hungry prof

Kevin won't screw up. He'll probably win it all. He is a solid chef, and thus follows in the mold of past winners, who are reliable but not necessarily as creative or risk-taking as some of their fellow contestants. Remember those who lost in past seasons--Stephen (?), Marcel Vigneron, Richard Blaise. As they showed Michael Voltaggio saying: "Kevin's food is what I cook on my day off." But taking risks and showing flashes of brilliance also increases the chances of failure, especially under the extreme time restrictions of the format.

I agree with this. Isn't Tom always saying that you can't "play it safe?" Wrong. Safe food cooked well will beat imaginative food cooked poorly every time. Kevin's dish was the only one in this challenge that didn't have some significant execution error in it.

I can't imagine how nervous those chefs must have been cooking for a room that included both Keller and Boulud. Anybody want to bet on whether the Bocuse d'Or is going to be televised on Bravo next year? There's usually some promotional reason for just about everything they do.

[The heading on this thread needs to be updated. They're open in downtown Bethesda, too.]

Who doesn't need bacon-flavored envelopes?

I'm considering buying a case of TJ's Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle mix. I know, I know. Pancake and waffle mix is evil, and the batter is easy to make from scratch. Tell that to my three-year old at 6:30 in the morning when he pulls out his step-stool to help me mix up the batter for pumpkin pancakes. He's got the recipe memorized: one cup of mix, 3/4 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of butter, and an egg. Recommended to all DR toddler parents (or anybody else for that matter).

Public Bar - Now serving lunch and dinner from 11AM to 10PM weekly.

WARNING: Turn off speakers before clicking on link.

So is there no new episode tonight, just the silly Top Chef reunion dinner thing?

Silly is an understatement. That was one stupid hour of television.

Well, then, my sincere apologies. I misread your post. I misread your "boo" and anger as anger at the fact that they had been shut down for not paying back taxes as opposed to disappointment that they're simply not open. Sorry. Crazy interwebs.

*back sales taxes*

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/10/26/daily112.html

I hope Mendocino Grille & Wine Bar reopens soon...

EDIT: Argonaut is open again. See: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2009/10/29/argonaut-back-in-business-after-brush-with-d-c-office-of-tax-and-revenue/

(Interesting article by Tim Carman)

Don will undoubtedly delete this for crossing over into an overtly political discussion, but why "boo" and why the angry face? Should places of business simply be allowed to continue to operate if they don't pay their taxes?

FYI, Mike Isabella is scheduled as Chef at Market at Penn Quarter next Thursday (November 5, Guy Fawkes Day) at 4:00 PM.

If he has any sense of humor, he'll cook up some leeks.

Take a close look at the closing credits where they state that the production team has a say in the judge's decisions. In this season we actually have 4 or 5 really solid chefs and not a head case among them. They see the need for a "wild card" in there presumably to keep viewers' interest. I guess Robin is going to piss of the other contestants more than keeping Mike I around (see the preview for next week). If she makes it past next week you know the fix is in.

I don't buy it. The disclaimer say that they discuss their decision with the producers. That could include many different things. Does having Robin on the show instead of Mike I. really improve their ratings? I doubt it. I'm willing to trust that Mike's leeks really were that bad. Why is that so hard to believe?

Winter is on the way. Where do you go to warm up with a great bowl of soup?

Click!

Does anyone know when the last episode of this season's Top Chef will be shown? Next week's episode, which was shot at Craftsteak, Tom Colicchio's Las Vegas restaurant, will feature Natalie Portman as a guest client. And on November 11, Nigella Lawson will be a guest judge in an episode that will have the chefs creating "a perfect breakfast in bed".

Can't wait until the finale.

Well, there are seven left and the last episode has three contestants. I would guess there won't be a show on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure what that adds up to in terms of when it will be (maybe it's even over before T-giving?).

The Natalie Portman episode is tonight, and anybody with even a casual knowledge of Natalie Portman likely knows what the challenge will be.

Just got around to watching this week's episode--thank God for the DVR when there's a three-week old in the house. A few thoughts:

-I thought the Quickfire challenge--the tag-team dish challenge--was fantastic. One of the best Quickfires ever. I'm surprised it took them this long to do that one.

-For long-time watchers, there were some interesting rules modifications in the Restaurant Wars. Clearly, they had gotten complaints in the past from either judges or contestants that judging the contestants on decor was simply unfair. They also seem to have figured out that the FOH job is hard to judge in a competition that's ultimately supposed to be about cooking, so they ensured that everybody had *something* to do with the cooking.

-Giving them three-hours to prep the food for their restaurant openings was pretty intense. That was Jen's biggest problem. She simply wasn't prepped for service.

-Based on cooking alone, Jen should have gone home. They clearly judged this one on cumulative performance. The problem is that the judges can't admit that. There's a reason they say over-and-over again that they judge each challenge on its own. Otherwise, we'd know who the finalists are halfway through the season. This way, they still *could* send Kevin home next week despite his (mostly) outstanding performance so far. And that keeps us watching. . .

Are there any hotels or bed and breakfasts within stumbling distance of Volt that anyone could recommend?

My wife and I stayed at the Hollerstown Hill B&B on a getaway weekend last year. Nice bed; just ok breakfast. Within easy walking distance of downtown Frederick.

2. How on earth did Kevin make enough terrine for 150 people in four hours? First, he had to bone out the pork leg. In order to make decent-tasting terrine, you need to marinate the meat, then grind and season it, cook it in a water bath for at least an hour. Rest under a weight and chill in order to be able to have neat slices. In four hours?

On his blog, Tom acknowledges the issues that Zora raises without really explaining how Kevin solved them:

"Kevin had drawn the leg of the pig to work with. There are a few things one could do. For example, one could have roasted the whole thing, or steamed it out and then sliced it into cutlets and made a schnitzel. Kevin went very simple: he chose to grind up the whole thing and make a pate, a terrine. It was kind of risky, actually, as a terrine really needs to be made well in advance to let it cure and let the flavors blend. Another potential pitfall is that while a terrine seems like a simple thing – basically a cold meat-loaf – you need to make sure that everything (and I mean everything) is very, very cold when you’re grinding it – the pork, the blade, everything – so that you’re actually cutting it and not just making mush. And, finally, a terrine needs to be seasoned well from the get-go; you can’t cook it and adjust the seasoning at the end. It is thus deceptively simple while actually requiring finesse and skill in execution on several levels to pull off well. Kevin had that skill."

While Ash was not ever going to make it to the final, I was a bit puzzled at his getting ejected this time around, particularly considering the catfood comment and the instant coffee sludge comments of the other bottom 3.

I think the judges violated their well-rehearsed edict that they judge each challenge on its own. It was three strikes and you're out for Ash. He just had not shown much over the last few episodes and, perhaps more importantly, shown a distinct lack of confidence.

Surprised not to see New Heights. I thought Tom's relatively recent review was pretty strong.

I'm going to start calling this area Dontown in the dining guide unless someone comes up with a better answer.

How about Rockville?

Perhaps it's time the dining guide take the form of a google map with clickable pins for each restaurant, rather than a simple old list. It would solve the need to give everything a neighborhood.

[Dashes away from heavy object being thrown my way. . .]

Wikipedia offers this map of DC neighborhoods (click on it to make it somewhat larger), which would put that location in "Downtown." And if wikipedia says it's true. . .

Is this the hip food that he promised to bring to DC?

According to Spike, yes. From the Examiner article: "It's going to be much like the formula of Good Stuff," said Mendelsohn. "It's going to be really hip, really clean, it's going to be farm fresh."

He also promises "curbside delivery." On behalf of the many DC drivers who growl every time they pass double-parked vehicles clogging up traffic at assorted valet stations and envision the same with curbside delivery, I salute you, Spike.

Coming in December or January next door to Good Stuff Eatery. Go at it, Spike-haters. . .

Yes- it definitely happens (and conversely some very good chefs go before their time). The cheftestants are judged by the plate they put out that night- with no consideration to any other week, so one screw up can send you home. And some luck out that every week- someone screws up more than they did. Or someone screws up while they held with merely passable.

Put differently, you can survive for a long time by playing it safe. It's ok to finish in the middle of the pack. . .until the pack shrinks to the point where you can no longer hide.

I still haven't found a price for the Cooking Chef...

This story says it'll run you 1000 pounds when it launches this month in the UK.

They should be aimed at weeding out the weak chefs, and Ashley won last week. Boo.

Agreed. How in the world did Ash not go home this week? The guy basically admitted that he is an inferior chef to others in the competition. To paraphrase, this is Top Chef, not Top Sous Chef.