S15.E09: Bronco Brouhaha

[spiderpig]

I was yelling "It's mac 'n cheese!  Leave perfection alone!!!"

[Token]

Well, that was a crappy episode.  

I hate flowers as food.

Fatima being eliminated over Joe Douchebag was just a BS decision.

Joe Douchebag lost me the moment he mentioned his crystals.  Crystals, foraging, stupid moustache, hippy dippy girlfriend.... it's like they just know all of my buttons to press.  Wish he was gone.

I happily deleted that episode from my PVR.  

[ratgirlagogo]

On 2/2/2018 at 11:16 PM, April Bloodgate said:

On 2/1/2018 at 10:11 PM, HappyDancex2 said:

 

I really don't care for flowers in cooking.   Stop trying to make lavender happen.   They are putting it in craft beer now and it tastes like soapy beer.  Stop. It.

I love floral flavors in my food and beverages. Give me them all!

I wonder if everyone who "hates flowers in cooking" hates saffron and chamomile and garlic blossoms, too.  Persian and  Indian desserts often feature rosewater (rosewater custard!  to die for!) and I LOVE  lavender as a flavor ingredient, especially combined with lemon.  There are some (like one of my sisters in law) who don't like lavender in herbes de provence, and it's certainly not a set in stone thing, but I enjoy the lavender there as well.

[HunterHunted]

15 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I wonder if everyone who "hates flowers in cooking" hates saffron and chamomile and garlic blossoms, too.  Persian and  Indian desserts often feature rosewater (rosewater custard!  to die for!) and I LOVE  lavender as a flavor ingredient, especially combined with lemon.  There are some (like one of my sisters in law) who don't like lavender in herbes de provence, and it's certainly not a set in stone thing, but I enjoy the lavender there as well.

I don't love lavender as a flavor, but I almost wrote something similar about chamomile, hibiscus, and saffron. Broccoli, artichokes, and capers are flower buds. Things like squash blossoms taste like really delicate squash. We already eat flowers in cooking.

Edited February 4, 2018 by HunterHunted

[Norma Desmond]

I don't understand why they're keeping  Moustache Joe, when week after week he keeps making the worst dishes. Did he cast some sort of spell over the judges? Ugh.

I am totally rooting for Carrie, who reminds me of Marjorie, who was also underestimated by the other competitors but proved to be a force to be reckoned with (that is, until she was shafted in the semi-finals and lost to two of the worst finalists ever).

[ratgirlagogo]

3 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

We already eat flowers in cooking.

Yes, all the ones you mentioned. Also cauliflower and of course vanilla is an orchid.

[StrictTime]

On February 2, 2018 at 2:02 AM, Yeah No said:

Bruce is OK but I'm not that crazy about him.  Although I didn't like Padma's criticism of his pasta.  She came off rather snotty about it.  She wouldn't criticize an Indian for always making rice and cooking in their "comfort zone".  At least I don't remember her ever doing that.  And anyway they always get on the chefs for not doing what they do best.  They're damned if they do and damned if they don't.  

Didn't Tom C criticize Bruce early in the competition for trying to do things that he doesn't do?  As I recall, he told Bruce point blank to cook what he is comfortable cooking.  Like you said, DITD,DITD.

[Blonde Gator]

2 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Yes, all the ones you mentioned. Also cauliflower and of course vanilla is an orchid.

Vanilla is the seed pod of an orchid....where the orchid flower has been fertilized.  Here's a picture of both the flowers, and you can see the green long seeds as well (they look like green beans).  There is, of course, a process to dry the seeds.  Vanilla is one of the only "vining" orchids, and is very easy to grow here in Florida.  I've had them flower, but have never been able to get them to set seed pods.

[chiaros]

1 hour ago, Blonde Gator said:

Vanilla is the seed pod of an orchid....where the orchid flower has been fertilized.  Here's a picture of both the flowers, and you can see the green long seeds as well (they look like green beans).  There is, of course, a process to dry the seeds.  Vanilla is one of the only "vining" orchids, and is very easy to grow here in Florida.  I've had them flower, but have never been able to get them to set seed pods.

Lovely pic of vanilla flowers. The info on the pic shows it is from a German site (http://www.virboga.de/pics/big/005193.jpg). Vanilla flowers do have variations, especially between cultivars - I have seen flowers in the greenhouses of various commercial orchid growers with differing morphology and coloration, although all are "similar". The ones in the pic are of good form and color. (I still grow orchids myself, although far less than what I used to do, and I'm more of a species grower)

I assume you were hand-pollinating your vanilla flowers? (To this day, commercial cultivation of Vanilla planifolia is still largely labor-intensive in the various stages, including manual pollination, particularly when either the native pollinators were not present or when better efficiency of yield was desired)

Edited February 5, 2018 by chiaros

[jaybird2]

On 2/3/2018 at 7:27 AM, cooksdelight said:

Maybe she should try laughing when making snide comments and then they wouldn’t come off as snide. Her sour face and nose in the air was rude.

actually she looks like she has had a lot of work done to her face and boobs.  

[jaybird2]

On 2/3/2018 at 9:57 AM, cooksdelight said:

I used to make some different types of tailgate food.... silver chafing dishes full of crab dip, nacho dip, baskets of chips and crackers, a grill full of ribs and burgers, several different kinds of dump cake (cake made with a cake mix, cubes of cream cheese, fruit, topped with melted butter before baking). I used to do private catering and I would look at a tailgate party as another dinner party. I think that’s why they liked Bruce’s steak and the Carrie/Chris dish.... it wasn’t the same old-same old stuff.

I think the right person was eliminated, even though I love Fatima. Joe had bad fried mac & cheese, but he also made other elements of their offering that the judges liked. Fatima threw all her stuff into one basket, which was her downfall. As the judges suggested, if she’d thrown in with Bruce and had his stuff on top of her nachos.... all she would have contributed were bagged chips. So that wouldn’t have saved her either. And I can’t wrap my head around lentils instead of good ol’ black beans on nachos.

cooks, you can cook for me anytime!

[jaybird2]

On 2/2/2018 at 1:26 AM, Peace Please said:

I think this is one of the classiest group of Top Chef-ers ever.  It makes it a delight to watch, honestly, and I wish more 'reality' shows would just let everyone be themselves without producer driven drama.  I adored Fatima...she just seems so cool, calm and collected and knowing that she had that bastard cancer probably growing inside her while she competed just makes her extra cool.  I truly don't care who wins the whole TACO...but I do have a soft spot for both Fatima and Chris.

Never, ever enough reasons to root AGAINST to Pats!!!  Go Eagles!!!

noooo!!  love tom brady and the patriots!  i don't understand all the hate lol!  as i sit here crying, watching them loose.  boohoo 

Edited February 5, 2018 by jaybird2

[chiaros]

5 minutes ago, jaybird2 said:

i don't understand all the hate lol! 

They tend to be arrogant in their sense of entitlement. That's one reason. There are others.

[jaybird2]

3 minutes ago, chiaros said:

They tend to be arrogant in their sense of entitlement. That's one reason. There are others.

what entitlement?   i guess i don't see it, but it's ok.....the mods are going to tell us to stay on topic!

Edited February 5, 2018 by jaybird2

[chiaros]

...and the Philly Eagles win Superbowl LII 41-33.  Chef Chris Scott must be THRILLED. I am glad for him, and hope he celebrates both his Top Chef episode win (in this "Bronco Brouhaha episode") and that of his team.

Edited February 5, 2018 by chiaros

[MerBearStare]

7 minutes ago, Brookside said:

 He's an arrogant jerk who abandoned his wife and baby, although I can understand why she wanted him out of the house for a few weeks.

I'm not a big Bruce fan, but that's a pretty harsh and untrue statement. Have all parents and spouses who have appeared on this show "abandoned" their families? Come on. 

[Brookside]

3 minutes ago, MerBearStare said:

I'm not a big Bruce fan, but that's a pretty harsh and untrue statement. Have all parents and spouses who have appeared on this show "abandoned" their families? Come on. 

Absolutely, you're right.  But Bruce left a very much newborn and a new mother.  Not the time to be away from home as far as I'm concerned.  Agree to disagree if you're fine with that?  (Not being snarky there.)

[HappyDancex2]

23 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I wonder if everyone who "hates flowers in cooking" hates saffron and chamomile and garlic blossoms, too.  Persian and  Indian desserts often feature rosewater (rosewater custard!  to die for!) and I LOVE  lavender as a flavor ingredient, especially combined with lemon.  There are some (like one of my sisters in law) who don't like lavender in herbes de provence, and it's certainly not a set in stone thing, but I enjoy the lavender there as well.

Since I had one of the original complaints on flower in cooking (BEER SOAP!!!) I'll weigh in here LOL.   I think saffron is ok in small doses.  I don't like chamomile tea.  Garlic blossoms are ok but I don't use a lot of them.   I've had Indian desserts that have rosewater in them and I don't like the flavor.   And when the lavender is added in any of those herb/salt combos I always think "why did they add that soapy herb???!"   So fair to say that the more obvious ones that you listed tend to be on the "no" side for me.  

For the other list someone posted, I don't care for broccoli but I do like artichokes and capers (mostly for the salt brine though).   I've learned to like cauliflower.  I don't like vanilla in savory food at ALL.

Don't get me wrong, I can eat almost anything but it's definitely not a preferred flavor.  I'm assuming that there must be enough people who love said delicate floral flavors that they keep putting it in a lot of things!!

[Blonde Gator]

1 hour ago, chiaros said:

Lovely pic of vanilla flowers. The info on the pic shows it is from a German site (http://www.virboga.de/pics/big/005193.jpg). Vanilla flowers do have variations, especially between cultivars - I have seen flowers in the greenhouses of various commercial orchid growers with differing morphology and coloration, although all are "similar". The ones in the pic are of good form and color. (I still grow orchids myself, although far less than what I used to do, and I'm more of a species grower)

I assume you were hand-pollinating your vanilla flowers? (To this day, commercial cultivation of Vanilla planifolia is still largely labor-intensive in the various stages, including manual pollination, particularly when either the native pollinators were not present or when better efficiency of yield was desired)

 

I enjoy mostly species and primary hybrids myself.  Here's a fair representation of what I grow.

Alas, I've never bred orchids, (never really wanted to), but did try, and fail, at pollinating my vanilla.  And then in a major catastrophe, my yard guy totally WHACKED the bush that my vine was growing in.  I just grabbed that picture of the interwebs to show non-orchid people what vanilla looks like.  Mine was a bit greener, pretty. 

I used to purchase vanilla online from a site called Beano.  It was very reasonable, about $1 per, for Tahitian and Mexican.  Last time I looked, it was $7 per.  Seems there's a worldwide vanilla shortage these days. Gack.  So we're no longer making 2-pod vanilla ice cream these days, but I could win a TC episode with it....nothing but cream, half & half, a bit of sugar, and vanilla.  Divine!

Would you say vanilla is a spice?  Because it's not a flower.  I really dislike flower garnishes etc. as shown in this challenge.  There has to be a reason for it.....it really bugs me to see dendrobiums on a plate.  I know they're edible, but why?  LOL, next time my maxilaria tenufolia blooms, I may have to give it a chomp to see if it tastes as good as it smells (for the non-orchid types, it smells like Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil)!!!

I'd have much rather seen a challenge with some offbeat herbs and spices.....which would have been right up the wicked witch's (Claudette) alley.  Mexico has some unusual ones. 

EDIT:  Mods, I'll stay on topic, but inasmuch as TC is somewhat educational, I thought it might be useful for the members to see what vanilla really looks like, since it's a "flower".

Edited February 5, 2018 by Blonde Gator

[ratgirlagogo]

26 minutes ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I think saffron is ok in small doses.

I only wish I could afford to use it in large doses.:)   I don't find flavors like rose or lavender any more overwhelming than rosemary or basil or anise - but obviously everyone's taste should be their own.     More for me.:)

[iggysaurus]

On 2/1/2018 at 8:42 PM, The Solution said:

Carrie is Shovelface.

They are all too cutesy-wootsy for me. Fancy toast! DIAF

But WHY is Carrie "shovelface"? I don't get it. 

I don't think Carrie made up the term "fancy toast" - didn't she say it's on a lot of menus in the area? Besides, it must have tasted good if it won the quickfire, and that's what matters. We don't get to taste it, so we have to assume the judges had reasons to deem it the winner.

I'm not rooting for anyone in particular, but I don't see why Carrie in particular would inspire such hatred. *shrug*

[Bad Example]

On 2/3/2018 at 7:42 PM, Token said:

Joe Douchebag lost me the moment he mentioned his crystals.  Crystals, foraging, stupid moustache, hippy dippy girlfriend.... it's like they just know all of my buttons to press.  Wish he was gone.

I have an unreasonable bias against Stupid Facial Hair, and then came the crystals, and the "look how hip I am because I forage"....   I just want to smack him.

On 2/3/2018 at 12:26 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

 

I do love the nicknames. Snidely Joe may be my favorite. And the crystals! I would not have had him pegged for being a sensitive new-age guy (credit to Christine Lavin for that). 

It's always time to bring up a good Christine Lavin song.
 

7 hours ago, iggysaurus said:

But WHY is Carrie "shovelface"? I don't get it. 

I don't think Carrie made up the term "fancy toast" - didn't she say it's on a lot of menus in the area? Besides, it must have tasted good if it won the quickfire, and that's what matters. We don't get to taste it, so we have to assume the judges had reasons to deem it the winner.

I'm not rooting for anyone in particular, but I don't see why Carrie in particular would inspire such hatred. *shrug*

Carrie isn't what is considered conventionally pretty.  HOW DARE SHE. 

[cooksdelight]

Carrie is pretty, her smile lights up a room. She isn’t model pretty, but who among us is?

[Bad Example]

11 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Carrie is pretty, her smile lights up a room. She isn’t model pretty, but who among us is?

I agree.  I am 100% Team Carrie, I like her a lot and I think I'd like her food. But in this world, she's putting herself out there on TV, exhibiting talent and winning without being model-pretty... and that's frequently the sort of crazy behavior that gets a woman called "shovelface".  

[LeighLeigh]

The only thing worth judging is cleanliness when cooking (still say Bruce needs a hair net. Wesley, season 13 made me cringe.)

Arent we all too old, educated, enlightened and mature to be judging people on their looks? What is this junior high?

*Aren't

[PamelaMaeSnap]

A few random Top Chef thoughts to start the day ... BUT they are also (after the first one) specific to this thread so hopefully mod will bear with me? Otherwise, if it is too chef-centric as opposed to episode-centric please let me know where to move it. 

YAY CHRIS YAY IGGLES. I didn't watch anything but the fumble/recovery right before the two-minute mark but hope that Chris is still celebrating. Did anyone who watched this see any shots of him on celebrity row or anything? 

BABYGATE: I'll play devil's advocate for Bruce on this. He is so clearly an emotionally-attached family man that I can't imagine this wasn't something his wife was completely behind him on all the way ... it wouldn't surprise me if he's had more than one off-camera "phone calls home of doom" saying he wants to quit and come home and her telling him not to. The money from winning would certainly help, not to mention the further he goes, the more exposure, etc. She may well have a parent or friend there helping out (hopefully not too many ... our rag-tag and decidedly UNHELPFUL army of parents and step-parents that descended on our house from out of town like locusts in the two weeks after our baby was born was by far the low-light of that entire period and that includes being attached to a milk-pumping-machine for 23 hours a day and having to rush the baby BACK to the hospital for a (non-insured this time) stay for jaundice. 

I was actively surprised by Padma's snide "pasta again?" ... they know if something is someone's "thing" when they add them to the chef lineup mix. That is his thing and he's obviously really good at it. Even if it meant playing it safe, in a pressure situation, why not play up what you're good at? Fati had MOST of the time been finding a way to add some of her culture and heritage to her dishes and Padma never said "Oh, you're doing Pakistani AGAIN?"

I could not stand Carrie at the beginning though I couldn't put my finger on why (and it's still driving me crazy what actress she looks like if she's never been on another cooking show because she looks SO familiar) but she's starting to grow on me ... I do wonder how much (if any, if I'm being conspiracy theorist) being familiar with what Colorado altitude does to food gives her an advantage. But this episode pretty much confirmed our theory that she goes all ... the ... way at east to the bitter end. 

I keep forgetting Adrienne's even there. What did she make again? 

I also noticed IMMEDIATELY (and thought that maybe they do this all the time in later stages of the show, say, when they get down to about six people) that instead of having a first place team, a safe team and a bottom team, they went right to the four-person elimination ... tie this in with the way they played fast and loose with the elimination week with Tanya, and I think it's obvious that they simply tweak the rules to fit their own decisions re: who they want to get rid of, if they can't facilitate their master plan without producer manipulation.

Re: Snidely, I agree with a poster above (can't remember who but I "hearted" the post) who basically said there is no such thing as bad mac and cheese. 

I wonder with Fati if her dish had been more obviously and visually "orange and blue" like she'd planned (those blue chips did not look blue and I didn't see any orange) she might have slid through for sheer creativity. Instead it was just a not-great taco. 

PLAY ALONG AT HOME FOLKS: Our Quickfire Elimination challenge for the day: On a morning you were going to do the groceries because the cupboard/fridge is pretty damned bare, your entire driveway and street is iced over to the point of actually leaving the house in a car being a non-negotiable option, the temps are supposed to top out at 25, and we're the last street in our community to ever get salted/shoveled/plowed (and I've already been at it with manager of said community and this is the third time we've been unable to leave the house but the most dangerous -- the other two times it was just several inches of snow on ice on snow). Challenge: Use whatever you can find in the fridge and cabinets to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. Hubby is ON this.

[Special K]

On 2/2/2018 at 5:34 PM, Kimmykun said:

Mustache Joe's into crystals, you guys. 

Pretty hilarious.   But I would amend:  Mustache Joe's GIRLFRIEND is into crystals.  Sounds like something you might take to for a partner, and then ditch once you break up.  :)  Or we can hope.

[The Solution]

1 hour ago, LeighLeigh said:

Aren't we all too old, educated, enlightened and mature to be judging people on their looks? What is this junior high?

 

Yes. Yes, it is. And I'm still sitting at the cool table.

[carrps]

Yeah, I found Carrie really off-putting at first...and still a little bit now, and I can't quite put my finger on why. I think it might be her creepy evangelist smile. Every religious prostelytizer I've ever run into (and tried like heck to shake) had that smile. Icky.

But that's not her fault and she's growing on me a bit. 

Is Fancy Toast a variation on avocado toast? That's been a big thing here  (California) for ages and ages. 

I couldn't watch all the Super Bowl. Our next door (attached townhouse) neighbors were having a party so we turned to the game whenever we heard them cheer -- it was obvious from their first big cheer that they were rooting for the Eagles. I was thinking about Chris the whole time.

[Special K]

In the Top Chef season that was in California a few years ago, they had a toast quickfire, pretty late in the competition, I think.  Traci des Jardins was the guest judge and might have been touted as having started or stoked the toast craze. 

I just assumed "fancy toast" was what the Colorado locals call such things.

[Rai]

If the Eagles never have won the Superbowl before, then this was probably the best prize ever for Chris. He remains my sentimental favorite, so I'm really pleased for him.

And I hate the Broncos BECAUSE I'm from Colorado, so this was a rough episode for me, but I persevered. Surprised the great god Elway didn't grace the party with his presence though. I was VERY pleased that Chris and Carrie won with green pork chili, which is pretty special to Coloradoans. That couldn't have been a better choice for a Broncos tailgate, and it was incredibly smart strategy for Carrie to choose that for them to make. And props to Chris for going with it. He comes across as a guy who does respect other chefs when they have thoughtful contributions and suggestions, and he really does seem to put his integrity over his ego (at least so far), and that means a lot on these kinds of shows.

Also, I was pleased they got a shot of the blue demon horse statue, aka Blucifer. Which is not actually a Broncos statue, but it has an incredibly creepy history. I encourage non-Coloradoans to read up on it. It's a nice pairing with all the DIA Illuminati/mole people theories.

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, Rai said:

Surprised the great god Elway didn't grace the party with his presence

Living next door to Tennessee, and having to hear about him in godlike references,  I was sooooooo thankful Peyton didn’t show up. 

Because I can guarantee one of the cheftestants, probably Joe, would have yelled “Omaha!!!”

[dleighg]

here's an article about Chris and Carrie's trip to the superbowl for their win

 

http://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/super-bowl-2018-top-chef-season-15-contestants-carrie-baird-chris-scott-photos?cid=soc_fb_TopChef_TopChef_Dish

[Bastet]

9 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

YAY CHRIS YAY IGGLES. I didn't watch anything but the fumble/recovery right before the two-minute mark but hope that Chris is still celebrating. Did anyone who watched this see any shots of him on celebrity row or anything?

He's not famous enough for them to show him - it was people like Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, and Bradley Cooper who got air time.

[carrps]

And the 99 year old guy?

[HappyDancex2]

14 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

A few random Top Chef thoughts to start the day ... BUT they are also (after the first one) specific to this thread so hopefully mod will bear with me? Otherwise, if it is too chef-centric as opposed to episode-centric please let me know where to move it. 
 

All I could see was "chef-FORWARD" and "episode- FORWARD"  LOL

14 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

PLAY ALONG AT HOME FOLKS: Our Quickfire Elimination challenge for the day: On a morning you were going to do the groceries because the cupboard/fridge is pretty damned bare, your entire driveway and street is iced over to the point of actually leaving the house in a car being a non-negotiable option, the temps are supposed to top out at 25, and we're the last street in our community to ever get salted/shoveled/plowed (and I've already been at it with manager of said community and this is the third time we've been unable to leave the house but the most dangerous -- the other two times it was just several inches of snow on ice on snow). Challenge: Use whatever you can find in the fridge and cabinets to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. Hubby is ON this.

What did you guys end up with?  This has happened several times this winter and we've gone to scrambled eggs with roasted vegetables....toast (not so fancy I'm afraid.)   Today it was the last straw...I took a beef bone with fatty scraps from Mabels BBQ and threw it in the pressure cooker with a chopped sad onion, sad carrots and sad nappa cabbage...water and a few tablespoons of tomato paste.   Turned out like a beef soup miracle LOL

23 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I only wish I could afford to use it in large doses.:)   I don't find flavors like rose or lavender any more overwhelming than rosemary or basil or anise - but obviously everyone's taste should be their own.     More for me.:)

LOL!!!  Well cmon over internet friend and you can use up a few of my tins!   You may be on to something....I really don't enjoy rosemary either.  There are a lot of places that put it on their fries now to elevate them and I hate it.  It's too strong.   I do enjoy basil....especially thai basil.  I chow down on it like a rabbit with a big bowl of pho.   Anise is good as well...I like a good raw fennel slaw.

I'm glad that they use flowers in this episode....it's made me realize why I might like or not like some of these strong flavors that are herb-FORWARD.

[LeighLeigh]

I just discovered Jim Smith's (season 14) Twitter account. He is so funny. He tweets about the current episodes.

According to Jim, for JoeStache's Mac and cheese to work, it needed to be frozen first. Who knew?

[Blonde Gator]

2 hours ago, LeighLeigh said:

I just discovered Jim Smith's (season 14) Twitter account. He is so funny. He tweets about the current episodes.

According to Jim, for JoeStache's Mac and cheese to work, it needed to be frozen first. Who knew?

Actually, that makes perfect sense.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

16 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

What did you guys end up with? 

He made himself some sort of black bean soup and I combined two different frozen Lean Cuisines LOL. I am SO not a candidate for Top Chef. Maybe America's Worst Home Cooks.

[Lamb18]

I looked for Chris and Carrie when I was volunteering at the Super Bowl on Sunday but did not see them. Ticketholders were assigned different entrances (which were a couple of blocks from the stadium), so the path to their entrance was not where I was stationed. I did see Andrew Zimmern and got a high five from him.

[seacliffsal]

I actually had tears in my eyes at Joe Flamm's departure and how hard some of the other contestants took it.  He just seems like a really nice guy.  It was also tough to have an elimination quick fire right after restaurant wars as I would imagine that everyone would have been exhausted.  

I was also sorry to see Fatima go.  The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if they're trying to 'clear the field' so that Bruce can win as he seems to be the best buddy of every judge on this season...

[candle96]

On 2/2/2018 at 3:07 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

As a sportswriter who does not really love football (I'm 99% baseball and the other 1% the Wizards when they don't suck), but does love tailgate/Super Bowl party food, I was ecstatic that Chris won the tickets because of his love for the Iggles ... maybe even enough for me to watch and root for them (oh, who am I kidding? I hate Brady so much I'll do what I usually do and go see a movie or something in an empty theater). But seriously, I WAS very excited for Chris!

I was sad to see Fati bounced over Mustache Joe in this situation ... I really adore her ... and now am just trying to send whatever healing vibes I can to her. Having trying to stay unspoiled but having seen a photo of her (with Bruce and Tyler, I think) after her surgery, I don't know if it's just my imagination that she looks tired and run down or she really was just fighting so hard to get through this. Kinda wish she could have the same "you can come back when you're healthy and do it again" pass that Lee Ann got ... certainly won't be surprised and would be thrilled to see her return on a future All-Stars, which seem to come about every third cycle anyway.

Also, we're heading to Chicago for a wedding in March (which is killing me because it means I can't go to an Expos event in Montreal I really wanted to attend) so hoping I can get hubs and his friend to make reservations at Joe Flamm's place. (Without getting into gory details, the last time we went to a Top Chef-related restaurant, a few weeks ago, we'd made reservations several weeks in advance and it was our last night on a big vacation and we were all excited ... but I had eaten a bad clam earlier that day ... let's just say that I was able to eat ONE STRAND of pasta and spent the rest of the time feeling incredibly glaringly awkward walking across the HUGE dining room EIGHT TIMES during dinner. Sad face. Though the rest of my dining party rated the meal next to last on our week's worth of dinners so maybe I didn't miss that much ... )

Interesting, his restaurant, Spiaggia, has actually been around for a long time. I'm almost positive another TC contestant (Sarah? Overweight, short hair, everyone hated her. Was that Texas TC?) was EC there when she was on the show.  I haven't eaten there in years, I assume the menu changes when the EC changes. But I was not particularly impressed. Fancy, yes, but also expensive and small portions.

As far as Top Chef, Stephanie Izzard is still queen of this town, and I can attest all her restaurants are really good. She really does nail that "depth" of flavor in her food. 

Edited February 7, 2018 by candle96

[cooksdelight]

6 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if they're trying to 'clear the field' so that Bruce can win as he seems to be the best buddy of every judge on this season...

To me, that would weigh against someone, more than help them, due to thinking he’s got it in the bag because he knows people he’s met along the years he’s worked as a chef.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

7 hours ago, candle96 said:

As far as Top Chef, Stephanie Izzard is still queen of this town, and I can attest all her restaurants are really good. She really does nail that "depth" of flavor in her food. 

Thank you for that recommendation! I've spent basically zero time in Chicago in my life (and the few times I've been there I've either been at Wrigley or whatever they're calling the White Sox stadium this week) ... hubs went to Northwestern, though, so wants to spend Friday night hitting a lot of blues clubs and stuff ... I'm just going to have to bite my tongue and let him and his friends decide where we're eating, where we're drinking, where we're clubbing etc. (all this after taking a 7 a.m. flight that morning, so off a 3 a.m. wake-up call ... am I a terrible person to hope there's a Noreaster the day before and we get snowed in back east? I would love to come to do a gustatorial tour of Chicago ... in, like, May!)

He has said, though, that the food in the Greek neighborhood is AWESOME and that is something that we don't have much of here in DC (and is one of my favorites), plus friend's wife is Greek so she might be down for that ... any recommendations on great Greek???? I'd be VERY grateful since I'm sure the places he loved in college are long gone. 

[candle96]

20 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

Thank you for that recommendation! I've spent basically zero time in Chicago in my life (and the few times I've been there I've either been at Wrigley or whatever they're calling the White Sox stadium this week) ... hubs went to Northwestern, though, so wants to spend Friday night hitting a lot of blues clubs and stuff ... I'm just going to have to bite my tongue and let him and his friends decide where we're eating, where we're drinking, where we're clubbing etc. (all this after taking a 7 a.m. flight that morning, so off a 3 a.m. wake-up call ... am I a terrible person to hope there's a Noreaster the day before and we get snowed in back east? I would love to come to do a gustatorial tour of Chicago ... in, like, May!)

He has said, though, that the food in the Greek neighborhood is AWESOME and that is something that we don't have much of here in DC (and is one of my favorites), plus friend's wife is Greek so she might be down for that ... any recommendations on great Greek???? I'd be VERY grateful since I'm sure the places he loved in college are long gone. 

Uh oh, you hit on the one food I'm not crazy about. Outside of gyros and the flaming cheese, I've always been a bit underwhelmed by Greektown. I actually just went to the Athenian Room this past weekend, which was serviceable, but your husband's favorite place might still be there. There are literally like 8 or 9 Greek restaurants in a few blocks, somehow they all stay in business. Sorry I can't be of more help!

If you're going to be in Greektown, my suggestion is to hop a few blocks north to Randolph St, which is kind of like restaurant row. That's where all the hot restaurants are, including all of Stephanie Izzard's, Fabio's (Bar Siena, amazing!), and even white glasses himself, Graham Elliott. I know this because I accidentally walked into the wrong place a few weeks ago and he was standing there. That's how I knew it was the wrong place. You really can't go wrong over there, and it's changed a lot in the past 5 or 6 years. I especially love The Publican.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

1 hour ago, candle96 said:

Outside of gyros and the flaming cheese

You mean there are other Greek foods aside from gyros and flaming cheese (aka saganaki)? Who knew? That's all I eat. :)

LOL ... we actually are doing the Top Chef trifecta here in DC at the newly-foodiefied Wharf for our "big three" occasions ... went to Mike Isabella's Requin this past weekend for an early Valentine's Day dinner (it was FANTASTIC ... seriously one of the best meals I've ever had), going to Fabio's Del Mar for hubby's birthday in three weeks and then to Kith and Kin (my choice because I adore Kwame) for our anniversary in April. 
 

THANK YOU for those suggestions ... hubby has an overly strong detestation for Graham Elliott (I'm not sure why ... I can take him or leave him ... maybe it's the glasses). I do love the idea of just bar hopping on restaurant row in theory, but given that I'll have been up since 3 a.m., my bedtime will probably be by 10, so they can just pack me into a cab and send me off to the Sofitel.

Edited February 8, 2018 by PamelaMaeSnap

[Evenshorter]

On 2/1/2018 at 10:25 PM, LeighLeigh said:

What super bowl tickets? I'm in Canada. We didn't see that part.

I'm in Canada too. Just watched the episode yesterday via PVR, and it was definitely shown. So excited Chris got to see his Eagles win!

[BarneySays]

The last few seasons have been so long that I lose interest and couldn't care who wins.  This episode was my threshold this season.  Enjoy.

[The Solution]

43 minutes ago, BarneySays said:

The last few seasons have been so long that I lose interest and couldn't care who wins.  This episode was my threshold this season.  Enjoy.

This season has been pretty hard to care about.