Kevin72

It seems like in eps where it's nonstop food and restaurants and very few gimmicks, like, say, wandering around a natural hot spring pool, Tony's enjoying himself and having a good time. If there's enough of a food scene to fill a whole ep then it just writes itself. I thought the Azores ep was interesting, b/c I have no experience at all with the New England towns that have such a heavy population from that area. But it does seem like they ran out of things to do/eat and had to load it up with gimmicks. That always makes for some primo Tony quips but not necessarily a memorable episode as a whole. Chicago by comparison, was a lot of fun and you could tell Tony was having a blast as well. I went there a couple years ago and had a lousy time and not much memorable in the way of food, and now of course I'm kicking myself for missing all these great places. I'm curious though if there was any talk of going to Alinea or a reason for not going there . . . ?

Hee! Yeah I read that on another TC writeup. "Stefan, for performing so admirably in the face of equipment failure we award you . . . the same equpiment that failed."

You know, I'm very curious to know why the Elimination Win prizes have diminished so markedly over the past season and a half. Seems like the last notable Elimination challenge win before the two Superbowl tix was Lisa's Italy trip last year. Oh, wait. The GE Monogram kitchen set Stefphan won last week. Hard economic times maybe? Or did someone do the math after Tre, being eliminated a little over halfway into season 3, still went home with a hefty prize package nearly equal to the grand prize?

Totally agree and I forgot to add the point about editing as well. But it came up twice this episode, including that hilarious/sad moment at Quickfire Judging where Jeff seemed to just realize, as he was explaining the dish, that he went overboard again. There's some arrogance to what he does, but also I think it's his natural impulse to over complicate dishes out of passion and just who he is.

That was a rough final 3. But like Radhika last week it seemed like Jeff checked out for this episode. He just wouldn't learn that lesson to simplify. Somebody get him a slot in an Alice Waters kitchen, stat! Jeff was one of my final three also. It seems likely then that Hosea will now be in the top 3 (up against Stephan and Jamie) and I find him less and less likeable with each episode. But then again if that final 3 does come to pass I'm really not all that wild about that lineup. I think Jeff will chart a path similar to S3's Tre though: he acquitted himself well, clearly knows his chops, and is professional, charismatic, and a good team player. I'm sorry to see him go because he was turning out to be the most sympathetic character on the show, but he'll probably land on his feet and do very well.

Yes. Especially when the judges ding the chefs for using it. Last night I gave this show a shot and the stinger ingredients were bran flakes on the app and grape jelly for the main. The judges' comments for the app courses routinely were about how they didn't like the bran flakes in there and one even said he preferred leaving them out of the dish.

The Food Geek in me would liked to have seen more how they went about getting that star back from the NYT. Plus maybe more on his background and how Le Cirque rose to prominence to begin with. Started promisingly but meandered off course and spent too much time dwelling on the pains of getting the new place open. You can turn on any number of reality shows these days and get that story.

Sure enough, Reef's sliders-only spinoff place, Little Bigs, just opened its first location at Westheimer and Montrose. Website

John Tesar, exec chef at Rosewood Mansion, has left the company. The Mansion had been showing some financial difficulties; last summer there were staff layoffs, so I had been worried. Then there was a rumor about this on one of the news blogs last week and the Mansion moved quickly to quash it, but then made the announcement Friday. Tesar is expected to make his own announcement tomorrow (Tuesday). Unfortunate. Tesar made a commendable turnaround on the Mansion's brand these last few years and really seemed to put it back on the map in the local food scene. Rumor seems to have it at this point that he will stay in the area for his next venture. Eatsblog, Sidedish, and Pegasus News all have more with ongoing updates. Pretty huge news for the local dining scene.

I think gremolata is what makes the dish stand apart. Something noticable. It's not necessarily something you'd miss but it does elevate it into something more than a standards braise (I guess that's the textbook definition of "guilding the lilly" though).

Not really, to be honest. Again maybe there would be an ever so slight difference if you seared them off in the same pan you cooked them in but as it is, most got left behind. I think that's a fair observation.

I took a stab at this last weekend. Used Marcella Hazan's recipe from her Classic Italian Cookbook. Don't know if it's in the reprint that combines her first two books. Here they are (clumsily) tied off and ready to go, with the soffrito (mire poix or aromatics) in the background. Those two cost me $24 at Whole Foods. No wonder it's been a few years since I made them last. The stovetop ready to go. Curiously, Hazan's recipe calls for browning off the floured shanks in a skillet, then transferring them to a casserole or other cooking vessel for the braise. Not sure why that is; maybe it was an allowance for the cookware at the time? At any rate, I followed her instructions. Wilt the soffrito in the casserole with butter in the back left part of the pic. The pot just above the skillet with the shanks has some homemade broth defrosting/simmering. After you've seared off the shanks you drain off the fat and then deglaze with white wine, getting up all the bits and whatnot. I decided I don't like this sear and transfer method; you still lose some of the fond in the searing pan no matter how aggressive you are in scraping as it deglazes. At any rate, here they are about to pop into the oven (240 F), with the reduced wine, broth, a couple cubes of frozen tomato sauce, a bunde of herbs (thyme, bay leaf, rosemary) and a lemon peel. Risotto Milanes is THE accompaniment to osso bucco in my mind and as I mentioned earlier, one of the few cases in traditional Itlian cooking where something typically looked at as a primo is served with the main (secondo). I must admit however that more often than not I do serve risotti with my main. So here it is at the end of the first couple stages, where you wilt aromatics (onion ad pancetta), then add the raw short-grained rice and toast it, then add your first ladleful of broth, some white wine, and saffron to give it that characteristic color and flavor. While everything's cooking, a little cocktail. The northern regions of Piemonte and Lombardia (where Milan is) both are home to several reputable vermouth makers, so this was a whipped up mix of equal measures of vodka and three kinds of vermouth (French Dry, Italian White, and Italian Red), plus a dash of bitters and a slice of lemon. The risotto alla milanese, shortly before the mantecare step (when you add in butter and cheese, then stir vigorously before serving). That darker bit in the risotto, just above the spoon, is some marrow from the osso bucco. Plated and ready to go, with oven-roasted asparagus on the side. The green scattered over the meat is gremolata (Marcella calls it "gremolada", and also curiously admits that she doesn't much care for it), a raw mixture of parsley, celery, garlic, and lemon zest, which really elevates the dish onto another plane. I need to remember using this technique more on braises, particularly in late winter/early spring when braising's getting old and the pallate could use a jolt. The World's Toughest Critic tried her first risotto milanese: "Perfetto!" Like the Amirault household, no leftovers from this meal.

That searing idea is brilliant. Looks lovely, FM.

I can't believe that there isn't something in the rules about what happened between those two. Maybe I'm remembering wrong but weren't the lesbian couple instructed to refrain from any inappropriate contact last year?

I think if Radhika had executed one side or the other of her duties somewhat successfully then a better case could have been made to send Carla home. If for example she was a stronger presence in the FOH and not so noticeably absent in that area, yeah she probably still would've been called on the carpet for some kitchen issues but I think Carla probably would have gotten the axe. Or, if instead she actually did something when she went back to the kitchen like salvaged the desserts or adjusted the menu, again it would've more fallen to Carla. As it was, though, she split her duties in competing areas yet botched both. To me it was an accumulation, a series of bad choices on Radhika's part that, taken from a big picture perspective, sent her home.

I just don't see that he's so egregious that he would get last picked. I can understand going with someone like a Hosea, Jamie, or Jeff on your first round but to pick Carla, who has no elimination wins under her belt except for team challenges, over him is mind-boggling. This was pointed out on another board, but look how he responded to the freezer issue vs. Carla. Carla ran around flailing. Stefan grabbed two bowls with ice to jury-rig something. He saved that team. Pain in the ass, yes, but I don't put him anywhere near Howie, or Spike, or Mr. "It-Must-Be-Her-Time-of-the-month" from earlier this season. You're right though, most everyone's overreacting to him by putting personal above professional. All of those, though, reflect poor judgment on Radhika's part. She picked the weakest remaining chef over the strongest chef. She put her in charge of desserts and didn't build in contingencies for almost guaranteed disaster. She made the choice to work FOH instead of run the kitchen or put the more charismatic Jeff out there or less skilled Carla out of the way. Then she dropped the ball on her FOH duties by hiding in the kitchen.

Yes, totally. Also there was a clear body language segment where Tom and the guest chef were hunched together in their criticism and made a pointed look at Toby when they were commenting on the meal. Tom's not liking this non-chef interloper, I think. I thought this was a thoroughly fascinating episode that perfectly illustrated the growing flaws of this season's talents. Again, with Restaurant Wars you should fight to LOSE Quickfire and not be head chef. You have a 50% chance of going home if you're head chef. Radhika lost for me right out of the gate avoiding Stephan(sp?) that way. Soooo perfect that he was the deciding factor then. Though Radhika is the better cook between her and Carla it was just staggering that you chose someone with no wins under her belt over the dominant contestant of the season. Almost every reason why Sahana came out on bottom can be traced to Radhika's failure of leadership, including even Carla's poor showing. Carla's going to have plenty of chances to go home yet, but Radhika was the clear loser of the night to me. Final three I'd like are Jamie, Stefan, and Jef with Hosea subbing in for either Jamie or Jeff. Fabio was fantastic in this ep, loved the monkey's ass line, but he's this season's Michael/CJ/Anthony (or was it Andrew?): funny guy you'd buy a beer but not the top chef by a long shot. ETA: Jamie really impressed me in this episode. Very professional and a true leader, touching every dish, throwing out unacceptable presentations, bawling out the servers when needed. If Sahana had managed to win, Jamie would have been the clear winner then.

Leslie Brenner. Official announcement here on the DMN eatsblog. Leslie's blog is here. Seems like a heavyweight on the LA Food scene. Thoughts? Comments?

Uh oh . . . Bravo doesn't ever re-air these eps so you're going to be behind!

Hmmm. You just know there's going to be some hair-pulling product tie in competitions though. "This week, your challenge is to cook a three-course meal . . . on the engine hood of this brand new Toyota RAV 4!!!!!"

Chefs screw up sometimes. If Tom Colicchio were a contestant, he wouldn't win every challenge. Overall, Hosea has been pretty impressive. (Not as sure about Leah.) ← I'm more complaining about him throwing Ariane under the bus or at least looking the other way when she was being thrown under the bus and putting himself in that ridiculous "Real World--The Kitchen!" situation with Leah.

That they were given essentially a chef's dream (height of season ingredients, just picked produce, impeccable farm-raised meat) and then botched it so badly is frustrating. Really surprised at the poor showings. I was pulling for pork team and then for them to make a tame looking pork tenderloin and oversauced, overstuffed pesto? I cannot believe a native Italian like Fabio would make that kind of error. But I was wondering though if three hours would be enough to cook a whole piece of meat on the bone . . . ? Ariane had to go eventually but I would have liked to have seen her go under more clear-cut circumstances, where it was much more evidently her fault. Lost a lot of respect for both Leah and Hosea on that one. I've been gaining more and more respect for Jeff as the season's gone along. His fatal flaw appears to be that he overthinks his dishes but he's got a lot of natural leadership and professionalism it seems. And yes, Toby toned down some of his more pat, prewritten critiques. I think he does bring alot of salient observations to the table. I liked that he threw the rule of "judge on this competition only, not previous performance" in the judges' faces and seemed to pretty much switch it to Ariane. Padma didn't look too happy about that though.

Having spent part of our honeymoon there I freely admit to bias but I loved the Venice episode. Perfectly captured why we love it and why so many others don't. Plus him going to two of the places we ate at (do Mori, on our own cichetti crawl, and Al Covo) got me jazzed to no end. My lingering regret when we left was that we never ate risotto everywhere and now seeing that place in Burano I regret it even more.

Scott Tycer and Plinio Sandalio also seem to be flirting with avant garde techniques and incorporating those ideas into the cooking at Textile. Anonymous Eater's Review.

I'd love to see Fabio in the final three but I don't think he's going to make it much further unless he really shows a turnaround. Jeff and Hosea have both been more consistent than he was this season. He started out of the gate impressive but then foundered.