Has Christmas come early for me? Oh, I think it has.
Of course, I have to root for local girl, Jamie Lauren, Executive Chef of Absinthe in San Francisco. Time will tell who will really win my heart but for now, I am back to finish the episode that I Tivoed and HOLY CRAP THEY ARE ABOUT TO ELIMINATE SOMEONE ON THE QUICKFIRE!
Dance for me Padma! Dance I say!
I invite you to mosey on over to my good friend Melia's blog, "The Sampler Platter" and read about her Top Five "crack-snacks" as she calls them. I call snacks like the ones she is referring to as "my kryptonite." They are the kind of snacks that are impossible to eat one of and once you have eaten the entire (fill in: bag/box/jug/gallon, here) you don't even feel guilty about it. I would give you a list of my own personal "crack-snacks" but I need to go get a wet-nap and clean all the "#1 snack" from Melia's list off of my keyboard first. Also, I need to go buy another bag of them.
...and where have you been all my life? I discovered these little gems at the grocery store the other day and had to have them. They are called Black Velvet Apricots, a cross between an apricot and a plum, and they are absolutely delightful. After I ate the first one I was trying to think of something creative I could do with the rest of them. This is what I came up with:
1. Eat the remaining three in the same sitting.
OR
2. Use the velvety skins to make myself a fabulous pair of pumps.
As I predicted here in review numero uno, my girl Stephanie is the first female ever to win top chef. I did get a little nervous when Gail Simmons nearly peed her pants over the creamy goodness of Lisa's coconut soup which admittedly, I probably would have drank through a straw, it looked so damn good. And I am always a softie for the person who comes in second. I am horrible to take to sports games: "That was fun, but I feel bad for the other team. Can't we all just win together?" But since life cannot be one giant round of The Ungame and even though I found myself getting verklempt right alongside sweet little "baby on the way" Richard Blaise, in the end there can only be one winner.
So I say thank you, Top Chef for a fun-filled season of braising, encrusting, poaching and of course, knife dancing. Oh, and also, I was right about Stephanie. I like that part too.
by Brittaney Meyer
(In honor of "Top Chef: Season 4 Finale, I sent one of my food critics, Brittaney Meyer, to Chicago to review a few local hot spots. Ok, not really. She was going there anyway and it just happened to work out this way. But I am just practicing for one day when I Love Tongs, Inc. takes over the nation much like locusts...or Rachel Ray.)
My husband and I were fortunate enough to find ourselves in Chicago for a few days during the first week of April. I spent the majority of my time observing oral arguments in an Illinois State courthouse (we were there for a law school competition) but I did have a few spare moments to enjoy some amazing food. Heather has been kind enough to post my novice-foodie thoughts here for you all to enjoy.
Forget pizza — go for burgers
I know, I know, Chicago deep dish, blah, blah, blah. I did try some and it was fantastic, but nothing compares to the place where we ate lunch on Friday. Boston Blackie's was reviewed online as the number three spot for lunch in Chicago. Well, numbers one and two must have slept with someone pretty darn important to have out-ranked this place.
Boston Blackie's is located underneath South Michigan Avenue (yes, underneath) on Grand. Once you walk down to Grand you will likely assume that you should head left toward the “downtowny”-looking portion of the street. You would be incorrect. Blackie's is located on a nondescript end of the road in a building that, at first glance, looks like it has burned down — that is until you realize that it is actually just painted matte black on purpose. The inside, however, is quite pleasant. The host was a man in his 60s dressed in a plaid sportcoat and tie. The waiting area was standing-room only and the burgers were HUGE.
If you don’t like burgers, chicken or fish sandwiches, don’t go to Boston Blackie's as this is all they serve. But what the menu lacks in variety, it makes up for in quality. The burgers were fantastic: cooked to order (mine was actually rare, which is, well...rare), juicy and flavorful. Ryan didn’t put anything on his except for the burger, cheese and grilled onions it came with. Again, fantastic. The price? We ordered six burgers, two baskets of onion rings, two pitchers of beer and a soda for $83.00. That included the tip. I could say more but I don’t have to — next time Southwest is offering $59 flights, go for yourself and try it.
Popcorn for the connoisseur
I have been known to go to a movie that I am less than thrilled about because of the popcorn. I am a layered-butter, lots-of-salt girl myself. I will skip lunch so that I can eat more — that is how much I love this stuff.
Lucky for me, Chicago is home to Garrett Popcorn. They have a lot of different flavors, but their most popular is “the mix." The mix consists of half cheese corn and half caramel corn. We had to wait in line for 10 minutes and everyone I heard order ahead of me ordered at least one bag of the mix. Needless to say, I had to try it. I was not disappointed; it was phenomenal. I probably gained five pounds by being near the stuff but it was worth it. You can order online — stop reading and start typing.
Impress your bedfellow, or just someone staying the night at your house, with the juice I had at Yolk
Yolk is a breakfast place with some really great food. However, their juice took the cake. Although simple, their recipe was highly effective: a glass of orange juice with strawberries blended in. I think they used a blender and then dropped a few chopped strawberries in for good measure. I wanted to save it so bad I ended up having half a glass left at the end that I downed in 1.5 seconds of pure morning pleasure. For serious.
I guess the short story is: go to Chicago. Bring a good pair of walking shoes and your fat pants and prepare to be amazed.
Let me begin with an explanation: the reason I failed to post any kind of review of the past five episodes is because if I had reviewed them at the time of airing, it would have taken everything in my power not to simply write a string of curses representing the frustration I feel because Lisa has somehow managed to sneak by Judges' Table over these past weeks.
Today's review is no exception to that, and in fact the only way I think I am managing to get through it in a polite and professional manner is the fact that before sitting down to the computer today, I had a lunch which consisted of four cosmopolitans and a Xanax. And quite literally during the ridiculously long pause while I waited to hear Padma say her famous line, I was rocking back and forth on the couch repeating, "Lisa, please pack your knives and go. Lisa, please pack your knives and go," hoping that maybe my chants would somehow enter the TV, deflect off of Tom Colicchio's bald head and straight into Padma's brain.
Since I don't have the time or the the energy, and because I am still recovering from having to say goodbye to Antonia, I have decided to review episodes nine through thirteen in Haiku form. Enjoy:
Episode 9:Wedding Wars
Speed challenge again
At stake, a bride's wedding day
Farewell to Nikki
Episode 10: Serve and Protect
The salmon rolls fail
Unpleasing to tongue and eyes
Like Padma's knife dance.
Episode 11: Restaurant Wars
Team Richard: success
Scary judge, Mr. Bourdain
Butterscotch scallops???
Episode 12: High Steaks
You get it? "High Steaks?"
Like a play on the word "stakes"
So clever, Top Chef
Episode 13: Finale PT 1
Upset at judges
Mad mad mad mad mad mad mad
Lisa can suck it
I pretty much cook for one purpose: to share it with others. Of course the added bonus is that food is freaking awesome, but really it's mostly so I can share share that goodness with my friends. Even when it's just Grant, who I cook for almost every night, I still get so much satisfaction knowing that my meal made him happy.
This has made me realize that although cooking is my favorite thing to do when I come home each day, I really despise cooking for just myself. First, when it is Grant and me, I can totally get myself out of the clean-up. I mean, I cooked right? That doesn't work when you are alone. Second, I like to see the happy and satisfied faces sitting around my table while they enjoy my food. When it is just me, there is no one to look at but myself. I mean, I have tried eating in front of the mirror and having a dialogue with myself but it inevitably goes something like this:
Real me: Do you like it?
Mirror me: Oh yeah. This is so good. Is there fresh mint in this?
Real me: Yeah there is. I really thought it would complement the lamb. I'm glad you like them.
Mirror me: Boy, do I ever.
Real me: Thanks.
Mirror me: Sure thing. Hey, you should really do something with our hair. Also that shirt you're wearing makes us look like you ate about 40 of those lamb meatballs.
Real me: Huh?
Mirror me: I'm just saying.
