I Have a Culinary Boner

The Top Chef reunion show featured a shirt that Des will have to start wearing in the kitchen, courtesy of her fan favorite chef, Andrew the Spazz.

It was funny when Lisa mentioned that people were giving her dirty looks on the street. Probably nothing new, just the first she noticed it.

So there's going to be a teen top chef next. Not sure if I'll bother watching what happens for that. There's enough mac n' cheese and hot dogs in the grown-up version.

Says Des: "What are we going to do Wednesday nights now?"

Also, rumor has it that Top Chef 5 will be in New York. Hopefully rumor is wrong and Phila has a chance!

Off topic: Our tomatoes, by request.




Next time: I'll review Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, also by request.

"Don't take that squash away from me, and leave me with that broccoli..."

We grew broccoli! And we already harvested it! And ate it!


Here's the broccoli less than 2 weeks ago when we first noticed the head.


Watch it grow!






After we harvested it.



The final product - chicken and broccoli stir fry.

Bruno (we call him Broccoli sometimes)

We also have teeny tomatoes, strawberries, and bell peppers. Yum!

The last one

The Top Chef season finale was really kind of low key compared to previous seasons. No live cut in for the results. No reunion. Really not much hype throughout the episode, and the challenge itself just kind of slid by without much real drama. Maybe this had to do with the relatively minor personalities left standing, or maybe as I've hypothesized before, the show just isn't what it once was. (Kind of like this blog.)

Nowhere near the euphoria of Hung's great victory of last season.

Richard was putting on a clinic in mad-scientist cooking for the celebrity guest chefs, including Eric Ripert, who is opening a new restaurant, 10 Arts, in Center City Philadelphia.

But, he said it himself, he choked. No where near his best showing. I'm a little disappointed, but on the other hand, it could have went way worse.

"My menu is really going to reflect my personality." - Lisa. You would think that meant her menu would feature dogshit, armpit hair, and grease, but it really looked like she was going to win for a minute. I'm sure 96% of Top Chef viewers were ready to puke.

So Stephanie wins (Jess Sum's favorite) and at least saves the show from the indignity of having Lisa represent the pinnacle of Top Chef. Unfortunately, since they always bring back finalists in later season episodes, we probably haven't seen the last of her.

Letter to Tom at Top Chef

Dear Tom Colicchio,

Thanks a lot.

I was considering buying one of your cookbooks. But you obviously like your food greasy, so I'm not so sure that your recipes would be any good.

S & D

--

Despite our disdain toward Tom and the rest of the judges, at least they realize that Lisa sucks. From Tom's blog: "I think Lisa, along with a few chefs from past seasons (Dave Martin and Mike Midgley are two that come to mind,) benefited from a phenomenon I call the "lucky-dog-who-keeps-skating-by-effect," in which a chef of decent, but not stellar, skills gets lucky and doesn’t screw up at precisely the moment that one of their more gifted opponents does."