Zeemanb

In all fairness, I do have to say...although the thing is haunted with demonic Ray-cackling every time I pick it up, it has some good weight to it and after I got it professionally sharpened it does a fine job. It is definitely the inside joke of my knife collection and will remain prominently displayed between my two light sabre Shuns.

Things got a little out of hand last night.....so I can catch this roadshow in Independence next weekend? Will it be anywhere near the faincy new Bass Pro they are building? Oh, do be sure to give the honorable reverend my warmest regards........

Getting a late start heading out tonight, so no PROMISES but I'll see what I can do about getting there before it closes down at 2pm........ Judy, I'll give you credit for at least announcing this the day before instead of the day after..... but seriously, I'm too excited about spring arriving to give you a hard time. Please take notes in case I don't make it over there...... I'm going to go sit outside next to my chives now.........

I'm showing a few of my knives for entertainment purposes only..... I was hoping to find SOMEONE who would like to revive the Sesame Street classic "Which One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other".

Last night I just kept thinking..."Hey Spike, K-Fed called and he wants his hat back".

Yes, Z, how were the peas?! Did you try them peas? ← I went over the menu about five dozen times before deciding on the Arctic Char, Mustard Greens and Lentils.......so none of 'dem peas for me. It was a tough, tough choice, but a very good one. Having such limited capacity for food now DOES have its drawbacks......BUT leftover char and greens makes a pretty great late night snack.

Thanks, Zeemanb, for the report. Any other details?! I'm particularly interested in the ginger carrot sorbet. ← The sorbet is much lighter/mellower than one would expect seeing "ginger" as an ingredient, but in a way that really compliments the spice in the cake. And the nougatine is reminiscent, in its own unique way, of "mom's" homemade carrot cake cream cheese frosting. A total winner, but I'm just a sucker for carrot cake of any kind.

My report on the carrot cake is as follows............ it is excellent.

Oh HELL yes! It's a terrible show, but terrible enough for someone like me to say "oh, I could do that". As a home cook I'm not invested enough in my craft to really care about how bady TGIMcFunster's would butcher my dish to make it more appealing to the general public. Between the chance at 25K, getting on the teevee, and all of the deviant inside-jokes I would have my friends waiting to hear while I was speaking to Guy.....I can't think of a downside. Just getting the chance to pretend I was a normal enough human being to cheerily participate in a culinary Special Olympics would be enough for me. Hell, where do I sign up?

Glad to hear it was a success but it concerns me that you can't comment on the food - surely you tasted it before you sent it out? This is the first I've heard of morels . . . do you know (in a very vague sense, I mean - no one in their right mind would tell you precisely) where they came from? My "spotters" who usually have the first ones around haven't had any sightings yet - and they are fortunate enough to have some come up in their window boxes. ← Don't you people play with my emotions like this.....we have at least a month before the markets open and you're already starting in with the morel talk. Judy, you keep doing recon with your spotters and I'll interrogate some of the hippies who are always walking around the Parkville nature trail.

I'm having a real Ron "Miracle Product" Popeil moment........ today is an absolutely PERFECT day for doing some BBQ in KC, and I have to admit that trimming and prepping a whole brisket has never been my favorite chore. This is the first time I have had to do it since I got my 8" Shun, and as I was trimming the top of the brisket and carving out the little nooks and crannies of that rock-hard beef fat, I felt like I was in one of those commercials....."That's right folks! This knife has even been tested against actual light sabres and has outperformed them EVERY TIME! And how much did YOU pay for your last light sabre? Well, the good news is THIS little baby is just a fraction of that!". Seriously, this thing has cut my prep time in half. I DID have my first "close call". I knew it was coming sooner or later, so it's good to have it out of the way. You know the moment of which I speak...where the knife makes very light contact with your thumb and there is that one or two seconds of frozen fear as you wonder "how bad is it going to be?". Thankfully, only the top layer of skin or so was shaved off, so lesson learned. Fearful respect will be my motto going forward.

I played also, but I added drinking every time there was a shot of a GE emblem, RAV 4 symbol, Gladware, etc, etc. I'm still hungover. ← Playing the Logo Game is hardcore!!! ← No kidding! It's Top Chef, not Leaving Las Vegas! I did forget to mention how much I would have liked to try the sardine/quinoa appetizer. I too am pulling for our Kiwi buddy......which of course means they'll edit him as a total ass any time now. Edited to add: Now that I think about it, his little hissy tantrums in the market have already begun the groundwork for his role as one of the "bad guys".

I shouldn't have mentioned this, it is potentially very dangerous unless you are drinking something with a relatively low alcohol content like blini's....er, I mean bellini's.

Oh man I'm glad I already swallowed that sip of coffee before I read that......hysterical.

And the first "Top Chef Drinking Game" is born! I've enjoyed the first two episodes, and I think that the hack-factor with dishes like the blini's and mushrooms will (hopefully) allow the better chefs to establish themselves and not get "Tre'd" too quickly this season.

Well this is good news then. I think I'd feel weird using this method on really good beef cheek or wild mushroom ravioli, but for regular ol' cheese or unconvential versions (like turkey and cranberry) this could be an easy way to experiment without all of the homemade-hassle. Thanks!

Sorry if I'm the last one to ever hear of this, but I saw it on the recipe showdown last night on the Food Network. Yeah, I know, horrible show but it made me curious.... How effective/tasty are wonton wrappers when used to make ravioli? They "looked" like normal ravioli, but since this tip came from a bad show on food network, I thought I'd ask here before trying it myself. No matter what I'll always still prefer the handmade variety because of the meticulous process involved in doing ravioli at home. BUT if I had to cook for big crowd and wanted to pull a "Sandra Lee" and make semi-homemade ravioli, this could be a good thing if they taste okay. And if NOBODY has tried it, I guess I'll be the one to take the bullet....

So I finally got back into town last night and was able to catch a rerun tonight. Overall, a decent start with challenges that didn't get a "oh come on, what in the HELL" response out of me. I was glad that the guy from New Zealand didn't get the axe tonight, because he looks a LOT like a younger version of Chris Bailey from The Saints, and maybe he'll break out into some "Know Your Product" before the season is through. I guess if I had to pick ONE thing that made me roll my eyes was when the contestants were carting their pizzas up to the townhouse door, and of course when the door opens it is none other than friggin' Elizabeth Falkner....I just couldn't believe it, I mean....what? That was WHO? OH, that was ROCCO! Never mind guys, honest mistake.

Quick props to JWest...... I had dinner at Cafe Atlantico in DC last night, and the dessert that came with the tasting menu was White Chocolate Mousse- Warm Over Cold.....don't get me wrong, it was a fine dessert, but as I sat there all I could think about was JWest's version of a Baked Alaska that we were served last year. So thanks for ruining the end to my meal last night pal!

I had a wonderful dinner at Café Atlantico last night, and I’m doing this with very little reading of past posts, so if I repeat too many things people have already said, sorry..... First of all, when I do the food-tourist thing I generally try to make a good connection with my server right off the bat....we need to be good “partners” to make a meal all that it can be. My server last night was extremely friendly while still being honest about what her favorite dishes were and why....when they have a genuine emotional connection to the menu, THAT is the key to good service for me (forget to fill my water glass, step on my foot, knock my wine glass into my lap...all of that leaves me unphased). When dishes come to me with the highest, giddy recommendation, and I taste them and agree...it’s kind of like when your friend tells you about a great movie you’ve never seen, so you go and watch it and then debrief each other on what you thought were the finer points. That was my experience last night, so long story short...great service. One thing worth noting for anyone who may be in the same post-bariatric surgery boat as me is that the chef was really happy to help me out. Until now there wasn’t a chef’s menu that could defeat me...26 courses at Manresa was mere child’s play, but last night I had to tell my server I’d probably just have to try a few small appetizers and why that was the case. Without me asking her to, she went and talked to the chef to see if a compromise could be reached that got me a tasting menu I could handle. Basically, instead of doing the two “main” courses towards the end, they gave me a much smaller version of one of the mains and added an appetizer that wasn’t normally on the tasting menu (which happened to be the BEST dish of the night...or actually, the last two or so years). And here’s the food (no pictures, sorry, between having a crappy camera and the fact that worrying about photography takes too much away from my experience...I just don’t do it). Magic Mojito- Kind of a Mojito-tini…..the glass comes to the table with a huge wad of cotton candy, and the server pours the drink over it. Not normally my type of thing, but for some reason I needed a Carrie Bradshaw moment. The wine I chose to enjoy during dinner was a wonderful “just dry enough” Rose……Pinot Noir, Adelsheim, Willamette Valley, 2006 Minibar Treat- crispy beets- This little bite looked like a ball of saffron threads, and tasted like a sweet potato chip Warm Oyster w/Pineapple and Miso- Hey, try to guess who I am…..”Oh MAN! I could eat about six or fifteen of these!”. I can’t remember the type of oyster, but it was very small, kind of like an Olympia. A truly excellent bite of food, lightly cooked/warmed in the halfshell, sitting on a bed of wild puffed rice. The texture of the oyster, along with the warmth and sharp citrus notes (along with a tiny bit of…..cilantro?) made it a potentially addictive dish. Foie Gras Soup w/Floating Islands of Corn- Imagine what “cream of foie” soup would taste like and you are halfway there. Three very rich pillows of “corn flavored” whipped cream floated on the top, and the bits of “corn nuts” added the textural component that it needed. Granted, there would have been NOTHING wrong with the cream of foie and corny whipped cream on their own, but the corn nuts rounded it out. Grilled Octopus w/Warm Strawberries and Arugula- I enjoyed all of the dishes, but this was the first of two “I need to make a dramatic statement” plates of the evening. The dish is basically a whole (small, but not “baby”) grilled octopus…..and btw, it was by far THE most tender octopus I have ever eaten. It sat on top of a brush-stripe of squid ink and balsamic sauce. It was flanked by one large, roasted strawberry and one large, dehydrated strawberry. There was also some lime foam and arugula. It was just incredible...so my mandatory dramatic statement to the staff was something like “If I were a regular here, this would be the dish you would know to automatically bring me...and it would be the dish I would make any of my squeamish friends try because it would absolutely win them over”. And it’s true, the dish was complex (the smokiness and strawberry flavor worked more harmoniously with the Rose than anything else I ate), but it would also be a fantastic “octopus for beginners” plate. I think they said they’ve only added this to the menu in the last couple of weeks, so check it out! Unagi, Pineapple Wrap, Avocado Sauce- From what they told me this is new as well, so if I’m the first person to give the scoop on this dish on eG, then I feel pretty special. This was the second of two “mandatory dramatic statement” dishes of the evening, and probably one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It consisted of three wide filets of eel, “wrapped” in pineapple (either it was some micro-thin pineapple, or the glaze consisted of pineapple, I was too into the dish to get all technical). It was topped with very crispy, toasted quinoa and was surrounded by an avocado/wasabi sauce, some frisee and a few sea beans. Umami...and again I say Umami. Eel with pineapple...I can see how people would think this could be even more candy-like than your standard glazed variety at any strip-mall sushi restaurant. There was a sweetness to be sure, but the texture of the fresh unagi against the crispy quinoa...set against the slight bitterness of the greens, and the spicy yet unctuous avocado-wasabi sauce...it reminded me of a comment I had about some of the dishes at WD-50. Basically, it is an entirely new preparation of items you are already familiar with, and the combination triggers something that reminds you of your favorite comfort foods. Biscuits and Gravy would be one of my most beloved comfort food dishes...and while the unagi is about as far removed from that dish as anything you could come up with, it triggered the EXACT same kind of sense-memory and became an instantaneous “comfort food”. But enough of that…my proclamation for the plate was something like “this is the kind of dish that could bring your biggest food nerd-tourists and your Outback Steakhouse loving housewives together in perfect harmony”. Scallop, Cocoa Butter, American Caviar, Cauliflower Puree (I think..my notes are illegible)- A masterfully prepared single scallop with “white chocolate” and a quenelle of roe. It was wonderful, it just should have come before the unagi. I mean, if someone gives you the best piece of foie gras you’ve ever eaten, and then they feed you the best loaf of bread on earth...I don’t care if the loaf was one that Jesus fed to the multitudes...it’s not going to compete with the foie. White Chocolate Mousse, Warm Over Cold- a good dessert, contrasting textures and temperatures, the biggest thing I remember about it was that it reminded me of something the young prodigy JWest at Bluestem in KC made last year……a spin on baked Alaska that isn’t going to be surpassed any time soon. So surgery aside, they made me a lot of small courses I could manage. Unfortunately, I did have to leave a few bites of the octopus and half a piece of unagi, but I know my limitations. They slowed the pacing down a little bit for me, and in general made it a wonderful experience. Lastly, I wouldn’t chalk these things up to annoyances or failures, just funny observations that are probably more about me than them.......First, I ALWAYS fall for the water thing in restaurants.....as soon as they ask, “sparkling, still, mineral, or....” I never wait until they say TAP, I just hear “STILL” and go with it. Then I laugh when I see the extra six bucks on my bill. Also, what is the significance or tradition behind the tableside guacamole preparation (I'm familiar with magic of the molcajete in Latin restaurants, but why here)? Are they being quirky, is it a long-standing tradition I don’t know about, is it just THAT damn good....I just don’t like tableside preparations and it didn’t seem to go with the overall vibe of the place. Anyway, a great way to blow my per diems for the trip.

Oh, I'm totally stocked on food for the rest of the trip......that's the beauty of bariatric surgery....I stole a bunch of crackers and ketchup packets from the company cafeteria, I'm eating like a KING between now and tomorrow! Some of the group went to a Japanese/Korean place called "Ichiban" across the street from us last night. This morning they were saying it was great, but I'm guessing my dinner was better......

Um.....no good way to say this other than to just say it.....all of my per diem cash for this trip and then some went to into the till at Cafe Atlantico tonight.......totally worth it and I'll elaborate on that thread tomorrow. I'll still try to make it to Roy's and get some pho before I leave on Thursday, but in keeping with my business travel tradition I burned bright and fast tonight. That's just how I roll......

Oh, of COURSE! As soon as I leave town and am stuck in a hotel without the Travel Channel, there is a good episode of NR! No Bravo either, but fortunately they'll be re-running episodes of Top Chef about five times per day after Tomorrow night.....

Great info, thanks guys! Roy's Place is about 2 miles away according to Yahoo Maps, and it definitely sounds like a decent common denominator when you have 15 folks in the group. I've never been to a Trader Joe's before, so I'll absolutely go there to stock up on snacks, etc. and do some recon on the Indian/Peruvian places. Polling the group here as we waste the first two hours of the day getting everyone connected to the network.......someone knows where to find good pho about 8 miles from here, and apparently some decent dim sum as well. The Boston Market crowd can go and fend for themselves, I'm attaching myself to the pho-aficionado who actually has a car.... Looking at Roy's menu and getting Shopsin's (NYC) flashbacks........I have to go there just to honor some of the names of the sandwiches.... Thanks again!

No, unfortunately no car, BUT one guy in our group is local and a couple of others drove in, so it may be an option.