sockii

Or a dependapotamus who let it all go to hell as soon as she got a ring on her finger.

Eh, I do have a fair amount of experience with food trucks (went to college/grad school in big cities where we had a large food truck "population" nearby) and I still boggle at the prices being charged by the trucks on this show. For a $15 hamburger it better be as good as the high end burger I can get - with fancy fixings like duck fat fries - at a local gastropub. Plus I'm not even getting sit-down wait service, have to stand in line outside, and can't get a nice cold brew to enjoy with it. Something is missing in the equation for me. Especially as just this weekend I was at a big music festival at a concert venue. There were a couple food trucks parked inside the open air area of the venue, which I'm sure they had to pay a fortune to rent out the space. And they were selling great food cheaper ($12 for a loaded pork bahn mi pita, for instance) than the official concession stands. Outside special events their prices are more in the $6-8 range, which is more in line for what I'm willing to pay for a truck food meal unless it's something exceedingly special.

They could have left a postcard... Here they had been my favorite up until that move. Seriously not cool.

I would actually LOVE a food show focused on the art of plating, because that's what it really can be - an art form. And Arnold certainly had a lot of skill in that regard. But, truthfully, that's probably too much to expect on Food Network at this point and maybe better as a short series or one-off special, not a concept that would fly for a longer series.

I quickly scanned back because I couldn't remember Eddie doing anyhing Caribbean-influenced when he was on MasterChef and that his forte there was definitely grilling and meats. It looks like he did a "Jerk" meatloaf for his audition dish (perhaps similar to his meatballs here?) but that was it. And I agree - his knowledge about Caribbean food and its variety has not shown through at all here - not that the silly stunt challenges and time-restrictions really have given him a chance, admittedly. But Jay has shown off more knowledge of Cajun cuisine and Dom more of Italian than I've gotten any sense of experiese from Eddie, and I say this as someone who loves Caribbean food, has travelled to numerous islands repeatedly and owns quite a few cookbooks on the subject. Honestly for Eddie I like the idea someone mentioned of him going around to sports team tailgates, maybe with his food truck, and getting the chance to spotlight different foods around the country that way. Tailgating in Green Bay is far different from in Dallas and in Philadelphia. He could get a chance to talk with different current players, even. I think that would be a fun show and put him more in his element.

I was more shocked by the idea that he thought he could throw together a real bolognese sauce in 45 minutes. That's a 2+ hour slow simmer sauce in this Italian household. Despite hating a lot of things about this season, I do think this is one of the strongest top three's we've seen in some time. I've been a fan of Eddie since he was on MasterChef season 4 and he really has charisma, even if I'm not so sure about the food he's been putting out there (sometimes I think he's as confused about what his POV is supposed to be as Bobby, Giada and the Network). Jay has done some great stuff when he sticks to Cajun food, he's smooth, but for some reason I'm just not sold and I really am not interested in a fried food show :( Where the heck did that come from? Dom is the one who has actually done food that *I'd* want to cook...it's Italian that really comes across as coming from a place of knowledge and love for the cuisine like none of the others. That's why I'd be disappointed if he got saddled with a show traveling around to red gravy Italian-American joints.

This is exactly what drives me crazy about FNS...and I guess Food Network in general at this point. Crazy stunt challenges and "quick-come-up-with-something-based-on-a-theme-you-don't-like" has nothing to do with whether someone is a cook whose program I'd want to watch! That's not how a cooking show would/should be planned; it's not how I am looking to cook at home. It's all gimmicks and silliness. If they had to do a holiday-themed challenge? Give the chefs time to plan something thoughtful; a dish that might take longer than 30 minutes or an hour to prepare (after all, most holiday food is special event food; dishes only made for special occasions because of the time, effort and ingredients involved. How about actually have them film an entire recipe, and see whether it can actually be reproduced successfully by some test audience members?

Which really baffled me because pumpkin soup is incredibly popular in the Caribbean! It's pretty much a staple on restaurant menus in the islands, at least the places I've been.

Having just caught up on the first two episodes of the new season, I'm so disappointed. Basically everything I liked about the first season is gone. The show first caught me like a gut punch for the honesty in how it dealt with infertility, Molly's difficulties bonding with Ethan, and many other deeper issues. Now it just feels like an X-Files wanna-be.

Actually I found her more annoying here on Cutthroat than on FNS, especially by the end of the episode. Was it just me or did it seem like she was hitting the bourbon awfully hard?