Kevin72

I think the sweet potatoes were mentioned on one of the judges' blogs. Lots of irksome stuff flying around last night. Leah complaining to the, um camera, about not being good on television . . . ? But then, rather than pointing that out to her, Padma saying instead that "you may have to" seemed odd and not at all fitting. Tom complaining that NY guy was playing too broad and schticky for the cameras. Tom: Emeril, Paula Dean, Rachel Ray, and Guy Fieri would like a word with you. And Rocco DiSpirito of all people complaining about someone's lack of professionalism on camera!

Can you elaborate on what you're looking for here? I just keep coming back to the Babbo cookbook as an ideal reference for "elevating" food but it seems like you're wanting something more. You mentioned in your original post that you have Hazan, who's another one I'd refer you to for more on theory and history. Beyond that I'd say try to track down Waverly Root's Foods of Italy book which surveys every region of Italy, or Culinaria which does the same.

These more gimmicky challenges irritate me. I guess the soup quickfire was a good challenge but I just got stressed out by the prospect. Leah doing that cream of asparagus soup with tuna tartare was a really brilliant move; hers was the one I first thought of as being least likely to adapt well to a soup when they announced the course change. But the catering, cook everything in a microwave elimination one just got under my skin. Gene jumped into my Top 3 for rigging that grill up. Pure genius. Hope he goes far in this competition but I think that just by doing that he's going to have a line of prospective places waiting for him afterwards.

I dunno; five years ago would it have been accepted that one of the if not the most avant garde restaurant in the country would be located in Chicago, land of the polish sausage and the deep dish pizza? I still think there's a strong likelihood that it could take off in Texas, probably moreso Houston or Austin but still. I mean it's quite a leap, sure, for people to go from eating a well done filet mignon to shrimp cotton candy with seaweed air, but you can work elements of it into what's already familiar. Foams, airs, etc., could work their wayin as a sauce, you could have "gelled" vegetables as a side to a dish, etc., etc. BTW, I don't know how I came up with Gaspar Noe up there; I meant Robert Gadsby (sp?) formerly of Noe and Soma, in Houston. Apologies for any confusion.

Well, I did make it here. My ever-expanding list of places I aboslutely love in Houston (Dolce Vita, Gravitas, Ibiza, Catalan, Hugo's) needs to make room for a new entry. This is really the perfect time of year to give this place a try. You walk in and get hit with the smell of roasted and braising meats. It is a meat-lover's paradise: platters of one kind of animal shank or another drift by, sputtering and smoldering from the oven. I just wanted to stand in front of that kitchen and smell all night long. I agonized over the menu; there was very little I didn't want to give a try. My wife had the pork cheek and dandelion salad which I stole a good half of as well and loved. I had a wild hog terrine which came with curried cauliflower pickles that cut the succulence of the chilled and gelled meatl nicely. I did the lamb shank for my main and my wife had a chicken with fried leeks and bacon. Her whole dish was slathered in what can best be described as a "bacon broth", succulent and smokey. I'll agree with the review above that the dishes could probably use an additional bump of salt but otherwise I left so very happy at the end of the meal. Decent crowd size but there's a whole second floor unused as of now. I say give 'em some love Houston: not many cities have this kind of place.

If you put molecular gastronomy in the avant garde tent, then probably the best example that comes to mind is Randy Rucker in Houston. He ran a place called laidback manor that unforunately didn't make it (which answers your second question). Fortunately he stuck it out in Houston, ran a supper club called Tenacity, and I believe just recently took over the kitchen at Rainbow Lodge with a menu revamp coming soon. Soma in Houston seems to be experimenting with the idea, and there's other chefs like Gasper Noe incorporating some novel concepts in their cooking. I think a case can be made for any of the "big three" to get an avant garde place that takes off. Houston has such a rich cultural stew that I think its populace is open to anything, Austin has a younger and more adventurous crowd, and Dallas seems to do pretty well with its top end places, so if one tailors their concept accordingly I think people would come around. Of course the present economic situation is another matter. . .

Here's one that's bound to cause some gossip: despite apparently booming business Martini Park in the Shops at Legacy closed. Snarky sendoffs here and here. I went once for drinks, paid I think north of $10 for a Manhattan, and had half of it slooshed out of my glass trying to navigate the elbow to elbow crowd to get back to our group.

Zorba's in Plano wouldn't be right without your own bottle to open. I really like that they've kept with that concept and approach. Jasmine Thai is BYOB but I never think to bring something and never find myself craving wine or even beer with their food. Making my ice tea nuclear sweet is the best way to compliment their fiery food.

No, I totally agree. It wasn't until halfway through the battle that I realized that they had to actually make the friggin' things. Good main challenge. I'm really over Ariane already and hope she isn't this season's Nikki (? the caterer last year who got bounced on wedding challenge).

If it's that big you can probably do several things with it. Use one end as a "bowl" and stuff it with breadcrumbs, cheese, porcini, herbs. Roast off another part of it like jackal suggests. Make gnocchi out of more of it, custards, etc. Is it normal for them to be so big, and do they get bland if they're so big?

Stuffed? Or would that interfere with the flavor you think?

OK, my DVR picked back up recording again and popped three episodes on a mini-marathon or something. What works: cooking demonstrations, talking to experts, actually learning about the culture and cuisine (of course). What doesn't: idle chatter in the car, long driving scenes. Seems like the same conversation over and over again. Every Bittman and Bassol (sp?) segment begins with her trying to teach him a spanish word or phrase. Meals where they just gush over and over again about how good whatever they're eating is. And, I'm sure it is good, but they seem to also just get the same dishes over and over again. Some kind of shellfish grilled or broiled with olive oil. Again, I'm sure it's fantastic but compelling TV it does not make.

I'm far from being a sushi afficianado, but it is one of my very favorite foods. After reading about it in none other than FatGuy's Turning the Tables book, I had wanted to try omakase to get a true, full sushi restaurant experience. Then I saw this review in the Dallas Observer and my choice was pretty much set. Zen Sushi's omakase experience is equal parts omakase (sushi chef makes for you whatever they want) and chef's table, whereby the chef tends to you and your guests personally and you need to book the experience ahead of time. Let Chef Carpenter know a few days in advance of your intention and she'll shop for your meal the day of and make the menu then. So you don't know, until you sit down, what you're getting. Chef Carpenter draws influence both from traditional Japanese cooking and uses Latin American flavors and ingredients. Many items we had were augmented with lime and jalepeno and were all the better for it. We had a 9-course meal that moved along briskly. You can also request a wine supplement and Chef Carpenter and her wine steward will collaborate on ideal pairings. The food was simply stunning. There wasn't a false note anywhere, not one moment where I second-guessed the food or thought "it would have been better if . . . ". She nailed each course and there was a definite progression in flavors and experiences throughout the meal. Best of all, we weren't stuffed or hurting from cheeses and creams and heavy sauces like you'd find in more western or European style tasting menus. I'd say the highlight was, fittingly enough, a live scallop popped open, sliced then, and served back to us in its own shell. Boom. That's it. No sauce, seasoning, herbs, nothing. And it was so good it just stopped you dead in your tracks and forced you to focus on what was right in front of you. Every morsel was a contemplative and meditative experience. So save up and get to this place, STAT! It is easily one of the best and maybe even the best dining experience I've had in Dallas. Zen Sushi 380 W. 7th St. Dallas, TX 75208 214-946-9699 http://zensushidallas.com/

Just tried the Dim Sum place. Really good and fun. They ony do it for lunch on weekends; the rest of the time you would have to order it off the menu, or go with the barbecue they have hanging on display in the back of the room.

No, I remember it like yesterday. They disappeared shortly after we sampled them there; wonder if there was some kind of license issue that they had to meet or something because now they only sell prepackaged varieties in the produce section. I tried them but they lacked that fresh flavor. The ones they made there were wonderful. Very fatty but in the right kind of way and had plenty of ginger and garlic in them. They didn't taste livery at all and were standard thick-linked sausages, not the little narrow breakfast sausage size and shape, so I guess that means hog instead of lamb casing, yes?

You know, you're right. But they DID have one, years back, where that rack of wines organized by taste is now. Oh, I think that's something the Dallas CM does now too (wines grouped by flavor)right?

Apparently they've taken the highlights of the other DFW CMs and incorporated it into their renovations. They got a Salt Bar like the Plano and Southlake ones and the Sushi bar I believe was also taken from the Plano location. Hopefully they changed course on the sandwich offerings. We ate there for lunch and it was build-your-own: you had to specify what all you wanted on your sandwich. CM Plano tried that approach after their remodel and very quickly went back to their old way.

I'm a Goody Goody loyalist too: the one up on the Frisco/Colony border on 121 is first rate. I also like the Siegel's downtown near the Quadrangle (I think) and the one in Addison. But I rarely get down there, and the Goody Goody up here is so well stocked there isn't much of a reason to head out that way. Still wish we could get a Spec's though . . .

Yeah, two aisles of soy sauces?! There's a Japanese only aisle, and then when you're done with that, just two aisles down, are the soys from remaining Asian countries. So I have a light (standard), dark, Indonesian (syrupy and sweet) and mushroom flavored. Fun! I took a friend there last weekend too, early Sunday. They had whole pig's heads in the fridge case. Then I needed something for dinner later that day and went back and the heads were gone. I would think the butchers there get the animal in whole and break it down. You can get every part of the pig there and once a year I go in to load up on their fat to make lard out of.

Solid start. Hardcore to get rid of two contestants right away. That opens the door I guess for a "do over" ep down the road where no one gets eliminated . . . maybe? Also a pretty impressive one-two punch on the quick fire and elimination challenges: they were both straightforward tests of cooking ability and vision. I liked how the two on the chopping block at the end were the classic failure of technique vs. failure of vision.

Yeah, is it time to start breathlessly speculating on the chef lineup again? They're promoting that Thanksgiving special in a few weeks and all the chefs fight against each other, only Batali isn't in it.

As some of you may know, New San Dor here closed a few months back. I went to the shopping center yesterday and noticed a new sign up where NSD used to be: Dim Sum and Barbecue. I'm pretty pumped!

I think so . . . but regardless, it hasn't recorded any eps unless I specifically remember to find it and record it, even if I set it up to record series. I totally geeked out over that ep. Mario and Stipe together were cool enough but then when they went to a U2 show and hung out with Bono . . . favorite band and favorite chef together! Worlds colliding!

I believe Stipe is a vegetarian, maybe even vegan. He was on Molto Mario one time and they mentioned it. As for Mario's health: he did some promo NASCAR appearance here in Dallas recently and one of our local papers covered it on their blog. And he does look much trimmer; maybe the thinnest he's been since his early FTV days. Good on him. For some reason my DVR's not picking these shows up. Given what's being said here I'm not terribly motivated to correct the issue though, sadly.

Ah. Well. They had some off the menu specials when we went but it was still along the lines of these more modern cocktails. They use fresh juice and other ingredients (as does the Mansion) and they were good. But if you're looking for the old school stuff I don't think that's what SP or Mansion is trying to be known for, unfortunately.