Western Foodservice Expo: Revved Up or Squished In?
Posted on August 31, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
When I arrived a this year’s Western Foodservice and Hospitality Expo, I asked the press people why it had been switched from Los Angeles to San Diego. The most cogent answer I got was, "We’ll see how it does."
When I walked through the doors, my first impression was, "Wow, this place is crowded," so I [...]
Todd English Joins Judges on ‘Top Chef’ Week 2, Season 6
Posted on August 26, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
On tonight’s new episode of Top Chef Las Vegas, notable chef/restaurant owner Todd English joins in on the fun, judging the Quickfire Challenge, for which the chefs must roll a pair of dice and then cook with as many ingredients as the number they rolled! And it’s a “Battle of the Sexes” for the Elimination [...]
Read More..>>Of Soju and Bourbon County Stout–Think East
Posted on August 25, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
It’s been a couple of weeks since the opening of Total Wine in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., where an Anheuser-Busch team of sales reps regaled me with stories of their favorite drinks–or at least favorite in the context of what we were discussing (Vodka and stout beers).
The young Korean woman rep recommended the rice-based drink Soju, [...]
Squeeze Inn Shakedown Dropped; Top Chef’testant Speaks
Posted on August 21, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
A couple of different topics bunched together here.
First, the good news: Sacramento’s quaint and legendary Squeeze Inn has been spared from the ADA bulldozers, as the shakedown artist suing the restaurant under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) has dropped her lawsuit.
The restaurant, of course, takes its name from the fact that it’s so damn [...]
Top Chef Master to Be Crowned Tonight
Posted on August 19, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
Next on the finale of Top Chef Masters,the three remaining chefs must cook a series of dishes based on their past and present careers as chefs. Judging their final face-off are Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons, and all five past winners of Top Chef. Who will most-impress these tough critics to win the grand prize of [...]
Read More..>>‘Top Chef’ Season Six Returns With Las Vegas as Setting
Posted on August 18, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
Top Chef season six debuts tomorrow night (Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009) on Bravo TV, filmed in Las Vegas. Here’s a sneak:
Read More..>>If Pink Had a Taste, This Would Be It: Pinky Vodka
Posted on August 15, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
After he disaster of the Celebrity Food Show this past Saturday, I had time to kill, and Total Wine in Tustin was nearby, so I thought I’d go look for some of that Bourbon County Stout that the Anheuser-Busch rep recommended (subject of my next posting). I did indeed find the stout, but I also [...]
Read More..>>Hung Throws Tantrum, Tek Falls in Love
Posted on August 14, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
Some notes on this week’s food episodes on TV:
On Top Chef Masters, which I ended up watching in its entirely despite my reservations, Hung threw one of his Oedipal-crazed tantrums. When I saw this on the trailer, I criticized the producer and director for letting it stand since it was so tasteless, but when I watched [...]
Top Chef Masters Whittled Down to Three Tonight
Posted on August 12, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
No, I don’t have advanced knowledge of who’s going to be eliminated on tonight’s Top Chef Masters, but I do know that the Quickfire Challenge is a Top Chef classic–the blindfolded taste test.
Also, I do know that poor Michael Chiarello gets as his so-called assistant the incredibly egotistical, throw-them-all-under-the-bus Hung, who throws at least one [...]
Celebrity Food Show in Anaheim a Rip-Off
Posted on August 9, 2009 - Filed Under Food News | Leave a Comment
You get a sense of dread, as in, "Uh, oh, rip-off," when you go to a food show and there’s no signage and no progam being handed out.
The fear was realized once inside when I saw about four rows of hawkers, and not all of them food-related. Other than a tea station, the hawkers were [...]
