US News Talks to Top Chefs About Healthy Eating

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Life After Top Chef Episode 3 Previews

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A Visit to Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery

You may remember Kate the Chef's Quickfire Rampage from earlier in the year. This time, she shares with us her experience at Spike Mendelsohn's DC restaurant, Good Stuff Eatery. And she does it as a brand new member of the All Top Chef team! She'll be posting as Basil of Love - please help us welcome her to our fold.
OK now, do you agree: if I make the rule, I have the power to break the rule? Not only I agree with myself on this, I strongly support, and even enforce this simple rule in my own routine living.

Don’t confuse this with a general lack of scruples. I am just a great believer in reinforcing exceptions that allow for additional joyful experiences that otherwise will be lost to the rule. After all, those obeying all the rules miss all the fun, right?

So, rule number 1: to not eat beef. I've been slowly cutting pig and cow out of my diet, for a variety of reasons from personal health to environmental sustainability, but occasionally, I choose to enjoy either of the meats. I just make sure that it is a worthy experience.

Rule number 2: to not eat at places that serve wedge salads. I just made that rule last night, and have already gone against it. Oh well, let it be my very own Behind the Looking Glass experience. I am pretty sure you'll understand my reasons, so I am completely unapologetic.

The confession: I went to Good Stuff eatery. Chef Spike's burger place on Capitol Hill. I just couldn't help it, I had to do it, if not out of love for a burger, than for pure, naked and blunt curiosity. And because I happened to pass by it on the way from The Sweet Lobby (where I took the rest of their caneles, madeleines and macarons, and, gracious kindness of Mistress Winnette, two delectable cupcakes for my editor). [a special note to Ms Ambrose, the goddess behind the SL: you are beautiful, you are amazing, you make this world a better place!]

Anyway, Good Stuff was bustling busy, the smack of lunch rush, but it was worth the madness and the wait. While you wait to order, you can read your very own little paper menu to make all the right choices and pass time.

While you wait for your food, you can get a whole battery of mayos to dip your fries in or pour on your food. I got me some sriracha mayo and cursed my modesty - one table spoon-worth is delish, but I could have had a cup.

I made my pick relatively fast – the Blazin’ Barn looked like a perfect combination for me, with pickled daikon and carrots, basil and mint, topped with spicy mayo, and – I couldn’t resist – Spike’s village fries, heaping with thyme, rosemary and sea-salt. The guy, packing my food, winked at the site of my camera: “Hey toots, I want five dollars! Honestly, though, you’re smart, everyone thinks chef Spike is a guy in a fedora, but in reality – it’s me!”

Sweet man. I wanted to feed the illusion and ask him to get me a shake – I was trying my best to be disciplined and only gone for one of the two indulgences, the fires, as opposed to a shake. But let me tell you this:  Spike’s venue is not the one to watch your girlish figure, and once you’ve stood in line for fifteen minutes watching other people sipping these thick shakes, you know that err on the cautionary side is no option here. Shake it, baby, I mean it. And I will do what I mean next time I am there (and yes, there will be a next time, Spike, word!)

Now, despite some decent seating on the second floor, Good Stuff is a smaller place, so be prepared to have nowhere to land once your food is assembled.

I dealt with it in the way that might not be the most expected, but
turned out to be most pleasant, weather and time considered. I grabbed my bag and my mayo (and napkins, for you will surely need them), and trotted down toward the Capitol. That beautiful oak tree, off the left walk way, makes a perfect picnic spot.

So, there I was, sitting on the grass, leaning against the tree, savoring every bit of sunshine and food, feeling overwhelmed with happiness.

My unsolicited honest opinion? The cow could have used more salt, and, perhaps, there was even salt to take along, but with my poor attention to detail, I might have easily overlooked it. Regardless, with great appreciation, my hip-hip hooray to the Good Stuff and its crew.

PS I shoulda had that shake… 

--Basil of Love

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Top Chef Kitchens

Ever want to know where Top Cheftestants cook when they're at home? The Washington Post has a feature on three local chefs who all happened to compete on Top Chef: Spike Mendelsohn, Mike Isabella, and Bryan Voltaggio.

Highlights:
Mike Isabella on renovating a kitchen: "Get a good oven because it’s the heart and soul of your kitchen. And don’t worry about getting an oven with a bunch of special features. If you know how to cook, all you need is an on-and-off switch. Besides a good oven, a double sink. You don't want dirty dishes sitting out in the open. It looks messy."

Bryan Voltaggio's favorite kitchen toys: "a Vitamix blender (an investment he highly recommends), a Delonghi espresso machine (a gift from his brother), a Breville toaster oven and, the most recent addition, an Acrobaleno pasta extruder (an extremely fancy pasta maker)."

Click on the names in the first paragraph to read more.

Photo credit: Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

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TC News and Information 9.26.11

Given the heavy advertising, if you haven’t heard that The Chew, featuring Top Chef’s Carla Hall, premieres today in the All My Children timeslot on ABC, you’re probably living under a rock. We’re happy to let our readers follow whatever shows they choose (or “chews” not). If you’re interested in more about how Carla got this gig (her first audition didn’t go very well, but she got a second chance after being voted Fan Favorite on Top Chef: All Stars), you can find linkage here The New York Times places the show in a larger context of food-watching and daytime TV demographics here. Grub Street is not thrilled with what they saw during rehearsal. Feel free to share your reactions in our comments.

If you’ve been following Top Chef since Season 1 (before the Fan Fave award was conceived of), you might be happy to know Lee Anne Wong will appear on Iron Chef battling IC newcomer Marc Forgione October 23.

Food Network has also announced the contestants for its upcoming Next Iron Chef competition, dubbed “Super Chefs,” debuting October 30. You’ll find some TC familiar faces, including Marcus Samuelsson (winner of TC: Masters 2), the inimitable Spike Mendolsohn (TC Season 4), TC: Masters contestants Elizabeth Falkner and Michael Chiarello, Chopped judges and other FN hosts. Reality Blurred reports that in a format change, the new season will pit the two chefs at the bottom of the pack against each other in a sudden-death cook-off with only one ingredient. Hmmm, kind of like the upcoming Top Chef: Texas where the first eliminees from the starting 29 contenders get a chance to battle back to be on the on-air finale?

Rick Bayless won the first season of TC: Masters, and he’s continued doing what he does, with dedication to Mexican food and building his Chicago-based restaurant empire ever since. But here is something completely different. Eater reports Bayless will play a chef in 1940s Mexico – and provide appetizers and a three-course meal – for a March 2012 production with Chicago’s Looking Glass Theater that sounds like a whole new spin on dinner theater.

Meanwhile, Michael Voltaggio's much anticipated "Ink." has opened. Reservations are hard to come by, but KevinEats apparently scored one. Check out his report (and excellent photos) here.

And Tiffany Derry's Private Social is now open, with a lotta help from her TC friends.


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TC News and Information 7.18.11

Congratulations to Top Chef for garnering four Emmy nominations (“Outstanding Reality-Competition Program,” “Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming,” “Outstanding Directing for Non-Fiction Programming” and “Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming”)! No Reservations, the Travel Channel show starring frequent TC judge Anthony Bourdain, also received four nominations (“Outstanding Nonfiction Series,” “Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming,” “Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming” and “Outstanding Cinamatography for Nonfiction Programming”).

In case you missed it, here’s a 30-minute video of Bourdain answering the top 10 questions posed by viewers on Reddit.

Want to meet Fabio Viviani? Bertolli olive oil is sponsoring a contest where the winner will win a trip for two to LA for cooking lessons with the maestro.

Ruth Reichl confirms here that Top Chef Masters 4 is in the works.

Jen Carroll, Spike Mendelsohn, Kevin Sbraga, Dale Talde, Carla Hall and Stephen Asprinio were among the Top Chef alums who showed up for an “oven-warming” party at All-Stars finalist Mike Isabella’s newly opened Graffiato. Check out pics and more on Eater.

A couple of interesting pieces about TC Masters 3 finalist Traci des Jardins here and here. She is also blogging for the new Huffington Post San Francisco edition. Here inaugural post here.

And Harold Dieterle, Fabio Viviani and Richard Blais will each take over the kitchen at Wisconsin’s Lake of the Torches Resort Casino selected Thursdays in August.

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TC News and Information 4.20.11

All-Star contestant Spike Mendelsohn will be back on the small screen in October, competing on the next "Next Iron Chef." And he'll be going up against TC Masters 2 winner Marcus Samuelsson and two-time TC Masters contestant Michael Chiarello. Odds, anyone? Grub Street has the full cast lineup.

Not to be outdone, All-Star Fan Favorite Carla Hall will be joining the "The Chew," a daytime talk show devoted to "food from EVERY angle," says the press release. Carla will be part of a "rotating cast" of hosts that includes former Iron Chef Mario Batali, current Iron Chef Michael Symon, "entertaining expert" Clinton Kelly (TLC's "What Not to Wear"), and "nutrition expert" Daphne Oz (who apparently is related to Dr. Oz, also of daytime talk show fame). Eater is all over this story, with the full press release, news of the ire it has inspired in fans of "All My Children" (the daytime soap that will go off the air in September to make room for "The Chew"), Mario Batali's response to the soap backlash, and best of all, a photoshopped image of The View, er, Chew's foodie cast.

Season 4 TC winner Stephanie Izard keeps racking up so many awards it's almost hard to keep track of them. She somehow managed to find time in her crazy schedule to write a blog post about the thrill of being named one of Food + Wine's 10 Best New Chefs of 2011, and it's a a sweet and funny read.

All-Star winner Richard Blais is everywhere these days too. Check out this piece from Yumsugar, where he says he's opening "several restaurants in the Southeast" and confirms he will be part of this year's Top Chef Tour.

The TC Tour got underway last week in St. Louis, and Bravo's website is continuing to add and change details as plans firm up. Click here for the latest and to see if they'll be stopping near you. Season 6's Hector Santiago (who talks about the Tour here) competed against Season 4's Nikki Cascone at the St. Louis stop, which current Masters contestant Celina Tio judged, according to her facebook page.

For an even more impressive Top Chef Midwestern meal (sadly for the rest of us, not part of the Tour), check out this post from blogger Big Shamu at The Karmic Kitchen, who was fortunate enough to taste a six-course meal prepared by Carla Hall and Antonio LoFaso in Kansas City, appropriately dubbed "Girl Power."

In light of the events of last week's Top Chef Masters, here's an interesting piece the LA Times that ran just before that episode aired. Of John Rivera Sedlar (who disappeared from Episode 2 with little fanfare - hence, the return of Hugh Acheson), the LAT says: "As will be seen in an upcoming episode, Sedlar was opening his new restaurant, Playa, at the start of the five-week Top Chef Masters shoot. 'I had everybody working double-time,' Sedlar said. When he saw how the restaurant's marketing campaign was unfolding without his guidance, 'my blood was starting to boil' but he couldn't leave the show to deal with it. That's when he considered fleeing to France." The article also says that Mary Sue Milliken, "clearly a bit more unflappable, decided to leave her restaurants in [business partner and former TCM contestant Susan] Feniger's hands and even moved into the Top Chef Masters contestants' hotel for much of the production, hence her description of it as the 'evil vacation.'" Future episode reveals? A sequesterville hotel? Hmm.

A tip of the hat to my co-blogger here, Minx, who has deduced that this season of Top Chef Masters will conclude June 15, when Rocco DiSpirito's "Dinner Party" prepares to take over the coveted Wednesday night timeslot on Bravo.

And finally, are you as charmed by Suvir Saran as I am? Love his dry wit. Here's a cute piece - and cuter photo - of him. He doesn't seem to be doing a lot of appearances, but if you're near Silicon Valley, you can catch him at the Dining Out for Life fundraiser April 28-29.


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TC News and Information 3.8.11: Timing Is Everything Edition

The All-Stars Reunion Show was taped in NYC Friday, and much interwebular speculation has ensued over what the seating chart might reveal as to who the winner is. I'm inclined to agree with Eater, which offers a photo and compares the seating chart to reunions of seasons past. Photos that appear to have been shot during a break in taping were shared by Tom, Padma, Casey, and Marcel, and probably others, so methinks there's nothing too spoilerific going on here. But feel free to take a gander and make up your own mind.

While they were in town, auf'd All-Star Angelo Sosa had the gang over to his soon-to-open restaurant, Social Eatz, and received some plugs from his co-stars.

Meanwhile, another contingent of Top Cheftestants gathered for the Charleston BB&T Food + Wine Festival. Tiffany Derry had been scheduled to emcee a cook-off among six TC'ers, but she, Carla Hall, and Casey Thompson had to cancel when the All-Stars reunion taping was scheduled for the same day (as we passed along back in Feb). Marissa Churchill, Brian Malarkey, Ryan Scott, Ariane Duarte, and Kevin Gillespie were in attendance, and Season 1's Dave Martin took first place in the Giddy Goat Cheese cook-off. Food pics and commentary from the Charleston City Paper here (guess who wore a hat). And replacement emcee Kenny Gilbert's blogs about the event here.

Stephanie Izard, who will be cooking head-to-head with both Richard Blais and Antonia Lofaso in this week's installment of the All-Stars finale, will also be opening The Little Goat, a mere footsteps away from her Girl & The Goat in the fall. Time Out Chicago reports it will be a "diner/bar/bakery." She tells Eater Chicago it will feature such fare as "an awesome club sandwich with homemade bacon and our own roasted turkey, tasty malt milkshakes ... we'll poach our own tuna for a tuna melt . . . We're not doing a foie gras burger, but we will obviously have a goat burger. It'll be like old school diner favorites without making them all gastro foofy."

In other expansion news, Spike Mendelsohn tells Feast he plans to franchise his Good Stuff Eatery in this video interview from SOBE. And his sister and spokesperson says he plans to launch a deli-style Kosher food truck in April according to this item.

As for this week's All-Stars episode, there's been a lot of speculation that because five contestants were allowed to move forward last week, a double elimination is in store this week. I'm not so sure. As we reported previously, TV Guide mentioned in its Feb. 9 article that a four-part All-Stars finale is in store (yep, the same piece with the photo of Padma in a bikini). We know there's a reunion episode and that the All-Stars Season will be wrapped up before Top Chef Masters premieres April 6 - at 11:00/10:00c per the TCM facebook page. Which means it's likely that either the reunion show or the last installment of the finale is slated for the usual 10:00/9:00c timeslot on April 6. I've read variously that the finale and the reveal of Fan Favorite will be March 30, although these are usually on two separate dates. I, for one, would be happy to have Fan Fave announced during the reunion show rather than on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens. So, kids, what do you think? Are they messing with our heads on the schedule? Have they just not figured it out yet? Or is there a crazier plan afoot?

TC News and Information 3.2.11

Whatever happens on tonight's All-Stars episode, Top Chef Masters 3 is the next series on the TC horizon, and this news from EW.com has me looking forward to it - at least for the second episode, when Mad Men's Christina Hendricks and her husband will appear in a 1960s-themed challenge.

Will TCM 3 recycle prior contestants as it did in Season 2? We don't know. But Masters contestant and pop-up restaurant legend Ludo Lefebvre and his wife (who was a contestant on The Apprentice) have a new show slated to premiere on the Sundance Channel in mid-July, doing pop-up restaurants across the U.S., in such places as Marfa, TX, and Mobile, AL, according to the LA Times' SquidInk.

In other TC pop-up news, last week's ousted All-Star Dale Talde executed his "Bodega Pop-Up" Saturday for a projected 36 diners. He tells Feast about the menu in this interview, and you can find some great photos from the folks he partnered with here.

We're going to skip over the SOBE news for now, where Spike Mendelsohn did NOT win the Burger Bash again but is ubiquitously mentioned as wearing a hamburger costume.

Instead, we're rather more interested in the Voltaggio brothers recent Smoke 'n' Fire BBQ road trip across the midwest. In case you're not on twitter or wondered what it was about, The Feast explains it all here for you Don't miss the slide show.

Ousted All-Star Jamie Lauren may not have come across on All-Stars as having her head in the game this season, but it sounds like she does at her new restaurant Beechwood, according to the LA Times.

And in case you missed these tidbits we featured on the AllTopChef Facebook page (yes, we sometimes break news and link to other stuff over there), a few more items, with extra linkage:

Season 6's Eli Kirshtein (whose Bravo blogs about TC All-Stars I've found articulate and insightful) is featured in a new Marvel Spiderman comic - who knew? Here's NPR's coverage. If I could choose my own super-hero power, I'd definitely want it to be food-related :)

More of Carla Hall's modeling photos here.

And in case you couldn't stay up late enough for Fabio's live chat Monday night, here's a transcript.

Hang on for tonight's All-Stars episode, where we see who exits and who goes on to the supposed 4-part finale (?). Then come back tomorrow and commiserate, exuberate, or sound off as you see fit.

Bravo Exit Interview - Spike Mendelsohn

All Top Chef Interview with Spike Mendelsohn

Top Chef All Stars competitor, Spike Mendelsohn talks about his experience on the Bravo Show.

Click here for the podcast.

Spike has written a cookbook and plans to open several new restaurants.

Click here to learn more about Good Stuff Eatery, and click here for We The Pizza.

Thank you Chef Spike!

ATC Love to Chef Spike Mendelsohn

Team challenges are always the dodgy obstacles of early elimination rounds, and even the best chefs can be tripped up by the group dynamic. That appears to have been the problem for Spike Mendelsohn, whose tomato tamarind soup, olive oil poached shrimp, pineapple, tomatoes, and dill was judged to be the worst dish of the Elimination Challenge. The downfall of the dish could have been the overcooked shrimp, which was clearly on Spike, or it could have been the components added by his teammates at the last second before serving. Either way, Spike had to take responsibility for the dish and its shortcomings.


Each elimination in this All-Star competition seems particularly sad since we are seeing many of the brightest stars from the previous seven seasons. It's difficult to see any of them go, but go they must, so we bid a regretful farewell to Spike. Of course, with a successful restaurant business and a cookbook in the bookstores, we certainly have not heard the last from this talented chef.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Spike. If you  have anything negative to say about him or his competition, please do so here.

TC News and Information 12.20.10

Spike Mendelsohn was out playing Santa last week, for his favorite charity and MasterCard, and blogger HowChow caught up with him for an interview that reveals he's looking to expand his restaurant empire further, and shares some behind-the-scenes Top Chef dish, including the fact that often dishes get cold during filming, but apparently that is not a factor in the judging.

Did you catch the two-part pilot Friday night of Richard Blais's new show, "Blais Off," on the Science Channel? Professor Blais learns from old-school restaurants, then fashions his own spin on their favorite dishes with his modern techniques, letting customers vote for their favorite in this "Throwdown"-style program that is also a vehicle for him to explain in detail about so-called molecular gastronomy. You can read more about it here, here and here.

Meanwhile, Fabio Viviani was in Houston recently filming cooking demonstrations for his new iPhone/iPad app for Bertolli. You can find interviews with him here, where he talks about being a private chef for William Shatner, and here, where he takes about whatever became of that Bravo show he was supposed to star in.

Dale Levitski may have been eliminated during last week's All-Stars episode, but he maintains a sense of humor about it. He's reworked the veal dish that got him auf'd, this time with peanut, corn, honey and celery and is offering it at his Chicago restaurant, Sprout.

Here's a sweet interview with Top Chef: Just Desserts' winner Yigit Pura, and All-Star Tiffani Faison gets a great write-up about what she's doing at Boston's Rocca here.

Finally, Bravo may have a new food show in the works. Stay tuned.

Meet the All Stars - Spike Mendelsohn

Spike is back without his sidekick Andrew D'Ambrosi, but he's still got his hat. Spike's cooking (and smooth-talking) pushed him all the way to the final five of his season.

Spike is the chef and owner of the popular Capitol Hill award-winning burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery, which opened in 2008 and has been frequented by the First Family on several occasions. In the summer of 2010 he opened his second restaurant We, The Pizza right next door. He recently published his first cookbook, The Good Stuff Cookbook and is working on his second book. Before moving to Washington, D.C., Spike worked as the chef de cuisine at NYC hotspot restaurant, Mai House, which was named as one of The New York Times’ top ten best restaurants during his tenure. Growing up in St. Petersburg, FL, where his parents owned and operated a restaurant, Spike knew he wanted a career in the culinary world at an early age. He attended the Culinary Institute of America where he received the school’s highest award, The Francis Roth Leadership Award, upon graduation. He went on to train in classic French cuisine in restaurants around the world including Gerard Boyer at Les Crayeres, Thomas Keller at Bouchon, and The Maccioni Family at Le Cirque.

TC News and Information 11.15.10

In case you can't get enough of Richard Blais when he returns to Top Chef All-Stars, starting December 17 he will also have a new show on the Science Channel, Blaisin Out, in which he uses "ultra-modern tools and techniques to deconstruct and then re-engineer new-and-improved versions of America's most popular meals using technology and science."

Speaking of All-Stars, it's not too early to book a reservation at Jennifer Carroll's restaurant, 10 Arts, for the All-Stars premiere viewing party. She'll be serving a special tasting menu of her favorite winning dishes from her original season, the 6th. Hope she's saving her favorite dishes from her upcoming turn on the All-Star season for future viewing parties.

If you're looking for an update on returning Dale Levitski, with a soupcon of inside scoop on the All-Stars, you won't want to miss this great new interview. I'm a little disappointed to read that Anthony Bourdain, who was supposed to be a regular judge for the All-Stars, alternating with Gail Simmons, judged only twice . . . unless that means Dale L. only lasted through two of the episodes judged by Bourdain (in which case, I'm also a little disappointed).

A whole bunch of TC contestants will be appearing at the Seventh Annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, which runs November 17-21. Season 6's Eli Kirshtein and Season 7's Andrea Curto-Randazzo join returning All-Star Brian Malarkey on Friday night, while Season 7's Kenny Gilbert helps with the menu for Sunday’s Celebrity Chef Luncheon & Live Auction. More info here and here.

We know TC head judge Tom Colicchio likes his guitars, but this is interesting. On November 23 at NYC's Del Posto, he and a number of other music-lovin' chefs will participate in a "Music and Culinary Summit," for which the chefs will pair each course not only with wine but also with music. Eater.com calls it "the Traveling Wilburys of the kitchen" and you can find more info here.

In other musical news, Top Chef Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the recent Asphalt Chef Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway that raised more than $85,000 for charity. And if that wasn't enough, the cheftestants hopped up on stage to sing "Hot Blooded" with Foreigner singer Kelly Hansen, Love's sous chef, afterward. You can find video here.

Speaking of smackdowns, and charity events, returning All-Star Spike Mendolsohn made it to the top 2 but then lost out with his Thai-inspired beet salad at the recent Capitol Food Fight, which raised $500K for D.C.'s Central Kitchen. The event was hosted and judged by Tom Colicchio, Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert and Jose Andres. For more on the banter and ingredients, as well as photos, click here and here. You can also see video of the surprise cook-off where Tom Colicchio and Jose Andres took on Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert - and which team won by audience applause - here.

TC News and Information 11.9.10

Wow! Stephanie Izard, winner and Fan Favorite of Top Chef Season 4, has racked up some serious wins in the 2010 Eater Awards, including being voted Chef of the Year: National. Stephanie and her new restaurant, The Girl and the Goat, also pretty much swept the Chicago categories, taking Chef of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, and So Hot, Right Now awards for the Windy City.

But wait, there’s more. Top Chef Masters contestant Ludo Lefebvre won for Chef of the Year: Los Angeles (beating out TC Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio), as well as for Concept of the Year, for his LudoBites pop-up (which we offered you a glimpse of here). TC Masters Season 2 winner Marcus Samuelsson took the Fameball of the Year award (beating out TC Season 4’s Spike Mendelsohn). And judge Eric Ripert was voted Television Personality of the Year, in a category where four of the five nominees have Top Chef connections – the others: judge Anthony Bourdain, TC Masters contestant Susur Lee, and even TC Just Desserts contestant Seth Caro. Hey, Eater’s readers/voters may include an atypically high percentage of Top Chef fans, but you gotta love a contest with a sense of humor.

And if that’s not enough crazy for you, Bravo is said to be adding another cooking reality show to its line-up, featuring TC judge Rocco DiSpirito. Rocco attempts to explain how his Rocco’s Dinner Party won’t be just another TC spin-off here. Hmmm. Could be interesting to see what Rocco’s learned about making television since The Restaurant.

In other competition news, TC Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the Asphalt Challenge benefit at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. Apparently some trash talk was involved.

Video du Jour - Spike Mendelsohn on His New Restaurant

TC News & Information - Recipe Edition

Top Chef season 4 cheftestant Spike Mendelsohn was on The View recently preparing specialties from is Washington DC restaurant, Good Stuff Eatery, and his new cookbook. You can see the video here, and if you want the recipes for the Obama Burger, Michelle's Melt, and the Toasted Marshmallow Shake, click here.

Top Chef DC cheftestant Andrea Curto-Randazzo supplies us with a recipe for a delicious-sounding "Summer Peach & Aged Manchego Cheese Stuffed Pork Chop with Mushroom Ragout and Port Wine Reduction" here.

Season 5 finalist Stefan Richter puts bleu cheese on his pastrami sandwich. Not only that, he puts ketchup and mayo on it. What other scary non-traditional steps does he take? Check out his recipe here.

How about a somewhat more-traditional recipe: Bryan Voltaggio's Mom's Crab Cakes.

And doesn't this recipe from Stephanie Izard for bread pudding with fresh ricotta and apples sound yummy?

Top Chef Restaurant Experience - FLiP

You didn't think that self-appointed "giant Top Chef dork" Jordan Baker would go to Atlanta and not pay a visit to Richard Blais' burger joint, FLiP, did you?

I had a couple of reasons for wanting to go to FLiP Burger Boutique (or however it's capitalized) while we were in Atlanta. The first is, of course, because I'm a giant Top Chef dork. . . or, if you want to be more charitable about it, I've invested so much time in watching that goddamn show that I love getting the chance to actually eat food made/designed/what have you by the people whose cooking skills I've previously had to judge just from sight. It's the real frustration of the show, actually. You can pretty much tell if someone's clothes are well designed, if their hair styling skills are on par, or if their modelling is fierce just from visual cues. Food is a much trickier proposition to discuss if you don't have the chance to smell, touch, and taste it.

The second is because if you're going to be attending a wedding with an open bar later in the day, it's a good idea to lay down a nice layer of grease and salt to soak up the booze. And let's give FLiP credit where it's due -- I managed to put back three glasses of wine and a large-ish vodka and seltzer, and not be anywhere near as think as you drunk I am.

And the third is because. . . um, hello -- burgers. Shakes. Fries. I love them.

So to begin with, the space is beautiful. It's huge, and open, and everything is very crisp and white, but not in a way that feels creepy or sterile. There's a long, gorgeous bar along one wall, and a view into the kitchen area along the wall that's perpendicular to that. They've managed to work in a lot of seating without it feeling cramped (although that might change if they were at capacity), and seriously, they have some sort of magical Zen light bulbs or something. I felt very much at peace the entire time I was there.

We got there at around 2:30 or thereabouts on Friday afternoon, and had no problem getting a table. So we settled in and perused the menu, which is really extensive. It was one of those situations where you actually feel like you have too many choices, and there's no way you can possibly make a selection. Do I want a burger? A bacon cheeseburger? A $39 A-5 burger made with Kobe beef? Do I want a venison burger? A chorizo burger? AN OSSOBUCO BURGER???? And what about the shake? Krispy Kreme? Foie Gras? Nutella and Burnt Marshmallow?

Really, I wanted them all.

We came up with a game plan for sharing sides and so forth, and placed our order. First the shakes:

Clockwise from top left, we have the Turtle Shake, the Banana Pudding Shake, the Nutella and Burnt Marshmallow Shake, and the Coffee and Donut Shake.

I had the Coffee and Donut shake, and it was good. It had a very strong flavor of nutmeg and cinnamon, like one of the cinnamon powdered donuts at Dunkin' Donuts. There wasn't really a definite "coffee" flavor to it, though, more of a pervasive sense of. . .burny-ness? Not in a bad way, though, more like when you go to your grandpa's house and he offers you a cup of coffee, and then reheats it for you from the pot he made that morning that's been sitting around for awhile.

And I realize that's probably a lot of people's definition of burny "in a bad way," but you have to think of it in terms of sense memory. Yes, you're getting that burny, plethy taste of grandpa coffee, but it doesn't raise a "pleh, pleh! Burny!" reaction. Instead, it raises an "aw, grandpa coffee!" reaction. And the texture was good, which is always an important factor with any milk shake.

The other shakes got overwhelmingly positive reviews (I'll leave it to the shake drinkers to comment on their specific shakes if they wish), although the Nutella and Burnt Marshmallow was, according to its drinker, super rich, and she couldn't finish it (she didn't leave it, though -- so it was good enough that even if unfinishable in one seating, it was worth taking home with you).

For sides, we decided to order three and share so that we'd get to taste both their basics --French Fries and Onion Rings -- and one of their more exotic offerings:

So here we have (clockwise from the top, and very blurry) Vodka Battered Onion Rings with Beer Honey Mustard, Panko & Parmesan Zucchini Fries with Gremolata Mayo, and Hand Cut French Fries with Smoked Mayo and Ketchup.

The fries were good. There's not much more you can say about them than that -- they're fries. They had an appropriate amount of grease and salt, in that both were present but not overwhelming. The smoked mayonnaise, however, was DELICIOUS. I would like to soak in a vat with it.

The vodka battered onion rings were great. The batter was light and crisp and delicious, and managed not to overwhelm the onion. And -- AND -- I'll never understand how they managed this, but they seem to have invented THE ONLY ONION RING IN WORLD HISTORY that you can bite a small piece out of without accidentally pulling the whole long, unbroken string of onion out with it. Seriously, folks: I have eaten some onion rings in my life, and I've never seen this happen before. I have to assume that it has something to do with the vodka batter, which allows the onion to stay crispy and breakable instead of becoming a long, limp, overfried string.

The zucchini fries, though, were the true star. The Parmesan and panko breading was flaky and full of flavor, and the the zucchini was melt-in-your-mouth and had a delicious lemony taste. So good.

I will say, though, that the condiments with the rings and zucchini fries were kind of negligible. We'd forgotten what they were by the time our order arrived, and instead of being identifiable as "beer honey mustard" and "gremolatta mayo," we could only identify them as "mayo with. . .something sweet?" and "a . . .somewhat different sweet mayo?" You could tell which the ketchup was, of course, and the smoked mayo was identifiable by virtue of its deliciousness, but the other two kind of blended together.

And then it was time for our burgers. One person ordered the Farm: Organic Grass-Fed Beef, Smoked Mayo, Heirloom Tomato, Local Lettuce, Grilled Vidalia Onion, B&B Pickles:

One got the Bacon & Cheese: Onion, Lettuce, Tomato, House-Made Pickles, Benton's Bacon, American Cheese, Ketchup, FLiP Sauce:



And two of us got the Butcher's Cut: Caramelized Onion, Blue Cheese, Red Wine Jam:



I was in the last group. I chose this burger both because I'm still in the throes of my newfound love affair with blue cheese, and because even before we'd arrived at the restaurant, I'd had a running comparison going between FLiP and Good Stuff Eatery, and my most frequent order at Good Stuff of late has been the President Obama burger, which has applewood smoked bacon, bleu cheese, and red onion marmalade. So I thought going with a similar burger at FLiP would give me the best basis for making an educated comparison between the two.

On the one hand, as with the salad I had at Woodfire Grill, I kind of wish I'd ordered something more out of the ordinary. I eat burgers with blue cheese on the regular, but how often do I get the chance to have a freaking Ossobuco burger? So I think at some point, I'm due for a return visit so I can check out the more unusual options.

(Fortunately, I hear they're due in DC later this year, so I should get that chance sooner rather than later

On the other hand . . .it was a good burger. It was so juicy that as I bit into it, I felt something trickle down my hands, and thought I was losing my condiments. But no -- it was just delicious, juicy, burger JOOS. The blue cheese flavor was delicate and not overwhelming, and the caramelized onions and red wine jam mingled beautifully.

But on the third hand (yes, I have three hands. Shut up). ..

. . oh, God, it's going to kill me to say this. . .

On the third hand. . .it wasn't nearly as good as Good Stuff.

SIGH.

If you've been here for more than twenty minutes, you know how much it ABSOLUTELY KILLS ME TO SAY THAT. My stance for many, many years now has been that Richard is a good, funny, talented guy who wears pink crocs and has a female wife and an adorable baby (who is probably not so much a baby anymore, but whatever. Cheftestants remain frozen in time in the phase of life they were in during their season as far as I'm concerned).

Spike, despite being a nice guy in real life who's shown remarkable restraint in never serving me a beet-burger with a generous helping of phlegm sauce (to my knowledge), by comparison to Richard remains a hat wearing douchebag with a manky pube beard.

>But when I bite into a burger at Good Stuff, my eyes close involuntarily, and I find myself thinking "I could be ok never having sex again as long as I got to eat this burger once every two months."

And at FLiP burger, my eyes remained open, and I found myself thinking "this is good, but. . ."

Curse you, Spike. Curse you, and your hats, and your delicious onion marmalade.

Clearly the only real way to resolve this problem is to have a side-by-side taste test when FLiP comes to DC. Blind tasting. Two burgers, two shake flavors, and two sides each. Bring your best game. And --should the chefs be interested -- I will gladly offer my services for judging this event. Just give me two week's notice so I can fast for a bit in preparation.

Some final things I'll say about our visit: one, we don't know what the FLiP sauce on the Bacon & Cheese burger is. We're hoping it's something like the special sauce at Burger Garden in the Babysitters Club books where they go to Sea City.

Two: while we all liked our burgers, at least one of the other two people who've eaten at Good Stuff shared my opinion. But we agreed that FLiP definitely won on sides (or at least won on the number of options and the onion rings; tied on the fries and got bonus points for the amazing zucchini fries), and that it was probably about a draw on shakes, especially if you took the variety FLiP offers into account. And FLiP COMPLETELY trounces Good Stuff in terms of atmosphere. It's not that there's anything wrong with Good Stuff's space, it's just that there's so much that's SO RIGHT about FLiP's. Also, table service > counter service, any day of the week.

Again: blind taste test. Me. Blais. Spike. Only way to settle this.

Finally: the most exciting part of the visit (for me, at least) was the fact that WE SAW RICHARD. He was visible through the cut-away into the kitchen for a very brief period of time, wearing a baseball cap so I can't give you a faux-hawk status update.

And my immediate instinct was to go bounding across the room, and hug him, and show him a picture I may or may not have saved on my camera, while screaming "we have friends in common! We have friends in common!!!"

But I didn't. I don't know if it was the incredibly Zen lighting that had me mellowed out, or the fact that I'm getting slightly less inclined to make an ass of myself in front of famous and famous-ish people as I get older (I also managed to have a 7 minute conversation with a legendary soap actress this weekend without actually licking her, so that's progress. And that was after the three glasses of wine [but before the vodka]), but I remained in my seat. My calves flexed a little, in preparation for bounding and embracing, but my ass remained firmly planted.

So for now, my collection of pictures of me stalking Top Chef contestants remains frozen at two. Sigh. Yet another reason this blind taste test is A COMPLETELY GOOD AND NECESSARY IDEA.

You know where to find me, boys.

Spike on Iron Chef!

CHEF SPIKE MENDELSOHN BATTLES
IT OUT ON
IRON CHEF AMERICA

Chefs Spike Mendelsohn, Michael Colletti and Brian Lacayo of Good Stuff Eatery take on Chef Michael Symon in the next new episode of Iron Chef America.

Turn your TV dials to the Food Networkon Sunday, March 7, at 9 PM EST to catch Mendelsohn and his team run around the kitchen as the secret ingredient is revealed and they are put to the test!

Will Spike win? What do you think?