Ndy

I felt the same way about Brian Malarkey in season 3 and Lisa in season 4. Wanted them to go but each of them lingered to the end, despite frequent trips to the chopping block. I'm not bothered by Ariane as much because she presents food that at least appears to taste good. Also, I think her frequent wins with dull food are an indicator of a weaker playing field.

I really enjoyed Grant Achatz's comments regarding the elimination challenge. Bravotv.com: Have you ever tried to cook turkey and all the fixins in just microwaves and toaster ovens? Of all the curveballs, what do you think was the biggest obstacle for the chefs? "Of course not! Why would I place those limitations on myself ... that stuff is pure TV! Look, they had no kitchen to work with -- when I saw that I was stunned, especially after I tasted the food. I was expecting garbage because that is what they had to work with, but they were all creative. They did a great job. The turkey was amazing ... better than most I have ever had cooked in real home kitchens." These are my thoughts exactly on some of these absurd, product-placement based challenges. I'm really not sure what TC's fascination is with microwaves and processed food products, other than advertising dollars.

Sorry you had a bad experience there. Lake Park Bistro is my favorite nice restaurant in the City and I hate when people have bad experiences at places I like. I don't think that you ordered wrong because at a place like that they should execute everything well. I guess I would steer you towards the Hanger Steak Frittes or the Duo of Duck next time...if you chose to go back. Also, I think if you want to see Adam Seigel shine, Bacchus may be a better option since he isn't restricted by the French theme at Lake Park Bistro. While I love Lake Park Bistro, I hate to say it but even some of the best restaurants in Milwaukee pale in comparison to places I have eaten in San Francisco, Napa, Las Vegas, New York, or Chicago. As good as I think it is, Lake Park Bistro probably wouldn't be able to crack a top 25, probably top 50 best restaurants in New York list. So maybe your expectations were kind of high. If Babbo, Craft, Gramercy Tavern, and Eleven Madison Park were to open in Milwaukee they would be in the top 10 restaurant list instantly because there are so few restaurants of that caliber here. Milwaukee diners are fickle. You won't find much crazy stuff here. How many restaurants around here serve sweetbreads, foie gras, truffles, or roasted marrow bones? Is there anyplace even close to approaching what you see at Babbo or Momofuku? Not that I have found. ← very well put

The Whistling Swan was very good when I went a few years ago.

Do you have any details on the alaskan king crab dish? ← It was delicious... basically fairly large chunks of crab, with a "sheet" of what I'm sure was more than just plain butter, small pieces of popcorn, and baby corn. Our server presented it as "things that go with butter." The cube in the middle was some sort of citrus gelee, possibly meyer lemon? Oh, and there were also mushrooms, and certainly some things I'm forgetting. It was absolutely delicious though, even though it was super rich. ← Thank You. That dish looked awesome and I wanted to know what all the tiny components were.

Do you have any details on the alaskan king crab dish?

This guy used some kind of micron filter paper to create completely clear bloody mary. Impressive. http://studiokitchen.typepad.com/studiokit...mary-quite.html

Ate a Blanc today. What a great place. I had the pork burger and my friend had the kobe burger. Both were very tasty.

wow man, congrats on a fantastic meal!

lol. I second your opinion.

WOW! that looks like a restaurant dish. A really nice restaurant.

Nah. Americans only like angry Ramsay a la "Kitchen Nightmares" and "Hell's Kitchen." The American versions are basically designed to showcase his ability to rant and throw things.

I don't know if this explains the brining mystery, but it might answer some of the questions concerning the flavor of the chicken. List of ingredients for the Southern style chicken (just the meat): Southern Style Crispy Chicken Breast Filet Chicken breast filets, water, sugar, salt, modified tapioca starch, spice, yeast extract, sodium phosphates, carrageenan, maltodextrin, natural (plant source) and artificial flavors, gum arabic, sunflower lecithin. Battered and breaded with: wheat flour, water, sugar, salt, food starch-modified, yellow corn flour, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), wheat gluten, spice, gum arabic, natural flavors (plant source), extractives of paprika. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). CONTAINS: WHEAT

I basically use Fat Guy's method but using a mixer to mash the potatoes. They turn out very tasty. I guess the key is just not overworking them.

This is an intriguing article I found in the new issue of Gourmet. It poses some interesting questions concerning the future of science in food. Researchers are rapidly uncovering the complex physiology of how we taste, and with these advances we could see a dramatic change in the food industry within the next 10 years. Whereas we once believed there were four basic tastes (five if including umami), scientists believe there are as many as 40 different taste receptors. Along with these discoveries, they've learned to both enhance and mask certain flavors by manipulating these receptors. I found this paragraph especially interesting: "Food companies are scrambling to come up with artificial additives that might improve or block particular flavors. Senomyx, a San Diego–based company, has raised more than $76 million from businesses such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Campbell Soup to study how to enhance the taste of sugar or salt in packaged foods. In effect, products would trick the taste receptors into perceiving ingredients that aren’t there (or that are there in lesser concentrations), thus allowing, for example, manufacturers to slash the amount of salt in a can of chicken-noodle soup. Further benefiting them, the additive would be in such a tiny amount that it could be referenced in the “artificial flavors” category and not be specifically listed on the label." Welcome to the food of the future: chemically-engineered goodness. http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2008...scienceofflavor

Nice. I'm in desperate need of some decent cooking shows.

Excellent review ue. I enjoy the thoroughness, and always make sure to read everything regardless of how long. The details help to convey the nuances of the meal, which I'm guessing is your overall purpose. Needless to say, you write very well. Anxiously awaiting more!

Crazy Europeans WOW! I commend your ambition. I would never even consider doing something like that. I look forward to the pictures!

AWWW. more olives for me I guess.

It's certainly not that great, but the one where I live is doing fine.

I was just wondering how funny it would be if the Top Chef Cookbook simply took the recipes straight from the net. Much hilarity would ensue!

I'm so sad for Richard...I was positive he would take it. In the end, I think nerves got to him. I'm very pleased to see Stephanie win though. She's a great, highly creative cook. GO HOME LISA!

To me, it looks like you needed to render a lot of that duck fat off before cooking and serving it. IMO, that is way to much. I know duck fat is good to eat, but if that was served to me in a restaurant I would send it back. It's like a 1:1 ratio of meat to fat. Why did you choose to present it skin/fat side down? The temp. looks great though nice job on the doneness. ← yeah, I would agree on the rendering. The meat itself looks very nice.

very well put. I can tell you speak from experience.

The problem Spike has is that he only can cook basic stuff. His steak dish looked good, but horribly unimaginative, and obviously not very well executed. I LOVED this episode by the way, both the quickfire and the elimination round.