gfweb
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Posts posted by gfweb
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I missed the Saveur allusions in the show. What happened?
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LOL
I'm finding that whole honoring of the protein bit tiresome. I prefer to think of it as "not screwing up a good piece of meat"
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The lightweights that I had in mind were the early eliminations from the previous TC. Like the one still in cooking school and his equally green friend.
Some of these guys still seem inexperienced, but not to that extreme.
The deep fried steak was indeed a WTF moment. Is chicharron Spanish for charcoal?
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I agree. There seem to be no real lightweights among the group.
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I still don't get why people seem so offended over Chef Chiarello. He didn't do anything that would have offended me if I'd been there so I can't really find a reason to be offended for those who were there.
Many people are offended by strong personalities and favor Oprah/Art Linkletter-like (never thought I'd put those two in tandem!) blandness.
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My money is on Garces. He kicked butt as a contestant and his restaurants are fantastic. That'd make two Philly ICs, him and Morimoto.
It is a lock!
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Right! My POV is that NFNS is a dumb show that serves the purposes of FN.
As far as I can see, NFNS exists to fill airtime and to hype the next questionable "star" that they plan to launch. In a practical sense, the shows serve as a sort of internship for aspiring TV chefs, who, by then end, have perhaps acquired a TV style and have become adept at cooking for the camera while spouting inanities in a pleasing way.
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My teenage son talked us into a dinner at the Philly Fogo. Great space (an old bank?), great service, but only so-so food. Perhaps I expected too much. The meat was OK, some great some a bit tough. What surprised me was the salad bar and sides. Chicken salad was badly overcooked, potato salad was made with russet pots and was mealy, mashed potatoes were over-whipped and glue-y. Was it an off-night or is this typical?
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Is there anyone else who feels that the TV factor in Bayless and Chiarello's case is a bit conflicted?
Not to me. In fact I sort of see their wins as vindication for their being selected originally as chefs for other TV shows.
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Maybe SRG knows that this will be a low volume place and built a unit that could only handle low vol. Or perhaps they plan on having long lines to build cachet and then expand elsewhere. Sort of a Krispy Kreme maneuver.
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I've always assumed that those places that tout their suppliers, eg the ubiquitous Niman ranch, are paid by the supplier to do so. Anyone know if this is true?
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I wonder how many restos look at their phone people as critically as other businesses do....generating productivity numbers, time on hold numbers etc. I'm sure that the big ones eg Daniel etc, but I'd be amazed if the average place does.
If they monitor this stuff they'd probably find that their phone operation is very inefficient with lots of hang-ups etc. To hire enough people to make the metrics right would astound many owners.
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OT is fantastic. I hate waiting on the phone to make a rez. A very nice local place now gets less of my business since they dropped OT.
If you don't have OT, you'd better spend a lot on phone staff. I hate waiting on hold.
Most assessments of the cost of OT seem to focus on the fees paid vs more tables booked. Don't forget that if you are phone rez only, you need to hire more people to give decent service.
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"done to perfection"
"decadent" "sinful" "indulgent" "sensuous" "mouthwatering" and all other BS descriptions.
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This is apparently part of a settlement between Dunkin and the Riese group in NYC. A few years ago there were newspaper pix of vermin in Riese's Dunkin outlets and lawsuits back and forth. Rat hair filled timbits anyone?
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Yes it has.
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My only Baxter's experience is with their outpost on Amelia Island in FL. Not promising, if that place is representative.
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More...
29 South- in Fernandina, a modern bistro sort of place. Some of the food is playful eg a lobster corn dog, but all is very good. It can get a bit noisy, as can LeClos for that matter. Close tie for 2nd on the island with Horizons.
Thyme- An oddly decorated restaurant just as you come on the island on A1A. Looks a bit like a victoirian bordello to me (however I must confess that I have never actually visited an victorian bordello). Food is Italian-ish and merely adequately prepared. Its OK.
Barbara Jean's is a Southern cuisine place with home cooking-type dishes (if home is somewhere on the Georgia coast). Good food.
JDs Chophouse- On A1A just before the island, JDs is as close to a steakhouse as Amelia gets. Food is very good as is the service.
Jade's Bistro - A noisy "asian fusion" place with mostly american-chinese dishes. General Tso, Peking Duck. Nothing special.
Brett's Waterway Cafe- downtown Fernandina with great views of the river/harbor. This is your grandfather's restaurant. Food is OK, nothing special or particularly well done, and very pricey.
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Le Clos- menu has changed recently. Still very good. The meat pie should be avoided but the rest is still fine and the best on the island.
Joe's 2 nd St Bistro- continued slippage. not at all of the quality it used to be. Now it is a tourist place at best.
Horizons- a newish place on A1A. Nice wines by the glass or bottle. Menu is a nice mix of fish and meat. good wait staff. This place deserves more attention. # 2 after Le Clos.
Beech St Grille- Better than in the recent past. Still a serious place with good food and staff. Great wine list.
Salt at the Ritz- very pricey not that good/
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Ruhlman"s Blog
Shola's Blog
and Amy the -pretty-cook-at -le Bernandin"s blog
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I love this book. Got it free from the Amazon Vine program (which means I have to write a review ... which will be a pleasure). It's a food geek's dream. My favorite thing about it is that Eric Rippert seems completely candid about everything. It doesn't read in the least like propaganda for the restaurant. He's forthcoming about the chaos at the saute station, the total dependence on re-used plastic crab containers, and all the typical front of house issues that come up all the time ("1:00pm: VIP walks out because another VIP is at his favorite table").
A great read. And great affirmation that I don't want to be a line cook at a 4 star restaurant. I haven't even looked at the recipes, but plan to soon.
What's this Amazon Vine deal?
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Prepare to be horrified:
And for some fun, check out these demented pizza ads from Japan.
Those pizza ads are so, uh...Japanese. Hilarious.
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I just made a pizza with avocados on it. Is that ok?
An avoca-do or an avoca-don't?
They are fatty enough to qualify as legal.
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Scrambled egg + Sausage + Cheese with ketchup and significant pepper (absolutely vital for some reason) on a hoagie roll is the perfect restorative after a night of excess.
Top Chef: Masters
in Food Media & Arts
Posted · Edited by gfweb (log)
Of course its exceptionally silly. That's why we care about it. Much easier than caring about important things that worry the crap out of us. These shows provide the food-obsessed the same escape that others get from sports.
I therefore propose a Fantasy Chef League based around Iron Chef, TC, Masters, Chopped and Dinner Impossible. Let's go all the way.