Top Chef New York: Starts Tonight!

Sorry for the late notice, possums (with apologies to Amuse Biatch) but don't forget to watch the Bravo premier of Top Chef New York tonight at 10:00 p.m. Just a quick look at the contestant bios shows an even more accomplished crop of chefs than last season. The vast majority have heavy-hitting culinary degrees (although one is a 21-year-old CIA student) and nearly all are executive chefs, chef owners or chef de cuisines. Most are from the east coast with two from Boulder, one from Chicago, one from SF (Absinthe!), one from Nashville, and a smattering from southern California and south Florida. So turn on those ovens and get ready. This season should be hot. (Or at least, interesting when the chick from Nashville catches her hair on fire.)

Monday Morning Duke's Mixture

*The next season of Top Chef is currently filming in New York and spoilers are leaking about the Thanksgiving episode featuring the Foo Fighters. Top Chef needs to fight more foo. [Amuse-Biatch]

*Michael Symon posts on his Share our Strength dinner freaturing some of the best women chefs from around the US. It's worth a read just for the menu alone. Roasted bone marrow, anyone? [Symon Says]

* Hey, all, I have an extra copy of Brian Julyan's Sales and Service for the Wine Professional if you need it for the somm exam. Call or email me.

*Scotty's now carried gluten free beer, New Grist, brewed from sorghum and rice from Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery.

Weekend Update

First week in July is a slow restaurant week, but here are a few updates to hold you over:

Brothers Bar and Grill: Cory at IBJ's Property Lines has updated renderings of what Brothers Bar and Grill will look like when it opens in Broad Ripple later this fall.

Top Chef Steph: My pal, Joe Gray over at the Stew (from the Chicago Trib) reports that Chicago chef and recent Top Chef winner is blogging now so fans can keep up at Top Chef Steph.

What To Eat? Grub Street offers some fish alternatives in case you're giving salmon a rest during the Wild Salmon shortage. Halibut is great but will only be in season for a few more months. They suggest arctic char, as well.

Favorite Internet Meal Ever: OK, so I'm a sucker for a great fried chicken sandwich, and this on from What Geeks Eat one looks great. Not to mention the amazing slaw -- on the sandwich. Want.

Top Chef Finale Tonight!

Hey, kids, don't forget tonight is the night we find out who will be the new Top Chef! (Bravo, 10:00 p.m.) Will it be uber-excellent calm-in-the-kitchen Richard Blaise or everybody's new favorite Chicago home town girl Stephanie? Or will angry Lisa pull a surprise upset? Stephanie will chat live with Joe Gray at The Tribune tomorrow win or lose.

What's your prediction?

Top Chef Goodies

**Ted Allen says he's back from Puerto Rico where they've just filmed the finale for the current season of Top Chef. That's one way to keep the winner under wraps. The Chicago Trib's food blog, The Stew, reports that the episode where the final four chefs will compete airs June 4. Finale airs June 11. (Updated with clarification from the fine folks at The Stew.)

**Metromix pops in to the New York open auditions for Top Chef this week to give us a sample of future chef-testants (I love the guy who has auditioned for everything including Hell's Kitchen twice.) Some good caliber chefs coming through and this is just a small sample.

**Rumors are swirling about next season's location. It is supposed to be in New York, but a few folks are speculating it might be Toronto if NYC proves too expensive or presents production problems. Mmmm. Au Pied au Cochon! Poutine! Foie gras in a can!

Top Chef's Zoi Dishes at Bilerico

Hey, kids, Zoi maybe have been gone a few weeks from Top Chef, but she's talking now, although she's all sweetness and light -- not the bitch she was on the show. She shows amazing restraint and doesn't dish on Spike, what she really thought of some of the judges, or the finals (although she does talk about winning for Daniel Boulud.) Check it out at Bilerico.

Top Chef Season 5 -- Open Call!

Now's your chance! Want to show the world you can cook? Want to impress everyone on national television? Convinced you can kick ass? Open auditions for the next season of Top Chef started today and continue through May 26. (From Bravo via Grub Street)

NEW YORK – April 21, 2008 – As previously announced, Bravo's Emmy-nominated hit creative competition series "Top Chef" will be returning for a fifth season. Open calls for chefs interested in competing in the high-stakes culinary competition series will be held in cities across the country starting this week. Additional casting information for these series is available at www.BravoTV.com/casting. "Top Chef" Casting Calls are as follows:

SAN FRANCISCO
Monday, April 21, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Postrio Restaurant

LAS VEGAS
Sunday, May 4, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Craftsteak – MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

NEW YORK – UPSTATE
Saturday, May 10, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
The Culinary Institute of America 1946 Campus Dr., Hyde Park, NY

NEW YORK – MANHATTAN
Sunday, May 11, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
The Culinary Institute of America399 Lafayette St. (at East 4th
street)

LOS ANGELES
Monday, May 26, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Cicada Restaurant

Top Chef Chicago Begins Tonight!

Hey, everybody! Monday was nuts (in more ways than one) and yesterday I took the day off to work the polls. (I *so* know which local blogger and frequent commenter on this blog didn't vote!) So, unable to report my last, best meal as Jimmy John's, I offer you a reminder about television tonight! Top Chef Chicago premiers on Bravo tonight at 10 p.m.! There are a few new Bravo blogs this year (although the must-reads are still from the judges and a few snarky faves like Amuse Biatch.)

Top Chef, Broad Ripple, and Blogs

Whither El Morrocco? I'll check it out this week, but Traci Cumbay at the Star reports El Morrocco's phones are disconnected and the restaurant has been dark. A few months ago, they announced a format change to "small plates" and we heard they did away with the floor seating. Anyone know more?

Top Chef Cheftestants Announced: For those of you who aren't Bravo TV junkies (between Project Runway and Millionaire Matchmaker, how can you not be?), Top Chef Chicago starts in just a couple of weeks! The cheftestant bios are online. Here's what we know so far: 7 are from NYC including the chef de cuisine at Mai House (a Bouchon and Le Cirque alum), the chef/owner of 24 Prince, the sous chef from Public, the Lareado native who's exec chef at Dos Caminos (also a Babbo and Le Cirque alum), and the sous chef at Buddakan (also a Vong alum). From San Francisco, there's the chef at Myth Cafe, and the exec chef at Circa (wearing muy gold chains with a dress shirt), and the exec chef at COCO500, along with a club/restaurant consultant. From LA, there's the exec chef from Foxtail. From Chicago, there's a personal chef (hey, Casey did a great job in the last Top Chef) and the chef/owner from Scylla.

Updated Blog List: Just a little light housekeeping, but I've cleaned up a the Indiana blog list and added a few new food blogs. Seems like lots of folks had New Year's resolutions this year to write more about what they're cooking and eating. So, check out Susan Gillie's Indieats.com and a newcomer, Middle West Meals. Welcome to the food blog world! Need help keeping up with all the new blogs on your list? Try a reader or aggregator that will pick up syndicated feeds and bring new posts to you. I use Bloglines -- web-based, simple, and free, but Yahoo, Google and many more have great readers.

Trouble Brewing in Broad Ripple? Rumbles from Broad Ripple are that there may be a fight brewing over approval of Brother's Bar and Grill, slated to begin construction in the trophy shop building across from La Jolla this spring. While the small, mid-western chain is known for expensive renovations and large restaurant spaces, opponents believe another college beer isn't the best idea for the neighborhood. Possibly most alarming is the lack of necessary parking. Some say we should be ready for $10-15 parking on evenings and weekends. Neighborhood restaurant owners are reportedly unhappy and for good reason. Look for more to come this spring as the approval process progresses.

Top Chef, Noodles, and Art!

Brian Says Good-bye on Top Chef: Oh, Brian, is it really true that chefs don't view trout as seafood? I'm sure we'll hear more on the success of the braising in the Thursday blogs, but it was clearly time to say "so long" to San Diego Oceanaire chef Brian Malarkey. Next week look for the Top Chef finale face off between Dale, Casey, and Hung.

So long, Nothing But Noodles: Cory reports all locations, including the popular one by the IUPUI campus, seem closed. Makes you wonder what went wrong, especially since that location by campus is very crowded all the time and everything in there seems to be working (even the nasty Chinese buffet.)

More Progress at Meridian: Finishing touches seem to be in the works at Meridian (nee Dodd's Townhouse with renovations) to be helmed by Chef Dan Dunville (nee Ruth's Chris, nee Dunaway's, nee Broad Ripple Steakhouse.) No website yet, menu preview, or word from Dunville.

Art for the Sake of Food! I recently spent a lovely morning with Chef Neal Brown hiking around Indianapolis with a camera in the rain. We were looking at art. From iMOCA to the Love sculpture, Chef Brown is creating an entire wine dinner based on contemporary art. Look for more details in the next week, but put Oct 29 on your calendar for a mulit-course art feast at L'explorateur! (Dinner will benefit iMOCA.)

Top Chef Final Four

The Final Four is set for the Top Chef Finale. And against all odds, locally trained ched Brian Malarkey is in. Malarkey, executive chef of The Oceanaire in San Diego, trained at our local outpost under chef Ryan Nelson. I shouldn't say "against all odds" since the four chefs still in the competition are there due to talent and hard work. This year's field was tougher than ever with some of the best young chefs in the US eliminated in early rounds. As far as reality shows go, this one has been an educational and fun ride. (The less intellectual and more midrift baring Survivor China premiers tonight.)

Final episode with the last four choosing the winner air October 3.

Top Chef, Chicago, and a few Updates

Report on Grant Achatz: Via Michael Ruhlman:

"I was able to have breakfast with Grant Achatz on Saturday and was delighted to see him looking strong and fit. You’d scarcely know he was battling anything at all, let alone going through chemo to treat squamous carcinoma of the mouth. He was at ease, confident and determined. As he always is. And he ate one of Nookie’s enormous omelets. Best news of all: doctors say treatment is exceeding expectations."

Top Chef Sightings: Oh, so sad to see Tre go. I've long loved Abacus in Dallas. However local-connection Brian Malarky, Ryan Nelson's counterpart at The Oceanaire in San Diego is still doing well in the competition. But where are they now? Bourdain reports that Tre is trailing with some major restaurants in NYC as he well deserves to be. This professional and creative chef will land somewhere great. Also, Ted Allen reports Dale is currently working at Sola on N. Lincoln in Ravenswood (Chicago) where chef Carol Wollack is reportedly doing a great job with the food.

Where is Gail? Loads of fans are asking where Gail Simmons has been on the show in the past few episodes. On her blog, she reports the show was filmed in April and she was slammed at Food and Wine magazine with the Best New Chefs awards as well as planning for the F/W Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. (Aspen is one of the premier food events in the use with experts, fans, wine makers, chefs, and foodies from across the country eating, drinking, learning, schmoozing, and partying for a week.)

One Year for Foie Gras Ban: And as long as we're touting Chicago, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the city's ban on foie gras. NPR reports only one restaurant has been cited and the health department (under whose enforcement this falls) has openly stated they have better things to do. It's readily available at many restaurants if you just know who -- and how to ask. And at least one local chef has likened the ban to prohibition calling these restaurants that serve the underground delicacy "duck-easies". Twenty Three Skiddoo!

What's in Your Saraga Basket?

Well, possums, (to quote Amuse-Biatch), I've just finished my meat odyssey and while I'm sure the finished product won't be nearly as impressive as it feels like it should be, it's still a relief! I feel like I've finally gotten my culinary life back! Who knew that seeing, eating, and writing about steak, chops, and pork would take that little extra part of my brain that makes me actually have creative and amusing things to blog. So, fresh from the grocery for some inspiration -- and loaded with Chinese Dieter's green tea, recommended for all manner of purging by one well-known local chef -- I'm ready to eat and cook and enjoy again! (For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry. Come October, I'll give you a heads up.)

Saraga International Grocery, I'm happy to see, is hopping with life! There were times I was concerned as shelves seemed to empty and produce looked grim, but they've adapted, changed a few of their products, and voila! A thriving and well-stocked international market! Great produce including monster papaya, mangos, and watermelons right now, plus a new separate counter for halel goat, lamb, and beef. (The butcher had an entire lamb on his counter while I was there. He kept pointing it out. I think he thought I'd be grossed out by it. Little did he know I'd probably seen it slaughtered.)

They've added a few more American frozen foods and dairy products and there's an expanded beer/wine section. (They have Zipang Sparkling Sake but it's pretty dear at $6.99 for 12-ounce bottle.) And best of all, at 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday, the market was teeming with customers of every ethnicity, a pleasant sight to see in Indianapolis.

What's in my Saraga basket?

*Thai eggplant (the mystery vegetable that cost CJ the quickfire on last week's Top Chef. He's clearly never had the green curry at Sawasdee.)
*Galangal root

*Thai lime leaves (more diplomatically named than "Kaffir" lime leaves, "kaffir" being an ethnic slur in many parts of the world.)

*5 limes

*2 cans coconut milk
*1 can bamboo shoots (sensing a theme here? Maybe see a green curry in my future?)

*fresh cut pineapple

*baby carrots

*chocolate gallettas (better looking than the simply named Chinese confection "Big Gluten Ball")

*3 Ballerina brand Chinese green dieter's tea.

A Little Top Chef Reading

Don't forget your list of Top Chef Blogs. (Top Chef airs on Bravo, Weds nights at 10:00 p.m.) It's easy to add these to your reader (I use Bloglines) so updates automatically appear. New posts usually pop up the Thursday morning after a new episode. Note that semi-local chef Brian Malarkey (exec chef of The Oceanaire in San Diego who trained here under Ryan Nelson) is still hanging in there, this week on the winning team with a shrimp tartare.

Thom Collichio's blog -- Thom usually gives insight in some of the judges decisions. But, he's currently opening a restaurant so not blogging as much.

Gail Simmons' blog -- Gail is a food critic for a living so don't expect her to always paint a rosy picture. She's honest -- sometimes brutally so -- and gives us her take on an episode whether she judged or not. Usually interesting reading, especially with regards to some of their decisions.

Ted Allen's blog -- While I wasn't so impressed with Ted Allen on Queer Eye, he's shown he knows his stuff as he judges on Top Chef. Filling in for Gail as she's been gone, Ted has stepped up from cheesy food fluff guy to able judge. He's criticisms are often spot on and he understands the dynamics of competition and how it influences the cheftestants' decisions. (Here he actually updates viewers on lobster and how the judges unfairly dressed down Brian Malarkey for using a high cholesterol seafood. Of course, Brian didn't know any better and didn't correct them either.)

And everyone's favorite snark-o-rama, Amuse Biatch: While lately, they've been overly focused on Faux-Micah who grew up in Massachusetts, not South Africa (hard to wonder how she escaped meatloaf that whole time) and Lady Rushdie's divorce (apparently it's all about Salmon, Salmon, Salmon), they are a great source of amusement when it comes to spotting the chefs in real life. Plus, they do a killer recap. (Amuse Biatch goes down in my book as best name for a food blog *ever*.)

There are more blogs for Top Chef (from past contestants like Sam, Carlos, Marcel, Harold, and Lee Ann Wong) if you're that big a junky.

And if you're looking for more information on the Chaine des Rotisseurs, the international fine dining society featured in last night's episode, you can find out more through the Indianapolis chapter. It's an active and fun bunch of wine and food connoisseurs (plus they get to wear those cool sashes and chains.)

PS: I'm not watching Food Network Star, but Tony Bourdain is.

Tiny Bits

Wow -- the week has flown by! I truly didn't intend to go postless. In the meantime, here are a couple of open questions:

Lunch at L'Explorateur: A poster asks if Neal Brown's Broad Ripple place is still open for lunch since the menu is apparently missing from the website. (I was supposed to have a lunch their myself but cancelled.) I'd tend to blame a web error more than lunch closings, but who knows? Lunches are typically loss leaders for most high end restaurants but there a great, less-expensive way to try someplace high end before you commit to dinner. But who knows? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Cabo Mexican: I meant to get down there myself this week but haven't yet. Early reports are that Cabo on East at Ohio (I think) is going to be OK. We sure can use an edible Mexican place downtown even if it's just casual.

Top Chef Indiana Connection: If you didn't watch the premier of this season's Top Chef on Bravo last week, you're missing out! The level of cooking is much higher this season than the past partly (as Tom Collichio says) because they actually recruited great young chefs to join them. Look for the exec sous chefs from Guy Savoy (in LV) and Jean Georges (NYC) as well as the the exec chef from Abacus (in Dallas) and even The Oceanaire (in San Diego). Brian Malarkey from the San Diego Oceanaire Seafood Room trained with Chef Ryan Nelson right here at our location so he's almost a home town boy. He was also *almost* was eliminated this week. We'll see if he can do better.

Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen and All New Cheftestants

It's the time of year again, the time of summer fill-in shows and news seasons of some of our favorite chef shows like Top Chef! Here's a run down:

Hell's Kitchen: This cheesy Gordon Ramsey show opens it's third season with even more improbably inexperienced cheftestants. Ramsey yells (in best Marco Pierre White fashion), contestants cry, and girls all talk about how hot he is. And that was all in the first episode. Even more funny, diners in LA continue to pack this crazy restaurant in the hopes that they'll actually be served a meal. And I still love it! (I'm a big Gordon Ramsey fan.) Look for the American version of his BBC restaurant turnaround show, Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares to premier later this year. Hell's Kitchen airs Mondays, 9:00 p.m. on Fox.


Top Chef All-Stars: Tonight, on Bravo, we'll see the top four contestants from the last two season of Top Chef go head to head in some sort of challenge. Will Marcel have changed his hair? Will Harold still be an ass? Tune in tonight on Bravo at 10:00 p.m. to find out.

Top Chef Season Three: And next week, look for the season opener of Bravo's hugely popular Top Chef where 15 cheftestants who actually seem to have some modicum of skill (a few of them anyway) will compete in Miami to impress judges Tom Colicchio (of Craft in NYC), Gail Simmons (Food and Wine) and new this year, Ted Allen, late of Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. (Is Queer Eye even still on?) All weirdly guest hosted by Padma Lakshmi (aka Mrs. Salmon Rushdie.) Show premiers next Wednesday on Bravo at 10:00 p.m. Don't miss Colicchio and Simmons' blogs with dishy behind the scenes info.

Full list of Cheftestants for Top Chef Season 3 (from Reality TV).

All Top Chef All the Time

We're a few episodes into season 2 of Bravo's Top Chef, and if you haven't gotten started yet, you still have time! While Bravo airs new episodes every Weds night at 10:00 p.m., they also have been airing previous episodes marathon style lately giving some of us a chance to catch up. The show takes 15 talented, young chefs and puts them through a series of challenges and elminations judged by chef and educator Tom Colicchio (Craft), Food and Wine's Gail Simmons, and various guest judges such as Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger), Michael Midgely, and even Anthony Bourdain. Chefs go from working in teams early on to creating full multi-course tasting menus later in the show.

If you need to schedule your viewing, you can celebrate Thanksgiving with a full marathon of the first six episodes starting Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

If you're already a fan, you can keep up with behind the scenes comments (especially on some of the recent goings-on on the show) with blogs from several folks involved with the show including judges Colicchio, Simmons and last season's winner and executive chef of the soon-to-open Perilla in New York, Harold Dieterle.

Tom Colicchio's Blog
Gail Simmon's Blog
More Top Chef Blogs