Top Chef New York

[Sarah]

I think FinGerSwiss is sweet.  Sure, he's pig-headed and arrogant, but he's also good-humored and sort of doofy. 

I was pretty pissed off at Hosea when he said he thought FGS would try to sabotage his team.  I hope he had the decency to feel ashamed when he learned that it was mainly because of FGS's desserts that the Sunset Lounge won.

[timmx]

I was pretty pissed off at Hosea when he said he thought FGS would try to sabotage his team.  I hope he had the decency to feel ashamed when he learned that it was mainly because of FGS's desserts that the Sunset Lounge won.

I agree it was a stupid thing to say, although picking that terrible name for their restaurant was a bit of unintentional sabotage.

[Sarah]

I took that as evidence of his doofiness. 

[erika]

That new judge is as worthless as I thought he was going to be. I never thought I'd miss Gail.

[timmx]

That new judge is as worthless as I thought he was going to be. I never thought I'd miss Gail.

I agree. Every review he does contains some labored movie reference, that fails to communicate anything worthwhile about the dish.

The labored references makes me feel like I'm doing hard labor in a prison camp and I'm going to be sick after the big egg eating contest that all prison labor camps have like that movie, "Jackass: The Movie."

[Sarah]

Or like that show Monk.

[franks.]

I started fastforwarding whenever Toby Young opens his mouth. He makes me cringe.

[samir]

That Superbowl theme was so incredibly laboured, it made my head spin.

...Spin all the way to the endzone.

[Sarah]

Yeah, it's why I haven't mustered the gumption to say anything about the show.

BUT:  I'm glad Stefan wasn't kicked off; I wish Fabio had been dumped instead of Jeff; I'm happy Carla got at least one win.

In conclusion:  Quaker Oats?

[erika]

Bunky beds! Bunky beds!

And yeah: oatmeal?

[Kim Kelly]

Bullshit! Fabio overcooked his meat. This is the jerk who said why use vegetables when you can have meat, and he doesn't respecta the meata? Ugh.

I'm going to do a one-two Top Chef punch thing. I'm going to eat off the tapas portion of the menu at Dildo Beach Club on Saturday, and I'm going for tapas at Michelle Bernstein's new-ish restaurant Sra. Martinez. Jeff's restaurant isn't that expensive. I'm actually really excited by the tapas menu:

Spiced Fries chili garlic aioli, fresh herbs, sea salt $5/$9

Falafel and Hummus cucumber raita $6/$10

Seared Haloumi Cheese pear jam, fennel, hazelnuts $6/$13

Fried Oysters and Chorizo chick pea batter, saffron, spinach $9/$15

Barbecued Moroccan Riblettes chilies and cilantro $7/$14

Trio of Ceviche and Melon shaved artichoke, melon ice $10/$16

Mussels with Garlic Flat Bread citrus, tomato and thyme $11/16

Pistachio Fried Goat Cheese green tomato chutney aged balsamic $8/$14

Not bad, not bad for a Ritz-Carlton alfresco restaurant.

I've held off at eating at Sra. Martinez since it opened last month. I really love Michy's. It's a great special occasion restaurant, and her sweetbreads truly are incredible. Who would have thought eating thyroid gland could be such a pleasurable experience? I understand she also does a sweetbreads dish at this new place, and I'm interested in seeing how it compares. I'm not so happy with how fucking expensive this place is. I don't want to spend over $100 on a meal for two at a fucking tapas restaurant. Come on. Get real. But I'll do it just this once. We'll see.

[franks.]

Sweetbreads are a little bit like a chicken nugget. I did not expect that until I had one. They're yummy.

I like Hosea less and less as the show goes on. Calling Miguel "Chunk"? That was shitty. Hosea has no idea what he's putting on the teevee. Cheating on his girlfriend. Making fun of people's weight. Someone needs to tell Hosea he's a candidate for Mr. Awesome.

[Sarah]

Hosea believes he's "an honest, caring, and good person."*  Most people I've met who say this kind of thing about themselves are scarily blind to their own flaws and eager to judge everyone else's, real or imagined.

*http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=burning_questions_2&article=2009/01/hosea_responds

[dave from knoxville]

Hosea believes he's "an honest, caring, and good person."*  Most people I've met who say this kind of thing about themselves are scarily blind to their own flaws and eager to judge everyone else's, real or imagined.

*http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=burning_questions_2&article=2009/01/hosea_responds

Hey, wait, I'M an honest, caring, and good pers.....DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL

[Sarah]

It's okay, Dave.  I bet you never thought you'd win a competition with a salad made with canned crabmeat.