stickmoon

"Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than anywhere else on the face of the earth? Well, I guess the laws of physics cease to exist on top of your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?"

Hahaha! Great reference Dan.

Disappointing meal last night at the Arlington location, even given my low expectations. The Palak Paneer and Aloo Chole were too creamy and under-seasoned...both tasted watery and bland. Naan was dry. Rice was fluffy and probably the best bite of food. Delivery took 45 minutes, which was ok given it was rainy and they were probably busy.

We had a nice dinner here tonight. Revolution Flatbread came with slow-cooked tomato sauce, caramelized onions, mushrooms and a three cheese blend ($16). Great flavor, nice thin crust, easily big enough for two people. Nice selection of beers on tap...I had a Flying Dog Pale Ale, the +1 had the Dogfish Punkin Ale. They had a nice selection of non-alcohol drinks as well...fizzy organic sodas and such. Comfortable atmosphere, friendly, homey. Food, drinks, tax and tip came to $36 bucks. We'll be back.

This is the first season I have watched from beginning to end which is why I ask the following question: Is there always someone who makes it further than they should based on luck the way Robin has? She doesn't have the talent or skill of most of the remaining chefs yet she remains.

Yes, I think most seasons there's a chef who goes further than they should...the most egregious case, in my opinion, was Lisa in Season 4, who actually made it to the finale episode (top 3 chefs left standing)...she was on the chopping block a number of times but somehow escaped elimination.

I find the family-style service a bit awkward. For example, my dining companion ordered a salad as an appetizer. It arrived beautifully composed, and was sat beside her. She had to clumsily fork-and-spoon it over to the plate she was supposed to eat it off. I mean, the family style works for the side dishes, but why take a nicely composed dish like a salad and then ask the customer to move it over to another plate? It's clearly not meant to share. Also, one person in my party of four got an appetizer (the sweetbreads) set right before him, not served family style.

One of the guests seemed to agree.

Great find! Very interesting perspective. After watching repeat episodes, I'm starting to wonder if Mike I. is really comfortably a top five chef. Seems like when he's not under the watchful eye of a Voltaggio, the judges aren't so enamored with his cooking. I'm a homer, so I'm rooting for him, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ashley or Eli take Mike's place in the final five.

you should cook what your guests are going to want to eat.

I remember Hung saying that he did not cook for the guests; but rather, for the judges. Seems to be a good strategy, particularly since he won. Richard Blais (in my opinion, the best chef who didn't win) said during one show that the way to win was to bend each challenge to your strength and highlight your own style. So, I'm not sure the best strategy is to cook for your guests.

But anyway, I agree with Hungry Prof that it's very difficult to pick the winner at this stage...Just a few episodes in from past seasons, who would have guessed that Carla or Casey or Antonia would have been within one or two challenges from winning their season?

Yet this season it seems like the Voltaggio's, Mike Isabella, Jen, and Kevin are the top 5 at this stage. But all it takes is one mistake, and it's time to pack your knives and go!

I heart top chef.

Astor Mediteranean, off rt 50 has pretty good falafal.

2300 N. Pershing Dr.

I think it's fine for lunch. They have the standard options, bento boxes, sushi or sashimi with small bowl of adequate miso soup and salad with gloppy orange dressing. It gets busy for lunch (though deadly quiet for dinner), but I have always been able to get a seat at the bar. Service tends to forget to refill your water, clear your plate, bring your check, etc.

Don, do you have any data that compiles page views/posts by month? It would be interesting to know what the numbers are compared to this month last year.

I would love to share, but I was told in no uncertain terms that my opinions were no longer welcome, so I will just keep them to myself.

That's a shame. I like your posts.

I can think of several reasons...

What are they?

I've been known to camp in coffee shops, certainly not all-day, but maybe for 3 hours or so while I was in graduate school. I often purchased drinks or food twice during a 3 hour stay. Is that enough to cover regular table turnover? I do understand the frustration of non-campers, and of management who may want to discourage it. But I've also noticed that, say, the fine folks at Murky Coffee or other shops I've been to did basically nothing to stop people from sitting there all day.

Except one place. When I lived in Amherst, MA, a new coffee/sandwich shop opened up that had a camper problem. The owner put up a rather poorly worded sign on the front door demanding that "students who come here to study for many hours" limit their computer time to 45 minutes. It was a reasonable request, just inelegantly worded to sound sarcastic and derisive. It got them a lot of angry regular customers.

Another place in town had the same issue, but they got a large group table next to electrical outlets and "kindly requested" their computer-using customers use that table during peak hours. Worked like a charm.

LET THE TOP CHEF OVERLOAD BEGIN!!!!

When I saw the previews of last night's episode, I thought Dale looked like a typical hot-head. Now, after the episode, I think he was totally justified to get up in Chiarello's grille (I'm sure some of you will disagree)...Why Chiarello felt the need to haze the Top Chefs, I'm not sure. It's like he thought they were new culinary students or something. I really liked Chiarello throughout this series, but last night he came off like a jackass. "What's my name?" Wow.

The Monday night happy-hour is a steal...in addition to 3 dollar drafts (Stone, Dale's, Dogfish, Bell's) all appetizers are half priced from 5-8pm. On Monday's it is not difficult to sit at the bar for a satisfying meal of appetizers and a few beers for $20. Yet I've been on various evenings over the last few months, and each time the bar area has been surprisingly dead.

I like the Savannah Wings ($9)...they are smoked and grilled with barbecue sauce, and a nice change-up from the fried buffalo style. The menu item listed as "risotto tater-tots" ($9) had me expecting something like miniature rice balls (like the lounge at Fyve), but that's not what came out. Instead, what came out was a pretty stack of golden fried balls which tasted half as good as they looked. They are made mostly of small potato chunks...the potato didn't taste fully cooked and was underseasoned. If risotto wasn't in the title, I probably wouldn't have known there was any rice at all. The fried calamari ($9) is a good dish to share. The portion was perfect for two, they were lightly fried and properly cooked. Marinara and tzatziki sauce round out this well-done standard appetizer.

Anita caught a break last night, thankfully. Store bought ice cream? Come on Art...this is Top Chef Masters!

Anyway, Steve said the concept would be more of a traditional coffeshop + bar serving light food that would be prepared at Liberty.

Great news! With Murky gone, Clarendon (or, at least this Clarendon resident) needs a traditional coffee shop in the neighborhood. I'm sure the fine group at Liberty Tavern will do it right.

I didn't watch the show tonight, but the outcome is not a surprise to me. Melissa has the Paula Dean-and-Sandra Lee-ish semi-tragic back story and the plucky, pretty mom next door quality that will appeal to their daytime/early weekend female viewers. Don't look for her in the evenings, when they broadcast their testosterone-fest competitions and junk food eating extravaganzas designed to appeal to male viewers.

Agreed. Thoough I think Melissa deserved to win and that she wanted it most. She seemed to treat every week like a job interview. I thought Jeffrey's concept was interesting, even if the name Alton gave it was horrible (the Ingredient Smuggler???). How about the name "Spice Trade" or something like that?

The Food Network sas a strong gender dynamic of women who do "spiced up home-cooking" and men who do "cheffy" things...Melissa and Jeffrey played right into those roles. Blarg.

Does anyone know CCC's hours?

Mon - Sat: 7:00 am - 8:00 pm; Sun: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm

Looks like Melissa is gonna take it. She has steadily improved and clearly wants to win more than the others. Food Network does not need another spunky mom who spices up weeknight meals...sigh. Michael was a fun competitor who could have had an interesting show...but once he said he hated being on camera, he had no chance after that.

I've tried and failed with at least 4 DR members. Not this week. Last. The week before.

A few days ago I tried multiple times to PM someone and it said the user was unable to receive PMs.

Huge and delicious blackberries from Westmoreland Berry Farm.

My recent experiences at EatBar have been more like Tripewriter's than Don's. The cheese plate has always been a favorite of mine, but the new regime has improved it, with more interesting cheeses and various accoutrements to choose from. I've enjoyed the Charred Octopus with Chickpeas and Sun-Dried Tomatoes ($7) several times...the octopus has great texture and a smokiness, and it's well balanced with the earthy chickpeas and tart tomatoes. It's the best dish I've had there since Nathan Anda was the chef (my first bite of braised pork belly...). The fries are good, but the house-made ketchup makes them better.

The draft beers though are not cold enough for my taste. I don't know why, they come out of the keg warmer than basically any other place I buy draft beer from. Last night I enjoyed the bottle of ice-cold Miller Lite ($3.75) more than the not-quite-cold-enough Bells Oberon ($6) from the tap.

After months of skipping EatBar, it's back in our rotation.

The challenges presented to the contestants seem like cruel hazing rituals, especially for people with little or no previous on-camera experience. No chance to rehearse--just go out and improvise and demonstrate a complete recipe in five minutes to a live and national television audience. Be clever, relaxed, self-confident and get it all done in the allotted time. On top of that, the food needs to be inventive, well-cooked and delicious, even if the stove doesn't work. They all end up looking pathetic, and nobody who cooks on t.v. has to do it under those conditions.

To me, that's the beauty of the show. Last night they threw in the added twist of working in teams...don't just present one dish in 5 minutes, try two! And share the camera with a competitor. This show is sheer genius. And what the contestants don't seem to understand is that, with the exception of Guy Fieri, their only chance at Food Network "stardom" is their face-time on "The Next Food Network Star."