brooklyncook

Something I should add from personal experience concerning this show: they are definitely NOT casting for technical prowess. I came across a press release for the casting call of Season 2, and was given an initial phone screening by casting agents (to see if it was worth me coming in). After describing myself, and making it known that I was tattooed, the question came up as to whether or not I was "...like Michael." Well, no, I answered, Michael's got about $2000 more in tattoos than I do, given the looks of his arms. Are you rock and roll? I guess you could say that. Not all the time, though. Well, when you show up for the casting call, make sure you wear jewelry, rings, you know, any piercings you might have, that sort of thing. And that's when I realized that they were casting for characters, not so much for how well I cook. I backed out of the casting call, and I figure that ultimately that was the best choice.

I know I've mentioned it before, but it's a shame they don't just have Colicchio serve double duty as host and "technical host," for lack of a better term. Here's a question for you: were we not to get Simmons and Colicchio back for Season 2 (which we are, but I'm hypothesizing)...who would you want in there?

Agreed. Of the six left: Virginia: potential, but she seems way too preoccupied with other things. Rather than dwell on Sara in the vocal sense, she ought to put more of her concentration into thinking about her and how to stay a step ahead of her. Sara: I'm waiting for Gordon to catch her in the act. Way too sneaky/sly; I can't see anyone wanting to work with her or for her after this show. Maribel: sorry, no. The weepy/homesick ones are not going to hack it in a high-volume kitchen. Keith: after seeing him purposely let his pants hang because "that's how I rock it in Jersey" -- what? Nope. His "Baby Huey" routine is old. He might have moved fast last Monday, but he should have been consistent with it from Day One. Garrett: potential, as long as he keeps his attitude in check. The chauvinism in earlier episodes is not going to get him any praise from the women he ends up working with. Heather: potential, but she strikes me as needing to grow up a bit more. She's got some good leadership skills, but she's got a ways to go. So if it came down to picking between Virginia, Garrett or Heather, I'd probably say Heather is my #1 choice, followed by Garrett and then Virginia. If Heather ultimately wins, I think that'd be the humbling situation Garrett needs to truly be a better chef.

ICE is on West 23rd Street in Manhattan; it was formerly Peter Kump's Cooking School.

Managed to get home from vacation just in time to catch DFA -- wonderful episode. I was amazed by the "lab," and even moreso by the meal. I've said it to other folks, and I'll say it again: No Reservations is consistently good viewing.

I'm sorry if I missed this somewhere earlier in this thread or the other - but who is she? Does she really work for him? Anybody know? Maybe she's been working with him a little too long Maybe she was told to add more drama to the show? ← Possibly, though I find it interesting that no one said ANYTHING in response to her for adding to the mess after the kids' party. Both she and the gentleman sous chef on the show are employees of his; I know Mary Ann is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Ed here in Manhattan.

The point here, is that it's not reality. It is, after all, a TV show. ← Yes, BUT. Given that this is an individual who must inevitably go out into public to work and/or do anything else, I'd think she'd want to give a more...professional impression. Given that she works for Ramsay and is "above" the contestants, better behavior would be warranted. Gordon, I'd expect to chuck a cake. His underlings: no way.

Can someone, ANYONE, explain to me what Mary Ann's (sous chef) problem is? Last season, one of the contestants muttered during service that Gordon was an asshole, or something along those lines. Mary Ann heard it, and immediately became the tattletale: "What did you say? What did you say?" -- pulling the contestant over to Gordon so he could repeat it. I thought it then: WTF? This past episode, she chucks a cake on the floor while the girls are cleaning, and yet the only thing shown is Sara still playing with the spray bottles of cleaner. No one says anything? How far is THAT from reality? Best believe that if I was trying to clean -- Sara fooling around or not -- and someone added to the mess in such a manner, it'd be ON. I am seriously trying to understand more about this individual and how she functions.

Sushi: California Rollin in the Village Gate Square. Hands down, EVERY TIME it's good. I have never, in my life (and we're talking double-digits for visits to CR) had bad sushi there. Them's some folks who love what they're doing.

Absolutely great time, even despite the electrical problems pre-movie. For myself, it was a great way to experience the "beach" for the first time.

I finally caught the first two episodes (or maybe they were episodes 2 and 3? no idea) earlier this week...ridiculous as last season. Although I have to say it -- from the looks of things, the guys are destined to disappear and the girls will be the final contestants. That's my prediction.

One of my favorite, all-time fantastic dishes in Rochester is the sesame tofu at Ming's (on South Clinton, not from Ming's II on Monroe). The place is incredibly tiny, seating is very limited -- but it's worth it. Always loved going there.

I hear you on bummed. This is the second year in a row I've missed out on the Party; I work weekends and can't get out long enough to stand in line and get some 'cue. So the pictures are a comfort of sorts. Great shots!

I don't know -- she always struck me as a cross between someone who's just medicated enough to hear the mixing bowls sing "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and the lady innkeeper from "In The Mouth of Madness" who's about to put an axe into her husband. I suspect that on those episodes where "Jeffrey's coming home from work," there lies a darker side where Jeffrey is truly going to pay for being gone so long.

See last week's issue of Time Magazine (or perhaps it's this week's?) -- amongst other articles in their special section on food, there's an article on Giada and Suzanne Goins, and how it is they manage to stay as thin as they do while being chefs. The article's actually pretty good, and Giada's just self-deprecating enough in her humor to be even more likable. Usually the show turns me off to her -- I suspect that off-camera, she's got a good sense of humor.

I am EXTREMELY geeked for this. Both of his "of a Chef" books were great reads, IMO, and I'm definitely looking forward to tearing through this one.

It took me a day longer to chime in on this one, since I ended up taping it and watching the reunion episode last night. Observations/thoughts: - I found it funny that Stephen and Lee Ann plowed through two bottles of wine. You can see he's got roughly half a bottle left in the first 15 minutes, and then shortly after Stephen's handing another bottle (full) to Lee Ann, who is about to chug it before they cut to someone answering a question. This, I think, partially explains his apology to Candace (which was a tad slurred, I thought, but nice) and his going after Ken. - Ken was something of a dick, but at the same time, I found it hysterical that he called out Tiffani on not wanting Dave in the final three. "Bullsh*t!" It WAS awesome. - Brian's eyebrows/eye makeup. Okay then. - The whole Tiffani/Dave relationship...almost seems more like Tiffani plays the role of a demanding older sister than just someone beating on Dave verbally. That's how it struck me last night, anyways. - Ken yelling at the three judges. Not for nothing, because Colicchio's a nice guy from all that I've heard over time, but that was relatively amusing. Ken caught them completely off guard, which made it all the more comical. Was he right? Eh, somewhat. Tom did validate Ken's statement by saying that he'd let "neither (plate go out to the floor)" when discussing sand on the plate versus something being overcooked. But whatever. - Katie Lee...I don't think she's used to seeing tempers flare like that. - Gail. I still have this fondness for Gail. Out of my league. Does anyone know what she does for Food & Wine? I thought she was an editor or something, but I saw no mention of her in the May 2005 issue -- does she write for the mag? - Andrea, again with the "elimination" jokes. Enough already. - Candice didn't say much. Honestly, I saw Mission Impossible 3 earlier this week, and Maggie Q (who played one of Cruise's cohorts) reminded me of Candice a great deal. If cooking doesn't work out for her (or even if it does), that girl ought to consider some sort of acting/public speaking thing, because she's attractive AND she can hold her own. 36+ minutes in an argument with Stephen? I was impressed. Overall, the show didn't really shine light on anything I didn't know already (save for how long the Stephen/Candice argument actually was), but for sheer entertainment alone, fantastic. It was what it was.

"We, ourselves strive to consume a diet that is both healthy and pleasing to the taste buds, while taking into consideration where every ingredient comes from." And now, go recreate some junk food for the quickfire challenge. *** Hey, here's a question: what's the point of the quickfire challenge if there's no reward? Did anyone notice ANY real reference to the QC at the judges' table? Perhaps a couple of bottles of Shafer wine to take away after the overall contest would have made the contest more competitive.

All I can say, after watching three of the four nights of this show (the last one being tonight): In a circumstantial-evidence way, there were ailments with Nacho, and none shown without him. It unfortunately either tells the truth (that he wasn't keeping things clean), or they edited the show to not illustrate those same problems with Shaun (Sean?), the new cook. I have to tell you, I was on his side when he showed the camera the "sharing" that the Cooke family did with him. Half-rotted onions? I'm surprised they didn't film THAT exchange.

Well, last night was a disappointment, only in that Tiffani stayed on. I'm sorry, but she's as aggravating to me (with her tight-lipped pout when she doesn't win) as Stephen was with his did-someone-just-let-one-rip?-face when he didn't win. Next week should be a HOOT. It's obvious where most of the drama is going to come from: the angry Irish guy pushing everyone's buttons. Viewing the ad the first time, I thought it was Harold and Stephen going at it, but then I realized it was Lee and Stephen. I'm not a religious man, but I would believe there was a God if Katie Lee accidentally got involved in the scuffle, and an accidental fist gave her incredible public speaking skills. HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT PACKING KNIVES AND GOING HOME IN ONE EPISODE, LET ALONE FIVE MINUTES? I still can't accurately type out her version of "home."

Thoughts on the previous episode: - yay, Stephen's gone. There had to be a collective sigh of relief in the kitchen. - I'm still getting a chuckle out of how Katie Lee pronounces "home." Hyome? There's some degree of affectation in there. - I thought Dave did incredibly well, and I'm glad people stepped up for him. - Gail was actually looking quite good; then again, she reminds me of an ex from a few years back, so maybe I'm biased. - Things might have run a lot smoother -- sleep or not -- if Stephen didn't pay so much attention to the detail of his appetizer that he worked on. I understand paying attention to detail is important, but there is such a thing as overdoing it -- and if anyone's going to be that person, it's him. His time could have been better spent taking care of other things.

Had some of their chicken on Friday: both the fried strips and the rotisserie. The rotisserie chicken was cooked perfectly, and the fried chicken strips (or fingers, I forget how it's listed on the menu) were also done perfect. Practically no grease, light breading, HUGE pieces of chicken. Really impressed with that. However, my one complaint -- it seemed like nothing was seasoned that much. I expected some sort of spice combination to be in the fried chicken breading, but nothing I could detect. (On the flip side, it was a very light, tasty breading all by itself.) I would definitely dine on their food again; I chalk this up to it being the soft opening of the business.

Stephen should have been canned before Miguel. Miguel, you could work on and polish. Stephen seems like he's locked into that persona for keeps. And it's going to hurt him. WHO LEAVES FOOD IN THE WINDOW? NUMBER ONE RULE! I was borderline flailing on the couch last night, watching this take place. In all fairness: had it been me, that food would have been going out, Stephen or no Stephen. And heaven help him after the fact, because the patrons are not going to a Spanish restaurant for a dissertation on wine. They're there for the food, and it's not showing up? Wrong wrong wrong. I will miss Miguel. And I have to say: I was impressed with the food that American Workshop put out. Good quality idea.

A very resourceful individual decided to remake the Taco Town offer, sans bag of salsa. http://www.slashfood.com/2006/04/17/real-l...cake-chili-bag/ Completely unappetizing, yet worthy of applause.

Agreed -- Harold or LeeAnne will take this. My thoughts on the Miguel v. Tiffani thing: Miguel did handle himself quite poorly in the kitchen, no question. I don't feel that his asking the other competitors why they felt he should go home was out of line, though -- I think that was okay to ask. I do NOT feel that Tiffani needed to lie to him. Which she completely did -- telling him that she DIDN'T say he should go home? She said the exact opposite not more than a minute earlier on the show! If she's so die-hard about her beliefs and how to work in a kitchen and all that (which is admirable), why lie to someone that you're sure should be kicked off (and quite possibly would have been)? My respect for Tiffani dropped tenfold last night. Andrea...my girlfriend put it best. Does she need to keep mentioning "BM's" every time she discusses her food? Good lord! It was funny once -- but she keeps saying it at the wrong time, i.e. IN FRONT OF THE JUDGES.