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Monday, June 30, 2008
66 Dogs, 12 Minutes, A Lifetime of Glory
Posted by Brian Ries on Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Fireworks? Barbecue? Boston Pops? A celebration of independence? Bah!
Don't think you can just show up and join the fun; these days you have to win a qualifying contest to enter the Nathan's Championship. Go to the International Federation of Competitive Eating to check out other upcoming events, and get tips on how the pros do their grotesque thing.
St. Pete's own Dairy Inn will also hold their, much more relaxed competition on July 4th, starting at 11:30 a.m. Stop by the restaurant to pick up an entry form, along with a great burger and a shake.
You can also read my piece on competitive eating to get a little more background, as well as a glimpse into my own mercifully brief foray into the stomach-stretching arts.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Boulud And Keller Want To Rule The World
Posted by Brian Ries on Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 1:12 PM
New details have emerged about this year's American Bocuse D'Or chef team, to be coached and managed by Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud. Keller, Boulud and other chefs have created a non-profit organization to take care of the details of making a team that can beat the world's best chefs. Some of those details: a special training facility next to Keller's French Laundry, $15k for team members, a paid 3-month sabbatical from whatever job they happen to have, and housing during training.
Not only that, but they'll also be paying the expense of the eight teams they choose to compete just to make it to the final team, which I talked about here.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Voting With Your Stomach
Posted by Brian Ries on Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 6:50 PM
We needed sustenance for another of CL's marathon editorial meetings, so we called up SoHo joint Gourmet Pizza for a few pies. Turns out Gourmet is running an election special:
or
Gourmet will keep track of the sales and post a monthly victor on the restaurant's website.
This opens up a whole new, unwanted layer to the already tough pizza decision making process. What if I want the meat pizza, but don't want to throw in with McCain, or vice versa? Could I end up buying a pizza I don't want in a meaningless show of political solidarity with my chosen candidate? Sigh. I'll just take a plain cheese, thanks.
We actually ordered a bit of both. The McCain was fine, although the ham was a bit bland and chunky. The Barack was, well, odd. It tasted fine, creamy with a big hit of garlic, but the bright green pesto star in the center was a bit disconcerting. Draw your own conclusions.
Know about any other restaurants or stores running similar politico-gustatory polls?
Friday, May 30, 2008
Beer Pong Legends
Posted by Brian Ries on Fri, May 30, 2008 at 1:36 PM
Rocky. Hoosiers. Hoop dreams. Now, there is another entrant in that epic genre of sports films. Last Cup profiles four young competitors seeking the ultimate title in the fierce world of Beer Pong. Yep, of course I'm talking about the World Series of Beer Pong held in Las Vegas, Nevada every January. You may have seen the finals replayed at 4 a.m. on the Ocho. This year's winner was the unstoppable team called "Chauffeuring the Fat Kid", who took home the $50,000 grand prize. If they'd had prizes like that when I was in college, I'd have considered going pro.
Here's some footage of the winners in action:
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Bocuse D'Or -- Apply Now!
Posted by Brian Ries on Wed, May 28, 2008 at 8:47 PM
I spent some time yesterday with chef David Miller of Savant Fine Dining in Clearwater for a section of our upcoming Food Issue (June 11). You'll read more about this young, impressive chef then, but one tidbit that stuck out was how he made a name for himself through cooking competitions while he was still a teenager. His skill in some of those elaborate contests gained him a free ride to the Culinary Institute of America. To me, the most surprising thing is that he still hungers for the competition and laments the lack of local contests for chefs.
Screw the local stuff, David, why not go back to the big leagues? Uber-chefs Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud will be heading up Team USA in next year's Bocuse D'Or -- the most prestigious culinary competition in the world -- and they're planning to have an old-school chef-off in Orlando this September to pick a team. Judges will include a who's who of culinary luminaries -- Trotter, Batali, Ripert, Colicchio, Pepin and many more -- and the competition will be judged on a long list of criteria.
Interested? Most teams are being invited by Keller or Boulud, but you can fill out an application and dare to dream. (More info at Grub Street.)
The Bocuse D'Or is named after French culinary icon Paul Bocuse. I met the guy while pouring wine at an event in Sarasota a bout a decade ago. He's a bit of a jerk. Go Team USA!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Fast Food Showdown -- McD Southern Chicken Sandwich vs. Chick-Fil-A
Posted by Brian Ries on Thu, May 22, 2008 at 4:32 PM
I've been eying the new McDonald's sandwich creation since it was launched a few weeks ago -- fried chicken, pickles, on a "buttery tasting" bun. Sound familiar? Yep, it's a direct shot across the bow of Chick-Fil-A's signature sammy. In the interests of full disclosure, my first job was at the Chick-Fil-A in the Sarasota Square Mall when I was 15. Even after coming home drenched in aerosolized grease for six-months, I was more than willing to put away a sandwich and container of waffle fries. It's still one of my favorite fast-food joints.
Today the NYT discussed the tendency that big fast food has of stealing good ideas from little fast food, so I thought it was high time to do a little head-to-head taste test. The results of my scientific research are after the break -
Friday, May 16, 2008
$20 Menu Challenge
Posted by Brian Ries on Fri, May 16, 2008 at 12:53 PM
I'm currently lining up chefs to participate in our Tampa Food Issue for June -- the $20 Menu Challenge. All they have to do is create a meal for two with at least three courses and keep the ingredient list to under $20. (We did this last year in Sarasota, without the course requirements. Jose Martinez' contribution was amazing.)
Not too difficult, in my opinion, but I had a chef yesterday who was shocked. "That's impossible," she explained, trying to wrap her head around the concept. "Maybe these people don't want to eat very much?"
I suspect that she'll come up with something after she thinks about it, but later that day I was telling China Yuan owner Peter Chan what she'd said. Maybe it's just a stylistic difference, but he had different take on the matter. "If a chef told me that, I would tell them to go to hell!" he said. "You want dinner for four I can do that. You want dinner for eight, I can do that for less than $20." Chan explained that he's had to feed his family for a lot less than that in the past and he knows how to stretch a dining budget.
He'll be providing us with some recipes for the issue, so if there's anything special on his menu you want the details on, just drop me a line. And, if you know a chef who could turn a $20 bill into haute cuisine, let us know. We'll add them to the list if they're willing.
What can you do with $20?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Million Dollar Cookies, Green Consumption, Bubba and the World Food Crisis: It's The Monday Media Wrap-up
Posted by Brian Ries on Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 1:18 PM
- "Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered." Win a million dollars. [Pillsbury]
- "It's nearly Earth Day: Time to consume more to save the planet." [Ad Age]
- "I don’t believe that anyone has asked Bill Clinton what he’ll be looking for in a chef should his wife become president or what he’ll serve at his first state dinner. (As his family’s former chef, I can’t resist affectionately suggesting that this is probably for the best, given his predilection for comfort food.)" [NYT]
- WORLD FOOD CRISIS: "In Haiti, protesters chanting “We're hungry†forced the prime minister to resign; 24 people were killed in riots in Cameroon; Egypt's president ordered the army to start baking bread; the Philippines made hoarding rice punishable by life imprisonment." [Economist]
- WORLD FOOD CRISIS: "What biofuels do is undeniable: they take food out of the mouths of starving people and divert them to be burned as fuel in the car engines of the world's rich consumers." [New Statesman]
Monday, March 17, 2008
Reality Check: Last Restaurant Standing
Posted by Brian Ries on Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 11:44 PM
NBC is casting a new reality show, masterminded by Granada America, the fine people behind Nanny 911, Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. You missed the casting calls in LA, NY and Atlanta, but there's still time to make the tour stops in Houston, DC and Chicago.
There's no news on what the show is about, just that they are:
"are seeking two-person teams, with pre-existing relationships, who have always dreamed of opening their own restaurant! Have you and your spouse, friend, family member, business associate or colleague dreamed of opening your own restaurant? Is one of you a whiz in the kitchen while the other is a front-of-the-house superstar? Do you have what it takes to open and run a successful restaurant? Has financing always been a problem?"
Ripoff may be too strong a word. Granada is, after all, the producer of the British version as well.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Burger Haiku Contest
Posted by Brian Ries on Wed, Feb 20, 2008 at 4:55 PM
I've been eating a lot of burgers lately and it's gettin' me down. Although I'm careful not to stuff my face, by the third or fourth all-beef patty of the day my stomach feels tight and my mind slows to a greasy dribble. I crave something to re-start my failing mental faculties and energize my mind for the next burger tasting. As always in these situations, I turn to Japanese poet Basho for inspiration:
Sick on my journey
only my dreams will wander
these desolate moors
Of course, that was Basho's death poem, so maybe it's not quite the inspiration I'm hoping for.
I think you guys can do better, at least when it comes to burgers. Drop your most impressive burger haiku -- following the 5,7,5 syllable form -- into the comments and I'll give the winner a big fat prize. (Probably a burger.) Here's one to get you started:
Sixty four burgers
beloved beef, salt and fat
compete for the prize
You can do better. Get started!
