TAPrice

Some quick thoughts on the episode. Good: Despite the commercials full of bathing suit shots that looked like Big Bother out takes, the pool scene was nothing but some professionals relaxing after a hard day. As of episode 3, this season has not jumped the shark. Bad: The attitude of the chefs when confronted with comfort was disappointing. I would think chefs with greater depth would think about why people like this food, and then try to replicate that part of the dish without the less savory (and unhealthy) elements. Good and Bad: At first, I thought this would be a two man race. Now I'm not sure, which will make the competition more interesting. Overall, this is looking like a group whose talent is deep but not wide. They are all pretty young, so that's not surprising. Ilan was like that last year. Good with Spanish. Otherwise, who knows? I get the impression that the judges (or at least Tom) won't let that happened. Slapping the wrist of the seafood cook with immunity for not branching out is the first sign of that.

Brett Anderson has some more information in the TP: The article also says that New Orleans Grill will once again be known as the Grill Room. Is there really a difference? They both sound like generic hotel restaurant names to me.

Are the two terms widely used to refer to the exact same thing? Are they really interchangeable? Or, are they only interchangeable when referring to foods that can be both dipped and spread (e.g. hummus). In my mind, "cheese dip" and "cheese spread" are two very different things. I can't imagine confusing the two. What other specific examples are you thinking about?

I've never heard the term "smearing" used for hummus--or really anything else. At least not around here. Is this a New York or East coast term?

I'd argue for hummus as a dip. When I go to a middle eastern restaurant, they always give me pita to dip into the hummus. I've never seen a patron carefully spread the hummus with a knife.

I guess sometimes there is no need to complicate things.

I picked up two unripe mangoes at the Vietnamese farmers market. The woman who grew them suggested dipping them in fish sauce. Linda Bladholm, in the Asian Grocery Store Demystified, has this to say: I can't find any recipes in my Vietnamese cookbooks. Any suggestions for salads or pickles?

Greg Sonnier, the former chef and owner of Gabrielle, will be the new executive chef at the Windsor Court. I just got the official PR release. He takes over July 2. This is great news for Greg and the city.

I guess they know when they're not wanted.

Forget the law going into effect in 10 days. From what I could tell, taco trucks got out of Jefferson overnight. I drove down Jefferson Highway today, and the truck usually parked in the Jefferson Parish Lowe's has moved across the levee into Orleans Parish.

That's why Tom's comment about the poached lobster confused me. He complained that it wasn't really barbecue, because barbecue means low and slow. I'd agree with that, but who--except for the guy doing chicken--actually cooked anything low and slow. There were a lot of dishes, so maybe I'm forgetting something.

Sadly, the push back against the taco trucks has begun. Jefferson Parish effectively banned taco trucks today: More info here. The city council says they just want to get the parish back to what it was before Katrina. Fools. Don't they realize that tacos trucks are one of the improvements to the area. No such measures are pending in Orleans parish.

The Times-Picayune confirms the closure. According to the article, the food was too fancy for the Northshore and the service wasn't fancy enough: They're talking about opening a place across the lake.

I've seen rumors elsewhere online that Longbranch has closed. Can anyone confirm this? Any idea what happened?

Don't kids love grilled cheese sandwiches? Is this really a punishment? Or are we talking about a cold cheese sandwich.

I was watching the end of episode 1 again with my wife, who fell asleep during the original showing. Has anyone else noticed that the repeats are heavily edited. Lots of stuff missing (for example, Tre isn't asked about tasting Hung's dish, Bourdain doesn't get to present the prize, etc.). Does this always happen? Guess that's incentive to watch the original showing.

So I meant to buy basmati rice at our local Middle Eastern market. Not until I dumped two cups into saffron infused water did I realize that I actually had "calrose rice (riz masri)." The market adds its own generic label to the bulk items, and I bought the wrong type of rice by accident. What exactly do I have here. It's a short grain rice that looks similar to arborio or paella rice. It seems to be very starchy. Will it work for paella? Should I handle it differently?

Craig LaBan, food critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, is fighting off a lawsuit over one of his reviews. Now, according to the Philadelphia Weekly, a video deposition he recorded will be shown in open court. I know we've had endless debates on here about the value of anonymity to a food critic. In this case, LaBan claims that his undercover status has a monetary value.

Langenstein's is a good idea. Dorignac's might also be able to take care of you.

Agree 100%. Wraps are an abomination. Was there a problem with bread? I keep hoping that this trend will die out, but so far there are no signs of that. Could it be that, unlike bread, the tortillas don't go stale as quickly? Is this why people keep pushing them?

I feel like the gumbo is darker now than it was before the storm. Am I just imagining things?

Tom said the judges only learned Clay's history when watching the show: Who knows what the producers knew. It's still reality t.v. At some point, they're going to engineer some silly personal drama.

And the wicked scar on Padma's arm... ← From Vogue, here is more than you ever wanted to know about Padma's scar (or Padma herself): click. Edit: Turns out Padma wrote a cookbook. According to her homepage she is a "brilliant chef." Who knew?

I didn't notice that, but Glad survived for another season. Am I the only one who feels like Tom is a little diminished every time he plugs a sponsor? Come on Tom, that's Padma's job.

I think you've convinced me. Although I'll still probably have nightmares about the red pickle no matter how good it tastes.