Taste Testing: Dining at the Restaurants of Cheftestants/Judges

[Toothbrush]

Had lunch at Willa Jean (John Besh's Southern food restaurant in NOLA) yesterday. It has a hip, wharehouse-y type ambiance - lots of chrome - and the staff is young, attractive, and perky. There were 4 of us - me, Dr. Toothbrush, Auntie Toothbrush, and sister-in-law Toothbrush. We got a couple of apps - wild mushroom crostini (with mushrooms, onion, and cherry tomatoes), & the pimento board which included homemade crackers, ham, and pickled okra + haricot verts. Both were delicious. SIL, aunt, & I each got a salad. SIL & I got the salad bar salad (basically a chef salad) that we easily could have split, and aunt got the roasted beet salad which included berries, goat cheese, & pistachio, and a very champagne-y champagne vinaigrette. She loved it, but even the roasted golden beets were too earthy for my tastes. The salad bar salad was nothing special, and the Ranch dressing was tasteless. Dr. Toothbrush got the grilled meatloaf sandwich, and inhaled it before I even got a bite. Grounds for divorce...lol! The homemade chips that came with it were delicious! The 4 of us shared a bowl of spicy creole tomato soup which was amazing! SIL got 2 bowls to go for dinner for her and my brother. They each ordered a dessert to split - chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate pudding, and a brownie. I have a form fitting dress to fit into for a wedding in 2 weeks so abstained, but they looked & smelled great, and the 3 of them loved them. The chocolate chip cookies were bigger than the palm of my hand, and were served with a cup of vanilla milk for dunking. They were also served with a beater of the cookie dough, which I thought was cute, and who doesn't love cookie dough??? The warm chocolate pudding was also good for cookie-dunking according to Dr. Toothbrush, and the brownie was warm, huge and chock full of nuts.  No ice for the water, which is a trend I have noticed lately. Not sure if it is exclusive to NOLA, or country-wide? Not a big deal, just an observance. 

I would definitely go again, but earlier because the breakfast menu looked great. We were 15 minutes too late to order breakfast and what we saw being served looked absolutely delicious. I also want to check out the pastry counter! According to our server, everything is homemade on the premises, down to the crackers and chips. 

As always, parking in downtown NOLA is a pain and can be expensive, and I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again, but like I said, I would definitely not turn down a suggestion or invitation to eat there. 

[susannot]

I am going to Hawaii in January!  Wish that event would be scheduled again.

[beverlyoc]

The Voltaggio brothers have opened a place together.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/voltaggio-brothers-steak-house-review-together-at-last-this-tag-team-antes-up/2017/04/11/65d096fa-10df-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.f6e77b04f3f4

[cooksdelight]

Food fight!!! LOL!! I am happy for them, and I would pay to sit in the back and watch them working together.

[biakbiak]

On Monday, September 18, 2017 at 9:01 AM, beverlyoc said:

The Voltaggio brothers have opened a place together.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/voltaggio-brothers-steak-house-review-together-at-last-this-tag-team-antes-up/2017/04/11/65d096fa-10df-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.f6e77b04f3f4

That's from April but must be working well fo them because Michael just IGd that they are opening a project together in Santa Monica called STRFSH.

Article about Michael's new Inkwell.

[cooksdelight]

If you live in Dallas...

 

[mlp]

That looks like a Top Chef reunion.  Wish I lived closer.

[hendersonrocks]

Yikes, John Besh and his restaurants are in the news today for all the wrong reasons. Will be interesting to see what happens with this, and as it relates to Top Chef.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/10/john_besh_restaurants_fostered.html

[ProudMary]

Wow, that is some article.  You've got to assume that other restaurant groups, perhaps those of other celebrated chefs, allow much of the same behavior.  This stat was pretty eye-opening:
 

Quote

A 2016 report by Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a restaurant workers advocacy group, said 37 percent of sexual harassment complaints filed with the EEOC come from the restaurant industry.

37 percent!  That's appalling.

[Snarklepuss]

Wow, that article was pretty damning to Besh.  And shocking for me as I'd never have pictured him that way.  Although it doesn't surprise me that so many complaints come from the restaurant industry.  Both times I worked in a restaurant I experienced some pretty bad sexual harassment, and this was back before we even had the phrase "sexual harassment".  I only experienced it once in the corporate world and I worked much longer in that.  The corporate world is big on sexual harassment training so perhaps that helps.

[dleighg]

Yeah, I seem to be one of the 1% of women that can't say "#metoo" but my entire career was spent in the research division of a Fortune 10 (or so) company, with lots of in-your-face reminders of what is and is not appropriate.

[Maysie]

A couple/three years ago one of my friends told me that Besh was fooling around with one of her tenants who was employed by BRG. He was not at all discreet (like hanging outside his girlfriend's house with his dog in the morning - this is a bustling neighborhood I live in and well, everyone around here knows him if they see him). Based on that conversation I had the idea he was a bit of a player/scoundrel (like his family lives on the North Shore but he has an apartment in town, which I guess was handy for all his messing around). I have no idea if said tenant was any of the women referred to in the article, but based on what my friend told me, I've long had the idea he was a serial cheater, which is definitely at odds with the image he puts out there and in his cookbooks. I was still blown away by the article, though, because it takes it to a whole new, disgusting level.

I was put off by the disconnect between what he put out there for public consumption and the information my friend gave me, but this? No way I'm eating in his restaurants any longer. I got a distinct whiff of blaming the victim by him and his partner, so I'm over John Besh and his growing empire of eateries. I feel very badly for his wife, his kids and of course, the women he's minimized and basically abused over the years. What an asshole.

[hendersonrocks]

That was fast: John Besh is leaving his restaurant group to "focus on his family."

[Maysie]

My boss had lunch in one of the restaurants. Every single cookbook has been removed from the shelves (I don't know about all, but at least a few of the restaurants have them prominently displayed, for sale). And Harrah's severed its relationship with Besh Steakhouse in the casino in town.

[Snarklepuss]

And to think I wanted him to win on "Top Chef Masters" and "Next Iron Chef".

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, Snarklepuss said:

And to think I wanted him to win on "Top Chef Masters" and "Next Iron Chef".

Any bets on whether he was part of any of the episodes of the new Top Chef (Colorado)? I guess he usually showed up on the more "southern" settings.

[Toothbrush]

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

Any bets on whether he was part of any of the episodes of the new Top Chef (Colorado)? I guess he usually showed up on the more "southern" settings.

Dr. Toothbrush & I are wondering the same thing. If so, I wonder if there will be a crawler advising us that taping was prior to the allegations becoming public & his leaving BRG.  

[biakbiak]

He hasn't been on since season 11.

[LiveenLetLive]

On 10/22/2017 at 6:53 AM, dleighg said:

Yeah, I seem to be one of the 1% of women that can't say "#metoo" but my entire career was spent in the research division of a Fortune 10 (or so) company, with lots of in-your-face reminders of what is and is not appropriate.

Same here never harassed but I have worked for myself most of my life. Besh goes beyond being a player, basically he is accused of raping an employee--what a phoney. 

[stet]

Besh did indeed film an episode for the Colorado season, and Bravo is "evaluating" what to do. (Also, both his PBS shows have been yanked, though I don't believe he'd been filming new episodes since the one season of Family Table.)

It's safe to say that any THs of cheftestants making heart-eyes emoji faces when talking about Besh would be removed. My hope, if they can't edit Besh out, is for the episode to include a discussion about the culture of sexism and sexual harassment in the culinary industry.

Like most of you, I'm disgusted and crushed (I had wonderful meals at August and Domenica when I was in New Orleans four years ago). Of all the men, from Weinstein onward, who've been exposed as sexist pigs, I never got a creep vibe from Besh. But those emoji hearts that covered my eyes might have blinded me. In hindsight, the fact that his wife and kids were such a big part of his personal brand might just be a case of "the Southern gentleman doth protest too much." 

Edited October 26, 2017 by stet

[cooksdelight]

He was included in the lineup tonight on NBC’s nightly news of sex offenders. Good.

[biakbiak]

Based on IG the Brothers Voltaggio's fish sandwich place Strfsh is now open.

[cooksdelight]

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Based on IG the Brothers Voltaggio's fish sandwich place Strfsh is now open.

Are they offended by vowels?

[biakbiak]

They over used them in their last name.

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Are they offended by vowels?

 

20 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

They over used them in their last name.

Or they forgot to buy some from Vanna?

[Snarklepuss]

Speaking of John Besh, there was a two page spread on his home kitchen in the November FN magazine, obviously done before the allegations.

[Lovecat]

On 10/25/2017 at 9:51 PM, stet said:

It's safe to say that any THs of cheftestants making heart-eyes emoji faces when talking about Besh would be removed. My hope, if they can't edit Besh out, is for the episode to include a discussion about the culture of sexism and sexual harassment in the culinary industry.

Well let's hope they approach it as gracefully as they did the history of slavery during the Charleston season. [/sarcasm]

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, Lovecat said:

Well let's hope they approach it as gracefully as they did the history of slavery during the Charleston season. [/sarcasm]

I’m guessing they won’t address it, will try to sweep it under the rug, and hope no one notices. That’s their standard MO.

[bluepiano]

I know that many successful chefs will put their name on anything to make money, but it's sad when they don't at least make sure there are some standards. LAX has a lot restaurants, and on a long layover I made the mistake of picking Fabio Viviani's "Osteria." Being in an airport, I wasn't expecting a revelatory dining experience, but I ended up wishing I'd gone to Chili's, or even Burger King.

The dishes my wife and I had were both way overpriced, which you expect in an airport restaurant, but the food was just plain bad. As was the service. We had a totally incompetent waitress who didn't listen to anything we said while giving our order.  When we needed more napkins we had to resort to self-service and grab some from the bar, as the entire staff was standing around in a corner gabbing.

It's not like I expect Fabio to be at LAX cooking or running the front of the house, but as a more recently minted (and lesser) celebrity chef than say, Wolfgang Puck, I'd think he'd want to be careful with what he puts his name on. Or maybe it's the opposite, and he figures that his "fame" could be short-lived and he needs to cash in while he can.

Edited December 1, 2017 by bluepiano

[Fiero425]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 2:15 PM, hendersonrocks said:

Yikes, John Besh and his restaurants are in the news today for all the wrong reasons. Will be interesting to see what happens with this, and as it relates to Top Chef.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/10/john_besh_restaurants_fostered.html

Wow, I was such a fan of Besh and looked for him to be an Iron Chef way back when; Simon won that 1st season of "The Next Iron Chef!" Good thing he lost; they would have had to drop him! ;-(

[cooksdelight]

And another one... I always enjoyed when he was a guest judge.

http://people.com/food/johnny-iuzzini-accused-sexual-harassment-former-employees/

[awaken]

14 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

And another one... I always enjoyed when he was a guest judge.

http://people.com/food/johnny-iuzzini-accused-sexual-harassment-former-employees/

Ugh. Sorry to hear it. 

[biakbiak]

I have eaten at Melissa's Bar Crudo and Tanya's Brown Sugar Kitchen several timesand enjoy both of the,pm. As the name implies Bar Crudo is primarily a raw bar/crudo restaurant but i have also enjoyed several of their cooked dishes but i go their primarily for the raw bar. It's crab season so i will probably go soon.

Tanya's resturant is a breakfast lunch spot and her shrimp and grits are anazing! I dont go that frequently because if the location, the space is small so the wait is frequently and there is literally nothing around the restaurant to do while your waiting,  and the service can be shitty but she is frequently there and the kitchen is open.

[cooksdelight]

Another one drops.

https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations

[chiaros]

Nick Elmi and Laurel continues to play a big part in Philly's dining scene.

https://philly.eater.com/maps/38-best-philadelphia-restaurants

(Scroll to entry#31)

[chiaros]

As we proceed through Season 15 of Top Chef (Colorado) here's a list of restaurants in Colorado run by cheftestants past and present:  http://www.foodandwine.com/news/top-chef-colorado-restaurants .

[EllieH]

Husband and I had an anniversary dinner tonight at Knife, John Tesar's restaurant in Dallas.  He'd made the reservation based on a coworker's recommendation so it wasn't until we looked into the menu that we discovered it was a Top Chef alum restaurant.

We enjoyed the bacon appetizer, the wedge salad was just so-so (husband thought it being served in a bowl was annoying), I had the Texas Waygu skirt steak which was delicious, Husband had one of the aged steaks which was pretty good, but he wasn't crazy about it being bone-in.  Split a bottle of wine as well, and overall a lovely evening out!

[chiaros]

13 hours ago, EllieH said:

Husband and I had an anniversary dinner tonight at Knife, John Tesar's restaurant in Dallas.  He'd made the reservation based on a coworker's recommendation so it wasn't until we looked into the menu that we discovered it was a Top Chef alum restaurant.

We enjoyed the bacon appetizer, the wedge salad was just so-so (husband thought it being served in a bowl was annoying), I had the Texas Waygu skirt steak which was delicious, Husband had one of the aged steaks which was pretty good, but he wasn't crazy about it being bone-in.  Split a bottle of wine as well, and overall a lovely evening out!

It's interesting - the resistance of 'Murcans (and, to a lesser extent, "Western Folks") to bone-in meats. Speaking generally, of course; there are always exceptions. The reluctance of 'Murcans to have bone-on ribs in a Chinese dish, or a whole fish where you have to pick the flesh off the bones, or chopped-up chicken pieces where the bone is entirely left in --- it is curious how so many people resist these things. Cooking meat with the bones endows the dish with more flavor - and in many cuisines the resulting "separating of the meat from the bones at the table" is NOT an issue, and handled easily. Cooking steaks bone-in has even been thought by many 'Murcans to be desirable, yet just as many dislike it - perhaps because of the "inconvenience" of having to cut off the meat from around the bones.  So interesting.

[Bastet]

The only boneless steak I'll eat is filet mignon.  I'll use boneless chicken breasts in a salad or pasta, but to eat a piece of chicken, it better have the bone(s).  Bones = flavor.  It annoys the hell out of me how increasingly difficult is is to get bone-in meat without going to the butcher.

[Treehugger9]

I ate at Butterfunk Kitchen, Chris Scott's resturant, in Brooklyn this weekend. The fried chicken and biscuits were delicious, and the collard greens, something I don't normally like, were absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend! My only complaint was that the service was pretty slow. 

[cooksdelight]

If in Louisville:

 

[DasFlavorPup]

I just had a wonderful dinner last night at Carrie Baird's (season 15, placed 4th) Bar Dough restaurant in Denver.  I went with the Happy Hour menu, so I wound up starting with the special Bar Dough “punch” (strawberry basil lemonade, vodka, and cocchi americano), then some giant meatballs made with pork belly and pancetta, a wood-fired Margherita pizza, some arancini balls (risotto and mozzarella cheese breaded and fried), and a wood-fired spicy pepperoni roll. The dough/crust on the pizza and roll was AMAZING, thin and crisp with a faint smoky char on the outside, light and soft and melt-in-the-mouth on the inside.  Somehow I managed to waddle back to my hotel afterwards but it was delicious, and since it was the happy hour menu it came in under $30 (not counting the tip).

[JeezumCrow]

I tried the three-course prix fixe at Chef David Viana’s (S16) Heirloom Kitchen a couple weeks ago and I still can’t get over it. Hands down one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten! The meal started with a fennel gazpacho amuse; I then selected the ribs (garlic, white balsamic, truffle honey), duck (with crispy artichokes and the best damn falafel I have EVER tasted), and masala chai cake. The restaurant was bright and airy and welcoming, the service was superb, the wine is offered at retail prices, and every last bite was delicious - I left feeling completely satisfied but not stuffed. The price point is a little rich for me to be a regular, but I have every intention of returning once next season’s menu comes out! If you’re in the NJ area, I HIGHLY recommend it!

[JTMacc99]

I went to Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar in Las Vegas. Really tasty simple burger type stuff; the fries (and the truffle fries) were perfect. He also has a French restaurant out there. That one has a $5,000 hamburger on the menu. We checked with the controller, and he said we probably couldn’t slide that one through on an expense report. Something about policy. 

Sigh. 

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

went to Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar in Las Vegas. Really tasty simple burger type stuff; the fries (and the truffle fries) were perfect. He 

I live a few blocks from his SF place but because it’s in Macy’s I only go when shopping or have picky visitors but several times it comes with the bonus of Hubert himself being present. 

[Ashforth]

On 6/2/2019 at 6:53 PM, JTMacc99 said:

I went to Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar in Las Vegas. Really tasty simple burger type stuff; the fries (and the truffle fries) were perfect. He also has a French restaurant out there. That one has a $5,000 hamburger on the menu. We checked with the controller, and he said we probably couldn’t slide that one through on an expense report. Something about policy. 

Sigh. 

Burger Bar is good. Another option is the Libertine Burger at Libertine Social (also at Mandalay Bay but by the casino, not in the "mall" part of the complex). During their happy hour it came with fries for about $15, quite a bargain. The burger was succulent and the fries crispy, and they were served with sides of Bordelaise and mayo (I got it to go). I was impressed. Libertine is owned by chef Shawn McClain, who I don't think has appeared on Top Chef.

I like Keller's Fleur (also in Mandalay Bay) a lot, so I was disappointed that it was closed during the time I was in Vegas recently. 

[Mountainair]

I'm going to Washington DC for a week in a few months. I know we have some fellow cheftestants with restaurants out there right? 

[GrannySmith]

13 hours ago, Mountainair said:

I'm going to Washington DC for a week in a few months. I know we have some fellow cheftestants with restaurants out there right? 

Just got back from DC, and I think Jose Andres has been a judge. Anyway, we ate at Jaleo and Zaytinya and loved them both. 

[biakbiak]

16 hours ago, Mountainair said:

I'm going to Washington DC for a week in a few months. I know we have some fellow cheftestants with restaurants out there right? 

Kwame’s Kith/Kin Afro-Caribbean restaurant on The Wharf has gotten raves and he just won the James Beard for rising chef.

[JeezumCrow]

Stopped for a bite at Tiffani’s Sweet Cheeks Q while visiting Boston last month. The pulled pork and house-made BBQ sauce were delicious, and I was a big fan of the romaine wedge Texas Caesar salad. I also tried a scoop of the mac&cheese, which was good, but the Ritz topping (which seemed to be popular at other restaurants in the area, not just a Tiffani thing) was a little sweet for my taste. No complaints but I did find the biscuits underwhelming, possibly because she (and the staff) hyped them so much. The bill includes a 3% “kitchen appreciation fee” for BOH, which I liked as well.