LA Nocturne

I love The Soup, previously called Talk Soup, and who knows, I might have that backward. For years, I have made it a must-look whenever I surf by it on TV. I have just learned that last week, Bizarre Foods Beijing was selected as the most disturbing clip of the week—of course it was the penis restaurant scene. Very cool.

And speaking of cool, check out Access Hollywood tonight. Maria Menounos and I sat down for lunch together at Spago last week and chatted about all things bizarre. She is 100 times hipper and sweeter in person than she usually comes across on camera.

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Here is some hot LA food news from my quick pit stop there last week:

Cut, in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is still the hottest table in town. Lee Hefter and Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse is now also open in Vegas. Lee is there all this week supervising the crew and showing everyone the ropes. When we arrived in LA, we stuck our heads in the kitchen since we were staying at the Bev Wilshire. We stayed for dinner, which was as good as ever. The tomato salad, tartare, strip sampler of Wagyu, American Kobe, and dry-aged NY sirloin are just phenomenal. If you want a real beef dinner, Cut is nearly perfect. Noah (our three-year-old) devoured the mini Kobe burgers.

The Boulevard restaurant on the other side of the property is a great restaurant as well, and during breakfast the next day, I sat next to Sidney Poitier. What a feeling. Lunch took us over to Spago for the shoot and some treats from the kitchen, such as basil pesto shrimp pizza— travesty elsewhere but amazing here—and a Greek salad. We shot with Maria and that night ate with friends at their house. For about the umpteenth time, we swung by Madeo and got some pasta and salads to go. I love that restaurant.

That night, we stopped by Cut to say thanks to Wolfgang for all his help with the Access Hollywood shoot, and Noah ran and jumped on him screaming, ‘Wolfy,’ as he gang tackled him. Puck, who has a bunch of little kids himself, was quite a sport about it all. And on May 16, you can see what a star the man is in person by buying tickets to CuisineArt at The Walker, one of the best food events of the year.

Seth, Lies, and Videotape

Seth Bixby Daugherty is making his national TV debut on Monday, March 3 on the Rachel Ray show all in support of his charitable efforts to change the way children eat in our school system. He’s a rock star.

Here is a nice segue: The following night, Season 2 of Bizarre Foods airs. And set your DVR for February 26 for another Bizarre Foods Best Of special with some previews of Season 2. A lot of folks have seen the new ad campaign for the show; if not, here is a sneak peek. These ads are hysterical and remind me of the SportsCenter ads from back in the day.

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Anyone see the NYT piece about the growing crop of "bloggers calling for fat acceptance" that is giving rise to "a virtual soapbox known as the fatosphere"?  Roni Caryn Rabin of The New York Times profiles these bloggers—who include both women and men— who "challenge just about everything conventional medical wisdom has to say about obesity” What a pack of lies!

According to Tim Manners’s Cool News, the message from the fatosphere is not just that big is beautiful.

Says the NYT article:

Many of the bloggers dismiss the “obesity epidemic” as hysteria. They argue that Americans are not that much larger than they used to be and that being fat in and of itself is not necessarily bad for you."

Kate Harding, whose blog is called Shapley Prose, starts by attacking the premise that being fat is a choice. "No fat acceptance advocate is saying you should sit around and wildly overeat," she acknowledges. "What we're saying is that exercise and a balanced diet do not make everyone thin." Others point to evidence that overweight people can be healthier than thin people. For example, "recent studies on heart patients and dialysis patients have also reported higher survival rates among heavier patients, suggesting that the link between body size and health may be more complex than generally acknowledged."

Others point to study of people over 60 that "found that being fit has more bearing on longevity than simply being thin." But the main argument "is that being fat is not a result of moral failure or a character flaw, or of gluttony, sloth or a lack of willpower," and that it may have more to do with genetics than anything else. "We accept that some people are short," says Rachel Richardson, whose blog is called The F-Word. "Yet we seem to think all people should be thin -- it just doesn't make sense." There's also a certain feminist streak at work, although at least one blogger, Red No. 3, specializes in the male perspective, and says: "See, I don't have a problem with fat ... My body is simply adorned, and I'll take that."

WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! Being fat has physical, mental, and spiritual components to the disease. Obesity is a disease, and there is also a wellspring of available cures and treatments, and the people who think that being grossly and chronically overweight is in some way OK are in denial.

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The recent contretemps re the Humane Society videotape, its undercover work, the downer cattle going to slaughter, and the beef recall all bring to mind the shortsighted and ignorant citizens of our country who actually believe that the USDA and the other federal agencies charged with protecting our food pathways are doing a competent job. That idea would simply be crazy. The agencies, such as the USDA, FDA, and the like, are broken.

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The Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Best of the Best Party on Monday night was a rousing success. The Walker Art Center staff did an outstanding job! What a great place to have an event of any size, and 1,500 of you filled the rooms. The MSP people, most notably Adam Platt and his team, Natasha Freimark and her team, Deb Hopp, Stephanie Peterson, Kevin Dunn, Gary Johnson, Brian Anderson, and scores of other folks should be loudly applauded for creating such a compelling evening of food celebration. Also, congrats to Hadi and Anoush and all the folks at Hempisphere for winning our Restaurateur of the Year award.

Here are a couple of other observations:

Restaurants that are looking to impress 1,500 potential A-list customers should try to serve great food at an event like this, not mediocre food. Chopped sausage at a high-end tasting event is a cop-out. Saffron, Masa, Chambers, Solera, 20.21, and La Belle Vie did some great food that night as did the Puck catering people in the VIP room.

Speaking of La Belle Vie, that restaurant earned sixth place in our annual Readers Poll if I remember the presentation video correctly. WOW. How can you reconcile the Readers Poll with other accolades that LBV regularly acquires? Does LBV not resonate with your average Minnesotan? Gourmet magazine called them one of the fifty best restaurants in the country. I listed them on my judge’s ballots for Beard Awards and for the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants award (there is a mandatory section for local restaurants in a judges given geographic zone).

I believe LBV is pound for pound the best restaurant in our state for food quality/service/beverage, program/ambiance/innovation, etc. So anyone who thinks that there is not some lingering provincialism in our DNA when it comes to our ability to recognize culinary greatness should be pointed in the direction of the Readers Poll and the disparities it points out between who is eating where and why. I would understand if LBV is not everyone’s cup of tea, but sixth?! C’mon now, people. And for the record, the bar at LBV is a low-key and casual place to enjoy great food without sitting at a table for two hours if that is more your speed. If you love great dining experiences, sit in the dining room for the full-frontal effect.

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Porter and Frye is now open. I finally ate at Red Stag (are you writing that down, Jeremy!?), and Zander closed. More on all that on Monday.

News, Dinner and a Movie, And . . .

Sarah Masters, formerly of Spoonriver, is the new chef at Barbette. So where did the talented, mustard-tossing Landon Schoenfeld go? Well, he didn't go to the Red Stag Supper Club, as many thought many months ago, because William Baskin is the chef there. The rumor mill says Schoenfeld is headed to Porter and Frye to work for Steven Brown.

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Carrie Summer has her food cart officially test-driven. It made its debut last Friday evening in the Robot Love parking lot on Lyndale serving late-night snacks in the early hours of what was technically Saturday morning. So where and when for this coming weekend? Look for it in the same neighborhood serving pulled pork, chocolate mousse, chili-cheese fries, and, of course, mini doughnuts. On Saturday evening, the cart was in the Grumpy's lot but closed early because of power issues in the cart. The kinks are still being worked out.

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Looking for something great to do on Thursday evening? The Oak St. Cinema is screening a wonderful film, directed by one of the cameramen on my Travel Channel show. You need to see Joel Weber’s new documentary, The Listening Project. His film, created with Dominic Howes, asks the question “what do you think about America?” Get there earlier than the 7:30 p.m. showtime to make sure you get tickets. Want to eat something before or after the movie? Well, the best of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s pan-Asian recipes have been compiled in a new book entitled Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges. The black pepper shrimp and dried pineapple recipe is worth its weight in gold. From Vong's Thai Kitchen to Spice Market, 66 to Chambers Kitchen, London’s Rama to Las Vegas’ Prime, JGV’s Asian touches have been his signature. To celebrate the book, The Bookcase of Wayzata and the Chambers Hotel are hosting a special cocktail reception and book signing 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 13. The hotel’s restaurant, Chambers Kitchen, also will offer a special tasting menu that evening, featuring recipes from the new cookbook. Tickets for the author reception are $40 and include wine, hors d’oeuvres, and a copy of Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges. The price for the three-course tasting menu is $45. Reservations for both events are required and may be made by calling Chambers at 612-767-6999 or the Bookcase of Wayzata at 952-473-8341.

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On Saturday, you can head out to the Ridgedale Byerly’s in Minnetonka from 1 to 3 p.m., and see my pal Marjorie Johnson. She is out there to sign copies of her cookbook, Road to Blue Ribbon Baking, a collection of recipes including most of the baked goodies that have earned her thousands of ribbons at the Minnesota State Fair over the last thirty years. Now that she is a big late-night TV star, you should bring your camera. Mar-Jo (every hottie celebutante needs a cool moniker) was kind enough to shoot some stuff with me this last summer for Bizarre Foods, and it was a trip. This woman is completely her own person and negotiates life with a different operating system than the rest of us. She is one-of-a-kind, and if you haven’t met her yet, you should do it this weekend. If you do not know who she is, search her Tonight Show appearances with Jay Leno on YouTube.

Talk of the Town

Food chat is great, but there is so much to catch up on, I thought we could stretch a little today as well. Did anyone catch Tony Bourdain at Triple Rock or Solera? What did you think? Anyone go to both events and have a favorite? Any great pull quotes you heard? I was in NYC doing the Today Show, so I couldn’t attend. Very disappointing; I would have loved to check out the action, especially at Solera. If you go to my website, we have some blogs up from some ladies who attended the event, and we also have a podcast on the site that I recorded last week with TB.

Did anyone see the pics of the one-and-a-half kilo white truffle that was discovered in Italy a few days ago? Good lord, I could smell it through my TV. Apparently it was dug up in Tuscany by a truffle-sniffing dog and will be auctioned this week in Florence for charity. According to the AP:

“Truffle hunter Cristiano Savini said Tuesday he was searching for truffles with his father and dog Rocco last week in Palaia, a town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Pisa, when his dog, Rocco, started sniffing "like crazy." With Rocco leashed to a tree to prevent him from digging too furiously, the Savinis carefully extracted a truffle they said weighed 1.497 kilograms (about 3.3 pounds), which they contended was a record weight. Guinness Book of World Records lists a 1.3 kilogram (2.86-pound) white truffle found in Croatia in 1999 as the biggest. Cristiano's father, Luciano, said the truffle had been weighed at the traffic police station in the nearby town of San Miniato, which issued a certificate attesting to its weight. The station said the officer involved in the weighing was not immediately available for comment. On Tuesday, Cristiano Savini brought the truffle to Rome to publicize the planned auction, to be held Saturday in a palace in Florence. Truffles can fetch €7,500 ($11,155) a kilogram [$5,500 a pound] in Rome, although they usually weigh from 30 to 80 grams (1 to 2.8 ounces). Slivers of truffles, with their strong aroma, are prized in Italy to flavor pasta sauces and rice dishes. Proceeds from the auction will go to an Italian organization that helps sufferers of genetic diseases, a group that helps street children in London and Catholic charities in Macau.”

In a recent Mpls.St.Paul Magazine issue, I wrote a few blurbs on our leading local pastry chefs and was limited to highlighting five talents. Last week, I had lunch at Bank and was impressed with the awesome confection that Liz Matheson sent to our table. Next time you are there, order the white chocolate grapefruit bomb with dark chocolate and salted pretzel. It’s goooooooood. 

Did any of you fall in love with the cardamom mini donuts as much as we did last summer at the Mill City Farmers Market? Well, the talents behind those little gems, Carrie Summer and Lisa Carlson from Spoonriver, just bought a winterized concession wagon. Carrie will be taking her treats to the street. And the menu is growing. You can look forward to more mini-donuts, soft-serve ice cream, and her famous chocolate mousse in Popsicle form. Over the last few years, I have been aching for someone to bring street food into our food culture. Why can’t McCormick and Schmick's have a stand outside their restaurant that sells oysters and cups of ceviche? What about Brothers Deli pushing kosher dogs on the Avenue? Chino Latino could go in several directions, and Lucia’s could do hot chocolate and baked goods all winter long. Well, Carrie is trying hard to bring street food into vogue here, and there is even a wonderful rumor swirling about that she is thinking of creating some kind of winter carnival to take place between the Guthrie and Spoonriver with even more street food being hawked.

Here is the fun part: She needs a name for the cart. In my office, this is cause for a major creative brainstorming session. Berit came up with Street Treats. Dusti came up with The Honey Wagon. Carrie said she would consider readers' suggestions, so get on the stick, and let me know your thoughts. Carrie will check in on this site, and if you end up with the winning name, I am thinking you would never have to wait in line . . . ever.

Now a month or so ago, I started writing about Landmarc, one of the most ridiculous restaurants I have been to in a long time. First, no one ever seems to be there. I have stopped in to peek out the room on five occasions, and it was never more than 25 percent full, not once. No one ever seemed to be talking about it anywhere I went; it had no buzz at all. The food I ate there on the one visit I stayed for dinner was awful. One reason I think this restaurant is still open is because it is in a hotel, which provides some shelter from the typical financial vagaries facing a restaurant on life support. Only open for a relatively short time, the chef was gone one day and then back; and now the manager (my former Café 1-2-3 buddy Michael Morse) is apparently gone from Landmarc in a quid pro quo move by ownership in order to get the chef to return to the stove. Anyone know any details? I called and only got the broad story.

In NYC, I ate a wonderful dinner at Balthazar, followed up by a banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker and 11th.  BTW, the pool at Miami’s Standard Hotel has some of the best mini burgers I have ever tasted, and Versailles in Little Havana still has some killer roasted pork with beans and rice. Cuban sandwiches at La Carretta are better than I remembered.

Thanks for all the opinions on Heidi’s everyone;
anyone been to Nick and Eddie’s yet?

Truffle Time

On November 2–3, local shoppers can buy real Urbani truffles at their local supermarket. I think that says a lot about our town. But then, on the other hand, it’s really just a convenience issue. Lunds and Byerly's are handling the shopping for you. They aren't actually going to be retailing the item regularly, but it’s a start. Here’s how it works. You pre-order at a deli service counter at any Lunds or Byerly’s store. Then the truffles will be available for pick-up on Friday, November 2, at Byerly’s in Edina from 12–6 p.m. and on Saturday, November 3, at Byerly’s in St. Louis Park from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. The truffles are from Urbani, a company I order from regularly, so you can trust them. I have seen white truffles available this season for anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a seven-ounce jar of brushed truffles (subpar product) to $400 for a fresh three-ounce truffle. That was the best price I saw all season so far. Still outrageous, but worth it. According to the company, “Because of the fluctuating market price for truffles, the exact price charged at Byerly’s will not be known until the sale dates.” What will you do with yours? If you go white, be sure to get a truffle that is not tinned or jarred, is clean and moisture-free, and is less than ten days out of the ground. D’Artagnan is currently selling white truffles for $420 an ounce and winter black truffles for $80 an ounce.

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So many books are out these days that I am digging. Check out suvir.com for a preview of my buddy Suvir Saran’s new American Masala. I love this book.

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Adam Roberts, The Amateur Gourmet, saw Alice Waters on The View and has some interesting insight, and the clip of Joy talking about chicken vaginas and beer cans to Dame Waters is as good as it gets. I love Alice Waters, but she really needs to figure out how to connect to more than just her primary core constituency. Her message is spot-on, but if she could tap into RaRay's audience for just five seconds, things would start moving in the right direction a little faster.

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Have you seen the feature on The Huffington Post that lets you see who in the food world is donating to which presidential candidate? Grub Street pointed us in that direction. Chefs are here. Restaurateurs are here.

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Ed Levine lays out contradictory positions on pasta and sauce from Mario Batali and Mark Bittman. He mentions Gwyneth Paltrow filming with the pair for a new series. I just saw Gwyneth in two movies on the plane, Murder and Shakespeare in Love. I can't wait to see her standing next to Mario and Mark in the new show. Beauty and the Beasts!

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Grist, a website dedicated to environmental news and commentary, has been running a special series on food and farming. There is a lot of cool stuff  to check out on their website, including an edible IQ quiz, an audio slideshow of the sustainable-food revolution, an interview with Pollan (of course), and a story about how CAFOs affect Iowa residents (from a real life Iowa resident).

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On JGV's blog, he writes about Michelin stars and how he would hire someone with a smile and no experience over another with four-star experience and no smile.

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Closer to home, on October 13, 2007, The Herkimer Pub and Brewery claimed a GOLD medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, the largest national beer competition recognizing the most outstanding beers produced in the United States today. The top three winners in the competition's seventy-five beer style categories were announced October 13 at the twenty-sixth annual award ceremony, held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. The Herkimer Pub and Brewery's Alt beer was recognized as the best in the German Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf Style category for its impressive malt and hop character, reddish-brown hue, overall complexity, and proprietary yeast qualities. CONGRATS Herkimer!

All Hail King Corn

As a die-hard Yankee fan, there is nothing more pleasurable than seeing the Boston Red Sox looking so demoralized when the camera pans their bench. If there is a God in pinstripes, the Sox will squeak by the Tribe in seven and then get bageled by the Boys in Black in the Series. And how about young Eli and my New York football Giants? But I digress . . .

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One of the best pieces of storytelling I've seen in a while, especially for those fifteen people on the planet who still have not read my favorite food book of the last twenty years (The Omnivore's Dilemma), is the documentary King Corn. Joe Drape in The New York Times had a great piece last week about the film, which is in limited release. The movie, like Pollan’s book, makes a good case that, among other things, “government subsidies have lead to the overproduction of corn at the detriment of public health."

Some more of Drape's quotes from the NYT, as quoted in Ain't It Cool News:

That issue lives at the heart of King Corn, which "takes the position that America's most valuable crop is overproduced" and that it takes a toll "on the environment, public health and family farms." While that sounds like a polemic, the filmmakers—Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney— say that wasn't their intent. Their hope, they say, is simply "to raise awareness about how the food on our plates gets there, for better or worse." Their device is to grow an acre of corn in Iowa and follow its path from an Iowa grain elevator to a corn-fed cow farm in Colorado, as well as to Brooklyn, where they "examine how high fructose corn syrup in sodas has contributed to the nation's high obesity and diabetes rates."Their tone remains respectful of Iowa and its farmers, perhaps most surprisingly during a nursing-home visit with 98-year-old Earl Butz, who was Richard Nixon's agriculture secretary and "the architect of modern farm bills." Curt says his plan was to "take down," Mr. Butz, but he found himself disarmed. Calling corn "our secret weapon," Mr. Butz said: "We feed ourselves with only 16 or 17 percent of our take-home pay. That is marvelous." Curt couldn't disagree—even while knowing that the acre of corn he had grown for the movie "would have lost $19.92 but became profitable with a government subsidy of $28." As Curt puts it: "We do not have all the answers . . . there are not fifty simple ways to save the planet."

So if you spend 40% of your income on housing and, stretching Butz's numbers slightly, 20% on food, then is it really true that we spend 60% of our dough on room and board in this country? No wonder no one ever saves any money.

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Speaking of money, if you are looking to splurge a little, here are some ways to do it.

La Belle Vie is celebrating its second anniversary at its 510 Groveland location with a six-course wine tasting dinner at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 1. Special guest Terry Theise, named “Man of the Year” by Wine & Spirits Magazine and hailed by The New York Times as the “voice of Austrian wine,” will be there.

The cost is $135 per person, plus tax and gratuity.There is limited seating available and reservations are required. For more information or reservations, contact La Belle Vie at 612-874-6440 or visit the website.

D'Amico Cucina is celebrating their twentieth birthday, and their Cucina tasting menu will be comprised of menu items from the original 1987 D'Amico Cucina menu. The special menu will be offered from October 26 to November 10 and will also be available a la carte. The tasting menu with wines is $135. On the menu:

CONSERVA D'ANATRA, MELE, MENTA

Warm Conserve of Duck, Apples and Fresh Mint
Orvieto, Antinori "Campogrande" 2005

DENTICE ALLA MELANZANE, SALSA DI POMODORO E MELANZANE

Snapper Wrapped in Eggplant, Eggplant Tomato Sauce
Arneis, Ceretto "Blange" 2006

GNOCCHI DI FORMAGGIO DI CAPRA CON SALSA DI NOCE

Goat Cheese Dumplings with Walnut Sauce
Chardonnay, Jermann 2005

POLLO NOVELLA ALLA GRIGLIA CON ERBE E OLIO

Baby Chicken Grilled Peasant Style with Herbs and Oil
Grinolino d'Asti, F. Rinaldi 2005

SCALLOPINI DI VITELLO CON SALSA DI BOTTARGA

Pan Fried Veal with Tuna Roe Sauce
Barbaresco, Ada Nada "Cichin" 2000

TORTA RICTOTTA CON FRUTTA CANDITA

Ricotta Cheesecake with Candied Fruit
Vin Santo, Isole e Olena 1996

Finally, for $40 less than either of those two dinners, you can dine on November 13 with the Alsatian sensation and winemaker Paul Zinck at Fugaise. Five courses from chef-owner Don Saunders will be paired with six wines. Because of the small seating capacity, this one will fill up fast.

So who's going? I wonder, do the same fish from the same pond bite on the same lures in this town? As customers, do you think restaurants should continue to do events like this? For the restaurateurs in the room, do they work for you from a profit or PR standpoint? Discuss!

Halloween Came Early

On October 27, Masa, in association with the Walker Art Center’s major Frida Kahlo exhibit, will host a wine dinner prepared by Patricia Quintana. Often referred to as the “Julia Child of Mexico,” Quintana owns the restaurant Izote in Mexico City, and I had the privilege of cooking with her there last summer. She is the real deal.

The restaurant will feature an authentic Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar, and patrons and diners are asked to bring a photo of deceased loved ones and place them there, alongside photos of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, to celebrate their lives.

The Kahlo exhibit premieres at the Walker on October 27 and runs through January 20 before traveling to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and SFMOMA. The dinner is $120 a person—a steal.

Speaking of the Walker, Kathy Halbreich will soon be taking up residence at NYC’s MOMA, giving me one more reason to dine there whenever I am in the Big Apple.

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I have received a ton of e-mail about new restaurants opening. I think Michael Kutscheid’s new place, Sanctuary, is very cool, but I have not eaten there yet. I am really looking forward to dining in Stewart Woodman’s new place (Heidi’s) and at Doug Anderson’s new spot (Nick and Eddie) . . .

. . . but I have also received a lot of e-mail about restaurant closings. I am really worried about the face of dining in St. Paul, a town with tremendous potential, but witness the dismal restaurants that have closed recently (Margaux and Fhima’s) or the good restaurants turned sour there (A Rebours) or the odd chef-choice made recently at the St. Paul Hotel. Grand Avenue could be the restaurant row of the Twin Cities, with plenty of customers living within a few blocks and easy access from Minneapolis, but restaurateurs all seem hellbent on downtown. I don’t get it.

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According to an AP story I saw on MSNBC:

A man who bought a smoker Tuesday at an auction of abandoned items might have thought twice had he looked inside first.

Maiden North Carlina police said the man opened up the smoker and saw what he thought was a piece of driftwood wrapped in paper. When he unwrapped it, he found a human leg, cut off 2 to 3 inches above the knee.

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The folks at WineHaven Winery and Vineyard are either on something or onto something. The Peterson family created what may be the only known commercially available Pumpkin Wine for this year's fall and holiday celebrations.

Look for the pumpkin wine’s orange and black label in local wine shops—it might be next to their cranberry wine!?! According to the vineyard’s winemaker, the wine is light-yellow in color and semi-sweet with a nice, lingering pumpkin pie–type finish. Please someone buy it and try and let me know if this stuff is any good.

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The turkey in the picture lives across the road from us in an office park, where I snapped a photo with my phone. FYI, we live in the city. This is absurd—a sure sign that the End of Days is here.

Mailbag

Whoever posted a comment on Tuesday’s post questioning the notion that I would dare post a blog about the MTV VMAs, you need to remember Rule 62, and you should stop practicing contempt prior to investigation, or in this case judging a blog before it is written. So here it is: I was in Vegas, and I was backstage at the VMAs, and now you have me so eager to please you that I am a little ashamed to post about that experience. Perhaps someday in my memoirs. I will say, however, that there were 1,600 police deployed for the NBA All-Star Game and only about 500 for the VMAs. The All-Star Game featured nightly shootings on the streets of Las Vegas, and the VMAs featured Kid Rock and Tommy Lee pushing each other, each afraid to throw a punch at the other. Shameful pansies.

So Saturday night, I ate at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon with PBS icon and Savvy Traveler Rudy Maxa and our respective SOs. The food was superb—anyone who can’t make it to the original Parisian version would do well to check it out in the MGM Grand. The cucumber gelee with cumin and thyme custard, the fresh anchovy and pepper pave, and the seared beef with his signature potatoes were all out of sight . . . almost as good as the lady behind us who NODDED OUT AT HER TABLE while her four dinner companions kept eating and pretended she was fine until they carried her out. Only in Vegas, baby.

The next night, Travel Channel hosted a dinner at Tao at the Venetian. Holy moly. This place was amazing, one of the most stunning restaurants I have ever seen. Three stories of open space, club, bar, sushi bar, restaurant—plus Diddy, Pharrel, Mischa Barton, and Jamie Foxx, just to name a few of the sightings. And the food was pretty tasty. I liked the crispy tuna rolls and the Peking duck in pancakes with scallions the best. Fiamma at the MGM was not as good as the original in New York, but it was still very good, and the room was even prettier than Tao’s. I have never sat in a room that did a better job of maintaining small pods of tables while still allowing you to see through the dining room from level to level. The restaurant is huge, but feels intimate.

A woman e-mailed me last week to ask:

. . . about Clancey's market in Linden Hills . . . and as [you're] a reporter and advocate for local foods (I'm a Slow Foods member), I thought that perhaps passing it on to you would be the best way to test its accuracy. Rumor has it that Greg Westergreen has been axed. That's probably more fact than gossip, but what I really want to know is if it's true that Kristin, the owner, is keeping all the recipes and products he developed over the years. Apparently, they never had any written contract, just an understanding that the shop was a team project, even she was the legal owner. Seems to me that the butcher makes the butcher shop, so I'm not sure if it will be able to retain it's quality if he's replaced. Anyhow, I'll be sorely disappointed if I found out that he was treated unfairly after working so hard to promote local foods. So much for the 'friendly neighborhood shop' reputation.

Okay, so my take is this: Greg’s e-mail to me said he is no longer at Clancey’s. He indicated that he and Kristin parted ways, but nothing more. And if he was fired, so be it. I’ve been fired from plenty of jobs, sometimes fairly, sometimes I had issues with it, but that’s life. It happens. I think you meant to say what you heard is more gossip than fact.

If he and Kristin had a business relationship where she was the controlling partner, owner, or signed his check in any way, and if Greg was an employee, then the recipes belong to the business. When I left Café Un Deux Trois after six or seven years in the kitchen, I left behind a large book of recipes. Michael Morse, the restaurant’s owner, is the one who got those, and he deserved to have them. They were his. He paid for them, because part of my job description was to create food for his company. Subsequent chefs in the restaurant used the recipes I left behind, and the menu at Landmarc (MM’s new place) looks very similar to the one he and I developed at 1-2-3. But that’s the way the business works. He used the recipes in perpetuity and still does, and I still make many of those dishes as well. Now had I developed a cookie or terrine recipe that I wanted to ‘own,’ I would have trademarked or copywritten it, depending on the legalities and the format of the product in question, and not served it in the restaurant at all. Any chef can do that.

The butcher does make the butcher shop. Kristin will live with her decision. Greg will make his living elsewhere, and his fans can follow him. And if the shop quality suffers, Clancey’s fans will also move on. That’s how the world works.

Who knows if he is being treated unfairly or not? I would say, don’t rush to judge. Greg sent me his resume asking if I knew of any jobs out there for him, and since he is so talented, I am sure there are plenty of restaurants or shops eager to employ him.

AND IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN SUPPORTING LOCAL FOODS, you should continue to shop at Clancey’s as long as you are happy with the product there. If we stopped eating or shopping at every food business that had some crazy owner-employee relationships, we wouldn’t be able to eat anywhere. Including my house and probably yours as well!

In our office, we look at The Amateur Gourmet often, but after all the heat between him and Mario, he has some interesting things to say about food blogging. Very interesting, considering his book is about to come out, so he's a food blogger going legit. This post talks about the differences between reviewing as a food blogger and then as a newspaper critic, likening it to one-night stands (food bloggers) vs. a more involved relationship (print critics). Pretty good stuff.

So, here are three cool dining reservations that you need to make for yourself . . .

According to the folks at LBV:

La Belle Vie is expanding beyond its front doors to host its first Pique-nique de Automne, Oct. 7, starting at 3 p.m. on the restaurant's front lawn. Guest will enjoy playing boules, listening to accordion music, and savoring Executive Chef Tim McKee's own pique-nique creations.

James Beard award nominee Chef McKee has created a special menu just for the event, including Grilled Leg of Lamb with Herbes de Provence, Fire Roasted Prawns with Saffron and Coriander, Rabbit and Porcini Sausages, Truffled Foie Gras Mousse, Grilled Poussin with Harissa and Honey, Grilled Bread with Tomato, Capers and Garlic.

Learn more on the LBV website.

The folks at the Graves are organizing a dinner at Cosmos featuring "Next Great Chefs of the Twin Cities," promising:

. . . it will be a dinner showcasing the talents of the next up-and-coming executive chefs or chef de cuisines, all new to their positions but creating excellent cuisine. The dinner will benefit the Heartland Food Network and will be held on October 10, 2007. The list of the participating chefs is Hakan Lundberg, Chef de Cuisine at Cosmos; Eric Sturtz, Chef de Cuisine at Café Levain; Landon Schoenfeld, Chef de Cuisine at Barbette; Leonard Anderson, Executive Chef at W.A. Frost; and Dianna Yang, the Pastry Chef at La Belle Vie & Solera.

According to the folks at Fugaise:

. . . we will be celebrating our two-year anniversary later this month. As you know, this is no small feat for "white linen" places such as ours. So again, on behalf of everyone here at Fugaise, thank you for your support. To that end, we would also like to invite you to celebrate the occasion with us on Wednesday, September 26. Chef Don has pulled out the menu archive. He is featuring some of the highlights from the past year in two tasting menus to be offered on the night mentioned above. There will be an early seating at 5:30 p.m., when a five-course menu will be offered, and a later seating at 8:15 p.m. for seven courses. Wine pairings will be available as well.

The earlier menu is:

Scallops with Salsify, Butter Lettuce, Sauce Choron

Skatewing with King Crab, Roasted Red Pepper, and Herb Pan Sauce

Wild Boar Ravioli with Black Mission Fig, Raddichio, and Aged Balsamic

Rack of Lamb Imam Bayildi with Braised Lamb Strudel and Eggplant Caviar

Poached Pear with Mint-Marscarpone Tart, Candied Pecans, and Clove

Dear Larry

I travel a lot. You don’t joke about bombs in your carry-on, for fear of being taken seriously. At least I don’t. It’s a lot like crying "fire" in a movie theater these days. You take off your shoes, you get your liquids screened, you watch moms with sick kids subjected to incredible security gymnastics and endless questions . . . . But it used to be that you could at least crack a few one-liners in the men’s room while taking a leak. Kiss that luxury goodbye. Thanks Larry Craig.

And by the way, the burgers and fries at Ike’s at the airport are rock solid. Avoid the lobster corn dogs at all costs.

As we wrote last week, here is the latest on how you can eat your way toward helping out with the flood relief in southeastern Minnesota. I am hosting a live auction on Friday from 1–3 p.m. on my FM107.1 radio show, and more info about participating restaurants for the One Big Night Out, as well as live auction packages, can be found at the FM107 website. I got this e-mail yesterday from Scott Pampuch at Corner Table.

The rain began in southeastern Minnesota on the night of August 18. Up to seventeen inches fell the first day, and sporadic heavy rain continues as the flooded area grows. The region is home to many sustainable farmers, their employees, and related businesses. Eric Hoiland of Rushford, MN, lost all his turkeys. The fields at the Featherstone CSA farm lie under contaminated water. Others have lost their crops, their houses, their communities, their friends.

The Minnesota convivium of Slow Food is joining with local non-profits and chefs to raise money for farmers and their communities. At press time for the Food Chain, we know that many slow restaurants in the Twin Cities are dedicating their profits on September 8 to flood-relief efforts. The event is called “One Big Night Out.” In addition, Slow Food Minnesota is helping to put together an online auction with contributions from local chefs, food producers, and Slow Food members.

More information on fundraising efforts will be available soon on Slow Food Minnesota’s website: www.slowfoodmn.org. At this time contributions can be made to the Red Cross Winona chapter, 1660 Kramer Dr., Winona, MN 55987; 507-452-4258; Maggie Modjeski, Director, or online to the Sow the Seeds Fund, www.sowtheseedsfund.org.

One of the better sidebars in all of this is that the Slow Food convivium is getting ‘out there’ in the public eye. SFMN should be ten times the size it is and have a much larger public footprint given the work it does and what it stands for. Friends of mine who are members have lamented to me for years that the local group is plagued by internal squabbling and grandstanding, but new infusions of membership and new leadership might change that. About time.

Did anyone catch the C.J. column earlier this week about Vince Vaughn being in town? I missed him, but several friends of mine hung out with him for a while and told me he genuinely likes it here. If you ask me, I think he must have a MN lady pal. But here is the best part of C.J.’s story: She mentioned a server at Cue remarking to one of her tables that Vaughn was in the house. When the diners responded with disbelief, the server responded that Vaughn was right behind them. WHAT A RUBE! My lord, if I managed that restaurant, I would have a word with that server. As a restaurateur, you need to respect everyone’s privacy. Having staff call attention to public figures is classless, to say nothing of directing a table to Vaughn’s specific presence. Oy vey.

All’s Fair

So where do you fit in on the State Fair Love It–Hate It meter? I love it, I worship it, I swim in its glory . . . but I have some likes and dislikes, too. You know me—always have to go sweet AND sour.

What I love:
Gizmo sandwiches
Footlongs at Speedy's on the northeast corner of the DNR booth
Sausages by Cynthia
Giggles Northwoods Campground
Cini-minnies
Lamb on a stick with homemade mint jelly
The animal barns
People-watching
Riding the Skyride and the Space Needle
Hitting Little Farmhands with my wife and our son
French fries
Nitro ice cream
West Indies Soul
Smelt at the Walleye-on-a-Stick booth in the food building
Curds
Mini-donuts
1919 root beer

What I don't:
Drunken carnies reeking of booze helping my kid in and out of the rides on the Kid Way.

The lack of safe, sanitary practices and safe food-handling in many food booths that I frequent.

The idea that folks like Marjorie Johnson won't be allowed to compete next year in the food competitions because she has a book coming out this year and would therefore be considered a professional, the same way they 86ed John Michael Lerma. What's next? Tell Barb Schaller she can't compete because she wins too much???

What I know:
That the first two items on my "don't like" agenda are problems that keep getting better, functions of inspection and training mechanisms that are improving each year. I'll be patient. They are better now than they were.

But the idea that the blue-ribbon State Fair food competitions aren't an open-entry pro-am, for lack of a better phrase, is just idiocy. I entered product one year (BBQ sauce) that was FANTASTIC and came in dead last. And it was fun for me and for all the folks who clobbered me. It's a juried competition, so David gets to beat Goliath! The more rules applied to this wonderful tradition, the worse off we all are and the greater the chance that it will go the way of the horse and buggy.

And how do they define professional? Isn't a winner of a cash prize or a gift-in-kind prize just as much a pro as Marjorie? Who is going to inspect her books to see if she makes money from her recipes collection? Entertaining the complaints from a few fringe lunatics about fairness and a level playing field re: the participation of so called "pros" in the contest is validating an argument without merit. Eliminating people like Marjorie from the competition is "fixing" something that isn't broken.

Hey Fair folks, cut out the rules! Let it be a pro-am—won't it be easier to manage? If anyone can think of a reasonable argument that convinces me otherwise, I will buy them a Hotdish-on-a-Stick!

And lastly, is it just me or is every animal born at the CHS Miracle of Birth absolutely fascinating to stare at for hours? It's amazing, and it’s one of my fave booths. What’s odd to me is that I spent the better part of last year eating them up in copious quantities in far-flung corners of the world. The baby pig and lamb in Spain—the younger the better—is one of my fave meals. Strange world.

Floods, Then Funnies

The pictures and stories out of southeastern Minnesota are heartbreaking and awe-inspiring at the same time. We all need to help out with this, especially those of us in the food biz. So after much talk from many quarters about helping out the Winona County flood relief efforts, here is what I know from Scott Pampuch at Corner Table and J. D. Fratzke from Muffuletta, two guys who are mobilizing all their resources. Way to go, fellas. And after all that, we'll need a laugh or two, so enjoy.

1. The biggest thing that people can do, now more than ever, is support the restaurants, supermarkets, and co-ops who buy local product.

2. These two are working on an online auction for gift certificates and "packages" that will raise money for the Red Cross Winona Chapter that is the hub for relief efforts in Rushford, Stockton, Minnesota City, etc.

3. Stay tuned to these pages about the September 8 citywide night-out restaurant event. The idea is that you go out to eat at a participating restaurant on that night and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Red Cross in Winona County.

4. Scottt and J. D. are talking with Lori Callister at Farm in the Market about doing something at Midtown Global Market.

So if you want to help, or have ideas, call or email these guys at their restaurants. You can also network with other like-minded people here on these pages.

Now the news of the weird . . .

First there was the spilled McDonald’s coffee, then the Wendy’s finger-in-the-chili incident, now comes this tale . . . a complete waste of time and money. A twelve-year-old boy has charges for assault dropped. The original charge? He threw a sausage. A cocktail wiener, to be exact.

And speaking of the Golden Arches, the Big Mac turned forty years old . . .

And speaking of fast food, those folks have known for years about how smell works to entice patrons to buy certain products. Realtors know the power of cookies baking in a prospective home’s oven. Now from Canada comes tales of a liquor store that uses the smell of fresh cut grass to sell beer, baguettes to sell wine, and coconuts to sell rum.

From NYC comes the news of the Acatemy . . . and yes, it’s a mighty stretch to assume anyone cares about cats and their diets, but our cat Belle Zimmern could use something like this . . . and my buddy Cat Cora was there cooking.

They are now selling a fork that encourages dieting. I kid you not. But what if you use your hands?

Leave it to the Japanese to chime in first and loudest on increasing beer consumption in China, where they're raising a few billion pints to their own success.

Would you like some Hepatitis A with your Jamba Juice? 

And finally, for anyone who thinks I treat food (like snakes) differently than other people treat food, check this out . . .

On a personal note I am doing the Today show on October 1. Fun.

Washed Out, But Not Washed Up!

I wanted to pass-on parts of a couple of e-mails I received from J. D. Fratzke, the chef at Muffuletta in St. Paul. He got these messages from Lisa Klein at Hidden Streams and Pam Benike from the Southeast Minnesota Food Network. J.D. told me that for Winona guys like Scott Pampuch, Peter Boettcher, Matt Schoeller, and himself, the storms last weekend hit particularly close to home. For the rest of the local-fresh-best cooking and dining community in the metro (Brenda, Lenny, Alex, Tracy, etc.), it could affect a lot of supply at what is supposed to be peak season. 

J.D. notes that:

Commercial ramifications aside, the flooded areas are filled with the friends that we've all made over the past five and ten years. We've built our livelihoods and reputations on their hard work and dedication to an ethic important to all of us. If anyone should find a way to lead the charge and step in to help, it's chefs like us. When the water recedes and all the damage is tallied, we'll have a better idea of what kind of aid will be needed, how quickly, and where it most needs to go. My cousin is a sheriff's deputy in Wabasha, and he tells me that between, federal, county, military, and volunteers, they're currently tripping over each other trying to get help out to people. However, I would like to start laying the groundwork for some kind of long-term, chef-led relief effort now.

Count me in, and as soon as J.D. has more info on what we as a food community will be doing, I will let you know on these pages. The e-mails J.D. received are below:

Thanks for the e-mail and checking in. We received 10" as best as we can tell. All the water went down the waterways and left us alone. Whitewater and Hill and Vale are both fine. Our friend Eric Hoiland who raises turkeys finally called last nite and said that he and his family lost everything. He had his entire crop of 2000 turkey for thanksgiving get washed away in Rushford. He sounded very confused and disoriented. All we can do is what until they ask for our help. Another young farmer in Houston her parents had a mudslide come through their house and 6 inches from where her mom and dad were sleeping. Fortunatly, they built their house out of concrete, otherwise they wouldn't be here today. We are going to take their 3-week-old chickens and raise them on our farm for them. She said their cattle and horses are somewhere in the woods. Once we can corral them we will most likely bring them here as well.  — Lisa Klein

We are still assessing damage and have not been able to contact all our producers yet.  Most of our farms are wet, but not washed away. Our sad news this afternoon is that the body of a nephew of JoAnn and Merlin Burt, the family who does most of our beef processing, was found this afternoon. He had been missing since Sunday. We will be sending out info to our customers so those that wish to do so can extend their sympathies to the family. We also found out that Eric Hoiland, a former network member, lost his home and all his turkeys. Thanks for the offer of assistance. Once we hear from everyone, we will be able to let everyone know if there is anything that needs to be done. Thanks again. — Pam Benike

On a happier note . . .

I spent the last few days with some old (Cat Cora) and some new (Gavin Kaysen) chef friends. Cat and Gavin are both being pretty close-lipped about the upcoming season of Next Iron Chef, the one where eight chefs compete for a coveted fifth Iron Chef spot. Cat was in town for Glamorama, and Gavin was in town for a benefit dinner he was cooking for his high school alma mater. Gavin spent last Friday evening at Corner Table after eating dinner with his folks, and he loved it.

On Thursday, September 20, 2007, Tria Restaurant will be hosting a dinner with Mark Brownstein from Food Hunter. Brownstein and Tria executive chef Shelagh Connolly will be preparing a multi-course dinner, paired with wines, blah blah blah. But here’s the cool part: Brownstein travels through remote areas of Asia to search for old, forgotten, or unknown dishes, foods, and flavors in order to sell those foods to creative chefs around the world. He is a food hunter, a real one. Brownstein became well-known in Germany and France as the “Food Hunter” after an hour-long documentary aired there in 2005, and six new Food Hunter episodes will be coming this fall. More info soon from Tria.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Here is a really good article from The Washington Post on the problems with Chinese imports. Am I the only person waiting for the shoe to drop on imports of edibles? We only look at about 5% of the containers that come into this country, at best. When is the food-borne illness outbreak going to occur?

Speaking of dangerous, my old buddy Giada De Laurentiis is the official sex symbol of the Food Network, and she makes a nice scungilli! She is also the first signee to be a roving reporter for the newly expanded Today Show.

This guy has a book coming out soon, and I can’t wait.  Many of this blog's readers have worked in the food-service industry, so I thought you might enjoy reading through the archives.

The Great Minnesota Get Together starts in a week . . . and I am giddy with excitement. The new foods this year do nothing for me, but the hunger I have built up over the last 350 days for a Gizmo sandwich, a footlong, a Cynthia sausage, a lemonade, some cheese curds at The Original Cheese Curds on the exterior of the food building, some fried green tomatoes, a scoop of Nitro Ice Cream dropped into a vat of root beer, some mini donuts, come Cini-Minnis, a brat at Ben’s, and—of course—some French fries is threatening to overwhelm me. Bad news, I am not going to be at Fox this year every day, but I am going to do a segment or two for them on new foods. Good news, we are shooting for my Travel Channel show out there and including the fair footage in our third show of season two. And of course, each weekday I will be up on Machinery Hill from 1–3 p.m. at the FM107 booth.

Body Count: Here are the body counts for three restaurants. All of them are (relatively) new eateries. For the equivocators out there, Via was two-thirds full, Harry’s under half full, and Landmarc about 15% full. All counts taken at exactly 7:30 p.m. sharp on Wednesday.

Via – 198 and rocking

Landmarc – 11, not including the oversized popovers

Harry’s – 89 and hopping

For the curious, and I get emails about this issue all the time, Via is the new brainchild of Anoush Ansari and his partners, the folks behind Atlas, Kebobi, and Mission. Landmarc is Michael Morse’s bistro (my old boss from the first incarnation of Café Un Deux Trois fifteen years ago) in the Normandy Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, and Harry’s is the remade gastro– burger bar in the old Nochee space where Steven Brown is in residence.

Airforce Nutrisoda is sponsoring a Sodalicious Recipe Contest, inviting entrants to submit a recipe that incorporates Nutrisoda as one of the ingredients. According to their flack:

“Good chefs love the Good Soda for providing a deliciously healthy way to elevate the dining experience,” says Joe Heron, founder and CEO of Ardea Beverage Company. “In fact, raves from star chefs like Marc Murphy of Landmarc in New York City, Rick Tramanto of Tru in Chicago and Matt Zubrod of Dish in Aspen, inspired the competition.”

Finalist’s recipes will be re-created by Nutrisoda’s world-class chef advisors, and judged on originality, creative use, and integration into a recipe. All submissions must be accompanied by a photo. Those who feel particularly inspired can also submit a video demonstrating their skills, as well as their ability to be the next TV celebrity chef. Specially priced Nutrisoda is available for contest entrants.

One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to New York City to attend the May 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards. The prize includes airfare courtesy of American Airlines, two nights at the W Hotel, VIP access to all events and parties, and spa treatment at the Nutrisoda Chef Oasis, attended only by James Beard Foundation Award nominees. Second and third prize winners will receive a twenty-four-can Rainbow Pack of Nutrisoda each month for a year. Contestants are invited to register and upload their recipes and videos now through Dec. 31, 2007. Ten finalists will be selected on Jan. 10, 2008. Winners—judged by Nutrisoda’s panel of chefs—will be announced on Feb. 15, 2008.

Self-Involved

All right, three things.

First: You need to click here to sign up for a premiere party that Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, FM107, and I are hosting for the Warner Brothers film No Reservations, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. All you need to do is ask for the tix and they are yours. Seriously. It’s free, and it’s a food movie! We are going to have a donation bucket passed for the Retreat in Wayzata, with proceeds from our collection benefiting the scholarship fund that my wife and I set up to benefit those looking to access affordable recovery services—but the whole shebang is gratis.

Second: July 9 is the premiere of season 1B of Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel. Lock and load, baby.

Third: Next week, Harry's Food and Cocktails opens in the Washington Avenue space that Nochee vacated several months ago. Nochee was a colossal disappointment. Harry’s has a shot. It seems like the right type of concept for the space and for the neighborhood. Harry's has got poutine on the menu, a Quebecois taste treat that I blogged about on Monday, and according to the restaurant’s reps, the menu is “traditional American in style," drawing “inspiration from old supper club standards like meatloaf and prime rib.” Harry’s features a heavily hyped burger, tons of local food resources on the menu, an open kitchen, moderate prices, and a casual environment. The press release boasts of an award-winning wine list—odd, considering that Harry’s isn’t open yet, but I admire the moxie. But I digress. The menu also promises some fun goodies like hearty duck meatballs and a soft shell crab po' boy, as well as tender pot roast . . . . Sound more interesting? So why am I so excited about a restaurant that seems in many respects like the type of joint that needs to open first before cynical food freaks like me develop a blood lust for the place? Because Steven Brown is behind the stove. Thank you God, my fave food guy is cooking for the paying public again, and frankly, I don’t care where or what or how.

Now, the million-dollar question is this . . . Tim McKee and Alex Roberts (for example) own their own restaurants, and with ownership comes freedom to cook what you want, how you want, and with complete creative control. Ultimately, it lets the diner see the artist in his atelier, at his peak. Conversely, though, it also allows the chef/owner and his or her partners to work within the constraints of the business world, making them artist-CEOs, for want of a better phrase. So given all that, when are chefs like Brown and Doug Flicker going to open their own places? When the investor pool comes together, count me in. And what is the over/under on Brown and Flicker staying in their current positions? A year? Less? More? Interesting thought, don’t you think . . . ?

And finally, hats off to American food-fanatic and current world champ Joey Chestnut, who beat an ailing six-time defending champ Kobayashi at the Nathan’s Famous contest on Coney Island by eating sixty-six hot dogs (with buns) in twelve minutes. The best thing about the contest was watching Kobayashi suffer the ignominy of a reversal at the end of the contest, throwing up as the final seconds ticked off . . . and into his hands no less. Congrats Joey . . .

Hot Days, Hot Food, Hot Sauce

Last night was Travel Channel night at Cooks of Crocus Hill, so the Body Counters will return next week at this time. Hey, everyone needs a rest every once in while.

Competitive eating swept into town last weekend, as the Midwestern regionals of the IFOCE came to town for their second annual glut fest at the Nathan’s outpost at the Mall of America. The big contest is in NYC on July 4 (will Kobayashi take back his throne from Joey Chestnutt by eating sixty dogs???), but the real thrill for the cold-hearted cynic is reading the profiles of the top fifty eaters in the world. Did you know that the record for buffet-eating is five-and-a-half pounds in twelve minutes? See them on the website.

The Restaurant Guys have an interview with me up on their website that is a lot of fun. The show is also on iTunes for their podcast listeners. Forward the link! Spread the word!

Now after reading this article, I'm thinking that maybe chefs with anger problems should go into fighting crime. Was there no knife or Hobart mixer handy?

I am declaring the cucumber this summer's “it” ingredient and the hot flavor for the year. Everyone is rockin’ the cuke in Summer 2007. Also hot . . . MEAT! Check out meatpaper, one of the most unsual zines I have encountered. Wow, a meatzine. I'm keeping my eye on this one. Apparently they have a print issue as well. Sara Dickerman’s love letter to pork on Slate is worth the read.

Last chance is today to vote on culinate.com for this blog. All winnings go to charity, so help us do something nice for someone. Vote early and often!

Father Knows Best

I’m your daddy, at least for today. Here are some things that are making my Father’s Day weekend.

But before you do anything else, click on this link and vote for Chow & Again on the Culinate website as one of your favorite food blogs.

And then for this week’s Body Count . . . and in case you are unfamiliar, this is the head count at three of our favorite restaurants all taken at exactly 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

Mission: 84

Town Talk Diner: 104

Barbette: 69

Jeff Ruby has started a laugh-out-loud anti-blog on chicagomag.com. Besides being the biggest White Sox fan I know, he’s also the best dining columnist in the City of Big Shoulders. His new blog has nothing to do with restaurants; it’s called Push, and it’s lifted from the journal that he kept while his wife was pregnant with their baby daughter Hannah. Do you hate kids? You’ll still love this blog—it’s that good.

Bill Haas, walleye wizard and, coincidentally, my father in law, caught his personal record walleye (thirty inches) this week up at his summer home. He is thrilled, and he should be. Hopefully he will catch lots more this weekend so I can actually eat some!

Check out the cool Travel Channel hat he’s sporting!

My dad lives in Portland, Maine, and is thrilled about the opening of a new bookstore for food freaks. Samantha Hoyt Lindgren and her husband Don Lindgren have opened Rabelais at 86 Middle St. The store is in a great restaurant neighborhood, and (surprise!!!!) it sells new, used, and rare books for the wine geek, serious cook, and everything in-between. Sam is a former editor who became a pastry chef and her husband is a rare-book dealer, and the reason this is important to you is because you now have a real brick-and-mortar store run by passionate professionals where you can hunt down a rare first-edition of James Beard’s Theory and Practice of Good Cooking if you are so inclined, or you can buy me the first English translation of Escoffier’s Ma Cuisine . . . . If you are reading this blog, you have a reason to shop at this store. Check it out.

M. A. Rosko has been sent to Berlin and London by the suits over at Fox to cover the opening of the new Die Hard movie. Check out the Fox website all next week for clips and what is sure to be some great reportage.

Does the Bulldog have the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwich in town? I am curious.

For anyone following the "food miles" arguments around the world (why sell organic peaches in St. Paul if they are flown in from Argentina???), here is an update on the UK’s idea to ban organic labeling on anything that comes in on airfreight.

And in case you missed it, a man drank an energy drink and suffered a three-day erection. And you think your week has been tough. Relax at the Picasso exhibit at the Walker Art Center.

Family Affairs

After a big weekend of family activities and extended-family graduations (congrats, Ethan!) I still have the family on the brain.

First, the Family . . . . Thanks to David Chase for providing this Sopranos fan with the perfect ending to the ultimate American family saga. Forget your Ewings, Cartwrights, Waltons, Carringtons, Bunkers, and all the rest. Tony’s family can now truly exist—or not, depending on your take—forever. Check out Slate for the best of the best Sopranos talk without getting bogged down in too much minutiae. Brian Williams's season-long Sopranos blog was a classic, as were the onion rings that Carm, AJ, and T were downing in the season finale’s last scene. (What did you eat in front of the TV that night? We had Punch pizza for Sunday supper—not a bad choice, right?)

One of the best new food sites on the internet is Culinate. With a unique focus and a growing coterie of articulate and reasoned contributors, this site is fast becoming a favorite of both committed food freaks and casual cooks. Check out the Grill Me contest.

Our family is really into Head Case on Starz, fifteen-minute-per-episode comedy that my wife discovered for us. It stars Steve Landesberg (Dietrich from Barney Miller) and Alexandra Wentworth (Mrs. George Stephanopoulos) as LA shrinks in a small, shared practice. Check it out. It’s hysterical.

One of our favorite family restaurants, Salut in Edina, is rumored to be opening in the old Sidney’s space on Grand Avenue. Everyone at the parties we were at this weekend in St. Paul was talking about it. Anyone know any more than I do? Was this something in the paper while I was out of town?

My wife is a board member of the Minnesota chapter of Gift of Adoption, a wonderful organization that celebrates adoption and helps enhance the financial means for parents to adopt. These days, the lack of money is a barrier to many parents even considering adoption. If you want to help a great cause—and have a blast doing it—check out their amazing event at Oak Hill Park in St. Louis Park on Saturday, June 23, from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. It’s a family carnival with food, games, a splash park, face-painting, and more. Want to learn more? Phone for info at 612-335-3223 or send an email.

. . . And So Little Time

Need any barely used restaurant equipment for your home kitchen? Check out the Five Restaurant & Street Lounge fire sale. There is some really great stuff available, if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Last Monday, the Wolfgang Puck CuisineArt event was held at the Walker. Check out the pix below, and watch the mspmag.com video here. Best thing I ate all night was the Loup de Mer en Croute with Sauce Choron. Old-school is back, baby. Mark my words, Veal Prince Orlav is coming to a menu near you real soon.

Last week, one of the most talented and nicest people I have ever met in the food biz got some major-league props. The Bread Bakers Guild of America announced the three winners in the competition for a spot on Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2008. Team members were selected during the national finals held last week in San Francisco. The three-person team will spend the next year preparing for the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking) to be held in Paris March 30–April 1, 2008. Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2008 will defend the World Cup title won by the 2005 team.

Members of Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2008 and the categories they represent are:

– Solveig Tofte (Baguette & Specialty Breads), head baker at Turtle
     Bread Company in Minneapolis, MN
– Dara Reimers (Artistic Design), an accountant and aspiring bakery
     owner from Auburn, ME
– Peter Yuen (Viennoiserie), owner of La Patisserie P in Chicago, IL

For years, Solveig has been responsible for turning out some of the best breads in the country, and she deserves all the attention that this amazing honor brings. Now here's a great idea: How about a "Springtime in Paris" trip that includes an afternoon stop at the contest to root on the team? Not a bad excuse to hit the City of Lights, now is it? (Incidentally, you can find Solveig's delicious home recipe for domino cookies in the mspmag.com recipe database.)

Every year we spoil ourselves around the office by ordering a few hundred dollars worth of goodies from Hometown Favorites, a website devoted to candies and other treats from bygone eras, like the sixties! I get my Chuckles and Cherry Mash there, but they recently added a GROCERY STORE to the site, so now displaced expats living in another decade (like me) can find their Drake's Cakes and eat them too. This is seriously the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. Check it out.

Food & Wine magazine has launched a new community website to seek out the best places to eat and drink around the country. They're asking people to nominate their favorite small city as a rising food town. This month Burlington, Portland, and Providence were chosen in the Northeast, but there will be fifteen cities featured in total, and they want John Q. Public to choose the last stop. Any thoughts?

I can eat seven or so . . . how about you? The world's most famous hot dog eating contest, sponsored by Nathan's Famous, will be held at noon on June 16 at Mall of America for the second year in a row. The winner receives the coveted Nathan's Mall of America Championship Belt and an all-expense-paid trip to New York to compete against the finest eaters in the world, all hoping to dethrone Takeru Kobayashi, the six-time champion. Nathan's and Build-A-Bear Workshop have partnered to sell official Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest tee shirts for Build-A-Bear Workshop's stuffed animals for only three dollars, and the proceeds from the sale of each tiny tee shirt will be donated to Autism Speaks (with each purchase, you will also receive a free $5 gift card good toward any purchase at Build-A-Bear Workshop).

Enjoy the photos!

   

LA Nocturne

Lots to get through here today . . . .

Los Angeles–based globetrotting gastropreneur Wolfgang Puck is in town on Monday teaching a private, hands-on participation cooking class at the Walker Art Center followed by a private dinner cooked by the master himself. Last year, this event was responsible for providing its guests with loads of star power—both local and the LA type—a great class, and one of the best meals I had all year in any city. There are a limited number of seats available, and you can find ticket information on the Walker’s website.

Anyone interested can tune into the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight at 10:30 p.m. CST to watch me feed Felicity Huffman and Jay Leno all the haggis they can handle.

Speaking of Bizarre Foods, season one resumes on July 9 with six brand new episodes, beginning with our Alaska show, which was phenomenal to shoot and promises to be even more fun to watch.  The trip was previewed on these pages last February with some spectacular photos of our trip.

My pal Bret Bannon is leading a very exclusive and private food tour in Provence this coming fall that anyone who loves food and travel should consider checking out. Julia Child’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, kitchen sits in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, making La Pitchoune the only place where you can cook in the kitchen once owned by the culinary legend. According to Bret:

Cook in the footsteps of the incomparable Julia Child during a culinary tour to her former home, La Pitchoune, in Provence, where she lived when she wrote her first book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. La Pitchoune is a classic Provençal-style farmhouse sitting amongst olive trees, cypress trees, and vineyards, overlooking Grasse and the Côte d'Azur.

Guests will participate in daily cooking classes, most taught right in Julia’s former kitchen, led by the current proprietor, Kathie Alex, with one class being taught by a two-star Michelin chef.  One morning will be spent touring one of the nearby outdoor markets and local food shops before a behind-the-scenes tour of Le Mas Candille, a two-star Michelin restaurant with Chef Serge Gouloumès, followed by aperitifs and lunch.

Each six-day tour is unique and might include a visit to a perfumery in Grasse, or a family-owned confectionary where organic rose petals are turned into a delicious and ethereal jam.

The first tour will take place October 28 – November 3, 2007. The cost is $2950, which includes double-occupancy lodging, each bedroom with a private bath at La Pitchoune. A welcome dinner the first evening, all breakfasts, lunches, and planned excursions are also included. The tour is limited to six people which provides an intimate, hands-on experience.

Adam Platt Reports from the James Beard Awards

Special to Chow & Again: Mpls.St.Paul Magazine restaurants editor Adam Platt reports from the James Beard Awards.

NEW YORK—It was a foodie- and food-studded night at the twentieth annual James Beard Restaurant Awards, held last night at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. The headlines, for Twin Cities eaters, were disappointing: Tim McKee (La Belle Vie) and Alex Roberts (Restaurant Alma) failed to win the Best Chef Midwest designation, bested by Celina Tio