blakegwinn

From what I saw, it was $10 per plate. The crew at my house was confused about how the chefs were loading so much in their baskets on so small a budget, but then we rewinded the DVR and saw that they were actually trying to get their register totals to $50 or under--so $10 each for four kid plates and one for the judges to share.

The producers/editors should have been WAY more clear on that point--it was still a tough challenge, but I felt that the contestants had MUCH less to whine about once I realized how the money actually worked.

That said, watching the chefs work with the kids was about the cutest thing I've ever seen--and Chef Colicchio was one of the most precious of all.

10 dollars per plate is not exactly "affordable" for the average family....

Smoke alarm tip: grab a chair, a plastic bag, and a rubber band. Stand on chair under over-sensitive alarm, slap bag over it and fasten with rubber band. I've heard of keeping shower caps on hand for this operation. Don't forget to remove once the smoke has cleared.

Hahaha I actually got bitched out by my buildings maintenance guy for this last week. I had done a stir fry the night before and forgotten to take the bag off. Just happened to be the day he came by to switch over the heat to AC.

The reason that Landrum and other steak house owners don't use this method is they're not cooking over charcoal grills and their gas grills get much hotter than ours do.

FWIW, I've discussed the CI low oven/high sear method with Michael a few times and it wasn't met with any skepticism on his part. The point of this method seems to be to eliminate the the grey area between the charred outside and the red rare interior (or as he put it, the "mantle"). I've used the low oven to bring a very thick steak to an internal temp of about 95F and then finished it on blazing hot grill situated on top of my chimney starter. The result was virtually zero mantle - just a crispy char and then straight to deep red rare meat. The downside is that there wasn't any smoke flavour.

As for it being a waste of time and energy, I usually don't consider time and energy spent creating a good meal to be a waste. If that's your criteria, then maybe you should eat at McDonald's.

Unfortunately I am not even missing out on the smoke flavor when I do this method as I don't have access to a grill since moving to my current apartment. (And the prospect of summer just doesn't seem to bring me the same joy as a result...) I agree no time is wasted to make a good meal I just thought that with something like a hanger you could get similar results without the low oven. My worry that, depending on the thickness, doing the low oven and then searing it long enough to get a good crust might actually overcook it. If the steak is room temp. I think you could go right to the sear and still get a rare/med rare.

Wasting your time. This method is an urban myth. Do you think Michael at Rays uses it. My steak is spectacular when I fire up the weber for 45 minutes before using it.

Um ok. Call me an ancient Greek I guess cause I now believe in myths. I could care less how steak houses or (as much as i respect his steak skills) Landrum does it because of the hundreds of steaks and method experimentation I have done at home in my life, the 4 I have done with this method take the top 4 spots and it isn't even close. They had an exact medium rare doneness throughout the entire 1 1/2-2 inches with a perfectly crunchy exterior. I am sure there are more "professional" steak house approved methods for this but this is soooo easy to do and has worked perfectly every time I tried it.

All that said I do think it is a waste of time for hanger/skirt/flank steak.

This method worked so well with steaks that I started getting a little crazy and tweaking it for use with pork chops and burgers. It is amazing. When they are already at almost a rare/medium rare in the middle I can crank the frying pan up to the highest heat possible and really get a nice crusty sear on the outside but still evenly cooked and juicy on the inside. And for the record I think Alton brown debunked that whole "searing first to lock in juices" thing in his mythbuster take off didn't he?

I can't tell if this was meant as a joke, but I thought it was really funny.

Foodies calling everything that is popular amongst others trite, is trite.

It's just like music snobs. A band becomes trite as soon as:

A. They sell 100,000 albums

B. They have their song featured in a commercial

C. They appear on 2 late night shows (the first time a snob is happy because it allows them to say they knew about the band beforehand, but unfortunately the second appearance means they have officially become "sellouts")

D. A person from the midwest (or suburbs) is seen wearing the bands T-shirt

or E. An attempted recommendation to a friend is made prefaced by "have you ever heard of ...." and the answer is "Yea, those guys are great!"

As soon as any of these happen a true music snob will begin the search for the next "underground" band.

I am getting so tired of the "beneath me" rants. It seems that someone (usually that Debbie Downer chick who is always pissed off) is drawing this "line in the sand" every week. It's such an obvious over-compensation for lack of creativity or skills. if you pulled the top ten chefs in the world and told them they were doing a tailgate or something I feel like they would not only enjoy the creative challenge but actually get a little competitive. Do you think if Michael Jordan is walking by some pickup game at the park and the people playing start talking trash he walks by because the game is "beneath him"? I doubt it. By all accounts if someone challenges him to thumb wrestling he will sit down and beat you ten times all while degrading you for having the audacity to test him.

I feel like a truly good chef would have a little bit of that spirit in them as well if faced with these types of challenges. "Oh I am cooking for a bunch of football fans at a tailgate party and they want polish sausage? Bring it on. I am going to knock their f***ing socks off!"

Who do they think they are anyway? I have seen a lot of their dishes by now it isn't like the ones making these comments are Guy Savoy or anything. I think a few of elitist chefs need to get knocked off their high horses. Where is a shot-chugging gun-toting multi-millionaire senator when you need one?

My first purchase when I win the lottery (although it would probably help my odds if I bought tickets....) is a huge viking range but it has to have a commercial size hood. That is very important because having lived in apartments so long, I am tired of having to eat in dense smoke everytime I need to sear or stir fry something. I really think that the jump to Viking is a big one but I guess that depends on what model you currently have. I definitely want the built in grill (again as long as it has a large hood!)

And if we are talking appliances you would spend 99 for I definitely have to say coffee grinder (although I would even go higher than 99) A quality conical burr grinder makes such a difference and it is probably the only appliance/cookware item that I use every single day.

I have also cooked on a wood-burning stove, in a house without electricity, and only a hand pump for water. I lived like that for two years. (We built the house ourselves right after we got married, made out of logs from trees that we cut down on land we owned in Southern Vermont.)

Big deal, I lived as a hunter-gatherer in Rock creek for 4 years after college. If you ever saw a dirty 20 something wearing a loin cloth dart across Military late at night, but convinced yourself it was just a deer, that was probably me. I was making souffles in animal bladders over a woodfire with rudimentary tools made out of deer bones and pieces of an abandoned road bike I found one time. If you need some fancy-schmancy all clad I say you are an amateur.

OK, fine, I'll put my head on the chopping block. I like California Pizza Kitchen thin crust frozen pizzas--especially the white pizza (lots of garlic and spinach) and the margherita. The new Four Cheese version I had a couple of weeks ago too was pretty good, but I'll withhold judgment until I've had at least another one.

You just found out how I get rid of leftover chicken. I take one of those margheritas and shred up the chicken, sprinkle with baby spinach and cherry tomatoes. Sometimes I am in the mood for that cracker thin style crust over my homemade stuff.

I am really getting tired of the catering challenges. I don't seem to remember the other seasons having this many catering gigs and I think that is part of the reason none of us have seen anything inspiring. They haven't really been able to just make a dish and not worry about storing, travelling, keeping warm etc. But I do think there isn't a whole lot of imagination in most of the competitors regarding the themes. With the animal dishes, element dishes and movie dishes it seems like most of them just picked a recipe out and then found a way to justify it.

This restaurant is the reason why I'm not thinking 100% clearly this morning.

Beth and I dined here about 3-4 weeks ago and I have yet to write about it. I have just been too busy lately to do it justice. I have the card with everything I ate and I have good mental notes so I will definitely be posting something soon...

I have never worked in a restaurant with a full-time wine professional so maybe Mark will shoot this down as a bad idea (he mentioned being spread thin sometimes) but I have always thought places with a sommelier should be more proactive. At Komi back when Sebastian was there, I spoke with him every time I went regarding wine but don't ever remember having to ask. I know this is my own hangup but I feel pretentious saying to a waiter, "Thanks for the suggestions but is there a REAL wine professional in this place." Especially if they don't have one.

Granted Komi was a much smaller restuarant but I always thought that when a waiter dropped the wine list instead of the typical "Let me know if you have any questions" etc. they could say something along the lines of "Please let me know if you would like to speak with the sommelier regarding pairings" or whatever. While I know it might not be possible in large restaurants it seems like a visit from the sommelier or at least the offer should be one of the steps of service.

And wouldn't this boost wine sales? Someone who might not have wanted to order something due to intimidation or just didn't feel like wine might change their mind knowing that the sommelier will be personally selecting it for their meal. It also takes away that uncomfortable situation of going over the waiter's head or whatever discussed upthread. Maybe places do this already but most of the places I have been to, where I happen to know they have a full time sommelier, didn't mention it. A few weeks ago I even saw a sommelier select a wine for my waiter but it was never mentioned. I appreciate humility but if your restaurant has gone that extra step to provide better service to the customers by hiring a dedicated wine expert, let the customer know! It reminds me of the doomsday device in Dr. Strangelove, what good is it if you don't tell anyone about it??

well this is kinda random

Beth and I were looking at the website for Good Stuff last week and on one of the pages he had some quote like "being top-chef isn't the most important thing, it is the journey" (not exact but it was something along those lines) We both thought this sounded like something a non-winner would say.

I think smart money is on Jimmy Neutron. Marcel made it to the finals with the same schtick and less talent. The only possible kink in that prediction is that I think when Molecular gastronomy fails it fails in a really big way. Given the way they supposedly judge, on a challenge-to-challenge basis I could see him completely bombing one challenge when some xanthum gum creation doesn't set right or something and he is left with some tasteless shapeless slime on a plate. Despite that risk I still maintain that if Marcel can make the finals, so can Jimmy.

You don't think the whole block was pre-warned of this? Come on, of course they were.

I take it one step further. I think the food was planted. Did you see the giant trays of paella? Who just has that kind of seafood sitting around the fridge, block party or no.

I DID like the idea of how 'Doorknock Dinners' this episode seemed though in that they went shopping for ingredients from 'normal' people's homes.

"Here you can have this 5 pounds of clams I have sitting in my fridge for no apparent reason." When they sent the "pretty boy" up there to talk nice to the people at the houses I was hoping that big guy Erik would take the opposite approach, put a nylon stocking over his head, take off his chefcoat so he just had a wifebeater on and run around to houses yelling "OPEN THE MOTHERF*!@#$%ING DOOR!! NOW GIVE ME ALL YOUR ROSEMARY B!#@CH!"

I don't know who I like yet but there is an 80 percent chance Andrew is on Crystal Meth. I thought Hung was hyper but Jesus this guy is all over the place. Also I was not impressed by Erik at all his dishes looked like crap, tasted like crap (according to the judges) and seemed to be Chilis menu rejects. (corn dogs, "nacho" souffle, quesadillas) Still though I don't think he should have gone home because THAT CHICK SCREWED UP PASTA SALAD. I mean c'mon. I don't care if someone shoots for the stars and flops miserably but if you are making something Sandra Lee thinks is easy you don't have to transcend the genre or anything but at least make it edible. How do you eff up pasta salad?? The fact that she didn't get the boot said to me that they want to keep this relationship playing out for a bit longer and see where it goes. The big guy may have been in over his head but at least his mess up was just poor planning (trying to precook corndogs) instead of the inability to make a freaking pasta salad.

Overall, the place looks nice but no one seems to be trying very hard.

That is exactly the summary that my brother gave after telling me the story I posted. He said from kitchen to FOH it seemed that nobody really cared. When he pointed out the raw chicken they were just kind of like "Ok, whatever" and he pretty much got the same attitude from all three of the servers he had on his visits and the manager that offered him dessert.

So...has anyone actually been?

I may be headed here for a birthday dinner later this week.

Don't!! My brother (a restaurant manager himself) lives in that building and recently gave it a third chance after 2 bad experiences (food and service issues both times). He got chicken that was raw in the middle and due to the low lighting/bad eyes actually ate about a third of it before really taking a close look at it. Astonishingly he wasn't even pissed about the chicken. His quote to me when describing it was "It's ok, things happen sometimes."

He pointed it out to a server who took it without apologizing or making any mention of it. A manager came over and nonchalantly offered dessert (not another entree) to which my brother declined and that was it. Again the fact that they didn't sincerely apologize for the chicken issue, explain it or even just acknowledge that they had messed up didn't faze my brother.

What finally pushed him over the edge and convinced him never to go back a fourth time was that the chicken was still on his bill. He just paid it and left. I asked him why he didn't say anything to the manager about the bill afterward and he said he had already brought up the raw chicken and gotten a cold response why bring up the bill? He said it is just easier to chalk it up to a loss and never go there again.

I say just walk a few blocks to Red Rocks or for the price of what you probably would have paid at The Heights for appetizers and drinks go to El Rinconcito and stuff yourself silly with margaritas and great salvadorean/mexican fare.

The single worst version of moules et frites ($26.50) that I have ever had: stringy, tough, bound to the shell with fries that I swear were frozen. No aoli.

You know I was there about 2 months ago and had the moules frites. About half way through the bowl I leaned over and told my girlfriend I preferred the version we served at Cafe Deluxe (my former employer). I will say we had breakfast there 3 days in a row and they were all fantastic but a little on the pricey side for breakfast. The white sausage I had one morning was perfect and I had a special one morning that would be my desert island breakfast. It was a hash type of deal with lobster, big chunks of bacon, beans and two very runny eggs on top and two slices of toast. It was heaven.

The line to order was not as bad as I expected, given that it was sunny outside. Several of us from the meeting waited about 15 minutes to order, then another 15 minutes to get the food.

I would say that the Shack Burger is about as close to In-N-Out's version as one will find on the East Coast. Except with a better bun (soaked in butter!) that adds to the decadence. I also ordered the Chicago hot dog. Pretty flimsy meat-wise, and overwhelmed with toppings. The strawberry shake was creamy but lacked fruit flavor. One unexpected bonus was finding a small order of fries in the bag that I hadn't ordered. They were actually crispy without being overcooked.

Before leaving the city for dinner at my friend's house in Secaucus, I stopped by Pinkberry on the walk to Penn Station. Definitely worth the hype. Too bad it sounds like they have no plans to open in DC.

Funny I had Shake Shack and PinkBerry this weekend also. Shake Shack was good as usual. This is probably one of the best hangover meals ever. Just the right amount of grease/butter/cheese/shack sauce to satisfy that hungover urge for grease without overwhelming your stomach and feeling even worse (which seems to happen a lot when I go to greasy spoon diners). I love the taste of pinkberry but I have to say the coffee and greentea flavors are horrible. You have the sour taste of the yogurt at complete odds with the bitter coffee/greentea flavor. I just don't get it. Stick to the plain and get flavors by way of toppings.

I also went to a place in Chelsea called Cuba Cafe. Good mojitos, a good (LARGE) pitcher of sangria for 26 bucks, nice (but non-traditional) ceviche and good ropa vieja. The paella was not the best I have had though. It needed more saffron more salt and for god's sakes put some chorizo in there. The seafood in the paella was actually very good though. The mussels and clams were very juicy and plump and the sea scallops were fantastic. There were only two but they were huge. All in all this was actually a fun little spot that I would definitely recommend It isn't a real traditional authentic cuban place but it is good cuban style food in a cool but casual atmosphere that won't break the bank. For two mojitos, 1 beer, 1 pitcher of sangria, 2 ceviches, four entrees, tax and tip we spent 160.

If you follow these rules, Aunt-Jemima (original, add-egg recipe) will always do in a pinch, though I'm sure this board can do better.

I think it was on the Alton Brown buttercream episode that Alton Brown said he actually recommends using cake mixes. He said that they can use a lot of additives (please ignore the negative images conjured up by that word) and specially produced flours and such that home cooks don't have access to but really help the cake texture and taste. I kind of assumed that the same was true for pancake mix. I am sure the flour used has some optimal level of proteins and there are additives to help it stay moist etc. This why I always alter pancake mix instead of making it from flour. (I have had bad results with cake flour by the way, I definitely recommend AP if you are going the flour route, by the way) Maybe this is all just in my head though...

I know that you are looking for a recipe, but wanted to pass along that the William and Sonoma Outlet in Leesburg, Virginia is selling a large can of their holiday eggnog pancake/waffle mix for less than four dollars.

Not to brag but I have had tons of compliments on my pancakes and here is what I do. I like them very light and fluffy while some prefer a denser, cakier flapjack. If that is you then ignore this post. I use regular old hungry jack buttermilk pancake mix (I have tried others but this works the best) and alter it a bit. I do everything by eye but I will try to use measurements here. A few general tips: make sure and mix all the dry ingedrients and wet ingredients separately before mixing them together. Also try to do the final mix in something tall and skinny as opposed to low and flat (I read some where that this allows fewer air bubbles to escape.) Mix the liquid ingredients in that container and then add the dry on top of that to mix. You will spend less time scraping those still dry bits of flour from the bottom. Finally mix as little as possible. I usually mix for less than 10 seconds with a wisk, and then let it sit for a few minutes while your pan heats up.

So, I use 2 cups of the mix, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of baking poweder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and a few pinches of salt (I also like to add cinnamon and nutmeg to my pancakes sometimes but that is purely optional). For the wet ingredients: 1 and a half cups of lowfat buttermilk instead of water, 1 egg, about a tablespoon of vegetable oil and a small squeeze of lemon juice (one small wedge, sounds weird but trust me). If the mix looks a little too thin or a little too thick add pancake mix or buttermilk accordingly. If you aren't sure err on the side of thin because as the buttermilk and lemon juice react with the baking soda/powder the bubbles will make the batter seem thicker. Also if it is too thick the inside may still be batter when the outsides are done cooking. Make sure the pan is decently hot (dancing water droplets) and grease with butter or spray with pam. If you are planning on doing nuts or berries or chunks of banana or something I usually place them immediately after pouring the pancake onto the pan. This way you can distribute them evenly and if you put them in while you are mixing the batter, sometimes clumps of flour form around them and a lot of them will sink to the bottom.

Also another nice touch, if you have a blender dump in some syrup along with a pitted peach (if they are in season) and puree. When they are not in season I usually do this with a handful of frozen mixed berries (available in the freezer section of any grocery store). This not only cuts the sugary sweetness a bit, but gives it a thicker saucier consistency which keeps the pancakes from absorbing as much syrup and becoming soggy. It's also a great way to use up peaches that are too ripe to eat by hand.

Two very different experiences. Mendocino is a very nice California restaurant experience with fairly priced wines and good execution for the most part. Blue Hill is a true upscale dining experience that will absolutely knock your socks off (and empty your wallet, depending on how far you want to go).

If you're looking for something affordable and more casual, do Mendocino. If you want to eat at one of the best restaurants on the east coast (and spend the requisite amount of money to do so), go to Blue Hill.

Everyone is saying Blue Hill is much more expensive but judging by the menus online they look comparable. Blue hill does a tasting for 68. That isn't bad at all.

I Agree on all parts but CityZen. I had a few great course at CityZen with some decent ones and a dud (no slam on the joint, just my own single experience). Palena and Komi are favorites of mine so I'm biased.

I do love Palena and Komi but I was hoping to cross something new off of my "To eat" list.