gastrotect's Profile
Best way to experience Uchi?
So my fiance is taking me to Uchi Houston for my birthday dinner next month and I was curious if anyone has been. I'd love to know what I shouldn't miss, if there is a best way to order/eat there, etc. Any tips?
Ethnic restaurants in New Orleans?
Since no one has said it yet I will mention Bennachin. Great African place in the Quarter.
As others have said, lots of good Vietnamese.
Middle Eastern seems to have been covered already.
While New Orleans doesn't have out-of-this-world sushi, there are several sushi places that I enjoy including Kyoto, Little Tokyo (Mid-City), Sake Cafe (Uptown) and Ninja.
There is a dim-sum place on the Westbank next door to a large Asian grocery (Hong-Kong Market).
My personal favorite for tacos is a truck on Claiborne avenue near the Parish line.
It may not be New York, but you can get plenty quality variety in your diet here.
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Bennachin Restaurant
1212 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Little Tokyo
310 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
Ethnic restaurants in New Orleans?
Wow. That is the polar opposite to every experience I've ever had at Slice. No idea what happened on your visit there, but I have to say Slice is my personal favorite for pizza in town.
Any restaurants that regularly have fried green tomatoes on the menu?
You can get them plain at Crabby Jack's too.
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Crabby Jacks
428 Jefferson Hwy, New Orleans, LA 70121
Leonardo Trattoria does not serve ice water!
I would want to speak with the manager just to find out why such a policy would be in place at all, not to make sure the server was right or wrong.
Rehearsal Dinner for 35-40 people in Galleria/Montrose
I've been to Maggiano's before. Didn't even think of it. Good to know there is one in Houston. Agreed on the food, it's only mediocre, but the setting and price-range would be right.
Rehearsal Dinner for 35-40 people in Galleria/Montrose
I actually thought of Pappasito's right after I posted this. Glad to see someone else thinks it might work. That will be on my shortlist I think.
Rehearsal Dinner for 35-40 people in Galleria/Montrose
Next summer my fiance and I will be getting married in Houston in the Galleria area. I am doing some research to locate a suitable restaurant for our rehearsal dinner. Normally, being a Chowhound, quality of food would rule the day, but since I have to consider my parents' wallet, I am looking to be affordable as a priority. I will have about 35 people and would like someplace where I can get $50 per person or less (that would hopefully include alcohol, though it's not a strict guideline). To accomplish this I'm guessing family style dining will be our best bet, but if it can be accomplished with individual plates, that works too. I don't want to do anything too adventurous since so many different people will be eating. I am thinking Italian, Southern, Tex-Mex are all examples of cuisine that would work well. Galleria and Montrose are the two areas I'm thinking will work best, but I am not married to those two areas, so suggest away. Thank you in advance for any advice.
Treme guest appearances
There is at least one more guest chef appearance also. One I know for sure is Alon Shaya, the executive chef at Domenica in New Orleans (part of the Besh group). He plays one of the other chefs in the New York kitchen. He has slightly darker skin with a bit of a Middle-Eastern look. I thought I heard that there was another chef in the show as well, but I'm not sure who it is.
The Richman scene was awesome. Loved that she used a Sazerac on Richman.
Haute Wheels report
I enjoyed the festival, but there are some logistical kinks to work out I think. Next year, if possible, they should at least double the number of trucks. Not only would more choices be welcome, but the lines and wait-times needed thinning out as they were just too long almost across the board. I go to try Phamily Bites' shrimp/pork egg rolls, Hit N Run's burger and Taqueria La Luz's Mexican Hot Dog. I loved the egg rolls and the burger. The hot dog was good, but not great. Adding hot sauce to it helped it out a good deal. I did, however, appreciate not having to wait at Taqueria La Luz, so the hot dog seemed even better for that reason.
I also had the cake balls from Angie's Cakes. They were delicious, but heavy. I split an order of 3 and I'm not sure I could eaten much else if I'd eaten all 3 by myself.
Oyster Festival
I enjoyed it last year for what it's worth. Food was good and reasonably priced from what I remember. I'll probably hit it again this year.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
Mike also didn't feel the need to throw anyone under the bus himself, something he has done in the past (though perhaps not during this season) and could have done here if this was actually an issue. Richard simply outperformed Mike, agreed.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
You aren't saying it was her fault, you are just strongly suggesting it out of the blue. Got it. Also, refer above to cmvan where Mike told Carla to put the dessert back in the oven. His direction there, not her initiative, so it's likely that he had as much a hand in it's improper cooking as she did. Also, Tom was fairly clear about how and why Richard won on his blog and the dessert did not play a large part (especially considering the votes on the desserts were split down the middle).
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
I see it this way: it's patronizing. I did not pick up a Charlie's Angels vibe, but rather the typical meaning: sweet, caring or comforting. In most contexts, that would be totally complimentary. However, he was not talking about these women as friends who are angels to him in his personal life, but rather talking about them in a professional setting. Those women were there to help him create a great meal, not be comforting (or whatever else comes with being an angel). Calling them "angels" focuses on their femininity not their acumen (skills in the kitchen) relevant to the context.
I've seen some say he perhaps meant they were his angels in that they were saving him. If that was his meaning, I wouldn't find patronization in it. But given his (valid) confidence and belief in his menu and skills, I don't think he believed saving was what he needed and therefore don't believe that was his intended meaning.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
Mike was indeed complimentary and I think he was genuine in praising Carla when he found out she was on his team. He changed his tune on Jamie and praised her and said good things about Tiffani. He really was a good chef all episode long and I think he deserves credit for that. BUT, would Mike have called male sous chefs angels? There is something inherently sexist about using the term in such a way as he did, even if he wasn't trying to be demeaning. The connotation is that the women were there to make him feel comfortable when they were actually there to help create a great meal. karenfinan said it very well when she used the word patronizing. Just because he wasn't being mean by saying angels doesn't mean it was 100% positive. It's along the same lines as saying a female chef is a "great female chef" or a "great chef for a woman". Technically, it's praise, but it still carries a hint of "women are automatically not quite as good."
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
"I fail to see how calling them his angels is anything but a high compliment. It certainly isn't sexist."
Eh, that's not really true. "Angel", just like "sweetie" and "darling", can definitely be sexist. Sure, it isn't misogynist, but you don't have to hate women to be sexist. In this case, he was clearly complimenting them, but he was doing it in a way that seemed a tad demeaning. Just a tad. He certainly put faith in them to execute components of his menu and he praised their skill and work after the fact. There was a lot I liked about Mike in this episode and he moved up a couple notches in my book with his attitude and performance in the episode. But a good deal of his past behavior/comments colors him for me.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
I'd take Dale, Angelo and Antonia as sous chefs. All skilled, hard-working and creative while ego-free enough to recognize that it would be my show. FOH I'd take Carla over Fabio for a couple reasons: 1) I am biased towards her personality to be honest, both are great at FOH and 2) I would trust her to lend a skilled helping hand in the kitchen (if needed) over Fabio, especially where salads/starters and desserts are concerned.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #16 (FINAL Finale Pt. 4) - 03/30/11 (Spoilers)
Soooo happy how this turned out. Very pleased Richard won, but more importantly, THIS was EXACTLY how a TC finale should play out: The chefs given plenty slack to put forth exactly what they want and have to do it as the chef, not just a cook and then have both chefs knock the ball out of the park. By the end I wouldn't have been totally upset about Mike winning because he put together a fantastic dinner and proved he belonged in the finale. But thank god Richard put it together. Mike clearly evolved as a chef from his season and even this season, but Richard did too. Richard channeled his skill into creating dishes that were accessible while still being progressive. Great, great finale.
Dot's Diner?
Definitely not a place to hit up as a visitor unless you are staying near one in Metairie.
sweetbreads/foie gras
I had sweetbreads at Le Crepe Nanou a couple years ago that I really enjoyed. I haven't been back since, but since it's a neighborhood mainstay I doubt they have changed much. I am not well versed in sweetbreads FWIW, but that meals sticks out in my mind when I think sweetbreads.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #15 (Finale Pt. 3) - 03/23/11 (Spoilers)
I am of two minds here. One, I love the idea of doing there are certain to be some surprises. Two though, different people work better with certain personality types not to mention the chefs don't necessarily need a creative sous chef but a skilled one (there isn't always a difference but there can be). Ultimately, I think I like the idea, I just hope it doesn't screw Richard over!
Best place to eat crawfish
Wow. That is terrible news. That was one of my favorite things about the Bulldog during this season. That's a shame.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #14 (Finale Pt. 2) - 03/16/11 (Spoilers)
I assumed she was going home at that point. It just sounded like a bad idea. I figured the ceviche would cool down her soup and screw up what she was going for.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #12 - 03/02/11 (Spoilers)
They have had family on TC before and criticized dishes in front of that family, so I'm not sure where you are coming from there. And even if they didn't bash the dishes in front of the family, how does that stop them from eliminating someone? The truth is that the judges had one favorite dish (Antonia's) and 4 dishes that were equally excellent. Or I suppose two dishes that were almost perfect and two that were equally good. If a coinflip would have been the only way to choose, how would that be fair? And it isn't a cop-out. The judges still have to eliminate four people eventually, so the burden is not lifted for them.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #12 - 03/02/11 (Spoilers)
As Gail said on her blog, all it does is delay the inevitable for judges. If they spend hours rehashing the dishes and still stay at a stalemate, what is so wrong with keeping all five? Would it be more fair to send someone home based on a coin flip? Because the impression we are given is that there was no way to choose one dish as less-than. Time and again we are told that the dishes in front of the judges are the only dishes considered, so in a 4-way tie, I don't know what else would be fair.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #12 - 03/02/11 (Spoilers)
The judges were pretty clear that there was definitely a winner, but that every other dish was excellent. Each dish had something that was perhaps not perfect, but none of the dishes had anything that set them apart (in a bad way) from the other dishes. The judges have felt bad about sending people home in the past, and they have sent people home for dishes that were very, very good as well, so I don't get your feel good comment. I think it's pretty obvious they were operating with a dead heat in their opinion and could not choose a losing dish.
If You Could Only Pick 1 Top Chef Contestant (any season) to Cook You a Meal, It'd Be:
It would honestly be depending on the day, time and my mood. But my immediate reaction was Kevin Gillespie. The Voltaggio Brothers, Carla, Richard and Dale T all rank highly for me too. Also, Stephanie. I really liked everything about her in her season.
Top Chef All-Stars - Ep. #12 - 03/02/11 (Spoilers)
I wanted to eat each and every dish last night. And how about Carla breaking out the Liquid Nitro? At first I was surprised, but I wonder if she has a couple tricks up her sleeve she has been saving in case she makes it this far? Obviously it could be all editing, but she didn't seem at all flustered or nervous about using liquid nitrogen, and it didn't seem like it was a suggestion from Richard either.
I thought it was interesting that everybody not only cooked from the heart last night, but took some risks too. Mike and Antonia prepared dishes that had failed and hurt other chefs in this same season. Richard included a greenery that would not be expected with the meat he served. Tiffany prepared okra which she knew for a fact Tom doesn't like. And Carla went right back to Southern cooking when it almost got her booted last week (and she used liquid nitrogen as I said). I really enjoyed the EC last night. It's what I love about TC. No silly reality drama, just good food from good inspiration.
