Weekend Open Thread: What's On Your Mind?

Just a few observations this weekend as I'm taking a break before the big Thanksgiving jams/chutney push.

*I found a chicken in my freezer I'd forgotten about. I love it when that happens. Roast chicken for dinner this week.

* Ran up to Trader Joe's for the first time in weeks. Maybe I've been shopping at Fresh Market too long, but the prices seem significantly lower at TJ's these days. Maybe I've just noticed more of a price jump in my day-to-day items at Marsh, but considering the quality, prices seem comparable or lower at Trader Joe's these days. The grocery total was a pleasant surprise.

* Are a lot of restaurants along the 86th street corridor in trouble? It seems like many more than usual have banners flapping in the breeze advertising specials. It just looks like they're doing anything they can to get customers in the door. Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, but when a place starts plastering signage with lunch specials or new hours, it gives me the fear. (This goes double for fine dining restaurants -- banners advertising steak specials or lunch hours look desperate. Are they?)

Holiday menus, prices, openings, closings. What's on your mind this weekend?

New Hell's Kitchen Starts April 1

Yea! New season of Hell's Kitchen, my favorite guilty pleasure cooking show starts this Tuesday, April 1. I have a secret love for Gordon Ramsey. Sure, he throws up a lot and Fox never quite got into the obligatory naked shot of him changing into his chef's coat on Kitchen Nightmares, but we still get to hear him yelling. This season should be no different. Tuesday, April 1, 8:00 p.m. From Fox:

HELL’S KITCHEN is back open for business! The pressure is on, as this season’s prize is bigger and better than ever before. Chef Ramsay will pick one lucky contestant to become the Executive Chef for his new restaurant, The London West Hollywood. Gordon wastes no time as he immediately sends the contestants to the kitchen to prepare their signature dish. In the most shocking taste-test ever, Gordon gets physically sick from a contestant’s concoction leaving everyone speechless. During the first dinner service, emotions run high and one contestant goes missing.

Unlike Bravo, Fox isn't listing contestants in advance, or at least, I can't locate them. Sure, this coming Tuesday, I will be dining with a group of friends for one of the most decadent wine dinners I'll eat this year, but don't think while I'm drinking very expensive champagne and eating foie gras, I won't be thinking about the sweet, sweet Tivo and Ramsey barfing over a bad scallop.

Kitchen Nightmares Casts in Indy!

According to an ad in this week's InTake, producers of Gordon Ramsey's restaurant turnaround show, Kitchen Nightmares, are looking for local restaurants to consider. If you've seen the show -- either the original BBC or American version -- then you know what these establishments are getting into. On the other hand, I can think of a few local restaurants desperately in need of Ramsey's menu and management help. Most of the establishments Ramsey tackles are owner-operated independents in deep financial trouble with complicated menus, unmotivated staff, and sub-par food.

Are you a chef, restaurant owner, or manager and want to apply? Send contact information to kitchennightmares at theconlincompany.com or call 310-387-6775. If you email, they ask that you put "Indianapolis" in the subject line. Maybe we should collect candidates and send in our own nominations. So, dear readers, what restaurants do you think are most in need of a visit and some tough love from Chef Ramsey?

Fall Has Fallen...Upon Us

Even before coffee, I cleaned up yesterday at the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market. It seems like there's been quite a bit of news lately about high farmer's market prices, but the totals on the gorgeous fall fruit and veg looked in line to me -- and cheaper than comparable quality at, say, Sunflower or Wild Oats. (The worst price I paid was the usurious $2 Hubbard and Cravens charged for a small cup of coffee. Note to self: Stop at Starbuck's on the way.)

Otherwise, I enjoyed a morning of greeting old friends and new, choosing lovely zucchini, squash, peppers, and tomatoes. (It's almost roasted pepper season!) There were lots of fall vegatables as well as the last of the summer fruit. (I saw a few lovely raspberries and peaches and the last of the corn.) But with fall in the air, it's almost time to start stocking up on summer favorites that freeze well like Capriole goat cheese and Jaquie's pesto. (I love the O'Banon goat cheese wrapped in macerated chestnut leaves for easy entertaining. The fact that goat cheese freezes beautifully is important once you realize that they're impossible to find in the winter in stores.)

Enjoy it while it lasts. The final day for the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market is October 27.

Meridian on Meridian: If you haven't seen it lately, the new Meridian restaurant, formerly Dodd's Townhouse on Meridian at Westfield looks beautiful -- at least from the outside. Originally targeting September, I haven't heard an updated opening date, but I'm guessing they'll debut this fall. With Chef Dan Dunville at the helm, the food should be as lovely as the renovation.

The Earth Has Moved: Finally. What? I meant for the Fresh Market at 54th and College. Construction equipment is on site and prepping the lot (although I never seem to see any workers actually *there* and working.) Still no word on a scheduled opening date.

Ramsey Sautes His Own...Bits: Where I come from, calf fries are a popular treat, but I'm not really sure it was the human equivalent Chef Gordon Ramsey had in mind. Reports from British tab The Sun (via TMZ) say that Ramsey recently had an accident in kitchen. Involving a bad burn. In a sensitive area. Ouch. Specifics from TMZ.

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).

What I Learned about Gordon Ramsey in the New Yorker

Bill Buford, author of Heat, has a terrific profile of three-star English chef Gordon Ramsey in the April 2 issue of The New Yorker. While he gives the obligatory history of Ramsey coming up through the Renaissance of London food, he also dissects a bit of the famous temper Ramsey has become known for in the states. Calculated? Absolutely. Buford's real focus? The opening of Ramsey's first New York eatery at the London (nee Rihga Royal) in New York and his quest for those elusive Michelin stars on this side of the pond. What I learned?

His thoughts on his foray into American television with his Fox show "Hell's Kitchen": "I do television so I can do New York. Basically, I'm a prostitute. I prostitute myself so I can have a restaurant here. But I don't fully take off my knickers."

His thoughts on waiters with large tie knots: "You know what they say in Britain -- the bigger the knot, the smaller the cock. Young man, I'm sure your cock is very big. Will you do something about your knot, please?"

His famous temper tantrums: Yes, he really does throw them.

His chefs coats: He has them specially made in France with broad shoulders, tailored, tapered waists and the signature short sleeves.

His foray into an American version of his show Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares where he helps a failing restaurant analyze problems and turn their business around: During the first week he was sick during filming from something an LA restaurant served him. He later found a refrigerator with standing water and furry pesto. Later, at an Irish pub on Long Island, Ramsey found that American restaurant owners can be intractable. "I just couldn't get through. He really liked the tiramisu he got from Restaurant Depot."

And many other scandalous secrets like the real story behind the sacking of his now-infamous somellier Gregory Condes, his disappointing review in the NY Times, his feud with Marco White, and the truth behind who really stole the famous reservations book from Aubergine.