RAHiggins1

I used to cook short order from memory, but I did rely heavily on pulling anything out that varied to my board or to the grill. I had to though, we weren't given tickets and the waitresses called in the food orders and walked off. It took me a long time to get it though. If you needed to know what was supposed to go with what, you had to flag them down and wait for them to rifle through their tickets. On the kitchen language, if the kitchen is behind closed doors, then yes the language takes a nose dive in general. Add to that the strongly hispanic work force, and you get the machismo high school grab ass thrown in as well. Usually homo-erotic in nature. If you can't keep up, you can bet you'll be told or mocked. If you look around and they are all looking at you with disdain, or mirth, you are holding up the line.

I got to 23 stars with one day left before the 30 min free trial was up.

I'm siding with your BETTER half. I had never seen bread crumbs anywhere near Mac & Cheese until I followed the recipe in the Armed Services Recipe Index(written by a yankee I'm sure).

I REALLY thought he was going go Full Metal Jacket. So whiny. Such a hot mess. And so delusional about his abilities - or lack thereof. I suspect he was the kid other little boys just kicked in the head until he bled from the ears. Just a guess. ← Wow Claudia, I've always taken you for an uptown girl. The streets must be a lot meaner these days. So, so, brutal...

Hiroyuki, what do you make of these clams - do they look the same as the hokkigai you have? I have never seen a Japanese word on the labels at my fish market - obviously the seller is assuming the buyers know the word. Do your surf clams come from the Sea of Japan or the Pacific, or both? ← I'm no expert on clams. I did some google search and found that the Canadian variety is more reddish than the one in Japan. http://www.zukan-bouz.com/nimaigai/heterod...gai/ubagai.html (Japanese only. You can at least look at the photos.) I'm not sure if hokkigai can be gathered from the Sea of Japan. Hokkaido is famous for its hokkigai. As you can easily imagine, domestic, high-quality ones go to sushi shops while cheap imported ones go to conveyor sushi restaurants. Besides being used as sushi toppings, they are fried with butter (butter-yaki); cooked with rice (takikomi gohan); and put in curry. ← I would reason that people know "Hokkigai" from Sushi Menus. I've noticed that people are using tje Japanese names more for other seafood as well. "Ahi" and "Toro" are very common these days on non-sushi menus.

My friends and I used to go to the 57th fighter Group at PDK to celebrate special events, Birthdays, Easter, etc.. I loved their champagne brunch. Now that its closed, where is a good substitute?

Crawfish boil this staurday for the Belmont Stakes. Fortunately its my friends party and he'll be buying the bugs. DKFM gets them in on mondays. They's always been alive when we bought them on staurday. I'll let you know what the $/lb was. I expect two 30-35# sacks to be about $70-80 total.

Hey, Conspiracy Theory #29 - maybe the frozen scallops were PLANTED in Tramonto's freezer, just to see if any chef had the bad judgment to use them? Nifty theory, eh? Eh?! ← according to this chicago tribune posting, that's exactly what happened. "The frozen scallops in the walk-in freezer at Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood were part of the challenge on “Top Chef,” said Rick Tramonto, executive chef and co-owner, and not part of the restaurant's inventory. ... “Their team purchased all the food and put it in the coolers,” he explained, saying he felt that most people realized it was part of the challenge. He just wants to set the record straight. “They put those in the mix to see ... who would use them or not.” And certainly Spike went for them. “It’s interesting that he had first choice and he obviously didn’t have to use them” but he did anyway."" ← After a week of thinking about it, I finally decided to go see how much AB steaks cost and if maybe my wife would let me buy a couple to try if I were to get her some kind of diamond jewelry as a bribe. Well, low and behold I found this; Are these the same scallops that were used on the "Frozen Scallop" episode? I'm rather confused if they are, at that price wouldn't Allen Brothers be kind of upset as a sponser to have the show dogging their product so harshly?

Tony's jacket was too short and billowy. Is that a word? I have to say that I would not mind if Anthony Bordain took over Tom's job as head judge. Tony's job these days is to be a chef that taste's everything that he can good or bad. Who better to judge? Trust me he knows good from bad and also what is exceptional. I can think of no one else with a more well rounded palate.

We put a lot of attention around here to what goes on in the kitchens, but that's only half of the house. I've worked both, I've managed both, when FOH is going smooth the BOH flows with it and when the front is fubar'ed the back is too. The worst it can get is when you see the whole restaurant turn at once. It empties out, tables are hurriedly bussed and reseated and orders come en masse to the kitchen. That my friends is when the shite has hit the fan, nothing is more torturous than to wade through the onslaught of orders. So many that you can't get them all fired and food is pulled and stacked waiting for space on the grill, fryer, what have you. Tickets are placed on top of tickets until you no longer know or care which came in first. Your eyes glaze over and you stare at what's cooking, no longer sure what goes with what. At the pass, servers and runners are snatching plates left and right. Its a dog eat dog world and they all want to get plates in front of their customers and will screw each other over in a heartbeat for it. Out on the floor, the pandemonium is sensed by the customer. They glare about looking for their waiter/waitress wanting their presence acknowledged. They see other tables seated after them being served before them. The other table's food has arrived and are almost done while your glasses are empty and have no plates in front of you. Other customers are done and sitting at a table that has not been pre-bussed. They want their check and they want it right now. It's time to leave. I've experienced all three sides and I can tell you, It never has to be that way. First, never let a customer go without being greeted and a drink in their hand. Have someone who does nothing but takes drink orders and goes to the bar to get them, this initiates a contract and buys you time to get them seated. Once seated, each table should be treated like they are the only table in the restaurant. Serve them. Get their order, get it put in and started in the kitchen and then seat the next one. Seat customers round robin style in the different sections/stations. Never, seat all the tables, take all the orders and then go put them all in. There has to be time between orders for the kitchen to process it. No exceptions. Serve all the places at the table at once. Prebus Prebus Prebus Keep drinks filled. Watch the tables closely, present the check at the last bite. For a server the most crucial moment is the last one, as soon as the customer is ready to pay, process it and get them the "F" out of there. All in all its a real juggling act. You have to keep everyone happy all of the time. I do not know why I felt compelled to write this, maybe I miss working in that environment or am just tired of schlepping computer parts. Who knows.

Sticking to my guns on this one.

Southern food baby. Porkchops fried then smothered in a pan gravy, taters, greenbeans and maters.

I watch this show because I like GR. I think Fox sucks for purposely selecting candidates that will goad his ire and fail miserably. The editing also plays alot into trying to make everything over the top and over dramatized. We did not see the 50 other filets Louross put out that were done right or however many pasta dishes Mat didn't sweat into for seasoning. I do think that GR is actually tasting/checking the dishes at the pass on the show. So these people are at least able to get plates by him and finish these blitzkrieg services where they fill the place up to start. If you've ever experienced a rush so heavy that the whole restaurant literally turns at once, you would know you weren't just in the weeds but under them. So I give these people more credit than Fox shows you.

We caught these 2 miles off Mexico Beach, Florida. A King Mackeral and a very large specimen of it's cousin the Spanish Mackeral, we broiled these with lemon butter, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika.

When it comes to purchasing fish in general for my own consumption, ( I make sushi at home as well as other types of preperation.) I am always weary of frozen fish in general and always consider the source in particular. I will not buy farm raised tilapia from bangladesh and would never even consider it in a frozen state. I look for "Wild Caught" from the closest region to me. Also, I prefer to select from fresh fish that I can judge quality from prior to purchase. I look for clarity of eye, darkness of gill color, smell, condition of scales, firmness of flesh when buying fish. Tangent- I keep seeing news reports of restaurants serving fish that when genetically tested turns out to be an asian catfish species most commonly called "Basa" and not the grouper or whatever the menu said it was. I've gone into local asian fish markets and not been able to visually tell a difference in the frozen grouper filets and the basa right next to it. I think that more oversight is needed in the fish import industry.

I was putting some cookbooks I had out on the counter away when I noticed on the cover of AB's Les Halles Cookbook that it said" Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking." I thought it odd since Les Halles is actually Brasserie Les Halles. So is there no distinction made in regards to Les Halles or is it possibly shoddy publishing?

I'd say that most sushi places in the United States -- other than at the very top level -- make various handling mistakes. Not to mention the rice is lousy. So yes, a top sushi chef could come and take the same salmon that True World Seafood sells to everyone and make a much better piece of nigiri sushi than you get at the sushi counter next to the Mongolian barbecue counter at the local pan-Asian place on Route 28. ← So when you walk into the market and they have "sushi grade" fish on display, is that a bunch of bunk? If the fish used by most sushi places is the same as any other fish found at the market, does that mean the non-sushi grade is lesser quality? I'm already weary of questionable fish sources, this topic isn't helping that.

Didn't Tre get the axe last season for poor leadership in the restaurant wars?

I was recently asked "How is your tasting?"

ok, what is it? 4 episodes remaining? I'm making predictions. Next 2 weeks spike or lisa goes home (yay! who cares what order they fall!) 3rd week, Antonia bites it. Richard wins the final.

So, what would you say defines the difference in the two? Style of restaurant or menu, or both? Does the food and beverage of either have to meet any guidelines to call themselves either name? If I were to open a diner and call it a Bistro because I put a pat of normandy butter on top of your pancakes would it be ok? I'd say American restaurantiers will do as they will with total disregard to what should be. I personally would walk in the door of French American Brasserie here in Atlanta and expect brasserie with the possibilty of some bistro style cuisine mixed in with some classic american faire as well.

Ok, since I had to go educate myself to fully comprehend this topic I'm going to share what I needed to know here. Hopefully it adds to this discussion since Brasseries are supposed to also serve beer. I think its just becoming popular to call one's place that or a Bistro and not necessarily adhere to any accurate definition. The following was stolen from Wikipedia; Alsace is also the main beer-producing région of France, thanks primarily to breweries in and near Strasbourg. These include those of Kronenbourg, Fischer, Heineken International, Météor, and Kanterbräu. Hops are grown in Kochersberg and in northern Alsace. Schnapps is also traditionally made in Alsace, but it is in decline because home distillers are becoming less common and the consumption of traditional, strong, alcoholic beverages is decreasing. Alsatian food is synonymous with conviviality, the dishes are substantial and served in generous portions and it has one of the richest regional kitchens. The gastronomic symbol of the région is undoubtedly Sauerkraut. The word "Sauerkraut" in Alsatian has the form "Sûrkrût (Saurkraut)", which means "sour cabbage" as its German equivalent. This word was included into the French language as choucroute.

Congrats on your successful long-term management, RAHiggins! As you previously expressed, this is totally meant for the purpose of having accurate information, not to flame or point fingers: Dietary cholesterol (what you see on nutrition fact labels) is dietary cholesterol. What turns it into HDL, LDL, VLDL, etc. in our bodies is the "package" that the dietary cholesterol comes in- mainly, what else is in that food or what that cholesterol-containing food is eaten with. If that package includes unhealthy saturated fats or trans fats, your body is more likely to turn that dietary cholesterol into artery-clogging LDL. As far as I know, this is why there's been so much back and forth about shrimp and eggs- they are high-cholesterol foods, yes, but in and of themselves, they are still fairly (to very) low in the "packaging" that makes cholesterol especially undesirable to us. Lisa's dietary "packaging" of the shrimp appeared to be fairly benign. ← As a side not my last results were CHOLESTEROL 127 Low to high is 140-200 mg/dL HDL 39 Low to high is 27-67 mg/dL LDL CALCULATED 68 Low to high is 0-130 mg/dL TRIGLYCERIDE 102.0 Low to high is 35.0-160.0 mg/dL Do you know yours? I guess I am passionate about shrimp, it may have been me who took issue on last season's health food episode.

As for this week's episode, I agree is should have been spike but Andrew was way the freak out there in left field. I think Lisa was thinking that the microwave would overcook the shrimp. There was alot of drama on this episode, enough for me to consider that maybe Hell's Kitchen isn't totally off the mark, they just brand it differently. I'm tired of the catering themes. After restaurant wars I am hoping they start notching it up subjecting the chefs to Master chefs and having to duplicate dishes made famous etc... So basically weed out the posers and turn the screws.

First let me point out that I am not flaming or singling out KristiB50 here. I have high cholesterol and have had to manage it since I had a major coronary 12 years ago. I'd like to point out that the assumption that shrimp is bad for you because it has cholesterol is a misnomer and only half of the story. The cholesterol in shrimp is primarily high-density lipoproteins (HDL). This is what is commonly referred to as "Good cholesterol". HDL's reduce low-density lipoproteins (LDL) which is more commonly known as "bad cholesterol. Shrimp are also virtually fat free and loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids. So in reality shrimp when prepared healthily are one of the best proteins you could possibly eat. I poached this from here http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=107 Shrimp Provide Large Cardiovascular Benefits Many people are confused about the fat and cholesterol content of shrimp. Shrimp is very low in total fat, yet it has a high cholesterol content (about 200 milligrams in 3.5 ounces, or 12 large boiled shrimp). Some people have avoided eating shrimp precisely because of its high cholesterol content. However, based on research involving shrimp and blood cholesterol levels, avoidance of shrimp for this reason does not seem justified. In a peer-reviewed scientific study, researchers looked at the effect of two diets, one which contained shrimp and the other eggs, on the cholesterol levels of people with normal lipid levels. In this randomized crossover trial, people ate either 300 grams of shrimp per day or two large eggs. (A randomized crossover trial is one in which groups cross over, trying out both possible protocols.) The shrimp diet did raise LDL levels (bad cholesterol) by 7%, but also raised HDL levels (good cholesterol) by 12%. In contrast, the egg diet raised LDL levels by 10% and HDL by 7%. The results then showed that the shrimp diet produced significantly lower ratios of total to HDL ("good") cholesterol and lower ratios of LDL ("bad" cholesterol) to HDL cholesterol than the egg diet. In addition, in people who ate the shrimp diet, levels of triglycerides (a form in which fat is carried in the blood) decreased 13%. In just a four-ounce serving of shrimp, you'll receive 28.2% of the daily value for vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is one of the nutrients needed to keep levels of homocysteine, a molecule that can directly damage blood vessel walls and is considered a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, low. In addition, shrimp are also a good source of cardio-protective omega-3 fatty acids, noted for their anti-inflammatory effects and ability to prevent the formation of blood clots. Four ounces of shrimp provide 14.8% of your daily need for these protective fats. See also http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=515 Choose seafood at least twice a week Fish can be fatty or lean, but it's still low in saturated fat. Prepare fish baked, broiled, grilled or boiled rather than breaded and fried. Shrimp and crawfish have more cholesterol than most other types of seafood, but they're lower in total fat and saturated fat than most meats and poultry.