Holly Moore

If the potatoes are not up to required standards, a top quality restaurant should not serve french fries.

It is too bad that Chef Keller uses frozen fries, even top quality frozen fries. McDonald's owners had the same consistency complaint, along with labor cost/intensity, about starting from scratch. Back in the 60's McDonald's restaurants were constructed with basements to provide sufficient space to age bags of potatoes. The conversion to frozen was emotional for all involved. The final ok came from Ray Kroc when he declared he could not tell a frozen McD fry from fresh. We in the R&D lab could, but it was close. But McDonald's is McDonald's and a Keller restaurant is anything but. I expect Keller's goal to be "best possible" rather than consistent. A top quality frozen fry can be very good. But it will not be as good as a fresh cut fry that is properly prepared. Maybe my expectations are too high. I would hope that any chef the level of Chef Keller would choose not to serve a product if he is not confident using fresh product. The issue for restaurants is that fresh cut fries, along with being labor intensive, have to be finished fried to order. They start to deteriorate a minute or two out of the fryer. If the kitchen only has typical fry baskets for the finish fry and cook full baskets of blanched fries, the fries going to the customer will not be consistent. Those fries fresh out of the fryer will be excellent. Those from the same basket, a few minutes later, will be less so and possibly worse than a quality frozen fry held for the same time. Most restaurants don't have the capability to finish fries to order - especially during a busy meal period. That is what makes true Belgian Frites so good. They are almost always finish fried to order.

In this hemisphere aspic fell into kitschy Jell-O applications such as the venerable Ring around the Tuna Jell-O mold with inlaid iceberg lettuce. There are more appealing uses of aspic. Consider last New Year’s day suckling ham with leek, carrot and truffle and some stuffed chicken legs in chaud-froid. Jambon de porcelet en aspic. Jambonneau de volaille en chaud-froid. Thanks. Brought me back to sophomore quantity cooking at the Cornell Hotel School. We did a week on aspics. Not sure if I have seen "en aspic" or "en chaud-froid" since. Edited to add: Fluted mushrooms too, oh my.

I can see the judges taking fifteen minutes, maybe thirty. Anything more, with just three or four people, would be painfully repetitive. "I still think..." "Let me try to better explain ... (you uncomprehending idiot.) "Tom, stop texting and listen to my reasoning... (which I am going to repeat over and over until you agree with me.)" Meanwhile, on the other side of the camera, the producers are miserably reworking their budgets adding overtime for the sound people, the camera people, lighting, and everyone else who is getting paid for hanging around until a decision is reached. Does it have to be a consensus? That could be an insufferably long process. If I am unfulfilled by the end of the program, Tom Colicchio's blog and eGullet discussion quickly sate me.

MidAtlantic in University City runs a $16 hot dog on their menu as a Wednesday lunch special. Only available then. Actually two hot dogs. They make their own - all beef with a natural casing. Topped with their version of sauerkraut and toasted mustard. Topped with fresh fried potato chips. For some reason they go to all the trouble of making their own hot dogs and baking their own bread. Then they serve it hidden under a heap of potato chips. I removed some of the chips from the pic so the hot dogs could at least peek through. Pulled off the chips and got to one of the hot dogs. Weird. Their sauerkraut isn't shredded. Rather it is a segment of a cabbage leaf. Ugly, perhaps, but great taste. Took off to the cabbage/sauerkraut and got to the basic dog. Loose packed. Could be a tad smokier/spicier. But a good hot dog. Bun was ok, but fell apart after a couple of bites. Two dogs is one too many. Only purpose seems to be to build the check. Would be more likely to return if I could get a single dog, like at Supper, for $10.

Um, never mind. A Philadelphia food editor took it one step further, calling the restaurants of the other remaining chefs to see if they had viewing parties scheduled. As of yesterday, no one did.

Soooo bad it has to be a satire on the other cooking competitions. From now on I am sending back risotto if there are no lemon pits.

The site I linked to draws an assumption based on two local events - one past and one announced.. It does not know for sure who wins.

Potential Spoiler - Click At Your Risk

Can't see that happening in the U.S., especially on a regular basis as you claim. Between the Dept. of Labor and an abundance of lawyers, too costly and too much hassle - assuming you were paid on the books.

Not sure I agree. As others have pointed out, it is rather harsh to label a steak house as "no good" when one didn't order steak. The Palm is, at the very least, a good restaurant. I like it a lot and not just because I cajoled my characterture onto their wall. The steak, the lobsters, the creamed spinach, the hash browns, the potatoes - all very good.

Made my first trip to Dreamland - the original one, not the one just off the interstate - earlier this year. Thought the ribs were as good as I've had and the place proud of its tradition.

Great that Philadelphia has an Iron Chef. I have been rooting for Chef Garces not just because he is local. Any chef who combines short ribs, duck fat fried potatoes and cheddar cheese sauce is a culinary god in my book. Having said that (I also watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm" finale), the judging was disappointing. Came off as picking the least worst rather than the best. The Iron Chefs were right in respecting technique. They also seemed to want one of their own to win over a pastry chef. Steingarden made it to the top five of people I don't want to sit next to at a dinner party. His comment, "I would not pay for that food ..." was superfluous and stupid. He complains about lack of creativity and then comes up with the gem of triteness, "If you believe that I have a bridge going to Brooklyn I would like to sell you." Curiously, they did not show the scorecard averages last night. I do think that Chef Mehta would do a much more dramatic crossing arms, turning and staring at the camera than Chef Garces.

With the exception of Memphis, I'd skip all major cities. A few miles into Arkansas from Memphis, way off the beaten path and a must-hit: Greg and Jim's Grocery and Barbecuein Colt AR. I'd drive at least a hundred miles out of my way just for their barbecued beans, but their pulled pork is right up there too.

More than once I've simply told the person taking the reservation or the person I was referred to that we would prefer to determine the gratuity - the implication being we'd go elsewhere if that was unacceptable. Never had an issue.

So I took your advice this morning Katie. I had breakfast at a place that just opened this week. Ordered the SOS. It was nicely plated, the toast was trimmed, red and green peppers gave it some color. Unfortunately, the portion of chipped beef was mountainously generous. Nice gesture but caused the dish to be too salty. Not inedible, but objectionable. As is tradition, the server asked me mid-meal, "How was everything." I broke from policy and answered, truthfully, "The SOS was kinda salty. Too much chipped beef." "Well we're new, just getting started, still working out the recipes." "I know. That's why I told you." "Well, everything else was ok?" I reverted to my usual response, "Yup, fine." I didn't mention that the French press coffee was a nice touch, but at $3 per press, too ritzy for my typical two to three cups of coffee with breakfast, which would have led to my suggestion that they offer both options. My guess is that my observation never made it to the kitchen.

I understand what you're saying Katie. When I have owned customer service businesses I wanted customers to let me know if there is a problem. But sometimes, as a customer, I don't feel like a dialogue with a restaurant - staff or management. Most times, in fact. Only time I do more than mumble "fine" is when I really like a place. Floor management should be aware of issues and, if the kitchen is slow, make the rounds to tables to minimize customer issues. If they want me to help manage the restaurant, they can put me on payroll.

It has been fun following the place's Yelp reviews today. They picked up 300 mostly non-favorable. Someone posted a picture of handcuffs with the label "place setting." Yelp deleted most of today's posts and they are piling up again. With the impact of the Internet, this shows that a restaurant has to think twice before confronting a customer and a few more times before calling the cops.

Kitchen Nightmares meets Dragon's Den.

You won't see the South or experience the South doing eighty down the Interstate. Pick a state and drive the back roads. Hit the county seats and one-light towns. Along the way you will come across some great barbecue only the locals know. Guaranteed.

Sweatman's in Holly Hill SC (Only open Fri and Sat) A little out of your way, but the original Dreamland Barbecue in Tuscaloosa Moonlite is a good choice for Owensboro Two TN muusts - Martin's in Nolensville and Ridgewood in Bluff City Not a Corky's fan, myself. A&R and Jim Neeleys Interstate, along with Rendezvous. You say you've only got a week? Pick one state and start to eat through it. For a first time, I'd opt for NC - with a dash of SC for mustard based sauce.

Chewy often comes from pushing the ribs, cooking too fast. Probably one of the toughest challenges for any new bbq place is scheduling production to demand. Percy Street's menu doesn't seem to have any go-to's for meats unsold at the end of the day so assume they will under produce and run out rather than over produce and toss (or reheat). Carlson, did you get the wet (moist) or lean brisket?

The answer to the question Who the Hell is Jean Chrisophe Novelli?

Most of the places in the Hill Country around Austin seem to use post oak. One neat thing about taking the "tour" is that every place has different style sausage and all are great. There were a few coarse ground sausages. Was that the half pound portion of sausage?

Percy Street, serving Texas style barbecue, opens for dinner tomorrow at 900 South Street, same block as Whole Foods. Haven't been there yet, but I am already frustrated. Everything is priced individually meaning a half pound of brisket with small sides of beans and greens will cost me $19 plus drink, tax and tip. This link goes to a Grubstreet slideshow on Percy Street. First slide is their menu. I was at Kreuz Market in Lockhart TX earlier this year. Here's their menu with pricing: Pricing is pretty much the same all through Hill Country. Yeah, I know Philadelphia operating costs are higher - especially when a place spends as much for their barbecue machinery as a Texas pit-master spends for his new pick-up truck. I'm just saying, work with me. Let me get a quarter pound of brisket, a sausage and two sides for between $10 and $15. Some of us don't have an oil well in our back yard like JR.