 4367777 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4367849 I caught that as well - LOVED it - he's the perfect Chunk! Wed Jan 28 19:42:52 -0800 2009 4367847 10532 LindaWhit 3 4367899 The "Chunk" nickname started during Miguel's season. Hosea didn't come up with it. ... I think Padma even introduced Miguel with his nickname when she revealed the "all star" team. Wed Jan 28 20:05:56 -0800 2009 4367849 23389 charmedgirl 4 4367902 Yes, I know that. I just liked that Hosea used it as well. Wed Jan 28 20:07:18 -0800 2009 4367899 10532 LindaWhit 5 4367911 yep, remembered it from his season, but that doesn't make it any less amusing now :) Wed Jan 28 20:10:38 -0800 2009 4367902 103920 goodhealthgourmet 6 4367937 Eep, that's my anti-Hosea bias showing. Heh, I guess I want to make sure he didn't get undue credit for being creative or funny. Sorry guys. ;-) Wed Jan 28 20:18:59 -0800 2009 4367911 23389 charmedgirl 7 4367954 that's ok, any "undue credit" he might have gotten is immediately negated by his ridiculous, continual cry-baby bitching about Stefan. Wed Jan 28 20:25:42 -0800 2009 4367937 103920 goodhealthgourmet 8 4368638 Yeah, he definitely needs to stop the wah-wah machine. It's getting rather boring. Fix it by beating him in challenges, Hosea! Thu Jan 29 06:52:54 -0800 2009 4367954 10532 LindaWhit 1 4367848 Spike's an a$$. Stop casting after season 4? So now he's selling crappy burgers in DC, big whoop. Wed Jan 28 19:42:51 -0800 2009 4367777 180506 Ericandblueboy 2 4369111 That comment made me want to throw something at the screen. Talk about inflated ego. If we want to talk best seasons and when they should have stopped casting, it would be more accurate to say cast seasons 1 and 3, but skip 2 and 4. And, sadly, the way things are shaping up now, I'd say skip 5 too. Thu Jan 29 09:06:00 -0800 2009 4367848 23389 charmedgirl 2 4369201 I had to tell my husband last night about your question to him on what gives him the right to shove crappy burgers down DC's throats on the other thread. Too funny. Thu Jan 29 09:30:08 -0800 2009 4367848 39874 chowser 1 4367876 So - it's Jeff and Stephan in the bottom. I have to believe it's going to be Jeff. Wait - they just showed Fabio in the bottom group arguing with Conant? Or was he in the top group? ETA: BTW, did anyone catch Fabio using the "monkey ass" comment again in a confessional? I missed what he was saying - something with ___-bananas? So is Fabio in the bottom because he only got 3 points in a field goal? And Carla got two tix to the Super Bowl????? Holy CRAP! Great prize! ~~~~~~~~ I was right. Jeff's gone. Dammit. I really REALLY think that Fabio should have gone. But Jeff couldn't keep it simple - that was his downfall. I'm seriously bummed that he is gone before Leah and Fabio. And OOOOHHHHH! Eric Ripert is back next week - woo-hoo! Wed Jan 28 19:56:49 -0800 2009 4367777 10532 LindaWhit 2 4367885 or Fabio. looks like he REALLY pisses of Scott Conant at JT. you know, for everyone's griping about how Stefan can't take criticism, Fabio always gets so pissy & refuses to accept any negative feedback about his food. Wed Jan 28 19:59:08 -0800 2009 4367876 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4367979 Seems like the editors threw us a bit of misdirection this time. I was certain Fabio was getting the edit of doom when we learned that his mother is very ill and that he needs to win TC to pay for her medical treatment. Incidentally, Fabio had my sympathy over the cheese/acidity situation. He's Italian. Forget the stereotype about rigid Germans. Germans seem downright anarchic compared to Italians commitment to cooking rules. When Fabio heard the particular cheese/acid suggestion from the chef of an Italian restaurant, from Fabio's point of view, he was hearing pure unadulterated blasphemy. Wed Jan 28 20:36:00 -0800 2009 4367885 61567 Indy 67 2 4367890 I think he said fried bananas. Wed Jan 28 20:01:50 -0800 2009 4367876 180506 Ericandblueboy 3 4368004 yep - i just caught it on the replay. he said if the ingredient was monkey ass, he'd "serve it with fried bananas or something." Wed Jan 28 20:46:56 -0800 2009 4367890 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4367944 LOL Linda - look at the last line of my post below. i think you & i really must share a brain :) Wed Jan 28 20:21:03 -0800 2009 4367876 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4368652 It's ERIC RIPERT!!!! What is there *not* to WOO-HOO about? ;-) Thu Jan 29 06:57:33 -0800 2009 4367944 10532 LindaWhit 2 4367991 All Fabio cooks is monkey ass. Someone should tell Fabio that this is "Top Chef", not "Top Monkey Ass". Wed Jan 28 20:40:20 -0800 2009 4367876 161386 kmcarr 3 4368000 LOL! he knew he couldn't make any more ravioli, so he had to find another "pet" ingredient ;) i was just thinking about all the monkey comments on this show. first Hung, now Fabio. what's up with that? Wed Jan 28 20:45:39 -0800 2009 4367991 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4369218 To give him the benefit of the doubt, it's not his first language and, at least for me, I tend to stick with phrases I know well, in other languages. Though, I have to admit I don't know how to say "monkey's ass" in any other language. Thu Jan 29 09:32:24 -0800 2009 4367991 39874 chowser 4 4374985 Affenarse derriere du singe culo di scimmia Sat Jan 31 04:22:51 -0800 2009 4369218 109573 coney with everything 5 4375561 ...proving Fabio's point: "culo di scimmia nello conchiglia" sounds like it would be great! Sat Jan 31 10:39:45 -0800 2009 4374985 13306 Nettie 1 4367896 wow, Carla with the win! and she gets Super Bowl tix as the prize- too bad it's not really a match-up anyone is interested in this year unless you're from AZ or Pitt ;) Wed Jan 28 20:04:28 -0800 2009 4367777 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4367909 Sounds like her husband and step-son will be thrilled to be at the game, while Carla stays back with family eating hot food. I am surprised by how pleased I am that she won a challenge. Wed Jan 28 20:09:42 -0800 2009 4367896 59258 smtucker 3 4368178 Most people would love free tix to the Super Bowl, no matter who was playing. It's a huge event that is bigger than the teams involved. Even if one was a rabid fan of one of the teams, it would cost grand or two just to get in, not to mention get there, etc. A five to ten thousand dollar expereince. Not bad for cooking a plate of gumbo! Wed Jan 28 22:48:05 -0800 2009 4367909 15036 tastyjon 4 4368471 Carla mentioned earlier in the episode that she doesn't watch/like football, but her husband ans step-son loves it. She just likes the time with family eating hot food. I think that is what smtucker is talking about. Gumbo seems like a good tailgating meal. Thu Jan 29 05:41:07 -0800 2009 4368178 14495 viperlush 1 4367925 My random thoughts: It would not be possible for me to dislike Hosea and Leah more. Leah's comment about that football player being hot? Gag me. Does she think of anything other than guys? And Hosea's jealousy of Stefan is just embarrassing. Seriously. Grow UP dude. And get some self respect. Most of the returning chefs are not who I would consider "all stars." Josie? Spike? Andrew? PUH-leese. And I don't even remember who Camille is. It was like I've never seen her before in my life. Jeff!! I'm pulling for you man, but you keep shooting yourself in the foot! Likely he is one of the most talented cooks this season. But he isn't focused or restrained enough. Raw talent and inspiration aren't going to win this for him. I really think he's going home, which sucks. He's way better than some of the others. Toby actually didn't annoy me tonight. Maybe it's because he barely said a word. I really want to taste Carla's food. Something tells me it's just plain good. I wonder if she's going to give those tickets to her husband and stepson? Wed Jan 28 20:15:31 -0800 2009 4367777 23389 charmedgirl 2 4367955 Carla's food may taste good, but it isn't gumbo. She didn't start with a roux. That, alone, disqualifies it as a roux. Other mystery: boiling water and cooking grits in twenty minutes. Can't be done, unless instant grits were used (aka abomination). I cook New Orleans. I understand the flavor that comes from a roux + vegetables = magnificent depth of flavor of caramelized veggies. She could have done a gumbo z'herbs. None of those judges knows New Orleans cooking. They aren't even close. (Maybe Tom really never liked Jeff.) Wed Jan 28 20:25:43 -0800 2009 4367925 79896 shallots 3 4367968 I don't know squat about New Orleans food and I had the same two thoughts re. starting with a roux and cooking grits in 20 minutes. My comment about Carla's food actually wasn't based on this episode ... it's more a sense that has been growing on me for a while. Plus, I feel her on the oats thing. I'm a five-day-oatmeal girl myself, at least during the winter. Wed Jan 28 20:30:16 -0800 2009 4367955 23389 charmedgirl 4 4367993 I'm born and breaded in NOLA, and I have never seen a crawfish in a gumbo nor grits. some areas may serve potato salad with gumbo, but grits? and dear Padma, it's not New Or-leens...I hope you learned how to pronounce it when you were here filming the finale. Wed Jan 28 20:42:32 -0800 2009 4367968 195694 edible complex 5 4368008 pronunciation is a rampant problem with the contestants and the judges on this show...don't hold your breath. Wed Jan 28 20:48:16 -0800 2009 4367993 103920 goodhealthgourmet 5 4368689 They breaded you? Were they too busy serving breaded baby to make the crawfish? Yikes! How gruesome! Or as Carla would say, "where's the love?" Thu Jan 29 07:10:22 -0800 2009 4367993 156760 karmalaw 6 4368885 it's a joke, as most people think everything here is battered and/or deep fried. I lurve my crawfish, but never in a gumbo or crudo...bisque, etouffee, monica, pies, bread, boiled...always. btw, we put the babies in king cakes...now that's some breaded baby. Thu Jan 29 08:12:19 -0800 2009 4368689 195694 edible complex 5 4368874 Carla didn't make Gumbo, she made crawfish and grits! who called it Gumbo? Thu Jan 29 08:08:16 -0800 2009 4367993 52499 ChefJune 6 4368890 She did. Thu Jan 29 08:14:34 -0800 2009 4368874 10532 LindaWhit 7 4368917 she was even seen attempting a roux during the prep. believe during the competition, she was sweating a holy trinity for that gumbo. Thu Jan 29 08:20:23 -0800 2009 4368890 195694 edible complex 8 4368946 I thought I saw that as well. My initial thought when Carla said she was going to make gumbo was "in 20 minutes? I don't think so!" But they did have some prep time. HOWEVER....didn't Hosea or Stephan say that everything they brought to the table at the competition had to be raw? That would have precluded Carla's pre-made roux/trinity. Thu Jan 29 08:25:48 -0800 2009 4368917 10532 LindaWhit 9 4368985 perhaps there was a jar of Savoie's Old Fashioned Roux in that pantry...hmmm Thu Jan 29 08:34:54 -0800 2009 4368946 195694 edible complex 10 4369032 Hmmmm is right! I had forgotten about that stuff! (I confess I might have a jar of that in the back of my fridge - definitely time for a clean-out! LOL) Thu Jan 29 08:45:55 -0800 2009 4368985 10532 LindaWhit 4 4369890 The whole "20 minutes" premise seemed to have been completely disregarded. Aside from the grits, how could Jeff have made a sorbet from scratch in 20 minutes? Thu Jan 29 11:58:24 -0800 2009 4367968 35525 Frodnesor 3 4368173 >>Carla's food may taste good, but it isn't gumbo. She didn't start with a roux. ... I cook New Orleans. I understand the flavor that comes from a roux + vegetables = magnificent depth of flavor of caramelized veggies. Yes, Yes, Yes!! The first thing I wondered was how she planned to cook gumbo in 20 minutes. At my house, gumbo is a several hours' experience. Second, a gumbo without roux is just a fish soup, or bouillabaise or jambalaya depending on how folks cook their gumbo. Maybe the flavors were authentic, but if Jeff made a pseudo-ceviche, she made a pseudo-gumbo or to put it nicely a gumbo-inspired dish. Over grits, is different, but I wouldn't mind trying it. I was surprised to see Jeff go. He seemed to have some of the most adventurous ideas left among the chefs (except maybe for Hosea) even if he has too many for a single dish. I really thought Fabio should go if his venison deserved Tom's comment that "it was already dead, you didn't have to kill it again." I'm still happy to see Carla get the win especially with something that wasn't a dessert. Wed Jan 28 22:43:48 -0800 2009 4367955 259421 kahudson 3 4368489 I agree on the gumbo not being, well, gumbo. As a New Orleans native and a cook of Creole and Cajun cuisine, I find it impossible to make a gumbo in 20 minutes. It definitely wasn't a gumbo and grits are not common in New Orleans. What I can't understand is how "gumbo over grits" can pass as a great New Orleans dish and then Jeff gets dinged for making a ceviche that wasn't "authentic!" On the flip side, I think serving the "gumbo" over grits was a pretty unique idea. I believe she took the lowcountry idea of shrimp and grits and made it into some sort of "crawfish and grits." So I guess it wasn't really gumbo at all, huh? I guess if the dish was named otherwise, I would consider it really interesting. -Kevin Thu Jan 29 05:48:02 -0800 2009 4367955 15382 UptownKevin 4 4368545 I think it's because Carla never claimed to have made an authentic gumbo and because Andrew want a different direction. Both Jeff and Jody made a "ceviche". Jeff criticized Jody's dish by saying it wasn't authentic because it was served warm. He tried to argue that his was authentic because it was cold. Thu Jan 29 06:17:35 -0800 2009 4368489 14495 viperlush 4 4368888 Jeff got dinged 'cause it didn't taste good and was watered down. I was confused about all the comments, but I think it came down to 1) his food didn't taste all that good and 2) he didn't get that part -- he was arguing about authenticity, he was listing all the techniques he displayed during the 20 minutes, and the judges were trying to say "Fine, but the reason we learn all those techniques is to get good-tasting food." Thu Jan 29 08:14:02 -0800 2009 4368489 53971 momjamin 3 4368891 Flashing back to My Cousin Vinny re the instant grits LOL! Thu Jan 29 08:15:04 -0800 2009 4367955 18466 a_and_w 4 4369086 I had the same thought!!! "Were they magic grits? Do the laws of physics not apply in your kitchen??" Awesome. Thu Jan 29 09:00:00 -0800 2009 4368891 23389 charmedgirl 4 4369242 LOL, that was my thought, too. Here I found it: Gambini: Eggs and grits. I like grits too. How do you cook your grits? You like 'em regular, creamy, or al dente? Tipton: Just regular, I guess. Gambini: Regular. Instant grits? Tipton: No self-respecting southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits. Gambini: So, Mr. Tipton, how could it take you five minutes to cook your grits, when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes. Tipton: I don't know. I'm a fast cook, I guess. Gambini: I'm sorry, I was all the way over here. I couldn't hear you. Did you say you're a fast cook? That's it?! Are we to believe that boiling waters soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than on any place on the face of the earth?! Tipton: I don't know. Thu Jan 29 09:37:27 -0800 2009 4368891 39874 chowser 5 4369764 I mean, did Carla get them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?! Thu Jan 29 11:35:37 -0800 2009 4369242 18466 a_and_w 6 4369823 She must have a heck of a source--I commented when I was watching it that it would take 20 minutes just to brown the roux for the gumbo. Must be all that love she keeps sending out! Thu Jan 29 11:47:16 -0800 2009 4369764 39874 chowser 3 4370547 Didn't start with a roux, but she did stir in some roux at some point in the cooking. That's enough for me to call it gumbo, but I can understand people who might disagree. http://recipes.mt.bravotv.com/top_chef/season_5_1/episode_10_2/crayfish_and_andouille_gumbo.php Thu Jan 29 14:29:48 -0800 2009 4367955 13930 Chimayo Joe 4 4370755 I'm not bald and I'm not from Joisey, but I'd say she failed to respect the Crawfish. The addition of a blond roux that late in the cooking disrepects all rouxes everywhere. Thu Jan 29 15:28:29 -0800 2009 4370547 79896 shallots 3 4384510 So Carla did an interview over at the Top Chef website and in it she says the cook time for the grits worried her because she didn't know if 20 minutes would cut it. So perhaps they edited in a way that we couldn't tell she was rushing. She might have plated with just seconds to spare. http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/burning-questions/carla-over-the-moon?page=0%2C0 Tue Feb 03 13:40:39 -0800 2009 4367955 241661 gastrotect 2 4367960 charmedgirl, i'm with you - i really was pulling for Jeff, but he just doesn't LEARN. as for Carla, everyone's been so focused on her eccentricity and her desserts, i don't think i ever knew she was classically trained...and she probably does make seriously tasty comfort food. you're right, Toby was pretty quiet tonight...but never fear, from the promos for next week it looks like he makes some bizarre Obi-Wan reference to Eric Ripert. Wed Jan 28 20:27:29 -0800 2009 4367925 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4370184 Wait, Eric Ripert isn't a Jedi master? Pish. The force is with him. Thu Jan 29 13:07:48 -0800 2009 4367960 10074 Caitlin McGrath 1 4367939 final thoughts (for now, anyway): - i was really torn about this elimination. on one hand, Jeff deserved to go home. he talks about how he needs to stop doing so much, and every time, he does too much. on the other hand, Fabio really overcooked his venison, and i think the only reason the fans chose his dish was because of his personality/performance, not his food. - Jeff handled his loss very graciously, and the judges clearly have respect for him - Fabio surprised me with his acknowledgment that he really dodged a bullet - i am SO sick of hearing Hosea bitch about Stefan - what the heck is UP with the chefs mispronouncing ingredients & dishes every week? Andrea, "mole" is not pronounced "MOL-ee"...and jamie, cioppino is not pronounced "CHEE-o-PEE-no" - Carla made me nervous when she started talking about the "love" again while she was cooking - but the judges went for it this time! - and finally...next week: Eric Ripert is back. woo-hoo!! Wed Jan 28 20:19:15 -0800 2009 4367777 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4368020 I agree on every point. I'm disappointed to see Jeff go. I told DH last week that I thought the last 2 standing would be Jeff and Carla. I'm still pulling for Carla. Who doesn't want comfy food cooked with love? Wed Jan 28 20:56:14 -0800 2009 4367939 11778 irishnyc 3 4368466 I want comfy food cooked with love at home, not at a restaurant. Thu Jan 29 05:37:52 -0800 2009 4368020 180506 Ericandblueboy 4 4369369 Really? I seriously think there aren't enough GOOD comfort food restaurants around. Thu Jan 29 10:02:22 -0800 2009 4368466 13592 isadorasmama 2 4368504 Ugh...that "CHEE-o-PEE-NO" thing hurt my ears. And imo, just like Carla, Jamie's dish didn't look like any cioppino that I've ever had. But it did look tasty! I was glad to see Jeff go. He's way too intense. He should stop worrying about how to stack 17 components into a tiny hors d'oevure-sized pile of food and instead focus on "the love" as Carla would say :) Although I do feel bad that he lost on a Miami challenge. He'll get hell for that at home. Can't wait for Ripert! Thu Jan 29 06:00:26 -0800 2009 4367939 87282 lawgirl3278 3 4368552 Kind of like when Casey lost (but wasn't eliminated) with the BBQ challenge. Didn't she say something like " As a Texan I know my BBQ"? Thu Jan 29 06:19:53 -0800 2009 4368504 14495 viperlush 2 4369213 How are they pronounced? Thu Jan 29 09:31:31 -0800 2009 4367939 152043 TampaAurora 3 4369323 chuh-PEE-noh; It. chawp-PEE-naw Thu Jan 29 09:53:03 -0800 2009 4369213 10532 LindaWhit 4 4371051 Am I the only one who noticed that the crab was Alaskan King Crab legs and not SF dungeness ?????!!!!! Thu Jan 29 17:00:43 -0800 2009 4369323 11737 NoeMan 4 4372053 To be technical, there really isn't an Italian pronunciation of cioppino since there's no dish by that name in the Italian repertoire. There is probably a fish soup/seafood soup available at every costal Italian town, but those would simply be called Zuppe di Pesce. Cioppino is a San Francisco dish created by Italian-Americans with a fanciful story to explain its name. Of course, Italian cooking being very local and having very strict local rules about what is allowed, would have no consensus on tomatoes, a characteristic ingredient of cioppino, being allowed in a Zuppe di Pesce. Fri Jan 30 05:32:34 -0800 2009 4369323 61567 Indy 67 5 4372071 While you're right, an ostensibly Italian word obeys the rules of Italian pronunciation, and thus it's cho-PEE-no. Fri Jan 30 05:41:05 -0800 2009 4372053 149033 fame da lupo 6 4372204 Agreed. Actually, I was responding to a post that seemed to suggest there was an Italian and a non-Italian pronunciation. But I really appreciate your follow-up. You've certainly done a better job expressing the idea I was trying to express about pronunciation. I was making a further point that the dish we call "cioppino" isn't really an Italian dish and that word won't be found on a menu in Italy unless the restaurant is catering primarily to tourists. Fri Jan 30 06:38:29 -0800 2009 4372071 61567 Indy 67 6 4373119 Chuh-PEE-no is the the way it's pronounced in San Francisco -- but basically its the same as the Italian pronounciation of the word would be, with slightly Americanized vowels. But in neither Italy nor San Francisco would it be pronounced "chee-oh-PEE-no" -- it was really surprising to me that Jamie, who lives and works in San Francisco and proclaimed her familiariity with cioppino as a San Francisco specialty pronounced it wrong. Fri Jan 30 10:53:15 -0800 2009 4372071 10159 Ruth Lafler 7 4374282 I'm deciding that maybe Jamie is one of those people with a tin ear for languages--I was annoyed at her previously for not pronouncing bruschetta correctly, but if she lives in SF, there's really no other explanation for the way she said cioppino. I honestly didn't know what dish she was talking about for a minute! Fri Jan 30 16:47:39 -0800 2009 4373119 13306 Nettie 5 4372119 I just did a copy/paste from an online dictionary. Fri Jan 30 06:08:26 -0800 2009 4372053 10532 LindaWhit 5 4373811 On an episode of Flay's Throwdown, the guy being challenged mentioned that it was derived from Italian fishermen saying "chip in" in reference to the fishermen contributing various types of seafood for a group meal. No idea if that's actually true. Fri Jan 30 13:59:30 -0800 2009 4372053 13930 Chimayo Joe 2 4370004 Oh COME ON! The minute I saw Jeff up there against Fabio and Stefan, I knew poor Jeff was going home. Fabio...overcooked his protein and argued with a judge, which got..spike? sent home last year for po a judge off. (maybe not totally, but..) And trying to say heated cabbage over cooked his meat was a good try, but seriously, lol Stefan... was called out for picking someone weak, and tried to shrug it off as "it's my first time" when they aren't supposed to call past times into play, but of course they do ALL THE TIME. The inconsistent judging drives me nuts. His dish seemed totally not tied together to me..a duo of meat? pork and beef? I honestly can't recall this morning why they disliked it, if he made a mistake. Jeff...his flavor wasn't just "as good" as the warm shrimp, well DUH, taste the same recipe shrimp, heck, anything! cold, next to it warm, the warm will taste more defined in flavor. When you are preparing most things cold, a teacher or good cookbook will tell you to heighten the spice because serving something cold will dull the flavor a bit. That even hurt Lisa last season with her cold shrimp. Maybe Tom just doesn't like cold Shrimp. But regardless cold shrimp next to warm won't taste as good. It was a total gimmee to the views and producers that Jeff went home for a dish that was cooked correctly, over Fabio (who I like, don't get me wrong) who made mistakes. Makes me think Fabio will win the whole thing with his little speech, especially with as many people don't like Stefan. Poor Jeff, he had no chance. Thu Jan 29 12:26:27 -0800 2009 4367939 159354 sommrluv 2 4370551 You know, I'm starting to wonder if Jeff's dish was the worst out of the entire group. Colicchio did say in his blog that even though he voted for Camille instead of Jamie, he thought that Jamie's dish was stronger than some of the other contestants on the home team. Perhaps Jeff was the worst in the bottom group, but that doesn't necessarily mean his dish was the worst from the entire home team. Perhaps this is why Jeff said in his exit interview that none of the judges were looking at him in the eye. Am I analyzing this a bit too much? Thu Jan 29 14:30:43 -0800 2009 4367939 10763 Miss Needle 3 4370712 Obviously, we only see what we are shown. But nowhere did they say, that Jeff's dish was BAD, until Tom's blog, that he said it wasn't good. I have a hard time Jeff's dish went from "not as flavorful" to worse than overcooked venison that Tom said quote "the animal was already dead, Fabio" and bad salad (which looked like it had WAY too much cheese in the picture). This episode lost all integrity for me. I know you'll all defend Tom until you die, but, eh. Cheftestants in the sequester house, who are tasting the food, are talking about things not adding up, episodes ago. I haven't watched the lastest one, but I am going to now. Thu Jan 29 15:16:07 -0800 2009 4370551 159354 sommrluv 4 4371472 Fabio's salad looked awful - clear sign of someone outside his comfort zone. Grated cheddar cheese on greens? Yikes. Thu Jan 29 20:01:53 -0800 2009 4370712 149033 fame da lupo 3 4372273 Hi miss needle! No - you're not because I was thinking the same thing! Let's face it - Padma picked Jeff's dish! (I can't remember if anyone else did too) but no one at the time of tasting critizied it! I was SURE Fabio was going because his dish was the only tone to be critized at the time of eating. Fri Jan 30 07:00:17 -0800 2009 4370551 174753 NellyNel 4 4379692 NellyNel, I'm glad that I'm not the only one thinking that same thing. I did have a bit of a problem with the structure of the judging. Mon Feb 02 07:33:37 -0800 2009 4372273 10763 Miss Needle 2 4371392 Thank You ghg.... When Jamie said "CHEE-o-PEE-no" the first time I cringed - then she said it that way again and I yelled at the TV... she cooks at Absinthe in San Francisco??? Gawd. The other thing that got me was they provided them with what looked like Alaskan king crab legs rather than the Dungeness that one would totally expect (insist on) from San Francisco... Thu Jan 29 19:28:08 -0800 2009 4367939 10378 RWCFoodie 3 4371537 "they provided them with what looked like Alaskan king crab legs rather than the Dungeness that one would totally expect (insist on) from San Francisco..." ~~~~~~~~~~ yeah, i caught that too. and someone else pointed it out somewhere in this thread, but i can't remember who it was, and i'm too lazy to read through all the posts again :) i can't believe they did that...if they couldn't get Dungeness, they should have used a different protein. what's the point of a regional challenge if you're not using regional ingredients? Thu Jan 29 20:27:05 -0800 2009 4371392 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4372653 That was me, I spotted right away. East coast mentality on this show.......... Fri Jan 30 08:51:26 -0800 2009 4371537 11737 NoeMan 3 4389013 actually, when she first started talking about what she was going to make, I was *much" more annoyed by her reference to the fact that 'cioppino is a type of fish stew, but all I have is this crab, so I will make a sort of crab cioppino' or words to that effect, than I was by her pronunciation...I was screaming at the TV, that the crab MAKES the cioppino! However, since they used king crab, I can only hope that her derision of the crab was a derision of the type of crab.... (However, that would be giving Jamie a lot of credit......) Wed Feb 04 21:55:26 -0800 2009 4371392 10158 susancinsf 4 4389501 she was not deriding the crab. cioppino is made with a mix of seafoods, generally, and not solely crab. she had only crab and no other fish or shellfish to add. hence a crap cioppino. Thu Feb 05 07:05:07 -0800 2009 4389013 135229 thew 5 4389576 "hence a crap cioppino" ROFL !! Freudian slip there, thew?? Thu Feb 05 07:32:48 -0800 2009 4389501 23389 charmedgirl 5 4390297 the crab is the most important and necessary seafood ingredient, however. If there isn't xxx (insert any other seafood here) it can still be cioppino. However, if it doesn't have Dungeness crab, it isn't cioppino. Period. (IMO, of course, but if I ordered cioppino at any restaurant in SF and got king crab, or no crab at all, I'd definitely complain and would consider sending it back.). I did think the cioppino looked a bit strange: it didn't seem to have much of a tomato base, and the presentation seemed to be more about the bread than the stew. Also, it seemed that the meat was taken out of the crab, where as I would have left it in, though of course, that would have made it obvious that it was king crab and not Dungeness. Thu Feb 05 10:49:43 -0800 2009 4389501 10158 susancinsf 1 4367952 Gotta love Fabio "A puppy?" "the top bunky bed" rofl, he cracks me up. Wed Jan 28 20:25:32 -0800 2009 4367777 243273 pacheeseguy 2 4368773 I found myself chuckling at Fabio's comments as well. "We have a gift for you in the stew room? A dog?" "I'm 30 years old and I hafta sleepa in the bunky bed." Of course, he had to reference monkey @ss again. He needs to bring it more with his cooking though..... Thu Jan 29 07:33:17 -0800 2009 4367952 13683 Dee S 1 4367961 I thought this was a great challenge. Head to head, no one else to drag you down or save your butt. Limited ingredients. I like this. The hokey football theme I can live without. Jamie's attitude about flavors really confuses me. You are a chef, I understand that you have some preconceived notions of what goes well with others but you also need to keep an open mind and try things, that is what creativity is all about. When she went off on the flavor combinations that her opponent was using, I got very annoyed with her narrow mindedness. Somebody had to eat that first oyster, what her mindset says to me is that she doesn't really think about flavors, she mimics what she has tasted and repeats herself. Undoubtedly she is good at executing her skills but deep thinker? No. I am glad Scott Conant went out of his way to praise the flavor combination. As for Spike and Andrew, I think they pumped those boys full of Red Bull and let them loose on the set. And Andrea beating Stefan was pure poetry. Poor Jeff, paralysis by analysis. Very very very happy for Fraggle Rock (Carla). Very cool. And Super Bowl tickets to boot. I didn't hear Andrea reference BM either. Wed Jan 28 20:28:05 -0800 2009 4367777 11826 Phaedrus 2 4367983 "As for Spike and Andrew, I think they pumped those boys full of Red Bull and let them loose on the set." ~~~~ LOL :) Wed Jan 28 20:37:01 -0800 2009 4367961 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4368180 I saw someone else referring to Carla as Sideshow Bob. If she's were a Fraggle, she'd be Red, same mop of hair and frenetic enthusiasm. Wed Jan 28 22:49:11 -0800 2009 4367961 259421 kahudson 2 4368662 I was liking Scott Conant a LOT during JT - he didn't just sit back and let the other judges take the lead - he was quite forceful (and logically so) with his feedback. Agree with Stefan's defeat - the minute he picked Andrea to battle again, I'm thinking "ooh, he's going to go off on her in confessional...wouldn't it be just *sweet* if he loses?" And boy - he lost BIG. Perfect description of Jeff. Thu Jan 29 07:00:56 -0800 2009 4367961 10532 LindaWhit 3 4370215 "I was liking Scott Conant a LOT during JT" ~~~~~~~~~~~ you & me both. forceful is precisely the way i would describe him, and his feedback was constructive & insightful. he's also pretty darn cute...i'd watch him at JT anytime! Thu Jan 29 13:15:56 -0800 2009 4368662 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4370412 I thought he came off as an arrogant bully. Thu Jan 29 13:53:08 -0800 2009 4370215 159354 sommrluv 5 4370670 Me too I also didn't get the acid/cheese comment. My reaction was the same as Fabio's but I assumed I misunderstood something. He seemed to really dislike Fabio right from the beginning. Thu Jan 29 15:01:13 -0800 2009 4370412 163246 tofuburrito 6 4371263 really? i didn't get arrogant from him, just tough. i'll have to watch it again. i do agree that it seemed as though he was sort of gunning for Fabio from the beginning, but i wonder if something occurred off camera that might explain it...? Thu Jan 29 18:43:27 -0800 2009 4370670 103920 goodhealthgourmet 7 4372294 That's a good point - Since I adore Fabio - I just saw that he was being really harsh on him. But perhaps if he was speaking to someone else - i would have liked him!! Fri Jan 30 07:08:41 -0800 2009 4371263 174753 NellyNel 8 4372362 I'm not generally supportive of Fabio so I'm not predisposed to be on his side but Conant was so rude to him it was hard to watch. What was up with the acid/cheese issue? Was Conant suggesting he needed acid on the cheese. What, a splash of lemon juice on cheddar cheese? We will see a much more classy guest judge with Eric Ripert this week. Fri Jan 30 07:30:45 -0800 2009 4372294 163246 tofuburrito 9 4372428 I brought the acid/cheese issue up on the Italy board and got a response from our ranking expert. She's on Fabio's side. Here's the link: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/589264 Fri Jan 30 07:48:38 -0800 2009 4372362 61567 Indy 67 10 4372475 interesting - thanks for finding/posting that. i didn't think too much about who was even really right regarding acid in that scenario, because i couldn't get past the fact that pairing cheddar with mache just seemed so wrong to me in the first place! Fri Jan 30 08:02:31 -0800 2009 4372428 103920 goodhealthgourmet 6 4372715 i thought the acid was for the salad the cheese was on and yes - acid can go on cheese - think a quirt of lemon on baked feta for the 1st example that jumps to mind Fri Jan 30 09:11:38 -0800 2009 4370670 135229 thew 7 4372758 It might be American food but I often do things like this radicchio with mozarella, balsamic vinegar and prosciutto: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Radicchio-with-Smoked-Mozzarella-Balsamic-Vinegar-and-Prosciutto-236950 The no acid and cheese thing might be an italian thing but this was an NFL challenge. It did seem like Conant had a chip on his shoulders that he had an Italian restaurant so felt like he had to challenge the Italian chef. Fri Jan 30 09:21:12 -0800 2009 4372715 39874 chowser 7 4374160 "Acid can go on cheese." I'm not claiming that pairing cheese and acid is universally unacceptable. By citing a Greek example you're actually proving Fabio's point. Although there are exceptions, traditional Italian cooking follows quite rigid rules. Putting acid on cheese violates one of those rules. I'm guessing that if judges who don't portray themselves as Italian chefs -- Colicchio or Stephen Starr or Dan Barber, for example -- had made a similar comment, Fabio would have been able to keep his mouth shut. Privately, he would have critical. Certainly, we've heard him say unkind things in the interviews about his competitor's food based on the rules of Italian cooking. But, at least, he wouldn't have had an outburt at judge's table. Hearing acid/cheese heresy from a chef who purports to produce authentic Italian food completely unsettled Fabio. You can point out that Fabio is on an American cooking competition and he's being asked to cook American food. I certainly can't disagree. I'm only trying to explain the depths of Fabio's outrage based on what -- for him -- are truths engraved in stone. Fri Jan 30 15:46:44 -0800 2009 4372715 61567 Indy 67 8 4374176 Good thoughts--that's true. It seemed like the judge had it out for Fabio (insecurities about his Italian cuisine?), Fabio was just pushing back a little. Fri Jan 30 15:52:10 -0800 2009 4374160 39874 chowser 8 4374529 I wonder how strictly the acid/cheese thing is followed. Balsalmic ends up next to parmigiano often, which makes sense given the geography. Fri Jan 30 19:07:48 -0800 2009 4374160 149033 fame da lupo 9 4374957 You're right, of course, about being served lots of plates of Parmigiano-Reggiano drizzled with Balsamico traveling through Emilia-Romagna. Since that combination violates the acid/cheese rule -- and traditional Italian cooks DON'T violate the rules -- we've got to assume that Balsamico isn't considered a vinegar. Of course, here we're probably getting into issues of product quality. Both the cheese and Balsamico we ate in Italy was DOP certified, which means the Balsamico was a minimum of 12-years old. DOP Balsamico, even the youngest version truly doesn't bear any resemblance to the Balsamic vinegar available, even at better grocery stores. And still on the topic of rules, I'm smiling because the Italians have rules about Balsamico. At our Balsamico factory tour, we were told that the 12-year old stuff should be added to cooked foods (e.g. stews and pasta), the 20-year old stuff should be drizzled over food that will receive no cooking (e.g. cheese chunks and strawberries). I think the 25-year old product is actually served as a cordial. I suspect that an Italian, especially one from the DOP regions of Modena and Reggio-Emilia, would faint if he witnessed anyone pouring the stuff most folks think is Balsamic Vinegar over cheese. But -- to bring this post back to TOP CHEF -- you don't have to rely on my own experience. Earlier in this thread, I provided a link to the thoughts of the resident expert on the Italy board -- a restaurant reviewer in Rome -- about the Fabio's acid/cheese outburst. For your convenience, I've copied her reply below: "Poor Fabio! He was absolutely right. But if he had been more furbo (and known his chickens better) he'd have finessed the acid lack with a few drops of balsamico. As it happens, I had two mache salads last week and thought about the acid question. The first was made by a friend who is a very good cook. She dressed the salad with lemon and oil and topped it with shrimp as an antipasto. Everybody else thought it was great but I thought it was way too acidic. The next day, at one of our favorite fish places (Pierino, in Anzio), the final plate of the succession of antipasti was mache topped with shrimp and sort of punctuated with a few tiny strawberries. It had no acid at all, just oil, and was exquisite. I'm with Fabio." Sat Jan 31 03:22:12 -0800 2009 4374529 61567 Indy 67 9 4377620 <Balsalmic ends up next to parmigiano often, which makes sense given the geography.> It surely does. But the balsamic most folks eat in US is far different -- and much more acidic -- than what is eaten in Emilia-Romagna. Aged Balsamico bears little resemblance to what we buy here called "Balsamic Vinegar." Sun Feb 01 09:41:13 -0800 2009 4374529 52499 ChefJune 8 4375054 it was acid on salad with cheese. Sat Jan 31 05:48:30 -0800 2009 4374160 135229 thew 8 4375199 Is serving grated cheddar cheese over un-dressed lettuce also consistent with traditional Italian cooking rules? What about the plate with a tuna & swordfish carpaccio, a steak & cheese sandwich (sorry, Fab, that's exactly what it was), and a salad (likely dressed with some acid, no? together on the plate with that steak & cheese?) for last week's QF? In fact, looking back at the recipe on the Bravo website for the venison dish (which don't seem terribly reliable) - (1) the salad in fact was dressed with lemon (acid); (2) the venison was served w/ a mustard sauce and sauerkraut (acid again). I think Fabio just didn't like the tone of the criticism and was lashing out. He's hardly been consistently faithful to any Italian cooking traditions. Sat Jan 31 07:32:11 -0800 2009 4374160 35525 Frodnesor 8 4375238 Tomatoes are acidic. I'm sure Fabio has no problem using cheese with them. Sat Jan 31 07:56:57 -0800 2009 4374160 18466 a_and_w 9 4375884 And lemon goes with ricotta, but with that said, I'm guessing the acid/cheese rule is in terms of dressing cheese w/ something acidic. The balsamic rules make sense to me, it's exactly as we (and they) do with "everyday" olive oil versus "good" olive oil. Only to them, simple aceto balsamico tradizionale isn't something particularly "special," in the sense in which it is here (only known to the cognoscenti). Cheddar on mache isn't my idea of a good time, acid or no. Sat Jan 31 13:32:15 -0800 2009 4375238 149033 fame da lupo 10 4376325 "Cheddar on mache isn't my idea of a good time, acid or no." ~~~~~~ that was my primary issue too. i just couldn't get past the pairing (and the addition of fruit certainly didn't help). visually, it was pretty appalling as well. it was so unappetizing that i wasn't surprised that he was criticized for it, and i didn't really stop to consider the particulars of the critique. Sat Jan 31 17:16:40 -0800 2009 4375884 103920 goodhealthgourmet 9 4378971 Whoops! Time for a little basic chemistry to clear up your misunderstanding. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral. Products with numbers lower than 7 are acidic. Products with numbers higher than 7 are alkaline/basic. The pH of tomatoes is 4.5. The pH of vinegar is 3.0. These two numbers are quite close so I can understand your statement that if Fabio could pair tomatoes and cheese he should be equally willing to dress a salad with vinegar/lemon juice even if topped with cheese. The reality is that vinegar is approximately 30 times more acidic than tomatoes. (Actually, my husband the scientist says the .5 is equal to the square root of ten, which is approximately 3.16. A scientist would use the more precise calculation to state that vinegar is 31.6 times more acidic than tomatoes.) The reason behind this huge difference is that the pH scale is a negative logarithm. That means that the concentration of acid increases by a factor of 10 with every whole number. It further increases by a factor of 3 for every difference of .5. You would need to multiply 10 X 3 to understand the acidity difference between the two products. Bottom line: Science explains why Fabio could indeed have no problem combining cheese and tomatoes and a big problem combining cheese and acid. Sun Feb 01 20:07:48 -0800 2009 4375238 61567 Indy 67 10 4379378 Impressive! So what about balsamic vinegar? I guess there is no way to gauge the acidity of that without doing an actual test. Mon Feb 02 04:30:25 -0800 2009 4378971 34558 roxlet 11 4379453 Right. Too many variables. What passes for Balsamic vinegar in the US bears no resemblance to Balsamico in Italy. Even within Italy, there are both DOP versions and non-DOP versions. (The DOP versions would show less variation from one bottle to another since these vinegars are sold under the DOP lable rather than an individual label. Therefore, the DOP versions all have to conform to specific standards.) Finally, the age of the vinegar radically affects its taste and, presumably, its pH level. Mon Feb 02 05:54:34 -0800 2009 4379378 61567 Indy 67 12 4379460 unless you buy italian balsamic Mon Feb 02 06:01:08 -0800 2009 4379453 135229 thew 13 4379509 What won't happen if a person buys Italian balsamico? Mon Feb 02 06:30:07 -0800 2009 4379460 61567 Indy 67 5 4371570 ok, so Conant's treatment of Fabio garnered the headline and some analysis in gawker.com's review of the episode... http://gawker.com/5142002/why-does-guest-judge-scott-conant-hate-wops and the author - Joshua Stein - apparently isn't a big Toby young fan either :) Thu Jan 29 20:46:21 -0800 2009 4370412 103920 goodhealthgourmet 6 4371611 That review was HYSTERICAL. Enlightening line about Conant saying his most humblng moments involved "some Italian standing over him saying 'you stupid american' ". Earlier I wanted to say his whole backstreet bully bravado struck me as amazingly insecure, reading a little more about him, I'd say SHOCKINGLY insecure. Who in the world opens an Italian restaurant to prove to some (presumably) faceless person from your past that you can make their food? Thu Jan 29 21:07:37 -0800 2009 4371570 159354 sommrluv 7 4372245 Conant came across as a douchebag. I've never seen any judge being so rude. Fri Jan 30 06:52:49 -0800 2009 4371611 180506 Ericandblueboy 8 4372295 I disagree - I still think Toby Young's stupid comments are even worse. Conant's feedback was valid on the dishes he critiqued; Toby's rarely is, as he's usually got one of his idiotic Elvis comparisons or some such thing that says nothing about the food. Fri Jan 30 07:09:02 -0800 2009 4372245 10532 LindaWhit 7 4372261 "Who in the world opens an Italian restaurant to prove to some (presumably) faceless person from your past that you can make their food?" ~~~~~~~~ apparently Conant felt he had a lot to prove - he's now got three successful and highly praised Italian restaurants in NYC under his belt. that must be some deep-seated insecurity/resentment he's still harboring... Fri Jan 30 06:58:23 -0800 2009 4371611 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4368807 Do you really think that Andrew and Spike NEED Red Bull to run amok? ;-) Thu Jan 29 07:47:27 -0800 2009 4367961 10532 LindaWhit 3 4368810 Well no, but I am sure the producers made sure that it happened on cue. Thu Jan 29 07:48:59 -0800 2009 4368807 11826 Phaedrus 4 4368828 The cue being the little light on the top of the camera going RED. It's Andrew and Spike's "red cape". ;-) Thu Jan 29 07:55:16 -0800 2009 4368810 10532 LindaWhit 5 4369096 ... I know i'm the minority (at least here on CH) but ... I. Can. Not. Stand. Andrew. Or. Spike. (but Andrew more). Thu Jan 29 09:02:34 -0800 2009 4368828 23389 charmedgirl 6 4369148 I was not a fan of Andrew or Spike last year either. So you're not alone. But since he hasn't been on the show ALL season, I didn't mind a bit of either of them on this episode. :-) Thu Jan 29 09:16:06 -0800 2009 4369096 10532 LindaWhit 6 4372306 I'm with you - and especiallly Andrew. did anyone catch that horrible faux New Orleans accent he was putting on?? UGHH Fri Jan 30 07:11:21 -0800 2009 4369096 174753 NellyNel 7 4372389 I thought he was imitating Paula Dean. I've never heard anyone here in NOLA sound like that, unless they were from somewhere else. and we don't sound anything like Dennis Quaid in The Big Easy either. Fri Jan 30 07:39:02 -0800 2009 4372306 195694 edible complex 7 4372476 He sounded like a hillbilly from Georgia or Alabama. Definitely not even close to New Orleans or Louisiana anywhere really (especially not anywhere near the delta). But for the record, I still think Andrew is awesome. Favorite personality last season. Fri Jan 30 08:02:38 -0800 2009 4372306 241661 gastrotect 8 4372665 I grew up in the South, and live in New England, and can switch accents back and forth with ease. Andrew's was a mockery of southern accents in general, and Lousiana/NOLA, especially. It was painful. I used to have fun w/Chinese-born friends trying to help them say certain words with southern accents -- they didn't get it. (As I would expect -- my French is equally inadequate in Montreal or Paris, although I understand there's quite a difference.) Anyway, Andrew's accent reminded me of that -- someone totally unfamiliar with an entire region of the country who's maybe watched Paula Deen or Deliverance, but certainly not Paul Prudhomme or The Waterboy ;-) Fri Jan 30 08:54:45 -0800 2009 4372476 53971 momjamin 9 4372753 Good point on Waterboy. For such a ridiculous movie, many of the accents are surprisingly realistic (if not exaggerated for effect). Best New Orleans movie accents, at least recently, has to go to Benjamin Button. It was so refreshing to hear subtlety used instead of "N'Awlins!" left and right. Even though I lived here (NOLA) during my early years and consistently visited, I never developed an accent. (I can do the Andrew Southern accent quite well though, for some reason). My mother, however, reverts to her New Orleans accent whenever the airplane touches down. It's a bit strange, but understandable. Fri Jan 30 09:20:35 -0800 2009 4372665 241661 gastrotect 9 4373625 Somehow I really don't think Andrew was shooting for a perfectly authentic New Orleans accent. I think he was just being goofy. Fri Jan 30 13:10:07 -0800 2009 4372665 35525 Frodnesor 1 4367967 From the thread I started. Oh mighty Chow Police, please kill the other thread. ___________________________________________________________ Stefan wins QF again, and I must admit, his dish looked the best. Jeff is just all over the freaking place, again. Hosea, Yawn. I did like what he said about the irony of Leah doing seafood again, of course this time she overcooked the fish, very funny. Why is it that I am not surprised that Andrew was Carla's favorite? Andrea is back too, I wonder if she is going to start talking about BM again. What Miguel without a hat? Admittedly, this is kind of like a high school reunion seeing those folks. Wed Jan 28 20:29:57 -0800 2009 4367777 11826 Phaedrus 1 4368062 Random thoughts: - Nice to see Stefan get taken down a notch, particularly after having every advantage this round. - Sorry to see Jeff go. Overdid it at times, but his and Radhika's were more often than not dishes that actually sounded interesting to me. - Managed to get through a whole episode without a wretchedly stilted metaphor from Toby Young; fortunately, we had him wearing sunglasses indoors to remind us that he is still a tool. - Oh, and thanks also to TY for the depth of his insight into what makes for "authentic" New Orleans and Miami food. There was nothing remotely authentic about Carla's "gumbo" and she was the first to admit it, and there's also nothing remotely authentic about "warm ceviche" (eek). If we need an expert on fish & chips, maybe that's when TY ought to start chiming in on authenticity. But I hardly think we need tips on authentic New Orleans cuisine from someone whose review of a London restaurant called the "Big Easy Bar BQ" contained the following gem: "The Big Easy is modelled on the informal seafood restaurants of America's Gulf Coast, with plain, utilitarian furniture, chequered tablecloths and plastic bibs for those who want to avoid getting crabmeat on their Hawaiian shirts. It's so laid back, it could almost be one of those bars in the French Quarter of New Orleans where the drinkers were undisturbed by Hurricane Katrina. My fellow diners all looked as though they'd consumed several jugs of frozen margaritas before sitting down to tackle one of the restaurant's gigantic meals." Or, for that matter, tips on "Miami" cuisine (whatever that may be) from someone whose idea of Caribbean food is demonstrated by the following from another review: "The first time I tried jerk chicken I was worried that it might come back to haunt me a few hours later. This has always been my experience when I've ventured into Nandos and opted for piri piri chicken. But jerk seasoning is surprisingly mild, the Caribbean equivalent of a korma. Admittedly, the spicy taste stays with you long after you've digested the chicken, but I quite like that. As for my stomach, so far I've had no complaints and, much to my wife's annoyance, I now slather everything I eat in jerk sauce. It's taken the place of tomato ketchup in the Young household." - Jamie's QF dish coated the shrimp with oats and coconut and paired with a nectarine salsa and an avocado puree. I thought it showed some creativity to not just limit herself to throwing some oats and fruit on a plate. - GHG - they didn't mention Alto or L'Impero because Scott Conant is no longer at either of those restaurants. Wed Jan 28 21:22:26 -0800 2009 4367777 35525 Frodnesor 2 4368240 There was also nothing authentic about Andrea's so-called Tex-Mex chili, it also takes hours to prepare. The dish she prepared did not resemble Texas chili at all. I'm surprised she didn't put beans in it, that would be the final straw. Did anyone notice that Stefan is now in love with Andrea? I wonder if Jamie is jealous? Wed Jan 28 23:48:56 -0800 2009 4368062 198541 James Cristinian 2 4368454 Thought the same thing when TY walked on stage. Arrogant P***k was the first thing that came to mind. He has the aura of confrontation and disruption about him. I also though who his this guy talking about authenticity of various regional American dishes? When does he have the time to take notice? He is clearly too busy talking, thinking, and writing about himself. And why would you keep going back to a chicken place if it had such a bad effect on you? Probably so he could complain about it. Thu Jan 29 05:31:22 -0800 2009 4368062 23758 Withnail42 2 4368484 Toby Young making pronouncements of authenticity was laughable, as were his reviews. Also, how is Nandos caribbean? Thu Jan 29 05:46:26 -0800 2009 4368062 180506 Ericandblueboy 3 4368806 Nandos isn't Caribbean - TY was just comparing what the Nandos piri piri chicken does to him, thinking jerk chicken would do the same thing. (Piri piri or peri peri sauce can be very spicy, as can jerk sauce). Thu Jan 29 07:46:57 -0800 2009 4368484 10532 LindaWhit 2 4369282 "much to my wife's annoyance, I now slather everything I eat in jerk sauce." -TY And I always thought "You are what you eat" was just something my Mom said to get me to make me eat my vegetables. Thu Jan 29 09:44:19 -0800 2009 4368062 73013 LabRat 3 4369327 ROFLMAO!!!!! LabRat, BEST response re: Toby Young EVER!!!! Thu Jan 29 09:54:06 -0800 2009 4369282 10532 LindaWhit 3 4369353 LabRat wins with a field goal from beneath the shadow of the opponents' goal post. Both teams' fans erupt in real cheers. Audience hides the big orange fingers in shame. Thu Jan 29 10:00:02 -0800 2009 4369282 79896 shallots 3 4369365 Good one, LabRat!! Thu Jan 29 10:01:27 -0800 2009 4369282 66030 lisavf 3 4369481 Holy shit. LabRat for the win. Thu Jan 29 10:27:22 -0800 2009 4369282 23389 charmedgirl 3 4370225 not that it needs to be said again, but Bravo, LabRat :) Thu Jan 29 13:16:55 -0800 2009 4369282 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4370893 i'm sorry you all don't like him, but let's see...Toby Young has authored two books, contributed to the Evening Standard, the Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Spectator. He cofounded the Modern Review, worked for Vanity Fair, has had his work adapted into stage plays and movies, and has been on television in britain and is now a judge on Top Chef. i'll go ahead and assume he got these jobs for reasons other than bribery, nepotism or taking hostages. we have...typed anonymous comments on chowhound, the only CV required being, um, a valid email address. the ONLY things required for that is access to the internet and the bare limit of literacy required to register. we are talking about him. i'm fairly sure he's not talking about us. TY for the win. Thu Jan 29 16:11:33 -0800 2009 4370225 16004 linus 5 4371256 geez, linus, why so touchy? did lucy steal your blanket? ;) ok, let me get this straight...it's fine for Toby Young to make critical, insulting remarks about the food & the skills of the contestants on Top Chef. but it's *not* fine for someone on CH to make a [rather witty] crack at his expense? TY's CV has nothing to do with it. some of us think the guy acts like a bit of an ass at times...and we're entitled to that opinion. i don't care if he's successful, has been published, appears on TV, or whatever else he's done in his career. that doesn't mean i have to like the guy or agree with him. hell, if that was the case, i'd have to like Bill O'Reilly too...and there's about as much a chance of that happening as there is that we'll see someone cook an actual monkey ass on Top Chef this season. i'm fairly sure TY knows there are people like us talking about him. and i'm also fairly sure he couldn't care less. Thu Jan 29 18:22:06 -0800 2009 4370893 103920 goodhealthgourmet 6 4371456 i'm fairly sure TY knows there are people like us talking about him. and i'm also fairly sure he couldn't care less. ~~~~~~~~~ Actually, I think that's ALL TY cares about - that people talk about him - for good or bad. With TY, it's ALL about TY - nothing more, nothing less. He's still an ass. Thu Jan 29 19:52:46 -0800 2009 4371256 10532 LindaWhit 6 4372066 I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank, as is Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee so it's funny that there are people who feel the need to defend him. Personally, I decide whether an opinion is good/funny/etc. myself, whether it comes from an anonymous poster on a message board, a construction worker (yeah, it's ego boosting), or wherever. I don't think a bad idea has more merit coming from someone whose CV is well known. That said, I think he seems to have toned it down and he didn't have nearly as many awkward attempts at trying to be clever, like that painful Elvis analogy last week. Fri Jan 30 05:38:28 -0800 2009 4371256 39874 chowser 5 4371359 And thank you Toby... Your points while very well laid out have really nothing to do with the issue that many of us have. And this would be what exactly are his credentials for judging a popular American cooking competition. If you can tell me please do. Because of the numerous pieces I have read from a number of his publications that in any way come close to gastronomy seem to be essentially all about him. Don’t forget that as soon as the first episode aired he wrote a piece in the UK saying, in a nutshell, that he is really too intelligent and sophisticated to be truly appreciated by Americans. As for his books they are really all about him being a failure. Thu Jan 29 19:14:33 -0800 2009 4370893 23758 Withnail42 5 4371672 *we are talking about him. i'm fairly sure he's not talking about us.* Ah, but he is. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/588331 TY's primary claim to fame in all of the fora you've listed has been his failure to hold down the job, his ability to annoy people, and his ceaseless self-promotion. Kudos to him for finding a way to make a living out of it all. Thu Jan 29 21:48:51 -0800 2009 4370893 35525 Frodnesor 5 4371992 I didn't realize this was a competition and there were "winners" and "losers" for discussion. Interesting view that celebrity trumps all other opinions. And Brittney Spears wins because we know who she is and she doesn't know any of us. And, ergo, Brittney Spears wins because he knows of her but chances are she has no idea who he is. After all, we know she has her recording contracts, TV appearance, etc. because of her talent, not her hostage taking ability. Fri Jan 30 05:01:48 -0800 2009 4370893 39874 chowser 6 4372338 Ya - I am really sick of all the TY bashing Grow up everyone - he's not that bad You all sound really childish. Tho - labrats bit was quite funny! Fri Jan 30 07:20:24 -0800 2009 4371992 174753 NellyNel 7 4372710 What makes criticquing the judge childish but critiquing everyone else not? Is it because you don't find him that bad? Fri Jan 30 09:10:20 -0800 2009 4372338 39874 chowser 8 4372827 I don't know - maybe... but it's just like beating a dead horse..and I'm not really sure why... Personally I think Padma is dreadful, but I don't go around bad-mouthing her on this board.... I don't see a bandwagon of folks critizing anyone else on this boads (except maybe Stefan in the past - and I didn't like that either. I feel like we havent even seen enough of him to dislike him yet! Fri Jan 30 09:39:02 -0800 2009 4372710 174753 NellyNel 9 4372878 "I don't see a bandwagon of folks critizing anyone else on this boads (except maybe Stefan in the past - and I didn't like that either." ~~~~~~~~~~~ Then you've never read the various posts about Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee. ;-) Fri Jan 30 09:50:20 -0800 2009 4372827 10532 LindaWhit 10 4372964 LOL - no I havent! I'm pretty new around here at CH Tofu - you really like Padma? Really??? Fri Jan 30 10:15:27 -0800 2009 4372878 174753 NellyNel 11 4372995 I think of all the women on earth only Mrs. Tofuburrito has an edge in beauty, sweetness and graciousness over Padma. Fri Jan 30 10:21:44 -0800 2009 4372964 163246 tofuburrito 12 4373002 LOL she's sweet and lovely for sure...but not so much as a tv personality - bleh! Fri Jan 30 10:24:45 -0800 2009 4372995 174753 NellyNel 13 4373044 NellyNel - did you happen to watch the first season of Top Chef when Billy Joel's wife, Katie Joel, was the hostess? Believe me - Padma is a 150% improvement! Fri Jan 30 10:35:17 -0800 2009 4373002 10532 LindaWhit 14 4373066 You underestimate the edge that Padma has over Katie (Stepford Wife) Joel. Padma is at least an order of magnitude better. Fri Jan 30 10:39:33 -0800 2009 4373044 11826 Phaedrus 15 4373074 I have only seen a few re-runs of the first season. Yikes then! Fri Jan 30 10:41:45 -0800 2009 4373066 174753 NellyNel 15 4373081 OK, "an order of magnitude" works for me, Phaedrus. :-) God, just thinking of Katie and remembering hoping that she'd get better....but it just got worse. :::::shudder::::: Fri Jan 30 10:43:48 -0800 2009 4373066 10532 LindaWhit 10 4372966 LOL, that's what I was thinking. Actually very few famous celebrity cooks have gone unscathed here. Just reading the Julia Childs thread, Alton Brown and Alice Waters take a beating. I think it might be easier to come up with a list of people who haven't than have. But, it's one thing I like about CH--the many different opinions. Fri Jan 30 10:15:39 -0800 2009 4372878 39874 chowser 9 4372886 To bad mouth Padma would be a crime against humanity. Fri Jan 30 09:53:24 -0800 2009 4372827 163246 tofuburrito 9 4372958 There are so many posters on this board that even if a tiny percentage of them said just one thing, it ends up being a lot of comments and might seem like a bandwagon. At the same time, I do think it's ironic that TY has the harshest (and most off the wall) criticisms but that negative comments about him are then criticized. If you have never critiqued, or said anything negative about anyone on these boards, that's your choice but I find well thought out comments, negative or positive, interesting. "I feel like we havent even seen enough of him to dislike him yet!" Again, that's your opinion but that doesn't mean others haven't. "Personally I think Padma is dreadful, but I don't go around bad-mouthing her on this board...." Ironic comment. There have been plenty of comments about Padma, too, over the years. Fri Jan 30 10:12:07 -0800 2009 4372827 39874 chowser 9 4373148 Toby's getting more bandwidth because he's new. People's opinions about the other Top Chef judges are old news. That said, I think that when Toby is doing serious critiquing he's fine. It's when he trots out one of those labored, supposed to be witty, analogies that he's really insufferable. I realized that what's bad about them isn't just that they're labored and not particularly clever, but that they don't have anything specific to do with the dish he's critquing. Saying that Radhika's soup was a "weapon of mass destruction" really didn't tell me anything about it except that he didn't like it. Same with describing a meal as being like "the career of Elvis Preseley" -- there are lots of things and experiences that could be described that way! And you know, Tony Bourdain could have taken the same analogy, phrased it much more succinctly and less laboriously, and it would actually have been funny! Fri Jan 30 11:01:33 -0800 2009 4372827 10159 Ruth Lafler 10 4373254 I said that to my husband the last episode--that he was making good constructive comments, both criticizing and praising. It's when he tries to be witty that he fails as with that Elvis comment. Or, when he tries to be like Simon Cowell and is mean without being helpful--the cat food comment or WMD. One thing I think makes a good judge is being able to offer helpful comments and let the viewers understand what's happening. We can't taste the food, help us know what it's really like. Fri Jan 30 11:36:21 -0800 2009 4373148 39874 chowser 5 4373488 The cardinal rule is that if you're a critic -- especially one who wants to be known for a supposedly killer bon mot -- your wit had better be as sharp as you think it is, or you deserve every bit of the derision your "inferiors" will hurl your way. I think he's much worse than just plain not funny. He's actively unfunny -- and haughty about it. That combination is painful and ridiculous, no matter who's dishing it out. Fri Jan 30 12:40:26 -0800 2009 4370893 130151 dmd_kc 1 4368083 Tom's blog is up, all two pages of it. He does admit to the absurdity of calling the brought-back chefs "All Stars" and is rather blunt about it. He also indicates displeasure at letting the students decide ties and said it appeared to be more of a personality contest than a cooking contest. He says Jeff's was the worst tasting, but nothing about the winners aside from some quibbling about Andrea's and Jamie's. He's loosing interest fast. Wed Jan 28 21:30:49 -0800 2009 4367777 79896 shallots 2 4368259 Considering they just got finished filming the finale, I can see why he would be (a) tired, and (b) not very interested in something that happened months ago. Thu Jan 29 00:10:54 -0800 2009 4368083 10159 Ruth Lafler 3 4369265 I wonder if he wrote each blog as the episode is filmed, though. It would make more sense than to do it all at once. Thu Jan 29 09:41:16 -0800 2009 4368259 39874 chowser 4 4369655 He makes references to the editing of the shows though. He wouldn't know about how an episode is edited, or what happened in the kitchen, until seeing the show air. Thu Jan 29 11:10:15 -0800 2009 4369265 241661 gastrotect 5 4369834 You're right. He could watch the episode first which explains why the blogs aren't posted immediately after the showing. I always forget to read them unless someone's posted about them. Thu Jan 29 11:48:42 -0800 2009 4369655 39874 chowser 5 4369925 I am sure he is seeing these episodes before they air. I was in TV Programming for over 20 years, and it is customary to have copies of an episode shown to quite a few people before an episode airs. All that bleeping is done by Standards and Practices, and the techs have to time the episode breaks to the commercials. Tons of people see a show many times before it airs, and it is edited and re-edited with notes from the producers and from the Bravo execs in charge of supervising the show for the network. I would be very surprised if the principals haven't also watched it first. Thu Jan 29 12:06:24 -0800 2009 4369655 34558 roxlet 6 4370002 True, but he still probably doesn't see them until well after they are actually filmed. Most likely sometime after the entire six weeks has passed. Thu Jan 29 12:24:42 -0800 2009 4369925 241661 gastrotect 2 4370023 You can tell, the one girl raised her foam finger only after her seatmate did. Tom has contradicted himself in his judging too much, for me, and I think we'll see the end of Top Chef with the rollout of Top Chef JUNIOR and Top Chef MASTERS coming soon. Thu Jan 29 12:30:43 -0800 2009 4368083 159354 sommrluv 2 4370236 "He also indicates displeasure at letting the students decide ties and said it appeared to be more of a personality contest than a cooking contest." ~~~~~~~~ i thought that was pretty clear from Fabio's field goal. Thu Jan 29 13:17:47 -0800 2009 4368083 103920 goodhealthgourmet 1 4368548 Thoughts Jeff goes home while Leah stays... Leah is at the winner's judging because Nikki cooks chicken liver... Come on! Who would pick chicken liver over beef? That was a gimme to Leah. Who is Camile? She's the only all-star I didn't recognize. Stefan 0 points! Carla wins 2 Superbowl tix! Wow! TC5 score card written by Stefan? Thu Jan 29 06:18:49 -0800 2009 4367777 56054 dave_c 2 4368623 Camile is from the Miami season. She got roughly five minutes total screen time before she lost at judge's table. The only reason I remember her is because I remember thinking that I had no idea that there was a contestant named Camile until she was told to PYKAG. Thu Jan 29 06:47:41 -0800 2009 4368548 11781 beachmouse 2 4368766 *Who would pick chicken liver over beef?* Me - depending on the prep. I was never a big Nikki fan but her dish sounded much better (and more NY - chicken livers over challah with a NY-produced goat cheese) to me than Leah's, which was just a NY strip with creamed corn and an arugula salad. Yawn. Thu Jan 29 07:30:51 -0800 2009 4368548 35525 Frodnesor 3 4368899 I was thinking the same thing. I didn't "see" NY in Leah's dish. Nikki's dish made me hungry. Thu Jan 29 08:16:58 -0800 2009 4368766 14495 viperlush 3 4369066 To be honest, Nikki's dish did sounded much more appealing to me. Also, I agree Leah's dish was boring. I definitely would have tried Nikki's dish. In my mind, sauteed chicken livers can become gritty erasers in a split-second which is a childhood memory I haven't gotten over... lol. Thu Jan 29 08:55:11 -0800 2009 4368766 56054 dave_c 2 4368842 I gotta say, I'd choose chicken liver to EAT over beef any day of the week. It's probably my No. 1 favorite not-every-day meat, actually. Yippee Carla, with a super-smart way to tackle an extremely difficult challenge. Her making a fast version of an "impossible in 20 minutes" food is way more impressive than slapping together a salad. And yay to Stefan for getting knocked down by someone he thinks is below him -- and especially because of his disgusting, sexist drooling over her. I think he's the most repulsive cheftestant ever on the show. Thu Jan 29 07:59:07 -0800 2009 4368548 130151 dmd_kc 1 4368639 This turned out to be an interesting episode because it flipped the usual results, and therefore people's reconceptions about how things would turn out. I was so thrilled that my future BFF Carla won the elimination challenge even though describing her dish as gumbo was a real stretch. Did anyone catch Stefan's comment about how it was his first time in the bottom three so he didn't think that he was going home? I love Fabio and think that, like Carla, he is a wonderful television personality, but it really did seem to me that his dish was the worst of the lot. I have no predictions about who is going to win this season's Top Chef, but if I were programming Bravo (or even FN!), I would find a way to use either Carla or Fabio in future TV shows. Thu Jan 29 06:52:55 -0800 2009 4367777 34558 roxlet 2 4368816 Stefan's dish was a tie for the judges, either Jeff and/or Fabio actually lost with the judges. I wouldn't think that he was bullet proof simply because he's never been in the bottom 3 before. Thu Jan 29 07:50:55 -0800 2009 4368639 180506 Ericandblueboy 3 4368848 This is now the second time that Stefan did a "duo of meat" - he actually won a QF with it once, this one didn't do nearly as well. I don't get it at all, just seems like a terribly conceived dish. Why would I want to eat a steak and a pork loin as one dish? OTOH, it seems to have slipped notice that Stefan has had repeated success with dessert dishes (QF here, Restaurant Wars last week ...) - maybe he should be the resident "Dessert Bitch" instead of Carla. Thu Jan 29 07:59:57 -0800 2009 4368816 35525 Frodnesor 1 4368745 Am i wrong in thinking this is the first time a cheftestant has used tofu as their primary protein? (no wait i forgot about the pork marinated tofu, maybe the first vegetarian application of tofu on the show? i know carla didnt win for the tofu but i think it says a lot about the show when a tofu maker wins ANY challenge - and i eat a fair amount of tofu). Thu Jan 29 07:25:20 -0800 2009 4367777 108056 tex.s.toast 2 4368785 Blaise did a beef fat marinated tofu last season that the judges swooned over. Close to the finals (if not the finals), IIRC. Thu Jan 29 07:40:06 -0800 2009 4368745 13683 Dee S 3 4368960 That was more middle-of-the-season, IIRC -- there were still plenty of players. It was the Improv challenge, when his team got "perplexed," but I don't remember the other words -- a color and a food? Thu Jan 29 08:28:54 -0800 2009 4368785 53971 momjamin 3 4369276 He and Dale. Was it in the comedy challenge? Everyone loved the dish, I think. Thu Jan 29 09:43:17 -0800 2009 4368785 39874 chowser 1 4368786 I love that Carla showed us a little something this week. It seemed she was doomed to do desserts forever and it was hard to tell how good her food could really be. But both her QF and her winning dish seemed excellent as well as well thought out. She could have easily gone the dessert route in quickfire, but she didn't and she almost won. And while her dish was not really gumbo, it certainly seemed delicious. A creole take on shrimp and grits sounds good to me. Maybe it will serve her well in NOLA (if she makes it there). And it seems Jeff never understood that complex does not have to mean complicated. Finally caught up to him. Weird JT this week in that the bottom three could have easily been anyone's pick for final 3 as late as last week. Thu Jan 29 07:40:14 -0800 2009 4367777 241661 gastrotect 1 4369294 I was sad to see Jeff go. I don't think he had the potential to be in the finals but he had potential, if he could reign in the energy. Wasn't it apparent from the first episode or two when Fabio made a comment that he was running all over the place and hadn't started plating when it was near time to serve? Jeff couldn't serve everything he had planned/prepped; and he never learned. Actually, I'll bet Jeff would be great if he took Ritalin before cooking (coming from someone who's also all over the place and trying to get too much done, only the mind keeps going and adding on...) Thu Jan 29 09:46:04 -0800 2009 4367777 39874 chowser 1 4369919 Anybody think this challenge was culturally unfair to our Euro Boys? Neither of them can really be expected to understand the NFL food of Green Bay or Dallas. I felt bad for them. Even if your a lady in the US, you probably have a brother or father who watches the NFL. Not so much with Fabio or Stephan. What if this was based on the Premier League of the UK? We could have dropped Jamie into cooking for Arsenal, what would she have come up with? Or Hosea in Manchester, cooking for Manchester United? I think they would have done poorly. I'm not saying TC's shouldn't know something about the regional cuisines of the world. I don't know that they need to know League sports in the context of a very specific cultural region. They were really at a disadvantage. Thu Jan 29 12:05:16 -0800 2009 4367777 14087 mmerino 2 4369989 However, I don't think that either Fabio or Stephan are "fresh off da boat" as Fabio has said. Haven't they both been cooking in the U.S. for some time? Enough time to gain some understanding of regionalities in cooking as well as know something about American football? Thu Jan 29 12:22:38 -0800 2009 4369919 10532 LindaWhit 2 4370005 Also, Stefan CHOSE dallas. One would think that to have meant he knew what to expect from his secret ingredients. then again, anyone who is prompted to make a texas meal and thinks Salads! is clearly operating on thier own logic. Thu Jan 29 12:26:28 -0800 2009 4369919 108056 tex.s.toast 3 4370757 the ingredients didn't seem secret - which is why i think stefan choose dallas Thu Jan 29 15:28:33 -0800 2009 4370005 135229 thew 2 4370019 Not that much of a disadvantage. The teams were really only placeholder's for regional cuisine, so not knowing about the sport shouldn't be too big a deal. Now yes, they are at a bit of a disadvantage in that they are less likely to know about a region than the other TCs; however, they both knew this was an American show coming in, so they should have been prepared to be thrown for a loop a few times. Not to mention, Fabio's was apparently pretty good, he just overcooked his venison way too much. Stefan seemed to miss the point of Dallas though. Which makes me wonder why he picked it in the first place. Thu Jan 29 12:29:25 -0800 2009 4369919 241661 gastrotect 3 4370042 Why did Stefan pick Dallas? He had the right to pick the team AND his opponent, right? Meaning he could've picked the Packers and Andrea? He could've done up his German food. Thu Jan 29 12:36:32 -0800 2009 4370019 180506 Ericandblueboy 4 4370482 Exactly. Now it did seem venison was the meat the GB chefs were given, but certainly he could have prepared a dish more appropriate to the region. And he has done some good seafood as well, so Seattle, Miami or S.F. would have made sense. I wonder if it was something as silly as the Cowboys being the only team he recognized. Thu Jan 29 14:12:56 -0800 2009 4370042 241661 gastrotect 3 4370880 I thought he picked Dallas because he expected to get a meat-centric basket vs. a vegetarian chef. Thu Jan 29 16:08:18 -0800 2009 4370019 23771 JRSD 4 4372490 That's probably true. It was hubris on his part really. Fri Jan 30 08:06:41 -0800 2009 4370880 241661 gastrotect 2 4370125 You could argue it was unfair if they were actually expected to make tail-gate style food or some other football connection, but other than the "regional" ingredient selection, it didn't seem there were any such restrictions (at least any that were followed). Incidentally, has nobody noted that the NFL does not have an "All-Star" game? In football it's called the Po Bowl (and apparently Bravo didn't want to pay to use "Super Bowl," which I think the league guards the use of pretty closely). Thu Jan 29 12:54:34 -0800 2009 4369919 35525 Frodnesor 3 4371255 BUT everyone judging has some context in which they approach an NFL TYPE Bowl game/League Sports. Don't you think if Fabio had known to do an awesome Venison BBQ sandwich with some interesting light cheese sauce (instead of that AWFUL looking stone fruit and cheddar salad), or whatever, that he would have done better with all the judges? Look at the nachos and other finger food-ish things, they did well. I think there was an expectation with all the NFL gear and hoo-rah attitude that the American Psyche relates to. I certainly have expectations about what I will eat when watching an "All Star Bowl." Even if they aren't "Fresh Off the Boat" what Chef has time to get into Football with their schedules? Unless their Restos are closed Sunday & Monday or they work in football towns, which neither do, Stefan, LV and most recently Santa Monica(LA) and Fabio, Moorpark(LA), I don't see much of a chance to "get" those "Big Bowl/Sport" nuances. I'm not saying being a chef precludes being in tune with our sports psyche but it seems a bit of a unique set of passions especially for guys from Europe where Football/Soccer is king. The NFL crowbar was bad, it changes expectations. Again, what if it was Manchester United or Arsenal? What would Hosea and Jamie come up with? Would they win or be in the bottom? Thu Jan 29 18:17:07 -0800 2009 4370125 14087 mmerino 4 4371463 At this point, your premise is only valid (IMO) if this were a British cooking competition show. But it's not. It's an American cooking competition show. Both Fabio and Stephan knew that going in. They take whatever is thrown at them. Just as a vegetarian chef might have to take the meat and/or seafood that's thrown at them during the competition. Thu Jan 29 19:56:02 -0800 2009 4371255 10532 LindaWhit 4 4371653 None of the dishes had the slightest thing to do with football so Fabio wasn't at any disadvantage other than that he overcooked his venison and made a lousy, un-dressed salad with cheddar cheese grated over it. He was beaten by Spike's five-spice venison with a port sauce and micro herbs - not exactly tailgating fare. Nobody made nachos and the only thing close to finger food was Hosea's salmon rolls. The winning dish was a crawfish "gumbo" (which was nothing of the sort) served over grits, which is something I think you'd be hard-pressed to find at a Saints game. Thu Jan 29 21:34:14 -0800 2009 4371255 35525 Frodnesor 5 4372155 Actually - Jeff's sequester house interview said while Josie's warm ceviche was good (he did taste it), he would have called it "shrimp nachos" because that's more what it was like. So I guess someone did make nachos. :-) Fri Jan 30 06:22:04 -0800 2009 4371653 10532 LindaWhit 6 4372173 I'm pretty sure he said shrimp enchilado, which would be a Cuban shrimp stew (which is indeed more like what the dish was). Fri Jan 30 06:28:02 -0800 2009 4372155 35525 Frodnesor 7 4372182 Quite possibly....the sound wasn't all that loud on my PC. Could have sworn I heard nachos. Fri Jan 30 06:29:45 -0800 2009 4372173 10532 LindaWhit 1 4370049 Congratulations to the editors for stumping me! With the way it was edited, I thought it was going to be Fabio -- his sick mama, so much screen time. Sigh -- I was kind of hoping Jeff would make it to the final four. I think he's got potential (and those shirtless scenes weren't too bad either). But he gets way too complicated for his own good. Wow! Listening to his interviews, he's really an intense guy and takes everything way too seriously. I think if he lightened up throughout the competition, he would have done better. Thu Jan 29 12:37:48 -0800 2009 4367777 10763 Miss Needle 2 4370583 I think the 'tricky' editing did them a diservice. They played up how badly Fabio did. His dish sounded horrible. He gave them some sad excuse about how it was all the cabbage's fault. Then Jeff is sent home for some vauge reason. They should have found a way to make it clearer as to why Jeff was send packing. Perhaps the editors like Jeff over thought their work. Thu Jan 29 14:36:53 -0800 2009 4370049 23758 Withnail42 3 4372959 The show's edit made it seem like Fabio was headed home, and then they switched and booted Jeff. I didn't feel strongly about Jeff's cooking -- I felt like he was there for the "pretty boy" factor as much as his technique. But what bothered me was when Fabio was rude to the guest judge: even though it's an emotional moment, they had every right to call him on it. These people hold your fate in their hands. Now, it's time to see Leah go, and then we'll be down to a group that can really throw down in the kitchen. Fri Jan 30 10:13:21 -0800 2009 4370583 83766 brendastarlet 1 4372650 Personally, I am sad to see Jeff go. he was one of the few cheftestants this year to show much originality in his cooking. Then again, it seemed the contestants who lost their round each had the more original sounding dish or more original combination of ingredients. I guess simplicity is the theme this year. At least it would explain Leah's continued stay on a show for which she really does not appear qualified (I thought Nikki was weak last year and yesterday she looked superior to a few cheftestants this season). Anyhow, at least we still have Fabio's great and kindhearted dialogue. By any chance, did anyone notice Colicchio sided with Conant every time? Fri Jan 30 08:50:19 -0800 2009 4367777 124704 Icantread 2 4372688 Me too. I am a home cook who's specializes in good 'ole rustic food - I found Jeffs food to be innovative and interesting....as well as likght and refreshing. I think of all the chefs this year - his food appealed to me most (I suppose because it is not something I could do myself and what I would look for dining out) He also seems like a really nice guy, however quite intense. I felt really bad for him when he said that this experience (failure in his eyes) will stick with him for at least a decade. Gosh. However, as you said, I am still happy Fabio is there, as well as Stefan who I really like as well. I was very surprised that Leah won her challange; her food was beyond simple. You are so right about simplicity being the theme this year....not sure how I feel about that. Fri Jan 30 09:01:57 -0800 2009 4372650 174753 NellyNel 3 4372706 His sequester house interview was also painful to watch. He was *really* down about failing himself. I'm hoping that, 4-5 months later, he's got a better perspective on the whole thing. Fri Jan 30 09:08:21 -0800 2009 4372688 10532 LindaWhit 4 4372990 I am sure they will have enough alcohol at the sequester house for him to drown his sorrows. Fri Jan 30 10:20:58 -0800 2009 4372706 11826 Phaedrus 5 4373055 I think it was Radhika who made/poured the shots (something pink, which didn't look too appetizing, but after a few of 'em, who cares? LOL) Fri Jan 30 10:37:47 -0800 2009 4372990 10532 LindaWhit 3 4373889 Simplicity is the theme b/c this season's chefs always fail when they go beyond. Fri Jan 30 14:18:55 -0800 2009 4372688 149033 fame da lupo 1 4373178 Jeff just never got it together enough for me to want him to win. And then he really lost me on this episode with his whining about Josie's ceviche. Don't complain about her dish not being authentic, when you are making cooked shrimp and calling it ceviche. Fri Jan 30 11:10:38 -0800 2009 4367777 139219 Sooeygun 2 4373966 Sorry, if that's what I lost to, I would have been very bummed as well. It looked like prison glop. Fri Jan 30 14:40:17 -0800 2009 4373178 124704 Icantread 1 4373999 Was this supposed to be food for watching the superbowl? Or just Superbowl inspired? Tom did praise Jamie for making something that didn't require silverware. Any hints as to a connection between Top Chef and the real Superbowl on Sunday, again something Tom alluded to. Fri Jan 30 14:51:07 -0800 2009 4367777 79896 shallots 2 4374111 I read it as "football-inspired" - based on the regional foods for the teams they chose to have represented. And I guess they gave them a cooler of food from that region....I'm not sure if the challenge *required* that they use all of them items in the cooler (i.e., Fabio using venison as well as shaving the cheddar cheese onto the maché salad). Fri Jan 30 15:30:09 -0800 2009 4373999 10532 LindaWhit 1 4374136 I have to say, I found this episode a very annoying experience. The relentless mugging by the "all-stars," Stefan's stratospheric ego on hyeprdrive even compared to previous edits, the Fabio-Scott Conant sniping, etc. About the only moment I actually enjoyed was Stefan's sweet comeuppance after he both underestimated and insulted Andrea. You know how Stefan had that interview after his loss to Andrea where he suddenly "thinks he's in love"? And previously, tells us twice how attracted he finds Jamie? Seems he gets these notions about the only women he feels are his real competition in the kitchen. Just saying. Fri Jan 30 15:38:28 -0800 2009 4367777 10074 Caitlin McGrath 2 4374178 I don't want to spend too much time thinking about Stefan's sexual preferences, but he does seem to be attracted to women who can kick his butt. You know, some very high-powered, arrogant men like to be dominated in the bedroom. I'm just sayin' Fri Jan 30 15:53:02 -0800 2009 4374136 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 4374206 Stefan has low standards for women he likes to have sex with. He doesn't respect Jamie or Andrea, and never will. Fri Jan 30 16:08:54 -0800 2009 4374136 180506 Ericandblueboy 1 4374778 I believe Fabio gave the Italian gesture for F U during the episode. Did anyone else catch that? Was that meant for Conant? Fri Jan 30 21:49:04 -0800 2009 4367777 180506 Ericandblueboy 2 4375321 I didn't catch that. I was surprised, though, that they didn't bleep "shat" which is the past tense of "shit"! Sat Jan 31 08:30:48 -0800 2009 4374778 10159 Ruth Lafler 3 4376053 That struck me as odd also. Sat Jan 31 14:42:13 -0800 2009 4375321 23758 Withnail42 3 4376906 I was pretty surprised to see Fabio doing the big F U on TV. I thougt everyone knows that gesture.... Sat Jan 31 22:35:32 -0800 2009 4375321 180506 Ericandblueboy 3 4379506 Oh my gosh! when?? I missed both the "FU" gesture AND the "shat"!! Mon Feb 02 06:28:40 -0800 2009 4375321 174753 NellyNel 4 4379734 i don't remember exactly when Fabio's F-U occurred, but the other conversation was the very first scene of the episode, when Leah, Hosea, and Stefan were sitting at the breakfast table. Leah started it with a comment along the lines of "i totally got shatted on last time," and Hosea agreed with something akin to "you were the shatster." it was juvenile and ridiculous, as usual. Mon Feb 02 07:44:23 -0800 2009 4379506 103920 goodhealthgourmet 5 4380209 I remember the "shatted on" comment, but don't recall seeing the Fabio version of F-U. I'm assuming that's part of what was cut for the show repeats. Mon Feb 02 09:48:15 -0800 2009 4379734 10532 LindaWhit 6 4380395 On cable there's a lot more latitude as to what's permissible. I assume Bravo has guidelines, but it's probably largely up to the producers when it comes to things like gestures. If Fabio used the European version of the gesture rather than the American one, they may have decided it was "colorful" rather than obscene. And apparently they went with the letter of the law (specifically prohibiting "shit") rather than the spirit. It's really kind of silly -- it's quite clear what they're saying under the bleeps. If they really wanted to they could remove the word instead of bleeping over it; they're just paying lip service to the rules. Mon Feb 02 10:29:08 -0800 2009 4380209 10159 Ruth Lafler 7 4380984 Actually, it's only broadcast on which you legally can't say "shit," I believe; it's permissable, but not generally done on basic cable, and I've heard it, though I think maybe only on scripted shows, which may have more leeway (and each channel has its own S&P dept., of course, which will differ). Mon Feb 02 13:04:04 -0800 2009 4380395 10074 Caitlin McGrath 8 4381618 Sorry. I should have said what I meant, which is that the Bravo "law"/guideline/standard and practice is apparently to bleep "shit." I'm not actually sure about whether basic cable/free cable can go as far as pay cable, which can do anything. Mon Feb 02 16:01:53 -0800 2009 4380984 10159 Ruth Lafler 8 4383164 You can actually say "shit" on broadcast after 9 pm EST I believe, provided you have a disclaimer prior to programming. I know there have been shows that did this. And I've seen uncut movies (Saving Private Ryan for example) aired this way. I think most stations, including those on cable, prefer their programs have no more than a TV14 rating though, to bring in more viewers. And I'm guessing Ruth is correct in that the bleeping is NBC, or Bravo at least, law because FX, which is the same pay level as Bravo rarely bleeps out anything. (i.e. The Shield). Tue Feb 03 07:32:16 -0800 2009 4380984 241661 gastrotect 9 4384343 A scripted show doesn't have to be bleeped because what the characters say has been decided in advance. :-) It's only "reality" shows/live shows that need bleeping. Tue Feb 03 12:57:48 -0800 2009 4383164 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 4375897 It wasn't for Conant, IIRC. Sat Jan 31 13:35:33 -0800 2009 4374778 149033 fame da lupo 1 4375764 Seemed like they kept Fabio for his personality / Q rating factor. Don't get me wrong, he's fun to watch and listen to, but his venison / salad sounded simply awful. Ariane got dinged because she didn't "honor the protein," but Fabio's venision seemed even more poorly done. And his excuse that it seemed overcooked because of the time it sat on the plate was kooky. Jeff's ceviche didn't seem to turn anyone's stomach; didn't Padma even pick his over Josie's? Both were lookers, so the producers were probably sorry to see either of them go, and of those remaining, Leah seems the weakest of the lot. I hate to see the Cheftestants who play it safe slide by every week. Anyway I'll miss Jeff because I thought he was creative, adventurous and hot as hell. Sat Jan 31 12:28:02 -0800 2009 4367777 130879 forsythia 2 4376535 The explanation for the overcooked venison was that the put it over the hot cabbage, and the heat from the cabbage caused it to continue to cook. Which makes perfect sense to me. He didn't account for the fact that the venison would be sitting on a bed of hot cabbage for several minutes while they tasted the other dish. The problem with venison (and other game) is that it's very unforgiving of overcooking, so there isn't a lot of room for error. Sat Jan 31 19:03:22 -0800 2009 4375764 10159 Ruth Lafler 3 4377504 this defense makes sense in theory, but Fabio had already commented on camera that he was concerned the venison was "too cooked for my liking." i know the judges don't see those "confessions" before they taste the food, but he still knew he had screwed it up before he served it. he was just trying to cover his ass - which any one of them would have done, but it doesn't change the fact that the venison was over-cooked, cabbage or no cabbage. besides, they've been doing this long enough now to know that there's a potential for waiting time between when they finish cooking & when the judges taste their food, so the chefs need to time it better - timing is just as important in a restaurant kitchen. Fabio should have realized the cabbage would "cook" the venison further, and either adjusted for it when he cooked the meat, or plated it differently to avoid the issue entirely. (personally i thought he should have tweaked the entire presentation - that salad looked pretty nasty). Sun Feb 01 08:43:17 -0800 2009 4376535 103920 goodhealthgourmet 4 4377707 I don't remember the comment you're referencing, but it seems unlikely given the set up (that they were cooking, plating and being judged all together in front of the audience) that it was actually said before the judging. The interviews are done later and either the full video or an audio voiceover is edited into wherever it provides the best commentary on what happened. Thus, when he said it was "too cooked for my liking" he could well have been referring to the final condition of the dish, as judged, after the judging. Whether it would have sat too long depended on whether his plate was judged first or second. It's really hard to present food that has to sit for an unknown amount of time and not be either overcooked or cold. At least in a restaurant you can put it under a heat lamp if it's not being served immediately. Sun Feb 01 10:27:24 -0800 2009 4377504 10159 Ruth Lafler 5 4377782 I forget exactly what Fabio said, but it seemed to imply he knew the venison was way overcooked even before plating. Sun Feb 01 10:52:05 -0800 2009 4377707 18466 a_and_w 6 4377929 that's the one i was talking about. and though i'm sure Ruth is correct, and Fabio probably was filmed making that particular comment AFTER judging, it was still an acknowledgment that he knew *before* plating his dish that the venison was overcooked. Sun Feb 01 11:51:14 -0800 2009 4377782 103920 goodhealthgourmet 6 4377931 That's my recollection, as well. Sure, Fabio could have altered his perception by whenever he did the interview, but we did get his comment that he knew it was overcooked as he assembled the dish. Also, I don't believe all the interviews are done after the judging. Participants in both TC and Project Runway have commented that their long days include waiting for camera setups, being pulled away for interviews between other filming, etc. So Fabio could very well have made that comment after he cooked but before JT. Sun Feb 01 11:53:13 -0800 2009 4377782 10074 Caitlin McGrath 7 4378062 True, not all interviews are filmed after judging. Sometimes the food is served, the judges discuss it, and the cheftestant is interviewed back in the kitchen without hearing the judges comments. But in this case, the food was cooked, served and judged right there on stage -- there was no way to have done an interview between the cooking and judging. There's no way to know for sure if he knew it was overcooked before it was plated. It's also possible that it was more done than he would have liked but would have been okay if eaten immediately, but while it was sitting it went from borderline acceptable to unacceptable. Sun Feb 01 12:49:37 -0800 2009 4377931 10159 Ruth Lafler 1 4380721 I know when she won the Super Bowl tickets, some of us were thinking, "Awesome prize, too bad it's the Cards and the Steelers this year." But damn, that game was fantastic and may stand up as a top 5 Super Bowl of all time (at least top 10). What a prize. Secondly, a question. Did anyone see the entirety of the Top Chef Super Bowl Pregame show cook-off? I saw right at the beginning but was too busy in the kitchen to see how those dishes turned out. Mon Feb 02 11:54:22 -0800 2009 4367777 241661 gastrotect 2 4384602 I saw the very end of it. I think one of Antonia and Andrew's dishes was a chili and I know Richard and Spike made a Korean-bbq-style steak because Hines Ward is half Korean. They won and seemed geniunely excited. BTW, way to go Steelers! Tue Feb 03 14:07:53 -0800 2009 4380721 189144 dmjordan 3 4386450 Well they would be excited since I heard that the prize for winning was tickets to the game. Nice idea by them to do Korean bbq for Hines Ward. Normally I would say go Eagles!, but on Sunday I did say go Steelers! Wed Feb 04 07:57:57 -0800 2009 4384602 241661 gastrotect