Hi, all. This is only my 2nd post on eGullet - wish me luck :) Having seen years of episodes of ICJ, I have some comments on ICA (knowing some have been iterated already). 1. Not as much fun as ICJ. I realize now that one of the things I so enjoyed on ICJ was the constant banter. I love AB, but his voice alone is not enough. 2. The judges suck. Steingarten was the only one in the 1st 3 episodes to offer much beyond what others in the forum have quoted. 3. Sakai and Morimoto made a mistake in not dumbing down their food for the unsophisticated judges. Hopefully this will be rectified in the future with judges who know something. (Pastore should have been disqualified for not having tried sushi beforehand. Sheesh). David Rosengarten would be an ideal judge, the new Kishi. 4. As many others have noted, The Thirsty Traveler is awful. As anyone who has watched his show knows, he's not the brightest light, and on ICA, he's really in over his head. 5. All the food looked great, but I must say Sakai's and Morimoto's food looked transcendent. This is why I love Iron Chef - interpretations of ingredients that I would never think of. These chefs are really artists. A couple years ago I ate at Morimoto's restaurant in Philadelphia shortly after it opened. It was one of the most memorable meals of my life. We got the chef's choice menu and it was amazing. I have also eaten Mario Battali's food years ago at Po - also great. (I guess I've also sorta eaten Wolfgang Puck's food if you count his frozen pizzas ). I would dearly love to eat at La Rochelle in Tokyo and wherever Chen-san is the chef. When I watch IC, I think I can better imagine what the food tastes like having eaten some of it for real. Anyway, I'll keep watching, but hope they improve the show. Be great if the Food Network people are reading this thread!
