Yes, she's really lovely. I personally like my jus on the side (I find non-disintegrating bread easier to eat, but I'm a little sensitive about messy hands/fingers) and request it that way. I thought a touch more oregano and black pepper would suit my taste. I also requested the spicier pepper from the hot dog, as I thought the standard for the Italian beef might be a little mild. I'll have to go back this week!

#2: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/12/th...

Nice friendly folks, tasty Italian beef (certainly the best I've had in the Boston area), good chili dog.

Waverly Market often has sandwich specials with fish or scallop.

Sichuan Gourmet in Framingham can do two off-the-menu fish lunch specials, if you ask the management up front. One is the fish filet with basil (spicy, also comes with asparagus), and the other is fish filet with black bean sauce (not spicy, also comes with assorted vegetables including mushroom). The former is one of my favorites. I think there's a shrimp one, too.

Ours was a little salty but otherwise good

Based on the dozens of times I've had it there, the jajangmyun at Buk Kyung in Allston should have small pieces of meat, as well as minced onion and zucchini. No potato. Also, I recommend getting the ganjajang (the sauce is sauteed first, so it's thicker). The noodles are quite good.

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Buk Kyung
MA, MA

If they're not on the bar, you can just ask for them (along with a little mustard). Goes great with beer!

Another vote for Brasserie Jo! We used to live around the corner, and it was also our go-to joint. Since we would usually sit in the bar area on weekdays, Cesar was our usual man. Generously portioned martinis (my favorite martini of all time is still the Colonnade Royale), great warm baguettes, "secret" hard-boiled eggs on request, and dependable fare.

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Brasserie Jo
120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

What? Would they take some sort of amnestic medication to make them forget the part where they're watching the chefs actually prepare their food?

Besides, the Chairman would no longer get to alternate between What was your approach to the secret ingredient?" and "What was your inspiration for the secret ingredient?"

We really like Craigie on Main, but you can only have the burger in the bar area. You can reserve a table and order off the full menu there, too.

We had a really charming dinner at Five Fifty Five a few years ago. I wrote about it here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5153...

Hope this helps.

I would stop by L'Express for breakfast, lunch, or a very late night snack; it's a landmark, but I'm not sure there's much to make it distinctively Montreal. We really enjoyed our dinner at Joe Beef the last time we were there, so much that we went and ate one of their sister restaurants, which was also quite good. The prices were surprisingly expensive, but everything we had was first-rate. Anyway, just another possibility to consider.

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Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA

L'Express Restaurant
3927 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2W2M4, CA

Peach Farm used to do a great rendition of dry fried beef chow foon. I'm not sure what wok hay is (I know the definition/meaning, but I'm talking about the subjective experience in the mouth), but I think this had it.

We recently ordered off a few things off the "house specials" separate menu. We had the "sauteed fish fillet with basil" and sauteed snow pea greens (listed as "sauteed seasonal vegetable" or something like that), both of which were fantastic. The fish came with a moderately spicy sauce (only one red pepper on the menu) with bright flavors (not a little bitter, as sometimes spicy fish dishes can have, maybe from the Sichuan peppercorns?), and the basil and perfectly cooked asparagus added a lot. The snow pea greens were also cooked perfectly, crisp and incredibly fresh, and we asked for only a little garlic. Lastly, we also had the ma po tofu with pork, which was great but most of which we brought home as leftovers.

Yes, sorry, I didn't mention that Babbo did it unrequested. It's really a nice touch.

Sauce can also be difficult because they can "break" or de-emulsify, which is what happened to Jen in the previous challenge. She may have been particularly careful not to let this happen again.

Adding an element like sauce or shavings (truffle, Himalayan salt, etc) at the judges' table has been routinely allowed in Iron Chef America in the past, if I recall correctly.

Babbo did this for our table.

Harold Dieterle blogged about how "Did you taste your dish?" was actually similar.

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs...

Has anything besides her cancer dish been in or near the top of any single challenge? The poll results were interesting, as were the reactions of the other cheftestants (besides Eli and Mike I) who were standing or sitting near her in the house kitchen. Also Michael V's comment about her in the interview on the Bravo website.

No, the hot dogs (and buns) are steamed only. The "grill" is a flat top where they cook the burgers and sandwiches (think of grilled cheese).

Definitely worth a stop. The dogs have a nice "bite" to them, and the bun is nice and fluffy, although I prefer grilling both when eating them at home.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/150637

Last time we were there, we really enjoyed the smokey skillet roasted mussels. I guess they heat a cast iron skillet until screaming hot, add mussels and salt, cover with another screaming hot skillet on top, serve with clarified butter and parsley on top. Great stuff!

Well, for anyone puzzled or irritated by the pronunciation of "ceviche", that's how they pronounced it at Le Bernardin when we ate there earlier this year, so it might not be surprising that Jen C's mentor and employer might have had some influence on her.

Well, there was some conflict like the Oseland/Rodriguez friction that didn't make it to the show, regardless of reps or pedigrees. The thing is, I do think that you just can't compare the last few episodes of Masters to the typical episodes of the regular Top Chef. The judges are different, so there isn't Toby Young trying to sound clever (there's a whole British tradition of harsh criticism). The contestants are simply performing at different level. You wouldn't accuse the stopwatch of being deferential in the semifinals and finals of Olympic races compared to the qualifying time trials. The mistakes on TCM were still probably not as bad as, say, seitan-stuffed poblanos. I thought the chefs on TCM generally seemed to actually listen to the criticism, take it much harder, and realize and rue their mistakes more obviously than many of the contestants on the regular Top Chef (I'm thinking of three of the bottom four chefs from the first episode of Las Vegas). Lastly, I do think that most of the Top Chef Masters only realized how difficult the challenges actually were when they were competing, themselves, so it will be interesting to see if any of them return as guest judges, and if so, whether their criticism is moderated.

I like to use Aji-Mirin (sweet rice seasoning, which has a little alcohol that cooks right off), instead. Should be perfectly acceptable as a substitute, according to my Korean mother.

Many viewers seem to keep forgetting that the shows are edited.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showt...

"how can you say something is the best thing you've ever tasted and still give the person a 3.5?"

Because that was one out of four dishes? Oseland apparently felt that two others were misses (http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-maste...)? If the total score were an average of the four dishes from 1-5, let's give him a 5 for the short ribs, a 4 for the gnocchi, a 3 for the polenta, and a 2 for the fish, that averages out to 3.5 Just guessing, of course.

Oseland's blog has comments on the fish and the polenta:

"or have the winner be the guy with the over cooked seafood even though everyone else with overcooked seafood got ripped a new one?"

Because that was one out of four dishes, and three others were spectacular? 5 for the mole, 5 for the BBQ, 5 for the pibil, and a 3 for the rice? Even 5, 4, 4, and anything greater than 1 would have beaten MC, as least in Oseland's book. Again, just guessing with these numbers.

Anyway, with a little basic math, it's easy to see how you could say that one dish is the best thing you've ever tasted but still feel that the entire meal wasn't the best meal you've ever tasted.

Did you consider whom she works for?

Well, I guess I meant that of all the restaurants in Boston, ECG would be the closest for me, though that's certainly not the same thing as saying that they're interchangeable. Both have a boisterous kitchen front and center, with tattooed cooks who can be seen hard at work, as well as a seemingly egalitarian ethos among the waitstaff (whoever is available will bring you your food or drink). I thought the foie gras and wine list epitomized the glorious spirit of excess and haute cuisine elements that help make APdC so special, and I hoped that the "translated into New England seafood" phrase would remove any expectations of the Quebecois character of the APdC menu. I do find something similar about the spirit of the places, though they are, of course, very different in almost every detail, kind of like the way Willensky's reminds me a little of the long defunct Elsie's. Anyway, maybe it's just me.

My wife and I love Montreal! Just a few points to add to Nader's post, which I thought was pretty spot on:

1. Alternatives for pizza include Picco Pizza (great American pizza) on Tremont St in the South End and Gran Gusto (pretty authentic Neapolitan style pizza) on Sherman St in Cambridge.
2. An alternative to Neptune would be B&G Oysters also on Tremont St in the South End for quality New England-style fare at surprisingly expensive prices (the OP did say that money was no object)
3. Montreal does have a Chinatown, but I don't know if they have Taiwanese. There's Taiwan Cafe on Oxford St in Chinatown, and I like the dim sum at Shangri-La on Belmont St in...Belmont...and Rancatore's ice cream down the street beats the pants of Christina's
4. East Coast Grill would be the closest thing to Au Pied de Cochon, minus the fois gras and wine list, translated into New England seafood...
5. Toro on Washington St in the South End for really decent Spanish and tapas