So, what now?

Well, I've completed all of my flashbacks and I'm officially finished with Top Chef. So, what now? I continue my quest that's what! Because I failed to write down my comments from the previous restaurants, I didn't want to visit new ones until I finished my flashbacks. Meals and reactions were all mushing together. From this point on, I will take notes. Cause, with food, it's all about the details.

So, here's the list of restaurants I plan to visit. Only the ones in Los Angeles.

Providence
Spago
Lucques
Simon LA
Craft
Taste
Osteria Mozza
Social
Table 8
Cut

My goal is to dine at a new restaurant at LEAST once every two weeks.

Hung and his Monkey Win Top Chef!!!

I made no secret of the fact that I was rooting for Hung and Tre. I thought we saw the final two during the first elimination challenge. Unfortunately, Tre was eliminated far too soon. Despite all the hateration from the likes of Dale, CJ, Brian, and occasionally Casey, Hung has claimed the Top Prize. Already an Executive Sous Chef at Guy Savoy in Las Vegas, he has managed to get his name out there in a major way. Not only is he known to the many Top Chef viewers, legends of the culinary world know exactly how talented he is. Way too go Chef Hung! Oh, and congrats to your monkey as well.



The recap. The chefs are taken on a ski lift to the exclusive Aspen Mountain Club. They are greeted with an array of wonderful, fresh seasonal ingredients to work with. Their challenge-simply to make the best three course meal of their lives. They have 35 minutes to work out a menu. Important changes this year-the chefs will present their courses at the same time. Awesome! So, the chefs begin to plan their menus. Later sharing their menus so that they can coordinate the meal. Again, although a couple of them had their itchy moments, this cast is so professional and mature. It's awesome. We did not see this much collaboration in group challenges last season. Dale: 1st-foie gras, 2nd-prawns (later changes to lobster), and 3rd-Colorado lamb. Casey-1st-foie gras, 2nd-prawns, and 3rd-pork belly. Hung:1st-hamachi, 2nd-prawns, and 3rd-duck. Ok, yum!



So, then we come to my least favorite part-the selection of the sous chefs. In past seasons, the sous chefs were former contestants. Um, bad idea. I know every reality does it. I even understand why they do it. But, I still think it's dumb and I hate it. They draw knives and Hung gets 1, Casey 2, and Dale 3. Hung is anticipating Clay (the first knifed chef), Micah (the fake South African), and Howie (the sweathog). But, oh no. Top Chef proves how awesome they are. Out comes Rocco, Michelle Bernstein, and Todd English! AWESOME!!! People who were nominated and/or won James Beard awards (that's like the Culinary Oscar). The chefs are relieved, humbled, and excited at the same time. The sous chefs have to take direction from the contestants, and they cannot offer advice. Although, we see that they REALLY want to. Hee. They prep. Rocco and Hung work well together. Casey is a mess. Dale is confident. I'm excited. The next day, about an hour before service, the chefs are told that they will have to prepare a fourth course-which can be served at any point in the meal. Dale cracks me up by adding that he wants to punch Tom in the face. ROFL. I understand. I've had that same feeling once or twice. AT THIS POINT, Sara, Howie, and CJ arrive to serve as sous chefs. Hung gets Sara, Casey gets Howie, and Dale and CJ-BFFs- get one another.



First course-Hung- a play on fish and chips using raw hamachi and fingerling potatoes. Dale-foie gras mousse with beets and donut peaches (and a bunch of other stuff). Casey -foie and cinnamon scented scallop with sous vide apple and lemon poached celery with a bit of roe on top.

Second course- Hung prawns caramelized with palm sugar, tamarind and garlic. Dale's dish is his "surprise" dish of purslane, fennel, and marinated grape salad under a seared scallop, which is topped with freeze-dried corn. Casey-sake-poached prawn on a crispy bamboo rice cake, surrounded by a yuzu-lobster broth topped with more roe.



Third course-Hung-sous-vide duck breast, a chanterelle and lobster mushroom ragout with foie gras, and a sauce of duck stock with lemongrass and black truffle essence. Dale- summer ragout with butter-poached lobster, raw sweet corn, chanterelle mushrooms, basil gnocchi, and curry jus. Casey-crispy pork belly over gingered pea shoots, a "perfectly roasted summer peach" with a sherry and shallot reduction, and a cardamom-whipped crème fraîche.

Fourth Course-Hung-molten chocolate cake with raspberries, an almond and nougatine tuile, and fresh vanilla cream. Dale- rack of lamb poached in duck fat (Mmm) with eggplant and onion puree, olive oil-poached cherry tomatoes, and raw summer squash. Casey-seared sirloin with roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted chanterelles, ruby chard, and a red wine reduction.


Hung won the first course, despite comments about his lack of acid. Dale's scallop dish won the second course. Hung's duck won the third course. Finally, Dale's duck fat poached Colorado lamb won over the judges. Only Casey's sirloin dish received positive reviews. However, she admitted that it was all Howie's work. Hung's dessert selection was heavily criticized as being uninspired and unoriginal. Tasty and beautiful, but unoriginal. Dale's lobster dish was totally panned as the worst of the evening. So, Casey was out of contention. So, the judges had to consider Dale and Hung's meals. In the end, consistency and superior technique won out. Hung was declared the new Top Chef!

Finale Part I

Tonight, our four finalists arrive in Colorado. We get a little bit of info about why they cook. Honestly, it was very informative and touching. Hung and Dale's backgrounds were especially touching. The chefs are giving the opportunity to relax and catch up during a hot air balloon ride. Nice. Soon, the fun is interrupted by their Quickfire challenge.

This quickfire REALLY bothered me. I felt it was too late in the game for this type of foolishness. The chefs were asked to make a delicious dish from freshly caught trout....next to a river with equipment suitable for campers. Their judge? None other than Eric Ripert from Le Bernardin. Le Bernardin is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the entire country. Chef Ripert is considered one of the best chefs in the world, and the chefs knew that. Add this fact to the horrendous cooking conditions, I cannot imagine how nervous they were. In the end, Dale's was too spicy, Hung (aka Dash) finished several minutes before the end of the challenge and left off a very important ingredient, Brian's (who is an executive chef at a seafood restaurant) was a bit of a mess, and Casey's was great. So, Casey was victorious.

We later see that the contestants were able to bring a few items with them. Casey was allowed to use them during this challenge and not just the second part of the finale, which is the norm. Their elimination challenge was to cook for a bunch of cowboys. Their protein...elk? Eww. Dale and Brian turned out two very complex, ingredient laden dishes. In the end, it worked in Dale's favor. Not so much for Brian. Hung's dish, while described as technically perfect, lacked something the judge's called "soul". ***rolling eyes*** Whatever. Casey's elk was cooked too rare. However, her "smokey" sauce was apparently amazing. I call it magic sauce. Were it not for the sauce, I think she would have been in serious danger. In the end we bid adieu to Brian and congratulate Dale. Next up...Finale Pt. Deux!

FLASHBACK: Grace

Here it is, my last flashback. I truly saved the best for last. This was perhaps one of the best meals I have ever had. Simply delicious from start to finish. Standing ovation for Chef Neal Frasier.

As previously mentioned, I review the menu prior to visiting the restaurant. Most menus are posted on the website or on http://www.menupages.com/. Everything looked so appetizing, I just could not decide. So, I had to revisit the menu when I arrived at the restaurant.

One of the more interesting items on the menu is boar. On the web site, there is a picture of the boar chops. I have to admit, they looked very good. Also, I'm a wannabe foodie. Foodies are culinary adventurers. In the end, I decided that I needed to take baby steps. The key word was WANNABE. Next time, I might try the boar. Because there will be a next time. But, I'll get to that in a minute.

For my first course, I had the red wattle pork belly with purple sticky rice and roasted fig. Pork belly is everywhere. I've noticed it on quite a few menus. Again, my parents are from the South, so I've had my fair share of pork. However, I'm not really a huge fan of all types of pork. I hate bacon. I will eat pancetta and prosciutto though. Other ham, no thank you. Pork chops, eh. love Pork loin, yes. But, I suspect I enjoy cooking it more than eating it. My pork aversion aside, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Verdict: the pork belly was very tasty. It took me a minute to adjust to the texture. After my first bite, I had not yet decided if I liked it or not. Soon, as I took in all of the components of the dish, I really enjoyed it. Pork has an element of sweetness. The purple rice with the fig complemented and heightened that aspect of the pork. It was unlike any pork dish I have had ever eaten in the past. The texture is hard to describe. It was fatty, yet throughout there were nice tender pieces of pork. Different, yet familiar.

When it was time to order my entree, I vacillated between the pork shanks and boar. Considering my first course and the season, I felt braised pork shanks were too heavy. Boar? Do I really want to eat boar? I thought about the first Top Chef episode and their exotic protein challenge. Boar was the winning dish (and the losing one). Bourdain went on to extol the greatness of wild boar. Blah, blah, blah. In the end, I decided it was another pig. So, I nixed it. Oh, but that was just the regular menu. I forgot about the specials. There were quite a few specials. I noticed sand dabs. I haven't had sand dabs in quite some time. I recall fishing trips when I was a girl and coming home with loads of them. They are delicious little fish. But then, Bourdain popped back in my head. He mentioned that restaurants have specials on Tuesday and Wednesdays because they are trying to get rid of fish. So, it's not that fresh and one should avoid ordering fish on Wednesday. *sigh* In the end, I decided on steak. That's not exciting, but hey. I ordered the NY Steak with bleu cheese ravioli. OH MY GOODNESS! That dish was freaking awesome! Most know that steak and bleu cheese complement one another quite well. On occasion, I have cooked steak with a bleu cheese filling. However, I never thought about a ravioli. I ordered the steak medium, and it came out perfectly cooked. It was tender and juicy. Next to the steak were a few perfect pasta pillows filled with a fine bleu cheese. The two flavors were beyond divine. I'm sure a "mmmm" escaped from my lips as I ate. All the while, I was thinking, THIS is food.

Although, I wanted to eat every bit of food on my plate, I refrained. Why? Three words: Donut Shoppe Wednesday. The reason I decided to dine at Grace on Wednesday night is because of donut shoppe night. Every Wednesday, the pastry chef presents an array of gourmet donuts. I had a selection of five donuts and two ice creams. I cannot remember all of the donuts. I recall a tiramisu, meyer lemon, butter brown sugar, and butterscotch. The ice cream flavors were vanilla and pecan rum caramel. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. My favs were the pecan rum caramel ice cream. It was really delicious. I'm a big fan of ice cream with nuts. The sweetness with a hint of saltiness and crunch is always nice. I'm also a big fan of rum. So, I was in heaven. All of the donuts were light, fresh, and delectable. However, the standout for me was the meyer lemon donut. Meyer lemons is a favorite of many chefs. Since I usually try to stay clear of citrus(allergies), this is my first time experiencing meyer lemon. Native to China, the meyer lemon is widely grown in California. They look alot like a lime, and flavorwise they are a cross between an orange and lemon. The donut was delightfully sweet with a hint of tartness. It was so good. The flavor was memorable. I soon realized why chefs love meyer lemons.

If one can fall in love with a restaurant, consider me smitten. I enjoyed everything about Grace. I cannot wait to go back. My long list of restaurants to visit is the only thing preventing me from taking up residence in the restaurant. Honestly, I went to sleep dreaming about the meal. In case you missed it, I highly recommend Grace. It is a bit expensive. However, the portions are extremely large and it is worth every penny.

http://www.gracerestaurant.com/

Top Chef Recap

This was the most awesome episode ever! Ok, so the chefs finally made it to New York. Finally, they were able to enjoy a bit of free time in the city before their challenges...which as I mentioned before were AWESOME.


The cheftestants were invited to eat at the legendary Le Cirque. While there, they were treated to a meal of sea bass paupiette--a potato wrapped sea bass sitting on leek fondue and mushrooms. It looked absolutely delicious. OF COURSE, the chefs were not able to enjoy their meal for too long. OF COURSE, this was all set up for a QF. The quickfire required the cheftestants to recreate the famous Le Cirque recipe in 20 minutes. Hung was first and recreated the dish perfectly. The owner was very impressed by the taste and technique. When he goes back to the table, Dale asks Hung to describe how he did it, and Hung declined to explain his technique. Dale called him heartless. EXCUSE ME!! This secured the nail in the I CAN'T STAND DALE coffin. Is he insane!!! That's the point of the entire challenge. Dale is next and his fish was dinged for lack of flavor. Brian did not completely recreate the dish. The taste was good, but he did not completely wrap his fish. Casey's was touted as the best tasting. Sara, oh Sara. She served seared bass. After proving he was a little pervy with his comment directed at Casey, he selected Hung as the winner. YAY!!! Hung was VERY pleased with himself.


Next up, elimination challenge. The chefs were taken to the French Culinary Institute. The test was to create a fantastic meal using only chicken, potatoes, and onion. Perfect ingredients. Hung made chicken by using the sous vide method (vacuum sealed and then 'poached' slowly). Casey made a variation of a Coq au Vin. Dale created a "duet" of chicken and mashed potatoes. Brian served a type of shepherd's pie using ramps and pheasant sausage. The ramps turning the potato layer neon green. Bleech. Finally, Sarah undercooked a fricassee. In a double smackdown, Hung won. Considering the judges, I was not surprised. Of the remaining chefs, Hung is the most technically skilled. I'm sorry, I don't care how good Brian's dish was. I would have never found out because the appearance was so scary. Who over the age of 5 wants to eat neon green potatoes? Casey, oh Casey. Not a good idea to label your dish Coq Au Vin when it technically wasn't. I know that most people use chicken in that dish now. However, one of your guest judges is responsible for introducing french food to Americans in a big way. If you call it Coq au Vin, he expects Coq au Vin. Know your audience. Dale and his disastrous duet were placed in the bottom two. Sarah, with her undercooked chicken was there also. Alas, the cheesemaker was sent home. I'm actually amazed she made it that far. She was seriously outclassed by the other chefs. Bye bye Sara.

So, now it's finally time. FINALE TIME! I'm so excited! At the same time, I hate to see my favorite show end. I'm pleased as punch at how they managed to redeem themselves from last year's disaster. Again, I'm pulling for my boy Hung. I think he could take it all.


Again, I loved this episode. The chefs were allowed to cook. Great judges and straight up good food.

Dining the Friendly Skies

Top Chef recap time!!! Yeah, I realize it's really late. Yes, I'm aware that this week's episode will be on in a few minutes. What can I say?

It's morning and the chefs are asleep in their beds. That is, until Padma annoyingly calls for them to wake up. CJ was all kinds of excited. Dale, not so much. Tee Hee. Hung dared to dream that maybe she had cooked breakfast for them. But, no. As Dale guessed, it was a breakfast challenge. So, there they are in tattered sleep clothes, robes, slippers, and bare feet...expected to cook a delicious breakfast. LOL. Of course, Hung and his monkey (throughout the show, Hung has referenced 'his monkey') in his manic running around knocked over a glass jar. Of course, he left it on the floor. But, enough about that. The food. Oh my goodness, after this challenge, I had a hankering for breakfast. Hung prepared eggs sunnyside up, seared NY steak topped with mushrooms and onions, and a smoothie. Ok, I wanted that smoothie. It consisted of papaya, bananas, honey, condensed milk, and Grand Marnier. That sounds sweetly delicious. Sara decided to prepare egg in a hole, using whole grain bread. The bread was prepared in the manner of french toast. She also added some prosciutto and maple syrup. She had the salty sweet action going on. Casey prepared a savory french toast with a sunny side up egg. She prepared a celery salsa to accompany her dish. CJ prepared strawberry and cream crepes. He also served a smoothie of blueberries, dates and marscapone. Dale presented a ham, apple, and onion frittata with mustard hollandaise. Brian presented a lobster and butter poached egg with smoked salmon and kalamata olives. There was more. A lot more in fact. He had alot going on with that dish. He also made a berry smoothie. Hung and his monkey reigned supreme. His prize, Padma's book. I was underwhelmed on his behalf. But, Hung was surprisingly non-snarky.


After the quickfire, the contestants were told that they were going to NY. Of course, they were super excited. But, oh no. This is Top Chef. The Magical Elves have a great time pulling the carpet from beneath the chefs. So, only the chefs that survive the Elimination Challenge will move on to the Big Apple.


Elimination Challenge: To create delicious airplane food. It must fit in a certain space, and withstand cooking for at least 10 minutes in the same container. Since Hung won the GF, he selects his protein first. He selects the seabass, which is an oily fish that will not dry out after the nuking. Brian selects NY strip. Dale selects filet mignon. Sara selects salmon. Casey selects veal. CJ selects halibut. My favorite part of this challenge is that my favorite person in the culinary world, Anthony Bourdain is a guest judge. He is the King of Snark. The only thing better than his little zingers is how much HE enjoys his little zingers. In the end, Hung and Casey emerge with the best dishes. Casey is victorious. That's two weeks in a row. She is really pulling out in the end. The judges were not happy with Sara's dry salmon and not-so-good couscous, CJ's too minty salmon and horrid broccolini, and Brian's mushy lobster-purple potato hash. Sadly (or not so sadly) CJ's broccolini is declared the single worst dish in Top Chef history (an overstatement I'm sure), and he was told to pack his knives and go.

FLASHBACK: Epiphany

I was under the weather this past week, so blogging was not at the top of my list of "things to do." However, I'm all better and my fingers are itching to make up for lost time. After I post my experience at Epiphany, I will have one flashback left. After that, expect more detailed accounts of my dining experiences.

I dined at Epiphany on my first night in Santa Barbara. Again, after extensive research, I decided that I had to dine at Epiphany. Not only were the reviews great, but the menu looked amazing.

The B&B was only three blocks away from the restaurant, so I enjoyed a lovely stroll. Since I was a bit early, I stopped in at the bar to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail--a Grey Goose Pear martini. Mmmm.

I decided on an entree after reviewing the menu online. I decided to have three courses. I ordered a glass of Pinot and looked over the menu. Soon, I was presented with an amuse bouche of a baked baby eggplant chip topped with goat cheese and a thin slice of grape tomato. That little morsel served as the perfect first bite. Eggplant and goat cheese have really distinctive flavors. Initially, I was unsure of the pairing. However, it was really nice. I actually wished there was a second bite. But, that was it. I decided to focus on my three courses.

I ordered a salad...which was unusual for me at a fine dining establishment. Salads are sort of a side show attraction at a fine dining establishment. It's sooooo not about the salad. But, I really wanted a salad. So, hey, I ordered a salad. I selected the Apple Bibb Salad. It consisted of a wedge of fresh Bibb lettuce. Bibb lettuce is a good place to start with a salad. It's not as common as romaine. It's not bitter like arugala, radicchio, or frisee. Bibb is buttery and tender. Highly enjoyable. It was accompanied by thin julienned apple, spiced pecans, and a blue cheese vinaigrette. It was a tasty salad. The sweetness and tartness of the apple paired well with the lettuce. The spiced pecans provided the right amount of spiciness and crunch. But, that was not the best part. The blue cheese vinaigrette was amazing. The blue cheese was not overpowering. I believe it was blended with balsamic vinegar. The combination was a revelation--if, a salad dressing can be described in that way. It was just so good. It was so good, I sat there trying to devise a way to replicate it. It was just that tasty.

For my entree, I selected the Crispy Skin Roasted Duck with foie gras risotto. The star of this entree was the risotto. It was creamy, but not runny. It was absolutely delicious. The only negative thing I could say about the risotto is that I wish there was more on my plate. The portion was minuscule. Sadly, I cannot applaud the duck. The skin was not as crispy as I anticipated. Again, I love Chinese duck. THAT is crispy skin. This, not so much. Also, the worse duck sin was committed. The fat was not rendered completely. Gross. It completely took away from any pleasant elements. Of course, there was a healthy serving of duck. Bleech.

So, because of my disappointment with the duck, I decided to seek refuge in an oldie, but goodie for dessert...Creme Brulee. For those who know me, that might not sound like a good idea. I have left many a restaurant complaining that their rendition of creme brulee was not indeed creme brulee, but pudding. So, there was a chance, that I would leave mad. But, I had faith. I knew they would make it up to me. The creme brulee was custard, not pudding. So, the meal ended on a happy note.

While, Epiphany was a bit of a disappointment, I cannot deny the highlights of the evening. Also, the staff was attentive and accommodating. However, a fantastic salad and side dish does not equal a good review. But, I am open to giving them a second chance. Next time, I will give the Limo Ride (their name for their tasting menu) a try.

http://www.epiphanysb.com/