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All Posts Tagged: ‘top chef’

NewsFeed

6/30/08

3:15 PM

Dave Martin of ‘Top Chef’ Is Banking on Mac and Chee$$$e

The mac daddy.Photo: Getty Images

When Steve Lewis interviewed Nikki Cascone of Top Chef, season four, she complained about having to cook macaroni and cheese at 24 Prince, though she admitted it paid the bills. One former cheftestant who’s just fine with serving the stuff, thank you very much? Dave Martin from season one. At an event for Self magazine, he told our reporter Sharon Clott than in six months he’s sold $35,000 worth of the $15 black-truffle macaroni and cheese at Crave on 42nd Street. “I actually had a conference call with Whole Foods last week, and they were talking about bringing it on their hot line or prepackaged menu,” he revealed. “I’m also talking to them about doing my sauces and roasted vinaigrette.” And people? He also might be on an upcoming episode of Sesame Street! Beats being stuck on the Top Chef cruise, no?

More: NewsFeed »24 prince, crave on 42nd, dave martin, mac and cheese, nikki cascone, top chef, whole foods

Foodievents

6/25/08

3:30 PM

‘Top Chef’ Classes All Set at the Astor Center

top chef classes

It's like the show — but more expensive!Photo courtesy The Astor Center

Forget the Top Chef truck. Likewise with the book, sudoku game, and all the other ubiquitous Top Chef paraphernalia. The Astor Center will be hosting a series of Culinary Institute of America–sponsored Top Chef classes with former cheftestants, including Sam Talbot, this year’s winner, Stefanie Izard, Casey Thompson (presumably not teaching knife skills), Dale Talde (presumably not teaching kitchen etiquette), and other show alumni. The first class, Thompson’s, is scheduled for July 7, and like all the classes, will cost $195. For that, you get a demo, a three-course menu, a cocktail, a book, and the chance to ask if Padma Lakshmi really does get baked all the time. The full press release, below.

More: Foodievents »astor center, casey thompson, dale levitski, dale talde, stephanie izard, top chef

NewsFeed

6/25/08

12:22 PM

‘Top Chef’ Contestants Headed to Williamsburg?

Break out the binoculars. Eater is reporting that Top Chef contestants will be housed in Williamsburg during this summer's shooting. The site speculates that it will maybe be at the “new condos around McCarren Park,” but nobody knows for sure. (As reality-show housing goes, though, it's definitely an upgrade over the downtown-Brooklyn digs the stars of The Real World: Brooklyn will inhabit.) Will the cheftestants outdo native hipsters with bad haircuts? We can't wait to find out, on what will surely be the best season of Top Chef ever.

Top Chef Rumormongering: Cheftestants to Be Housed in Williamsburg [Eater]
Related: This Fall, Seven Strangers Will Move to an Apartment Nicer Than Yours [Daily Intel]

More: NewsFeed »eater, top chef, williamsburg

Mediavore

6/24/08

10:00 AM

Top Wine Prices Not Dropping; Taste the ‘Frozen Popcornsicle’

• You’d think that prices for top bottles of wine are falling in this economy, but you’d be wrong. [Portfolio]

• Is Starbucks killing off independent coffeehouses in Harlem just like it has everywhere else? [Uptown Flavor]

• Finish an order of the incredibly spicy phaal curry at Brick Lane Curry House, and they’ll give you a free beer and a certificate to prove you ate it. [Serious Eats]

More: Mediavore »bed, brick lane curry house, green tea, harlem, popcorn, richard blais, starbucks, top chef, wine

Mediavore

6/20/08

10:00 AM

Cocktails Go Molecular; Hung Going to Bocuse d’Or?

• Oh, dear: “Molecular cocktails” — think watermelon foam on top of your Champagne — are the new trend at some of the city’s best bars. [amNY]

• With the reopening of the Cheyenne Diner in Red Hook, it looks like there will also be a Water Taxi Beach–like space there, as well as a beer garden. [Eater]

• Top Chef’s Hung Huynh wants a spot on team USA for the Bocuse d’Or. [YumSugar]
Related: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Bocuse d’Or Competition But Were Afraid to Ask

More: Mediavore »bocuse d'or, burger king, cheyenne diner, hung huynh, john delucie, pm, red hook, room service, stephanie izard, top chef, truffles, wagyu, water taxi beach, waverly inn

Mediavore

6/18/08

10:00 AM

Grayz to Become Straight-Up Restaurant; Fran Derby Lands at Solex

• Grayz will be closing on August 10 and reopening as a full-fledged restaurant. [NYS]

• Andrew Carmellini is officially out at A Voce, and Fran Derby, formerly of Tailor, is cooking at Solex. [NYT]
Related: Fran Derby, Sam Mason's Co-Chef, Leaves Tailor

• Top Chef's Stephanie Izard had to sit on the secret of her success for a good long time, but it was all worthwhile in the end. [Stamford Advocate]
Related: 'Top Chef' Winner Tells All

More: Mediavore »a voce, andrew carmellini, fire island, fran derby, grayz, hamptons, salad, salmonella, solex, stephanie izard, top chef, wine

NewsFeed

6/16/08

12:35 PM

‘Top Chef’ Coming to New York at Last

Top Chef is coming at last to the city where it was plainly meant to be: our own metropolis of New York City, reports Snack. That should just add to the frenzy of hype, speculation, and gossip that is Top Chef’s singular mood and music. Given how aggressive the bloggers were in Chicago (they scoped out the chefs with telescopic lenses), we can only imagine what will happen when New York’s blogging corps gets a beachhead. It's a good thing it's still many months away. This will call forth all our powers.

tvsnack: top chef season 5 [Snack]

More: NewsFeed »jennifer leuzzi, lee ann wong, snack, top chef

Mediavore

6/13/08

10:00 AM

A Walkout at the Boathouse, a Williamsburg ‘Bromance’

• Employees of the Central Park Boathouse staged a brief walkout yesterday when two of their colleagues were abruptly fired. As a result, management acquiesced and rehired the two workers. [NYP]

• Tim Zagat, who guest-judged for Top Chef's season finale, really liked Lisa's dishes, but he feels bad for Richard. [Zagat Buzz]

• Sean Rembold and Dave Gould, dual chefs de cuisine for Diner and Marlow & Sons, have a bit of a bromance going on. [Metromix]

More: Mediavore »central park boathouse, dave gould, diner, frank bruni, market table, marlow and sons, sam rembold, tim zagat, tony danza, top chef

Back of the House

6/12/08

5:35 PM

‘Top Chef’ Runner-up: “When I'm Cooking, I'm Happy”

We interview a chef who made it to the finals, but not to the top.

More: Back of the House »lisa fernandes, top chef

Back of the House

6/12/08

5:05 PM

Defeated Cheftestant: ‘That Night Was Crushing’

A Top Chef finalist relives last night's episode with us. Spoiler-filled interview below!

More: Back of the House »top chef

NewsFeed

6/12/08

2:30 PM

Former Top Chefs Nikki, Camille, and Ilan Bemoan Bloggers

Meet Nikki.Photo courtesy of Bravo

Want your post to be picked up by other food bloggers? Just ask a Top Chef what they think about food bloggers! Korin Miller points us to his interview in which Ilan Hall explains why he moved to L.A.: “New York is just competitive now. Professionally, it's not the healthiest of things for me. There are the bloggers and…with chefs — there's like a dissing contest. It's not a place I want to be.” And Steve Lewis continues his conversation with Nikki Cascone and Camille Becerra (neither of whom, for better or worse, are among the show alums teaching the Culinary Institute of America's $195 Top Chef cooking classes). Nikki tells Steve, “I definitely stay away from [blogs] now. When someone alerts me that my name’s in any of the blogs, unless it’s something that my publicist got me, intentionally, and I did it, then I don’t really get caught up in them. They get too personal for me.” Note to bloggers — Nikki does not want you talking about her dog: “It’s not up for discussion.”

Bravo! Sexy Top Chefs Bare All (Part Four) [Good Night Mr. Lewis]
Watch With Us: 'Top Chef' Season Finale [NYDN]

Read more interviews, recaps, comments, and lists in Grub Street's complete coverage of Top Chef.

More: NewsFeed »Camille Becerra, ilan hall, Nikki Cascone, top chef

Back of the House

6/12/08

1:05 PM

‘Top Chef’ Winner Tells All

We interview the latest winner! Giant photo spoiler after the jump.

More: Back of the House »top chef

Back of the House

6/12/08

7:48 AM

‘Top Chef’ Is Over, and Adam Platt Can Rest

richard, lisa, stephanie

Richard, Lisa, Stephanie: from frustration to anger to earnest effort.Photo courtesy Bravo

Last night's Top Chef finale involved a simple challenge: Take a platter of top-end proteins, a star chef as your assistant, and make a four-course meal to state your case for victory. Richard worked with Blue Hill's Dan Barber, Stephanie with Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert, and Lisa "the Gorgon" Fernandes with the Spotted Pig's April Bloomfield to make their big meal. There were no major catastrophes — no burned rice, no spoiled pork bellies — and in the end, as you might have predicted, Richard overreached, Lisa's food just wasn't good enough, and Stephanie won Top Chef. Afterward, profoundly relieved that the unthinkable didn't occur, we sat down for our last IM chat with Adam Platt.

More: Back of the House »adam platt, april bloomfield, dan barber, eric ripert, top chef

Back of the House

6/11/08

5:55 PM

Our Favorite Moments From a Very Special Season of ‘Top Chef’

We feel your pain, Dale!Photo courtesy Bravo

We can’t easily express how sorry we are to see Top Chef go. But at least we can say, as we look back at the most bizarrely enjoyable Top Chef season yet, that it’s had more than its share of memorable moments. Here are five of them that come to mind, as we head toward the twilight, in reverse order:

5. Padma Lakshmi, with the languid gravity that only she can summon, looking Erik in the face and asking, “Did you really think that was a successful corn dog?” The self-described "soul chef" had failed miserably to produce the simplest of crispy fried treats, presenting in its stead a sadly flaccid and soggy sample.
Episode recap: Adam Platt Pities ‘Top Chef’ Judges

More: Back of the House »bravo, lisa fernandes, padma lakshmi, tom colicchio, top chef

NewsFeed

6/11/08

1:35 PM

‘Top Chef Junior’ Bound, Inevitably, for Bravo

File this under Things That Had to Happen: Apparently, a lot of teenagers watch Top Chef, as according to Bravo, "season-to-date, [the show] ranks in the top 15 among kids/teens 2-17 in the Wed 10-11 p.m. time period … versus ad supported cable entertainment networks." With numbers like that, Bravo has decided to develop a Top Chef–for-teens series concept. Why not? If that doesn't work out, there's always Top Chefs Gone Wild, Ms. Top Chef, Top Chef Babies, and many more. The lesson, as always, is you can't have too many Top Chefs. The full release from Bravo, after the jump.

More: NewsFeed »bravo, top chef, top chef junior

Mediavore

6/11/08

10:00 AM

Empire State Tomatoes Safe; How ‘Top Chef’ Judging Works

• No salmonella here! All tomatoes grown in New York were deemed safe to eat by the State Department of Agriculture yesterday. [NY1]

• When it comes to fancy digital menus, Adour’s is the only one that isn’t completely wretched. [TONY]

• Top Chef judge Ted Allen says picking this season’s winner wasn’t easy and that he and the other judges used “numerical models” to evaluate the finalists. [Zagat Buzz]

More: Mediavore »adour, broadway east, cesare casella, david chang, food and wine classic, gray's papaya, james beard awards, kosher, lee gross, localvores, maremma, meat, padma lakshmi, ruth reichl, salmonella, ted allen, tom colicchio, tomatoes, top chef

NewsFeed

6/10/08

12:15 PM

Stephanie Isn't Top Chef Yet — Despite Wishful Thinking

top chef stephanie

Stephanie Izard keeps her eyes on the prize.Photo courtesy Bravo

Stephanie Izard is the favorite to win Top Chef, at least in some quarters. Today, the Chicago Sun-Times salutes its hometown heroine with ten reasons why Stephanie will win. Most of these, predictably, involve Chicagoland virtues (“You gotta love a chef who knows how to pair food with beer and throw a tailgate party”) or her not being Gorgon Lisa (“She has the best personality of the remaining contestants”). More wishful thinking appeared on Eater yesterday, when a tipster wrote in to note that Stephanie was eating with Daniel Boulud at Florent late Friday night. “Could this mean Stephanie might have won Top Chef?” the tipster asked. Let's not jump to conclusions, gang. We actually stumbled upon Stephanie and her boyfriend hanging around in front of the Spotted Pig that night; they weren't planning on socializing at Florent, but after a little persuasion, they were up for some spontaneous hobnobbing. So while she did nab a seat at the periphery of Boulud’s Last Supper, she's not waltzing around with a golden ticket to the inner circles of celebrity chef–dom, either. At least, not yet.

Our Top Chef [Chicago Sun-Times]
TC Sightings [Eater]

More: NewsFeed »daniel boulud, florent, stephanie izard, the spotted pig, top chef

Back of the House

6/ 9/08

5:00 PM

Tom Colicchio Punctures the Myth of the Faux-Hawk

Tom Colicchio talks hair and the lack of it.Photo: Patrick McMullan

New York’s Jada Yuan was at the James Beard Awards last night to check in with Bobby Flay, Drew Nieporent, Danny Meyer, David Chang, and the other gastro-luminaries who came to Lincoln Center, and she put together a culinary-world Party Lines slideshow that has a little something for everyone. But her interview with Tom Colicchio was so good that we thought it worthy of printing in its entirety.

After-party plans?
I'm going home. No, I'm going to Gramercy Tavern to congratulate the team there, and then I'm going home.

What happened to the Chang mobile?
You know, David asked me to go on the Chang mobile and it was too much for me.

What happens on the Chang bus?
I have no idea, and even if I did, I would be sworn to secrecy. Journalists are just not invited to the Chang mobile.

Is the Chang mobile a one-time thing, or does David always have a party bus?
I think it's this one night only. David does not have a permanent party bus as far as I know. But I go home when I'm done cooking. I'm not young like those guys. I can't do what they do anymore. I work, I go home.

Does a faux-hawk make you a better chef?
I don’t think it’s like a Samson thing, where your faux-hawk gives you strength. In fact, I don't think anyone who’s had a faux-hawk has won.

What about Hung?
I would not classify that as a faux-hawk.

So do shaved heads make you a better chef?
That’s just great. Men with shaved heads are always better. Just ask my wife. [To wife Lori Silverbush] Aren’t shaved heads great?
Silverbush: Much easier on the thighs.
Colicchio: [blushing and laughing hysterically] That was off the record!

Party Lines: The 2008 James Beard Awards

More: Back of the House »david chang, gramercy tavern, james beard awards, tom colicchio, top chef

NewsFeed

6/ 9/08

4:15 PM

Sam Talbot Is a Hamptons Guy Now

Sam Talbot sports his kitchen whites at the Surf
Lodge.Photo: Patrick McMullan

Top Chef’s Sam Talbot is now the Surf Lodge’s Sam Talbot, after his restaurant fed a Don Julio summer kickoff party at the Montauk hotel this weekend. In the kitchen he was banging out appetizers like roasted figs and pulled pork piled on cucumber slices and pretzel toast, but Talbot considers the crab seviche and the scallops to be the menu's hits. “I was never a Hamptons guy until now,” said the North Carolina transplant, who lives at the hotel and plans to start surfing. “I love it. I see the water and cook all day.” But it’s hard to shake that Top Chef shadow — or is it? “I’ve had a woman come up to me and say, ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry about last week,’” he said, recalling a recent night at Pastis. “And I said, ‘I don’t know you.’ And the woman said, ‘I know, we probably shouldn’t have made out last week.’ And I was like, ‘Ma’am, I don’t know who you are.’ And then she said, ‘No, no. Now you’re playing hard to get.’ And then all of a sudden she realized, ‘I don’t know who you are.’” Grub Street readers won’t be fooled so easily. —Maridel Reyes

Earlier: Sam Talbot to Head Montauk's Surf Lodge

More: NewsFeed »hamptons, montauk, sam talbot, surf lodge, top chef

NewsFeed

6/ 9/08

1:28 PM

Steve Lewis Calls Todd English a ‘Two-Bit, Lying Punk’

todd english and steve lewis

Steve Lewis (right) isn't the biggest fan of Todd English (left).Photo courtesy Off the Broiler

Steve Lewis talks to Nikki Cascone and Camille Becerra of Top Chef this week, and though they have some interesting things to say about typecasting and “sexy chefs” (Camille says she intentionally “tanked” her run for the top), the real jaw-dropper here is normally Über-diplomatic Uncle Steve on the subject of Todd English:

Todd was to open down on Kenmare Street; I’m not sure of the details on why it hasn’t opened or if it will, but I was supposed to design it. He was doing a restaurant upstairs and a club/lounge thing downstairs. Let’s just say I won’t talk to his lying ass again, and I’m not unhappy that he hasn’t gotten open down there.

More: NewsFeed »Camille Becerra, Nikki Cascone, steve lewis, todd english, top chef

NewsFeed

6/ 6/08

2:15 PM

Lisa ‘The Gorgon’ Fernandes Strikes Back at the Blogosphere

Lisa eats blog readers like you for breakfast.Photo courtesy Bravo

The Daily News’ Rachel Wharton dared the fates and sat down with Lisa “The Gorgon” Fernandes for an interview in today’s paper — and the results are predictably frightening. Wharton’s questioning starts off with a few softballs about fellow cheftestants Stephanie and Dale (the former is “an amazing person”; the latter is not a friend, but “we get along”). Then she gets to the heart of the matter: why everyone despises her with a white-hot passion. (Of the 40 comments on our Top Chef chat, the vast majority are screeds against her.) The Gorgon shrugs off all blog hostility: “Oh, no, I don't read the blogs — you couldn't pay me to read the blogs. I don't want to know what people who can't even afford to eat in my restaurant, let alone know how to cook, have to say about me,” she says, feeding the fires of loathing. Lisa's gift for inflaming the dislike of blog readers is almost preternatural; only she would think to claim that no one who reads blogs can afford to eat at Mai House, a not especially expensive Asian restaurant well within the range of people who use computers. The result was predictable: The outrage on the Daily News comments board is even more vitriolic than on ours (and, in some cases, simply hateful). But then, our readers only experience the Gorgon's hostility when it's directed at other chefs.

Lisa Fernandes is last New Yorker standing on Top Chef [NYDN]
Related: ‘Top Chef’ Tease Fills Adam Platt With Rancor
Grub Street's Complete Coverage of 'Top Chef'

More: NewsFeed »lisa fernandes, new york daily news, rachel wharton, top chef

Mediavore

6/ 6/08

10:00 AM

Boulud Makes the A-list; Blue Hill’s New Slaughterhouse

• Daniel Boulud won the Bravo A-list restaurant award for Bar Boulud, beating out Joey Campanaro’s little owl. [NYP]

• Horror of horrors! Lisa from Top Chef is putting her peanut-butter mashed potatoes on the menu at Mai House. [NYDN]

• Oh, fast-food restaurants don’t make people fat? Thanks for clearing that one up. [Odd Numbers/Portfolio]

More: Mediavore »bar boulud, big apple barbecue block party, blue hill at stone barns, daniel boulud, drew nieporent, fast food, father's day, james beard awards, joey campanaro, lisa fernandes, mai house, the little owl, top chef

Back of the House

6/ 6/08

9:00 AM

Tom Colicchio Denies ‘Top Chef’ Conspiracy

Tom Colicchio, now a stone statue.Photo courtesy Bravo

Even Tom Colicchio seems to have had enough of Lisa “the Gorgon” Fernandes — or so we gather from his most recent Top Chef blog post, which went up late yesterday. Perhaps he read all the Grub Street commenters who have rebelled at the show and believe the fix is in to keep Lisa present until the bitter end. “It seems that the theory-that-just-won’t-die has surfaced yet again because of Lisa, who has enraged people with her defiant, arms-crossed Judges' Table scowl,” Colicchio notes. The Gorgon just got lucky most weeks, says the chef, but even he can’t believe she made it over Dale: “It really did seem like Lisa should have been sent home over Dale. I wrote this in my blog not to sell my fellow judges up the river, but rather to empathize with viewers who are left to wonder, How did that happen?” That Colicchio appears to have retained his human form and has not turned to stone makes us wonder if he really examined Lisa's performance closely.

Tom's Blog: Isle of Enchantment [Bravo]

Read Grub Street's complete coverage of Top Chef.

More: Back of the House »lisa fernandes, tom colicchio, top chef

Back of the House

6/ 5/08

5:30 PM

Vanquished Cheftestant Blames a Distraction

Antonia's technical precision couldn't save her in
the end.Photo: Courtesy of Bravo

Part one of this season’s Top Chef finale saw the four remaining cheftestants packing their bags for Puerto Rico, where they faced the challenge of butchering an entire pig and making hors d’oeuvre out of it. The task took its toll on Lisa and Antonia, who faced the judges' table for elimination. The latter was sent home for her plating decision and undercooked peas. New York’s Michael Alan Connelly spoke to her today about what held her back in this final competition and why she wept at the dinner table the next night.

More: Back of the House »antonia lofaso, top chef

Back of the House

6/ 5/08

9:00 AM

‘Top Chef’ Tease Fills Adam Platt With Rancor

top chef judges

Two Toms and "a Greek goddess drenched in antifreeze."Photo courtesy Bravo

A shock of Hindenburg-like proportions struck at 10:55 last night when, just as we were preparing to see the last of Lisa "The Gorgon" Fernandes, the Top Chef judges veered from what seemed to be an inevitable verdict and kicked Antonia out instead. The episode, which involved cooking a pork-based banquet for a Puerto Rican garden party, was handled pretty well by all four cheftestants, but Lisa's food was clearly the least popular, and her ousting seemed imminent. We stumbled toward the computer, where an equally appalled Adam Platt waited.

More: Back of the House »gail simmons, lisa fernandes, padma lakshmi, tom colicchio, top chef

NewsFeed

6/ 4/08

4:15 PM

Unsuspecting Viewers Steamrolled by ‘Top Chef’ Truck

The Bravo blitzkrieg begins.Photo courtesy Bravo

Top Chef has no desire to relent in its national assault just because the season is almost over. Bravo is sending a Top Chef truck out on the road to visit twenty American cities. (The truck will be in New York on June 20 — we'll meet you there.) What will be in this truck? So far, Bravo promises only “cooking demonstrations, gourmet tips, and show secrets.” The secrets are apparently so well kept that no cheftestants have signed on yet.

Top Chef: The Tour [Bravo]

More: NewsFeed »bravo, top chef

Beef

5/30/08

10:30 AM

‘Top Chef’ Guest Judge Denies All Relations With Frozen Scallops

Rick Tramonto never even met that scallop.Photo courtesy Bravp

Over in the Second City, the fallout from Wednesday's Top Chef Scallopgate continues. Guest judge Rick Tramonto is defending himself from the charge of serving frozen scallops in his high-end Chicago steakhouse, Tramonto's Steak & Seafood. Over on the Chicago Tribune's food blog, the Stew, Tramonto is fulminating that there were no improper relations between his restaurant and those waterlogged, tasteless frozen scallops that got Spike tossed off the show. “Their team purchased all the food and put it in the coolers,” he tells the Trib, perhaps a little too hastily. “They put those in the mix to see…who would use them or not.” Ah, so it's Bravo's fault then! Actually, this assertion is backed up by Tom Colicchio's blog, over at Bravo.

More: Beef »rick tramonto, seafood, tom colicchio, top chef

Mediavore

5/30/08

10:00 AM

Get Your $95 Beer in Brooklyn; Molecular Gastronomy Becoming More Expensive?

• The Modern’s wine list now has prices in euros, as well as dollars, but they don’t accept the foreign currency…yet. [Dr. Vino]

• Brooklyn’s Beer Table sells seventeen-ounce bottles of a rare Italian beer for $95 a pop. [NYDN]

• Fast-food chains around the country don’t need to worry about protecting their cash registers from burglars, since it’s the fryer grease they’re after these days. [NYT]

More: Mediavore »beer table, bravo, brooklyn pig fest, rick tramanto, san domenico, the modern, top chef

Back of the House

5/29/08

6:35 PM

Banished Cheftestant Should Have Kept His Hat On

spike mendelsohn

The hats really were lucky.Photo courtesy of Bravo

Last night’s Top Chef determined which four cheftestants would make the journey to Puerto Rico for a two-part season finale. New Yorker Spike Mendelsohn took off his hat for once and, in spite of a Quickfire win, was sent home for his failed frozen scallops. New York’s Michael Alan Connelly spoke with Spike today about his “controversial” dismissal and why Richard is the contestant to beat.

More: Back of the House »spike mendelsohn, top chef

Back of the House

5/29/08

9:00 AM

Adam Platt Predicts a Dull Future for ‘Top Chef’

spike mendelsohn

Spike goes down for the dirt nap, at long last.Photo courtesy Bravo

Last night's episode of Top Chef finally rid us of Spike Mendelsohn, who went down for the sin of making frozen scallops in a steakhouse Elimination Challenge. Ironically, Spike had won the Quickfire Challenge earlier in the show, butchering and cooking an untrimmed rib steak to the satisfaction of a Chicago steakhouse chef. Once he picked out the frozen scallops, though, his demise was as inexorable as the Gorgon's gaze, and the show lacked drama as a result. We and Adam Platt considered the results afterward via IM.

More: Back of the House »adam platt, lisa fernandes, spike mendelsohn, tom colicchio, top chef

Mediavore

5/27/08

10:00 AM

$2K Tables in the Hamptons; Ex-Cons to Serve You Booze Soon?

• Tables at clubs in the Hamptons are now going for $2,000 each. [Down by the Hipster]

• Food writer Andrea Strong may not like some of the restaurants in her new neighborhood, but she sure does like her new apartment. [NYT]
Related: Andrea Strong Hates Her Neighborhood Bistro

• Kenny Shopsin’s cookbook, which will contain recipes for Blisters on My Sisters and Ho Cakes, will be published in September. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

More: Mediavore »bottle service, dale talde, hamptons, kenny shopsin, new york restaurant association, the next food network star, top chef

In the Magazine

5/27/08

9:30 AM

Platt on Bar Milano; Learn to Pair Spanish Wines

Bar Milano -- not quite three stars.Photo: Zach Desart

In the magazine this week, Adam Platt stops in at Bar Milano, finding the Lupa spinoff worthy of two stars and some measured prose. In “Openings,” Rob and Robin introduce a Bosnian restaurant (Kafana), a new Korean restaurant from a Momofuku alumnus (Persimmon), and even an American restaurant (Sheridan Square) from a chef who's been out of the picture for a while. The chefs of three of the city's best Spanish restaurants pair three of the best 2007 Spanish wines with just the right dishes. And do a few words from Tom Colicchio mean Top Chef will go global? Find out in New York.

More: In the Magazine »adam platt, florent, florent morellet, kafana, persimmon, rob patronite, robin raisfeld, sheridan square, tom colicchio, top chef

Mediavore

5/23/08

10:00 AM

Sam Talbot Finally Has a Menu Ready; Cosmo’s Popularity Not Fading

• Former Top Chef contestant Sam Talbot has put together his menu for the Surf Club in Montauk, and it includes his lobster rolls as well as fish sticks for $22. [Gridskipper]

• Celebrities own a variety of mostly bad restaurants and clubs. [amNY]

• In case you hadn’t already heard, there’s this pizza place called Artichoke and it’s really popular. [Villager]
Related: Passion For Pizza

More: Mediavore »artichoke pizza, barbeque, frozen yogurt, le bernardin, sam talbot,