RMeierdirks
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Posts posted by RMeierdirks
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Hello, I am the chef at Mint Julep Bistro in Palatine, IL, just opened in September. We are still taking reservations for New Year's Eve:
Appetizers (Choose one):
Smoked Oysters Rockefeller
or
Chicken Andouille Croquets
soup
She-Crab Soup
Salad
Endive-Mesclun Salad with Roasted Pear Dressing
Entrees (Choose One):
8 ounce Filet Mignon with Jezebel Sauce
Truffled Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Sauteed Haricot Vert
or
Seared Duck Breast with Pomegranate Reduction
Cornbread Pudding
Sauteed Asparagus
or
Butter-Poached Monkfish with Shallot Beurre Blanc
Sauteed Broccolini
Potatoes Anna
Dessert (Choose One):
Sarsaparilla Tiramisu
or
Persimmons Torte
Also including:
Gourmet Coffee or Tea
And a Champagne Toast!
$75 per Person
Call 847.934.3000 for reservations!
Chef Rich Meierdirks
Mint Julep Bistro
53 W. Slade St.
Palatine, IL 60067
Low-Country Cuisine and Southern Hospitality.
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One more thing. Was it just too much effort to find someone from Chicago to judge a Chicago-style pizza contest? I mean, they were IN Chicago, after all. Not even someone from Uno's, since Uno's apparently paid to be on the program? No, that's a terrible idea, let's get that carpetbagger Rocco from New York to judge the pizza.
OK, I'm off my soapbox now. Go Cubs!
- Rich
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Then the judges started discussing how chicken piccatta is made. All the judges agreed that you use egg and flour. Tom Collichio refers to the dishes presented as being A la Milanaise. Which is correct, sort of.2. I've made Chicken Piccata for years. I've always seasoned it, dredged it in flour, then cooked it. There has never been an egg involved not once. I thought I'd lost my mind (which may be true anyway) and I went on the net and scoured Chicken Piccata recipes. Not one called for an egg. I knew the guy who was trying to add tomatoes cause confusing Chicken Piccata and Chicken Marsala, but Tom, Tom, Tom... just like you said Pineapple Upside Down Cake was made with a Genoise (not in my house, but maybe somewhere else. I use baking powder as a leavener in my Pineapple Upside Down Cake), Chicken Picatta is not dipped in flour, then egg. That just sounds wrong to me. I could be very wrong about this, but I don't think so. The orange might have worked, if there was enough other acidity to balance the flavor. Hmm, what about blood orange? Hmmmm.
I too have found that Tom seems to shoot from the hip without really knowing what he's talking about. I have had picatta in breadcrumbs, as well as dredged in flour or flour-egg-flour-fry. For some things, there is more than one "right" way to do something. How many variations of BBQ can you find from the Carolinas to Memphis to Kansas City and beyond, there is a lot of variation, but they can all call themselves BBQ. Also, like last season's "classic dish" challenge, Tom whines when the dishes adhere too closely to the classic presentation as well as when they diverge from the classic form. I guess he can only tolerate so much innovation. Switching from lemon to orange in the Picatta didn't seem like a huge leap to me. It's still citrus but it didn't fly with fussy eater Tom.
- Rich
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Paula Deen. She is so annoying. She really pours on that southern accent. I think she overemphasizes it. Nobody has that thick and annoying of a southern accent. She has to be faking it some at least. The older and more popular she gets, the more annoying she gets.
I have it on pretty good authority (a friend of mine from Georgia) that Paula Deen does not exaggerate the accent. My understanding is that Paula is from deep rural Georgia and that's just the way she talks.
-Rich
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They have always wanted to include the most experienced and well-known chefs they could get. Of course, since the show requires a hiatus and the $100k prize is chicken-scratch when you consder the cost of operating a high-end restaurant, the contestant pool has been self-selecting to those who are typically in the early stages of their career, or who have not yet opened their own place.
To be contestant would seem to have more appeal to someone at the sous-chef level or below, although the the publicity from the show wouldn't hurt someone who is already an executive chef at a restaurant or has his own place. At least, it won't hurt as long as he didn't get bounced too early.
I ate at Scylla, Stephanie Izard's place once and thought it was great. Most memorable was the foie gras creme brulee appetizer and the cashew financier for dessert. She should do well.
As a fellow Kendall alum, I'm hoping Valerie goes pretty far too.
-Rich
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Ok, just caught up on last two episodes. I know there are always going to be those little twists, but to cut their prep time in half at the last minute? Yeah sure, Tom, they just called and said they're coming earlier; the producer didn't plan that at all. I can't imagine booking a party of 20 - 30 people and calling up 3 hours before and saying we'll be there in 90 minutes so you better be ready. Most chefs obsessively plan their days out , allowing time for each task to get things done right. It's an enormous insult to demand someone to sling hash like that and then criticize the end product for being sub-par. Sure, some of them were able to compensate for the shortened time and put out great dish, but I would rather see every cheftestant get the opportunity to do their best, not just the best they could do given the circumstances. Yeah, things can go wrong in a kitchen that necessitate some extra hustle and inventiveness, but an event like this would have been set in stone 3 days ahead.
I didn't think the Lia's polenta was so unreasonable, it's similar to the shell of a tamale. If it wasn't done right, that's criticism enough. She was trying to use Latino ingredients with cooking methods she was familiar with.
I am getting tired of Hung reacting to every criticism, particularly when food is overcooked or not seasoned properly, with "That's your opinion." Newsflash: the opinions of your customers matter more than your opinion of yourself.
Micah again complaining about not knowing American food. Fine, you didn't eat it at home, but you went to an American High School, what did you eat for lunch? Almost all of the American comfort foods have something relatively analagous in other countries, .eg., Mac 'n Cheese in Italy is Fettucine Alfredo. Cassoulet is a more upscale, high-end french cousin to franks 'n beans.
Someone mentioned before that South African Bobotje is similar to meatloaf.
I agree that Ilan has become an obnoxious tool. I don't think he made one truly original dish on the show. The fideos that were raved about were lifted wholesale from the tapas place he worked at. Ilan may be a very good cook, but he is not a chef. He should put the money in the bank and work at a few more restaurants to get more experience.
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I just watched the clip with Emeril. Though he did only say "congratulations" directly to Amy when he shook their hands, when he addressed the audience, he did congratulate them both by name.
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I don't understand why FN has such a problem with Amy's use of French terminology since she generally explains what it means. Why do they think this is a turn-off for their viewers? If you were trying to convince someone to come to your house for a dinner party, what would sound more enticing: Stewed Chicken or Coq au Vin? Do FN viewers merely want to watch people cook or to learn something? Emeril frequently uses French culinary terms (more often on Essence than on Live) just as Mario Batali doesn't hesitate to speak Italian on his show. If Amy comes off as snobby, that has more to with how she presents herself ("that's a fancy, fancy word for...) than just because she throws in a little French here and there. Most foodies know French cooking techniques are not reserved for French restaurants and can be used in any cooking application even if you're only cooking for 30 minutes.
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But how did they come up with the foods to avoid list. When you look it up and see chicken has more cholesterol than lobster sans butter, there's no reason to ban it. Again, why not have a nutritionist there to calculate the values rather than just assume.
P.S. After consulting my Top Chef decoder ring, the secret message from last week was "Don't forget to take your Vytorin." A crummy commercial. Son of a bitch!
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In the first two seasons, from the first episode on, the contestants were doing demos in front of a camera, so by the time the weaker contestants got weeded out, the rest had gotten a little experience under their belt and had more of an idea of where they wanted to go and how they needed to improve to get there. This season, however, started off more like Top Chef - the wedding dinner, cooking for an army, etc. These episodes emphasized cooking chops over being smooth on camera. Then when they started doing cooking demos, a level of perfection was expected that was not reasonably attainable, given how much less experience they had compared to contestants from the first 2 seasons at this point in the show.
I agree with other posters that it's absurd when they criticized Colombe for "not cooking anything" when they've got Sandra Lee working for them. (I once saw her make a bread ring from frozen roll dough with ranch dressing powder baked on top. It looked as nasty as it sounds.)
I also think Tushy and Suzie have a condescending view of their audience. Most people watch a cooking show to learn something - new recipes, professional tips, etc. My favorite cooking shows - Julia Child being the best example, challenge their viewers to try to do something they might think is too hard, but really isn't. I doubt most FN viewers need Rachael Ray to teach them how to boil store-bought tortellini and a recipe is not too complicated for the home cook just because it has more than 5 or 6 ingredients. This is my biggest problem with Food Network Star. I think JAG's dish last week would have seemed less complicated if he had as much time as on a regular show to present it. Haven't we all seen Emeril fly through a dozen or more of those little portion cups ("and about 40 cloves of gahhhlic!"). Again, this goes back to the contestants needing more time to polish their on camera persona in the early stages of the show. That being said, I don't care much for either the Hearty Boys or Guy Fieri so maybe this isn't the best way for them to find new hosts. At least Bob Blumer, the Surreal Gourmet, is coming back to FN this week.
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I wasn't sure what the judges were looking for. The people that tried to turn the "classic" dishes upside-down and otherwise re-interpret them, were criticized because the dishes diverged too far from the "classic" presentation. On the other hand, those that simply did lower-fat/cholesterol versions of the "classic" presentation were slammed for not being innovative. I suppose Dale's chicken and dumplings did split the difference the best, being a healthy variation on the dish, non-traditional yet recognizable as what is was supposed to be.
As for the lobster issue, if cholesterol was the main issue, why didn't they have a nutritionist in to calculate the fat/cholesterol for each recipe as they did for sugar content in the diabetic camp episode? Then they would have had to adjust their dishes to meet nutritional criteria, rather than rely on the possibly incorrect assumptions of the judges, whose expertise is in flavor and presentation, not in nutrition.
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After the last episode, everyone who I liked, besides Elia and Mike, I now dislike. Sam was a bit of a jerk who in fact just needs to grow up (ie. he thinks he's super mature and he's not), Ilan is boring and not that great of a chef, Cliff for the first time came off as a very cold person and clearly had not idea how to handle the front of the house (he probably just didn't want to be stuck in the back of the house with Marcel).
The fact that they kicked Mike off for forgetting olive pit bowls is ridiculous.
And Kraft?! Please people, have some class.
And, of course, Bravo Network just has to add the "interior decorating" element to it, which served no purpose...
Also, rather than blaming the olive pit on the lack of dishes bought by Michael, they should have gone after the person who bussed the table.
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I really thought Carl should have been the one to go....they said that Suyai's potatoes were good, at least. No one had anything good to say about Carl's food. But Suyai was really nice, too, and I've noticed that the producers stay in reality show format to an extent by eliminating people who will provide less drama for the show. That is the only explanation for why Lee Ann was eliminated last year. She was robbed. I watch Project Runway, too and in the crdits at the end, it says something to the effect of "the producers have a say in who is eliminated." I wonder if this disclaimer runs at the end of Top Chef, too. Bet it does....
Yes it does have that disclaimer. At the reunion show for he first Top Chef, I recall Tom Colicchio and or Gail making a point of saying that the producers have not influenced the voting in any way. But if that's really the case, then why print the disclaimer? Hmmm......
I thought Lee Anne was robbed, too.
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Just watched first episode of Top Chef 2. It seems the producers again put in some really inexperienced people that seem out of their depth (Michael and Suyai being the Miguel and Candice). It's not quite as bad as American Idol putting tone-deaf people on national TV just to humiliate them, but it strikes me as unfair to put a line cook still in school up against exec chefs with years of experience. On the other hand, one of those exec chefs almost got cut, so who knows.
As for the new chefs, I don't have as strong an impression as I did from the first show. I had immediately hated Stephen and liked LeeAnne, Harold, Dave and even the rest all had fairly strong personalities. Either the producers were looking for similar types of people as the first show or contestants were consciously trying to fill those "roles". (e.g., Marcel being the Stephen of this group, Michael is the Miguel, etc.) They just seem a little less colorful and interesting so far.
After one episode, TV Guide slammed Padma - "her delivery falls flatter than an undercooked souffle." Well, I think she is already better than the monotone Katie. Did the editors at TVG watch any of the first season?
The challenges at least were not as unfair and unrealistic as some of the first season - the kids, the gas station, the time limit twist on the wedding. My thought for the elimination challenge was to bread the frog legs with the cornflakes, dirty rice with the chicken livers, a ratatouille with the eggplant and a satay dipping sauce with the peanut butter. No idea for the snails, but hiding the american cheese in the potatoes was probably the best option, rather than puttiing on top for an escargot melt.
Hoping it gets better. - Rich
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Thanks, U.E. I'm also considering Avec, Japonais, Starfish. and X/O.
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Hello folks. Hope it's okay to appropriate this thread. maybe it could be kept open-ended for anybody who needs Chicago dining input.
I am looking for suggestions on where to take my wife for anniversary dinner this July. Something in theater district would be nice. a lot of the places I was interested in are not open on Sunday - Avenues, Blackbird, schwa, etc. Would love to try alinea but can't afford it right now. Any thoughts?
-Rich
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Even if you think Dave should have lost due to missing a third course, I don't think Tiff should have been in final three to begin with. I still don't understand she was kept instead of Lee Ann after the Napa challenge. As I recall, Lee Ann's dish got good comments on flavor but was knocked mostly on presentation. Tiffani, on the other hand, got a lot of negative comments - cauliflower ruined the wine, gnocchi undercooked. Tom Colicchio said in his blog that Lee Ann's lamb was overcooked but I don't recall that in the episode. Maybe I missed it. It just seems they bring in all these guest tasters, thank them profusely for helping them make their decision, and then disregard them entirely. Either way, I don't think anyone would have been bothered if Dave had lost out to Lee Ann since she seems to be more respected by viewers (at least to judge from this board).
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Gale Gand and RIck Tramonto will be opening two restauants - a steakhouse and an italian place - and a pastry shop at the Westin being built on Milwaukee in Wheeling. I imagine that is taking up some of her time as well.
I did hear a rumor that Gand and Tramonto were going to be on Iron Chef America, though.
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I have taken recipes and platings from one restaurant I worked and recycled it in another to varying degrees. Anywhere from subtle ingredient variations to to using the germ of an idea to go in a completely different direction. However, I have never reproduced a dish 100% identically from one place to the next.
On the other hand, there must be thousands of restaurants serving the exact same Eggs Benedict, or serving up the exact same smoked salmon platter at brunch, the same prime rib au jus. . Is that copyng or just giving people what they want?
How many restaurants buy desserts and plate them up with no mention of what company actually made them? Have you ever seen a menu advertising Anchor brand cheese sticks or poppers? Do you really think "Shenanigan's" or whoever is making them in house?
Sure, nobody goes to these places for their culinary daring, but we keep on going, don't we?
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Can't believe Stephen didn't get canned. Regardless of whether Miguel took a backseat, or screwed up the fish purchase, the team's demise largely came from Stephen's wretched service. I simply can't understand how anyone who's worked back of the house can leave food in the window in order to proselytize to his guests about wine. What an idiot. Looks like he might be facing the boot next week based on the preview.
They've had some good guest judges on the program so far, but I would be insulted to be evaluated by a hack like Chodorow. He should hire Stephen, they are a style-over-substance match made in heaven.
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The thing that bothers me is that they are supposed do a complete demo in a very short amount of time. None of the FN "Stars" would be forced to race through their demos like that. Are we really supposed to believe every show on FN is shot in one take in real time? Plus, FN hosts have their shows prepped and blocked for them. They're not making their own "swapouts." I would think most of the contestant's logistical errors would be prevented by the FN staff regardless of who won.
An another point, was anyone bothered by Evette talking as if no one has heard of cilantro or other common mexican/latino ingredients? I'll stick with Rick Bayless.
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As of April 2, 2006 Banana Moon is now closed.
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I thought the show was awful. I watched it with a small group of foodies and one professional after our spirited PR post-viewing debate. Maybe it suffered by comparison. Anyway, none of us liked it, not even a little bit.
Only a handful of the contestants seemed to really belong there. They search the country, and this group is the best they can muster? Like PR did oftentimes, it seemed more about generating conflict among the contestants than about assembling the best talent. They get a softball challenge of "signature dish" (which could be anything) and this was the best they could offer? The dinner thread on eG is often more impressive.
The professional among my viewing group noted that being put on the line without getting a chance to at least observe the drill, etc. was pointless, of course most of them would fail.
If the host of the show knows anything about food, it wasn't apparent. She certainly didn't have anything of interest to say.
Enough griping, here's a final question-- maybe we were too busy hating the show or pouring more wine, but I missed entirely the unforgivable footwear transgression of one of the contestants. What was this woman wearing on her feet that got her booted off the line?
Actually, if you look at the cast bios, these were apparently the best they could find in New York or Los Angeles, except for the one from Vegas. If there are future seasons, hopefully they will cast their net a little wider.
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LOL!
. . . less than 2 miles from my house and I never got there. But, I tried. One time, after the announced opening date, we went over only to find out they weren't yet open. They never bothered posting their hours on the door (or anywhere for that matter), so another time when we tried to have lunch on a Saturday afternoon -- and the place was all lit up -- the doors were locked. I guess I blew my chance. That was a distinctively short run. The sun has set on 'the moon.' Oh well.
=R=
Hello, all. I work in the kitchen at Banana Moon. We have absolutely NOT closed. We are open Tuesday thru Friday Lunch and Dinner. Saturday Dinner only. Sunday Brunch and Dinner. As far as I know, there are no plans to close any time soon. Sorry you missed out on Saturday but we have never been open for lunch on Saturday. Please come again.
Thanks, RMeierdirks, for the correction -- and the good news. We'll definitely come check it out!
=R=
Looking forward to seeing you there. Please let me know what you think.
Where to eat in Michigan Harbor Country
in The Heartland: Dining
Posted · Edited by RMeierdirks (log)
My wife and I are spending a few days in New Buffalo, Michigan over our anniversary. We're willing to travel 10 or 15 miles for a real nice anniverary dinner. Any suggestions?