Iron Chef America (Part 3)

[gfweb]

Last night IC had the three judges from last year's Next Iron Chef. Ruhlman, Arpaiao and Sh!thead. Boy were they testy with each other. The animus seemed a bit tongue in cheek this time though.

The secret ingredient was olives. Barf. First time I didn't want to eat any of the dishes.

Edited June 16, 2008 by gfweb (log)

[Ndy]

Last night IC had the three judges from last year's Next Iron Chef. Ruhlman, Arpaiao and  Sh!thead.      Boy were they testy with each other.  The animus seemed a bit tongue in cheek this time though.

The secret ingredient was olives.  Barf.  First time I didn't want to eat any of the dishes.

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AWWW. more olives for me I guess.

[gariotin]

I could not stand the constant mangling of the names of the olives from both contestants and judges!

It is Cher-ig-nola, not cher-ig-nole-ee-ah.

And poor Nicoises were just called something different by everybody who tried to pronouce them.

One last nitpick- how can you do an olive challenge without kalamata?????

[Claudia Greco]

I could not stand the constant mangling of the names of the olives from both contestants and judges!

It is Cher-ig-nola, not cher-ig-nole-ee-ah.

And poor Nicoises were just called something different by everybody who tried to pronouce them.

One last nitpick- how can you do an olive challenge without kalamata?????

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Cher-rin-NYO-la, actually. "GN" in Italian is "NY" (like nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!) And the poor little "nee-swahhz!" Edited June 17, 2008 by Claudia Greco (log)

[Bricktop]

Since it seems to be his accepted eG name, it was great fun to see Shithead getting slapped around by Ruhlmann and to a lesser extent Donatella. Ruhlmann's critiques seemed to be on point, while SH was just a bit nitpicky. For once, I would have been glad to have eaten either of the contestant's meals.

[Kevin72]

I want to know how it is both came up with the idea to do pork cheeks for a dish. Such a random ingredient. Or is that a new hip cut of meat that the kids these days are digging on?

[Claudia Greco]

I want to know how it is both came up with the idea to do pork cheeks for a dish.  Such a random ingredient.  Or is that a new hip cut of meat that the kids these days are digging on?

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Nothing new about pork cheeks - guanciale, in Italian. Which Mario Batali has had on Babbo's menu for years. Batali, Symon, Bourdain, Ferguson and numerous other chefs have been big on the "nasty bits" or "varietal" curts of meat for a while now. (Although I don't consider pork cheeks a "nasty bit." They are easily the best part of the pig, like halibut cheeks being the best part of the fish.)

[Kevin72]

Well, yes, I know that they're used extensively elsewhere, and I certainly wouldn't have batted an eye if Batali used them. But it just seemed weird and random that both contestants did it.

[Dignan]

I'd be mildly surprised if cheeks were always "in the pantry" and available for use on the show. Maybe they both just kind of had a "Hey, look at that, there are beef cheeks on this list!" moment when they were doing their planning.

[dscott]

[Claudia Greco]

Nothing new about pork cheeks - guanciale, in Italian.

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[docsconz]

eGullet Society member, Louisa Chu, is a judge on tonight's episode - Bobby Flay against Gabrielle Hamilton.

[handmc]

I enjoyed watching Bobby Flay getting his but kicked!

[Greystreet]

Did anyone notice how hard Ruhlman judged Flay's food?

[C_Ruark]

Wow. Every dish that Chef H put forward looked impeccably delicious.

[docsconz]

Interesting dynamic between Ruhlman and the ladies. Did I notice a little tension?

[David Ross]

I was glad to see Louisa Chu as a judge on Iron Chef America. I've been pleased that Food Network has decided to expand the judging pool this year, it adds variety to the judging of the plates and generates more interest for the viewer. (I do, however, like the snide comments of Mr. Steingarten, the "Dean" of Iron Chef Judges, so I hope they keep him coming back).

I agree with doc-I also noted tension between Ruhlman and the other judges on the panel last night. But what I noted most about Ruhlmun, and something he himself could be criticized for, was the ridiculous amount of hairspray that appeared to have been liberally sprayed on his long locks. It looked really odd, almost like little wings sprouting from the sides of his head. Maybe the Hair Stylist had called in sick for this episode? (Apparently the Stylist also forgot to raise the sagging neckline on Judge Karine Bakhoum's ample dress).

Ruhlman's hair aside, I thought that Chef Hamilton won because she kept things simple and allowed the Zucchini to be the main focal point of flavor in each dish. Her dishes were so simple in composition and presentation that I thought the judges would have fallen for Flay's plates. I was rooting for her to win and glad she did.

As fancy as Flays dishes were-with the requisite drizzles of his signature flavored oils- it seemed to me that he didn't follow Chef Hamilton's ethic of making the zuchinni the star. His Zucchini-Wrapped Sea Scallop dish looked like it was more of a scallop dish rather than a zuchinni dish. Even though he used an ample amount of zucchini in the salad with the scallop, I got the sense the judges felt it was a fish dish, not a zuchinni dish.

I've had an enjoyable Summer watching reruns of the original Iron Chef on Fine Living Network and Iron Chef America on Food Network. The two shows present an odd comparison-the campy, kitchsy, intriguing original show vs. the trendy, fun, high-quality cooking of Iron Chef America. Lots of great tv between the two Iron Chef Shows.

And by the way, my favorite episode of Iron Chef America so far this Summer was the "Battle Rabbit" last week between Iron Chef Symon and Chef Guy Rubino. Symon took the win, (and I really liked the looks of that Rack of Wild Hare), but both Chefs presented very creative Rabbit dishes. I just would have liked to have seen more of the Wild Hare used alongside the Domestic Bunnies.

Edited July 21, 2008 by David Ross (log)

[ken T]

Did anyone notice how hard Ruhlman judged  Flay's food?

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I did. A 4 point loss for Flay with 3 in the "originality" area and just 1 in the "taste" area. I would love to see the individual judge's score cards.

[Dieck]

I really enjoyed the zucchini challenge. Would have loved to have eaten that food. I was pleasantly surprised when Chef Hamilton won because her dishes seemed simpler. I loved it when she jokingly called one of her dishes homely (or another word like that) -- how often do you hear that on Iron Chef America?

Has there ever been a thread about favorite/least favorite ICA judges? My favorite pair: Rapper Bone Crusher with Jeffrey Steingarten. The combination is hilarious. Least favorite: Karine Bakhoum. I agree that it has been good to have a wider variety of judges on the show.

[Bricktop]

Has there ever been a thread about favorite/least favorite ICA judges? My favorite pair: Rapper Bone Crusher with Jeffrey Steingarten. The combination is hilarious. Least favorite: Karine Bakhoum. I agree that it has been good to have a wider variety of judges on the show.

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Ruhlman is always entertaining. The hairball from Bon Appetit is not. Except when Ruhlman slaps him around. THAT is good TV.

[tupac17616]

Has there ever been a thread about favorite/least favorite ICA judges?

Good question. Without a doubt, my favorite is Steingarten. Least favorite is probably Akiko Katayama, whose main comment about 80% of the dishes is that they are "too oily". Please, find a new criticism!

[Claudia Greco]

I have to agree with you there, tupac - the frisson between Ruhlman and Knowlton always works for me (!)

[chileheadmike]

Has there ever been a thread about favorite/least favorite ICA judges?

Good question. Without a doubt, my favorite is Steingarten. Least favorite is probably Akiko Katayama, whose main comment about 80% of the dishes is that they are "too oily". Please, find a new criticism!

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Wasn't she a judge for a pork belly contest? That did seem odd.

[KatieLoeb]

Sunday August 17. Jose Garces vs. Bobby Flay. Secret ingredient yet unknown. That's gonna be some good TV.

I'll be rooting for my former boss, Chef Garces. I think he'll do very well. He's got a great crew with him. I don't think Bobby will be doing any cutting board jumping this time.

[Dieck]

Has there ever been a thread about favorite/least favorite ICA judges?

Good question. Without a doubt, my favorite is Steingarten. Least favorite is probably Akiko Katayama, whose main comment about 80% of the dishes is that they are "too oily". Please, find a new criticism!

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I agree!