Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Atlanta: Richard Blais Brings Juicy Lucy to The Spence; You Should Bring a Napkin
I hate to start a review with a disclaimer, but I feel it's necessary. Here it is: I've never watched Top Chef. (I know. Bad foodie, bad foodie.) So, as sacrilegious as it may be to admit, Richard Blais isn't a rockstar to me. As a result, I didn't venture into his newest intown restaurant with the same kind of wide-eyed, do-you-see-him-is-he-here-oh-my-god-I-think-that's-him breathlessness as (seemingly) the rest of Atlanta. But the early buzz has been that The Spence is an instant add to the city's roster of true top-flight eateries—and that there's an amazing interpretation of the famed Jucy Lucy on the menu.
More than one person I know has called Blais' take on the Minneapolis classic "the best burger I've ever had." And while that casual claim doesn't generally carry much weight with me, I knew I needed to check this one out. I mean, Blais does know the milieu, having all but single-handedly kickstarted the local gourmet burger boom back in late 2008 with FLIP Burger Boutique. I won't play spoiler by blowing my reviewer wad here in the second paragraph, but if your spidey-sense is tingling after seeing that top photo, you're on the right track.
Continue...
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/08/the-spence-juicy-lucy-burger-review-atlanta-ga.html?ref=thumb
The Spence
75 5th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308 (Map); 404-892-9111; www.thespenceatl.com
Cooking Method: Wood-grilled
Short Order: The trendy new hotspot from celebrity molecular gastronomist Richard Blais does wild things with food, but his Juicy Lucy is prone to leaking
Want Fries with That? Blais' triple-cooked fries are among the best you'll taste... even when they're subpar
Price: Juicy Lucy, $13 at lunch, $14 at dinner
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Former Bear to run for Romeoville mayor, Mongo!!!!!! WTF, in Romeoville.
Former Chicago Bear Steve McMichael said today that he intends to run for mayor of southwest suburban Romeoville.
He announced his mayoral plans this morning on 1340 WJOL, a Will County talk radio station, and later confirmed his political intentions when contacted by the Tribune.
“I am dead serious about this,” said McMichael, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears who has lived in a townhouse in Romeoville since April. “I am not a politician. I am someone who will not delegate over the people. I will listen to them and act on what they want to see in the community.”
McMichael, owner of Mongo McMichael's restaurant and sports bar in Romeoville, said he was encouraged to run by his customers.
McMichael said many of his customers are unhappy with various issues in the village including a lack of businesses and empty store fronts, especially on the east side of town.
McMichael said he has a plan to spruce up the town but did not want to share specifics yet. He plans to seek signatures in October to be on the mayoral ballot and expects to run against Mayor John Noak in the April election.
Noak defended the east side of the village, saying there are plans to build a new downtown area and community center.
"Good things are happening in the village," Noak said.
As for McMichael, Noak said everyone has a right to seek elected office. Noak, who has been mayor since 2008, said he will make a statement in the coming months about whether he plans to seek re-election.
McMichael, who has a 4-year-old daughter, said he used to live in a condo in downtown Chicago but moved to Romeoville so his daughter can grow up in a small town environment.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
To Gabe.......5 Rabbit finds its head brewer at Goose Island
Latin-themed craft brewery 5 Rabbit has snared a big fish in the latest stage of its rapid growth: the No. 3 guy at Goose Island.
John J. Hall, a senior brewer who designed the recipe for Goose's biggest-selling beer, 312 Urban Wheat Ale, has signed on to be brewmaster at 5 Rabbit's still-under construction brewery in Bedford Park, just south of Midway Airport. His last day at Goose will be Sept. 7.
He will take on a far smaller operation, but his responsibilities will grow, encompassing virtually every aspect of production, from securing ingredients to brewing to the bottling line.
"It may be a smaller brewery, but my job is much larger now," Hall said. "It's quality beer and I want to make it as good or better than it already is."
5 Rabbit co-founder Isaac Showaki said Hall was "our No. 1 choice by far" when the search for a head brewer began about four months ago.
"He's super experienced, he's won a lot of medals for his beer, he's extremely methodical and he's incredible with quality control," Showaki said. "He'll make all the recipes better."
Hall will work heavily with Randy Mosher, a legendary beer author and home brewer who is a minority owner of 5 Rabbit and has written the brewery's recipes so far. Those recipes have led to a stable of beers unlike what most other craft upstarts produce, leaning heavily on Latin flavors and spices like passionfruit, chiles, sage and piloncillo sugar.
"John is very creative, and we need a creative person to complement Randy," Showaki said.
By October, Showaki said, all 5 Rabbit beers will be made at the new brewery, including four year-round brews (5 Rabbit golden ale, 5 Vulture dark ale, 5 Grass pale ale and 5 Lizard wit beer), along with rotating seasonal and one-offs "when there's time." Since launching in May 2011, 5 Rabbit beer has been brewed under contract at half a dozen breweries in three different states. Showaki said 5 Rabbit will hire two or three assistant brewers to work with Hall (who is no relation to Goose Island founder John Hall).
Having a brewery and head brewer on board has happened faster than Showaki and partner Andres Araya expected, but Showaki said they're pleased.
"Having our own ingredients, using them the way we want and being able to tweak the recipes to make them better every time will help get things to be the way we always envisioned," he said. "When you're in control of it you can take more care of it."
A tasting room is planned for the brewery in early 2013, which will include at least eight taps pouring the standard 5 Rabbit beers, seasonals and one-offs.
According to Hall's biography on Goose Island's website, he worked in the audio/visual industry until getting a home brewing kit for his 30th birthday. Two years later, in 1997, he was hired by Goose Island as a full-time brewer.
jbnoel@tribune.com
Twitter @traveljosh
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/stew/chi-5-rabbit-beer-5-rabbit-beer-hires-brewer-away-from-goose-island-20120810,0,1875818.story
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Joey Chestnut Crowned Hooters Wing Eating Champion 2012
It's not just hot dogs that Joey Chestnut can stuff into his mouth quickly. He's also a wing eating pro, evidenced by his win at Hooters's World Wing Eating Competition in Clearwater, Fla. Chestnut scarfed down 144 wings in a mere 10 minutes.
His competitors were close behind -- Adrian "The Rabbit" Morgan ate 140 wings and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas managed 131 wings.
Chestnut gets to take home $7,500 as his prize. Not bad for 10 minutes of work -- though that probably depends on how bad his indigestion was. He also got a shout-out on Hooters' Facebook page. Now there's some serious glory.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/joey-chestnut-wing-eating-champion-2012_n_1710687.html?utm_hp_ref=food
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Congrats on fellow Le"monster" Christian Vande Velde on his 60th Place in the Tour de France
Christian Vande Velde finishing second in Stage 15.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Top-Earning Chefs: Gordon Ramsay, Rachael Ray, Wolfgang Puck, Paula Deen Lead Pack
Forbes' new list of top-earning chefs for the last 12 months features plenty of names you'd expect. Loudmouthed UK toque Gordon Ramsay stands head and shoulders above the rest with a whopping $38 million a year. Rachael Ray and Wolfgang Puck round out the top three with $25 million and $20 million respectively.
We have to say, though -- Guy Fieri cracked the top ten? The Food Network star pulled in a $8 million last year, ahead of list no-shows Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern and Giada Delaurentis. That figure might have something to do with the fact he's Food Network's biggest star at the moment, according to Forbes. His show "Diners Drive-Ins and Dives" is shown up to eight times a day on the network, plus he stars in "Guy’s Big Bite," "Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off" and "Food Network Star." Not bad for a guy who won the second season of "Food Network Star" in 2006.
Forbes notes one thing all these chefs have in common:
One common thread among the ten chefs on our list is that it is no longer enough for a chef to just own restaurants. Restaurant margins, especially at the fanciest locations, are notoriously thin. In order to make real money, chefs need TV shows, merchandise and even magazines.
The numbers were figured after speaking with food consultants, restaurant owners and industry analysts who helped estimate how much each chef earned between June 2011 and June 2012. Forbes also looked at restaurant revenues, TV pay, merchandise royalties and cookbook payments. Taxes or the cost of being a celebrity chef weren't considered, however.
Here's the full top ten:
1: Gordon Ramsay, $38 million
2: Rachael Ray, $25 million
3: Wolfgang Puck, $20 million
4: Paula Deen, $17 million
5: Mario Batali, $13 million
6: Alain Ducasse, $12 million
7: Todd English, $11 million
8: Nobu Matsuhisa, $10 million
9: Bobby Flay, $9 million
10: Guy Fieri, $8 million
UPDATE: Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern took to his blog today to express displeasure in the rankings, which he calls "way off base." Zimmern wrote that he believed some chefs on the list make much more than the numbers reported by Forbes:
I can think of several chefs off the top of my head who aren’t on the list at all who have better months than the number 10 chef (Guy Fieri at 8 million) has years. Mario at number 5? Ever seen the checkout line at Eataly? Correct answer to that question is which location? Their math is way off base. Keller, Boulud, Colicchio . . . I could go on and on . . . lots of chefs who keep these matters private are doing very well, and I imagine some of the bozos on the list love to see their name up there. It’s nauseating.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/top-earning-celebrity-chefs_n_1686318.html?utm_hp_ref=food
Friday, July 6, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2012: Joey Chestnut Wins Coney Island Title For 6th Straight Year
2) Tim “Eater X” Janus 52.25
3) Pat Bertoletti 51 -Chicago
4) Matt Stonie 46
5) “Notorious” Bob Shoudt 45
6) Adrian Morgan 35
7T) Sean Gordon 32
7T) Erik Denmark 32
9) Micah “Wing Kong” Collins 31
10) Tim “Gravy” Brown 30.5 -Chicago
11) Pete Davekos 28
12) Eric “Badlands” Booker 25.5
13) Yasir Salem 25
14) Crazy Legs Conti 20
15) Lee Vilinsky 15
NEW YORK — Joey Chestnut won his sixth straight Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island, downing 68 dogs and buns on Wednesday to tie his personal best in a sweaty, gag-inducing spectacle.
Last year, the 28-year-old San Jose, Calif., man nicknamed "Jaws" won with 62 hot dogs. He bested his main rival this year by 16 dogs, scarfing down all 68 in 10 minutes in the sweltering summer heat to take home $10,000 and the mustard yellow belt.
"I feel good, it was a great win," Chestnut said after the contest, adding he wished he could have eaten a record number of hot dogs for the audience. "I tried my best. I'm looking forward to next year already."
Second place went to Tim Janus of New York with 52 hot dogs, who received $5,000. Third place went to Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago with 51, who won $2,500.
Chestnut was neck-and-neck with competitors during the first half of the contest, but he pulled ahead in the remaining minutes, choking down dog after dog, while other competitors slowed as the clock wound down.
"I'm happy to come out with the win," he said.
Sonya Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., downed 45 hot dogs to win the women's competition. She reached her goal of eating 45 in the time limit – her age – and took home her own pink champion's belt and $10,000.
Thomas, known as the "Black Widow" of competitive eating, won last year as well, the first time a separate contest was held for women. Juliet Lee, of Germantown, Md., took second place with 33 and won $5,000. Lee also won second place last year. Third place went to Michelle Lesco, of Tuscon, Ariz., who received $2,500 for downing 25 1/2.
Thomas said she started to feel sick while eating but kept pushing so she could win the title.
"There is a limit so I have to fight," she said.
Thomas said next year she's going to beat her record again and eat 46.
"Because I'm going to be 46 next year," she said.
The Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest has been a city tradition for 97 years. Tens of thousands of spectators gather to gawk as contestants shimmy, slither and bounce as they dip hot dogs in water and cram them down their throats.
For some, it's a painful reminder of excess – especially as the U.S. battles a growing obesity problem. The American Medical Association opposes competitive eating, saying it's harmful to the human body. But the competitive eaters are quite trim. Chestnut is more than 6 feet tall and a muscly 210 pounds, and Thomas, who is 5-foot-5, weighed in at barely 100 pounds.
Hot dogs, though, aren't the healthiest of choices. In addition to beef, they include salt and various food additives. Chestnut's total dog count was equal to more than 20,000 calories. This year, the animal rights group Mercy For Animals staged a protest against eating meat, with signs that read "Choose Vegetarian."
Chestnut is now tied with his former rival, Takeru Kobayashi, for consecutive wins. The slim Japanese champ held the record for hot dog eating from 2001 to 2007, when he was unseated by Chestnut.
But two years ago, after refusing to sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, the food equivalent of the NFL, he was banned from competition. He showed up anyway, wearing a T-shirt that said "Free Kobi," rushed the stage and was arrested, but charges were later dropped.
Last year, the Japanese native nicknamed the "Tsunami" held an unofficial contest from a rooftop on ritzy Fifth Avenue, eating near a giant plasma TV airing the official competition live.
Kobayashi competed in a different eating contest on Wednesday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/04/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-2012-joey-chestunut-wins_n_1649345.html#slide=1184537
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)