Minou

The Sidetrack is open and it's lovely. Even though it's a chain franchise, Boston Pizza on Jasper and 106 is always reliable. Barring that - we stick to "our local" pub Clyff Clayvins on 97 ave & 105 street.

I'm pre-disposed to Melriches on Davie. It's busy, fun, eclectic music, the staff are hip and border on rude and , hey! It's located in the middle of Homo-Slavia! ... this prairie gal didn't mind looking at the hot guys whist enjoying her hot latté!

Colt 45. Oopps! Wrong show!

Fine. As long as he promises to O.D. on the toilet.

Fan-freeking-tastic!! A COOKBOOK being banned! This is like Ozzy and Judas Priest in the ‘80’s! … just think of it … legions of kids will want this book because THEY CAN’T HAVE IT!! Kudos. Whether you wanted to publish food-porn, you just did!

I have to agree … the infantile and ludicrously unprofessional way in which the Sous was canned was … disturbing. I am also baffled by the fact that Laurent, the Stealth Manager didn’t grab Rocco by his bratty little ear and haul his ass back into the kitchen to lead his ever panicking / whited-out kitchen staff. Rocco cans the one person holding his kitchen together and then continues to schmooze the ladies at the bar as if his old support were still in place? You can’t have both my dear. If you’re a celebrity chef, working the dinning room like a Vegas Show Girl, then make sure your kitchen is running with the same calculated perfection. I think every management / owner / lawsuit participant on that show should be soundly spanked, sent to bed without dinner and then made to watch their own drivel until they sob uncontrollably and pee their pants… promising NEVER to do this again.

Chance is a good bet (over Bistro Praha, imo) and I have 2 excellent friends whose culinary talents I trust explicitly working days in the kitchen! If you’re up for a 5 minute taxi ride The Manor Café on The High Street (125th street and Jasper Ave) is also an awesome choice! Converted old house with lovely décor and great service (both front and back of house!)

5 Second Rule. It's an international standard!

Let’s hear it for Food TV Canada! I would also give accolades to home-grown shows such as : The Thirsty Traveler Opening Soon Chef at Large But also adore: Good Eats A Cooks Tour Jacque Torres(sp?) (chocolate as sculptural medium show!) Iron Chef (guilty pleasure) And dearly miss The Two Fat Ladies *sigh*

... or at least not squirm about it in print?

For me it’s about craving texture .. I want creamy/crunchy so I hit the nachos and sour cream … or the smooth/chewy … so there I am, wanting dynamite rolls and keep the sushi (maki and sashimi) commin’! Or the Defibrillator Dinner Special at the Pub (onion rings, poutine and wings .. perhaps some fried “cheese” stix?) … with beer and the Hubby! But mostly it’s a carbs/fat obsession …

3. Jacques Torres His sculptural application and encyclopedic knowledge of chocolate is … encyclopedic!

No, dear, $10 an hour and no health insurance is despresso. i make $11/hour, no health insurance, nothing. (that's in canuck dollars too!) i've always noticed that the restaurant industry is one of the last bastions of draconian labour relations...dickens would have a field day. ^^^ Yep. My hubby is saddled with the title chef and for that he gets a whopping $13 CDN / hour, no benefits, no real control of his kitchen (1 of the owners is also a chef ... ) and 100% if the stress of being "chef". ... but that's okay, he runs a "Bourdain Style" pirate ship and the kitchen staff are fiercely loyal to him. Not the owners. … with a new job mid autumn .. it’s just H2O off the mallard now … Too bad this appears to be an industry where the standard is to have no standards.

Dude! Rocco called The Hospital ... and we all know there is only 1 Hospital / Medi centre / Clinic in all of NYC! And his street-fightin'-booze-brawlin' staff wern't there! j/k!

Kitchen being paid was a question I had too. I mean FOH has their (minimal) tips and although it was never really indicated if they tip-out to the kitchen, a nightly % of minimal is still minimal. No one can live on that kinda panic.

Of course he is.

^^^ I can’t help but wonder if they had actually come clean what would have happened. We’ve all scammed the boss in our “youth” and I think it would have been more riveting t.v. had one of them said, “Chef, yeah there was a fight – no there was no hospital. I’m stressed, tired and choked about work right now and took 4 weeks of frustration out on 1 night of drinking. It wasn’t smart and it shouldn’t have affected you to the level it did. Won't happen again.”