Kevin72

Thanks for the digging and clearing things up, Leonard. So that's something to look forward to for another year at least, then. Good news, esp. after seeing him at the top of his game on Battle Parmgiano the other night.

Good to hear. How's the crowd there? Guidelive reviewed it a couple weeks back and gave it a favorable go.

Kreuz got a pretty extensive plug on CNN this morning. They were doing a story about regional foods and where they're best and got onto barbecue.

I thought CJ was the funniest of the group this year, so his humor will be missed. Took it in stride and I liked his offer to Bourdain at the end. Again, though, I found myself irritated with the nature of the challenge. Colicchio commented that it was too risky for so many of them to do fish. But I guarantee that if they all went the safe meat route he'd have complained about the lack of novelty and risk taking.

Yes, he's gone; check the Paltrow/Batali thread on this same subfolder for the details. That makes this episode all the more bittersweet. It was a great one and brought to mind memories of the IC Japan shows. I came to the realization that it's rather disturbing what I'd be willing to do to have been on that tasting panel.

I'd speculate Morimoto. Been doing it for years, and it's not like FTV has any respect for tradition anyways. He doesn't further their brand in any way.

Finally. Though again, watching Howie sit out Quickfire had me livid that he was still around and Tre wasn't. He should've been eliminated on the spot. And, are the editors of the show paying attention to comments? They dropped two hints of surefire doom for Brian right off the bat: him commenting on missing home, and then also the requisite "I'm in this to win!" comment. I thought for sure he was a goner. The Elimination irritated me again. It seems like at this point in the season the contestants all get reamed for not being Top Chef material and never pull off a clear "win". They were unduly hobbled with budget constraints, a picky crowd, and a limited cooking space, and it just irked me how overly critical and nonplussed the judges were, particularly when the crowd, for the most part, did like what was served. I felt the contestant's frustrations this time and I thought Brian did a decent job, actually, in leading the crew and keeping everyone going. It didn't seem like he could've won either way. This time, Hung was the one who got renewed respect from me. His comments about Tre were . . . sweet? . . . and he got the biggest laugh of the night with his assessment of Howie's food. And, holy cats, YES, Sara really got screwed last week with her prize. Makes me pull for her even more now. BTW, Bourdain's got a particularly sharp blog up on last night's ep on the network site.

Molto ceased production in 2004, followed soon after by the short-lived Ciao America. So the only regular cooking show he's been on since then is IC. My impression from the article was that FTV was dropping his shows entirely from the schedule, repeats and all (running them I guess on sister network Fine Living instead, which also wouldn't be a bad place for him to migrate to).

Wow. Gonna miss him on IC, he was always a calm, classy competitor. But I'll just add this tidbit to the "Mario's Going to PBS" pile. Right on top.

When we went to Rome we thought that we'd like to dig up a place in Trastevere next time. As others have said, it's a little more out of the way and neighborhood-y than other spots. Plenty of good spots to eat; just pick a menu outside that looks good and go on in!

I bet Bittman had something to do with his getting the PBS gig. ← He's certainly on that show enough that it's another hint that maybe it's going to happen. Plus, PBS has pulled alot of FTV's heavy hitters from the good ol' days: Sara, Ming . . . though the second I hear a "Bam!" I'm packing my bags . . .

Yep, definitely a favorite episode. We were starved when it wrapped up at 10 pm. The fight sequence was predictably hilarious (love the dubbing!) and the old guy making pasta by hand was sweet and heartbreaking all at once. And what's with the new camera tricks they're doing?

Heads up: Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey: The Mediterranean Flavors of Sardinia, a Sardinian cookbook, will be published on October 23rd. This is by one of the two brothers who own the Sardinian restaurants Arcodoro and Pomodoro in Dallas and Houston.

No, I think it's legit. Or it's fooled alot of people, judging by the hits that come up after a google search for those two. Anyways, hopefully this is the beginning of Mario's long overdue hop over to PBS where he rightfully belongs. . .

I think she deserves due props for helping in revitalizing the Houston farmer's market scene and garnering interest in local produce and products. She also rightfully deserves a spot at the forefront of the new Houston restaurant scene as well.

I think it was kind of a mistake to not have a new show last night. They needed something to regalvanize people after Tre's loss and rebuild some momentum for those left.

And, we probably don't need to tell you this Ling, but you want the fatty brisket, not the lean.

Excellent. Looking forward to those great photos you can take. But again, they close early on Saturdays. Like maybe by 7 or even 6.

I dunno. To come that far and not just drive a little further and hit Lockhart, with not one, not two, but three solid (two of them the top tier) barbecue joints? As into food as you are, Ling, I think you owe it to yourself to get out there, picky friend be damned. When's the next time you're out this way? Though to complicate things even further, these places close waaaaay early on weekends. Maybe lunch would be better.

I particularly liked their comparison of Casey's knife skills to a homeless grandma's.

One consolation about Tre though: the combined weight of his three Eliminations wins: a night on the town in NY with Bourdain, a trip for two to Italy!!!! and a lifetime pass to all those nightclubs. What did Sara win, by the way?

Dammit, dammit, dammit. Like alot around here, I'm now at a loss on who to root for. I'd say Casey but can you really be considered a Top Chef and bumble slicing an onion like that? That's some of the most painful TV I've watched in a while, seeing Casey fall two contestants behind. Insanity. Also painful was watching Tre make mistakes that you knew would spell his undoing. Hubris and arrogance crept in for the first time with him. Kept same items on the menu and made the sin, again, of sending out subpar food. So, I don't object to it as strongly as Lia's departure, since someone had to go, and it was clearly him. No one botched like he did this episode. But yes, it sucks that he went before so many that he can cook rings around. Note to those left: For the love of God, no one "befriend" Casey and get really close. She's toxic. Also, no one should ever utter the line "I'm in this thing to WIN" again. Always sure doom. Each of those left has a pretty sizeable flaw that could eliminate them at any time: there's no clear cut contenders. I think Hung has maybe the best shot, but he's so arrogant he may shoot himself in the foot on the way. Brian only cooks seafood so far. Dale has no sense of smell and says his knife skills suck. Casey can't cut an onion and half the shots of her anymore have her on the verge of tears. CJ just seems too laid back or detached. Sara was unremarkable until this episode but I got alot more respect for her. Howie . . . yeah. The previews look like next ep's pretty significant for him. Maybe those left will clue into the fact this nut's still around but Tre's gone and finally really turn against him.

According to Guidelive, Marc Cassell is no longer with Dragonfly and Grant Morgan has assumed exec chef duties. ETA: I'm waaay behind the curve here. This was back in April, so shortly after our last visit.

I'm sure purists would object. I'm not experienced with the cuisinart being used to knead dough, but I do doughs in my KitchenAid almost exlusively. Don't have the dexterity or patience for hand kneading. Interesting that we've got Puglia on the mind. With temps @103 here, Sicily's more elaborate and layered flavors seem too much for my palate so I'm leaning towards Puglia's spartan cooking as well. Last night I made Pollo Assciute-Assciute from Nancy Harmon Jenkins' Flavors of Puglia. Quartered chicken is rubbed with parsley, seasoning, and olive oil, then laid atop potatoes rubbed with the same mixture and roasted. I did break from tradition and use oregano and a spot of garlic as well. The chicken emerges all crackly and herby from the oven, the potatoes wonderfully soak up the juices, and everything merges together in harmonious way. There's a variation for lamb in her cookbook, as well.

That was I thought really a really cold blooded manuver this week with being told they're going out and then getting yanked into an elimination challenge instead. And it was unduly hard on the women, I thought. But it did allow for the biggest laugh of the night when they had the shot of Dale at his nice four course wine and food dinner while everything was going to sh*t for his teammates. To me, it was so painfully obvious from the getgo of the elimination challenge that Sara was going that I started wondering if it was some sort of editing trick and it would be a surprise elimination. And if Tre doesn't make it to top 2 at least I'm going to be pissed. Finally, I'm starting to worry that Howie's going to go the distance. He keeps making it by virtue of someone else being worse each time. Hopefully they put him in charge of the challenge next week and that'll really give him opportunity to flame out.