Graham Elliot Bowles on Iron Chef 2/11

I just got an announcement from the Peninsula that GEB will be on Iron Chef on February 11 at 8pm. He faces Bobby Flay.

The announcement also said that the restaurant will feature items from the battle Tues.-Sat. throughout February.

I don't know if they have cable, but we could gather for this one at Big Buns and Pita, which Chef GEB first reported to LTH

They certainly have a TV, and in fact it was way too loud last time i was there... but it seems only appropriate, and besides I want to order that cornish hen for myself!

If not BB&P then maybe this time we could find a bar where we could really yuk it up like sports fans -- not that Nelly's wasn't fun, but I think the more sporting vibe would be a good time.

Joe,

If you are willing to coordinate with the restaurant, we will come. Another GEB discovery is Salamera, who might have a tv, who might entertain a wee crowd like us.

Regards,

I'm there - Candlelite?

I'm going to visit Salamera for lunch tomorrow with a friend so I can check into TV options at both places.

I just called Candlelite and he was "pretty sure" they get Food Network and that they'd be game for putting it on. The Pro Bowl starts at 5 pm on that day, but that's not the kind of bar draw that a Bears Super Bowl is, so we could probably guide.

I'll report back about the Clark Street restaurants later and if people have a pref of place, we can hash that out.

nr706 wrote:I'm there - Candlelite?

Have they gone back to their tried-and-true recipe? There hasn't been a happy report since they changed their recipe. Inquiring minds want to know!

Regards,

So, Salamera doesn't actually have a TV.

Big Buns & Pita do have a TV; when I asked about cable, they said they don't have it now but that I should call Shaba K. and that sure, he was already planning on hooking it up and it would be done sometime this week. Something about the interaction did not fill me with confidence, so I'm kind of inclined to call for Candlelite, or to see if anyone has any other suggestions...

What do people think?

I had a fantastic pizza last night at Marie's. They have a new wide screen TV in the main dining room. Perhaps a call over there might be a good idea. I'm not sure if they would welcome a group during prime time on a Sunday night or not, but it would be worth making the call.

Sorry, haven't followed up on this.

I'd love to try Marie's some time, but I'm going to call for Candlelite this time. It's closer to home for me and has the bar vibe I was thinking of... I just put in one final call (left a message) to verify that the TVs will be audible if we go, because Iron Chef isn't like televised sports; I think you need to hear it to enjoy it.

If someone wants to pick up and work with Marie's, I'll gladly defer and come, but if I'm going to make the plans, I'll keep up with CL. (If they can't make the TVs audible, we'll have to punt.)

BTW, I also wasn't planning on asking for much support from the restaurant or anything as organized as the meal Nelly's put together; I figured we'd just ask them to arrange seating together and people would just order from the menu.

Or, the groupies may prefer to go to Rockit, where, according to Hungry Magazine, the Chef and his crew will be hanging.

That would take some persuading for me, although I suppose it might be amusing.

Just in case you haven't figured out where you're going to watch the show yet, I just ran across the following:

For those that are interested in watching the program with Chef Bowles and his team, they’ll be at Rockit Bar & Grill that evening.

I'll be in Michigan on Feb. 11, but I'll be watching the show with my mom -- so I'll be with you in spirit.

Hello all! I just wanted to invite any and all of you that would like to join us at Rockit Bar & Grill this Sunday, between 6 and 10pm. There will be a cash bar, the Avenues team, and lots of flat screen TV's to enjoy the show.

Rockit Bar & Grill
22 W. Hubbard
312-645-6000

unfortunately I can't make it to Rockit, but would still love to watch the show - any others still interested in watching at Candlelite?

ChefGEB wrote:Hello all! I just wanted to invite any and all of you that would like to join us at Rockit Bar & Grill this Sunday, between 6 and 10pm. There will be a cash bar, the Avenues team, and lots of flat screen TV's to enjoy the show.

Rockit Bar & Grill
22 W. Hubbard
312-645-6000

Hey Chef,

I'll be paying off a Superbowl bet at Fonda del Mar tonight, but I'm going to do my best to join you after my dinner there. Good luck.

zim wrote:unfortunately I can't make it to Rockit, but would still love to watch the show - any others still interested in watching at Candlelite?

Zim:

I'm still in for Candlelite...

Anyone else? If we get enough folks to need it, I'll give them a head's up that we're coming...

My wife and I can't make Rockit (due to my wife being 8 1/2 months pregnant), but she and I will be at home cheering on the Chef -- SLAY FLAY, Chef.

If the food prepared for the show is anywhere close to the meal I was last served at Avenues, this will be 50-0.

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t= ... venues+dom

Following up:

1. Using chocolate to make desserts -- that sure showed creativity by Mr. Flay.

2. If this was blind-tasted, would it have even been close?

The female panelist seemed, shall we say, predisposed to favor Flay (at times, to an almost ludicrous degree).

David Hammond wrote:The female panelist seemed, shall we say, predisposed to favor Flay (at times, to an almost ludicrous degree).

Exactly.
That is a flaw in the show.
Since the food is not blind tasted, it becomes more of an exhibition and less of a competition (and as a result, I personally refuse to wager on the contests).

Got back a little earlier from a nice dinner and viewing at the Candlelite with Zim and Ms. Zim.

DML wrote:Following up:

1. Using chocolate to make desserts -- that sure showed creativity by Mr. Flay.

2. If this was blind-tasted, would it have even been close?

DML, I'd guess not, although I wonder if I'm taking it differently from you. From the scores alone, ChefGEB came back from a serious deficit on "taste" scores by virtue of plating and originality to lose by only a 2-pt margin. But from your context, I wonder if you think it would have gone the other way?

Honestly, while I agree that Flay's desserts weren't all that original, they sure looked tasty, as did his whole menu.

Candlelite was a pretty good spot for this. While the staff seemed a bit confused at my request for a TV we could hear at first, they were able to accommodate us, and we had the entire back corner of the place to ourselves. They turned down blaring Emeril in the run up to the game and I think it was hard to get them to turn the volume up quite enough for us to fully follow the whole ICA episode, but that just allowed us to have some nice conversation. I must admit that this isn't the first time I missed most of the non-presentation section of this program.

Re C2's question about reverting to recipe, I'm not sure which thing she asks about. Last time I was there, they seriously messed up a couple of orders of garlic fries, but I think the reports she refers to are about the pizza. We ordered both -- a "starter" of garlic fries and a white pizza.

The Garlic fries were quite satisfying; ordered as an appetizer but delivered with our pizza, I was a little worried they'd be soggy and limp, but they were good and fresh with a good balance of garlic topping. (They still seem to be experimenting with the fries themselves, which this time seemed slightly battered as are some fast food seasoned fries. They didn't seem to have seasoning (aside from the garlic) but they were solid enough to carry the garlic, in contrast to the pitiful shoestring fries I got last time.

I was never an expert on the pizza (my usual order is the burger) but the one we ordered was pretty good. It was a white pizza with a thin crust that was more bready than cracker-y. I don't know how close that is to the tried-and-true. We added sausage to half of the pizza and that was a good salty/spicy counterbalance to the almost-too-sweet base white pizza toppings.

From the outset of the judging it was clear Chef GEB was facing an uphill battle, but if he's interested in reproducing his menu a la the upcoming Moto dinner, I bet we could arrange for a hometown Chicago-style "recount."

Congratulations to Chef Bowles, our good friend and one of the culinary mentors of LTH, and to his team of kitchen wizards. We were done proud. Very elegant dishes. And chocolate is a tough ingredient to find the right balance of sweet/savory taste.

One almost had the impression that judge Jeffrey Steingarten was auditioning for Simon Cowell or for Donald Trump. I was afraid that he was going to look at either chef and say, "You're fired!"

germuska wrote:It was a white pizza with a thin crust that was more bready than cracker-y.

It sounds like the great Candlelite pizza of days gone by is gone forever. It was the thin, crackery crust that made it a standout.

The Tribune's piece on the show today noted that the female judge once had Flay as a client. They did say that it was a long time ago that he was her client.

ChefGEB, I thought you and your did team did a wonderful job, and that there was a definite bias towards Flay which probably prevented you from winning. I do wish you had gotten to wear your Bobby Flay t-shirt of him standing on his cutting board! Chicago chefs are now 1 for 4 on Iron Chef America

Jeffrey Steingarten's dry wit and sarcasm make him one of the more enjoyable celebrity panelists, especially when one of the other panelists doesn't get his humor.

Hellodali wrote:The Tribune's piece on the show today noted that the female judge once had Flay as a client. They did say that it was a long time ago that he was her client.

I find that relationship somewhat outlandish, though as the article suggests, a lot of industry folks are acquainted with one another...so the question is: if there is any sort of objectivity sought, why use industry people on the panel in the first place? In the original Iron Chef, they used actors, singers or other people who had stage presence but who were unlikely to have prior relationships with the contestants.

David Hammond wrote:

Hellodali wrote:The Tribune's piece on the show today noted that the female judge once had Flay as a client. They did say that it was a long time ago that he was her client.

I find that relationship somewhat outlandish, though as the article suggests, a lot of industry folks are acquainted with one another...so the question is: if there is any sort of objectivity sought, why use industry people on the panel in the first place? In the original Iron Chef, they used actors, singers or other people who had stage presence but who were unlikely to have prior relationships with the contestants.

That goes back to what I was saying.
This was only an exhibition and not a competition.
How can there be a real competition when there is not blind tasting?

A great entertaining show and it was a pleasure to watch the chefs working, but a competition? No way.

Iron Chef sould be reconfigured and bring in some of the previously mentioned suggestions. Keeping the judges in the dark until tasting would limit bias and truly highlight the food.

By the way, even though the judge has't worked for Flay in nearly a decade, she's still biased. It is a total conflict of interest and the producers could have found plenty of judges that had an interest in food without any prior knowledge of the competitors.

Bobby Flay's food pales in comparision. Two desserts? Wow! What a stroke of genius when working with chocolate! That pumpkin soup looked like something I chucked up after a night of drinking in college years ago.

I also heard a nasty little rumor a while back that the Iron Chefs get three weeks to prepare and know exactly which ingredient will be chosen. So why does the competitor get a list of six possible secret ingredients? I know this is TV and everything is scripted, but Iron Chef could be a great show if they made it a real competition instead of a rigged, meaningless hour-long fiasco.

Agree? Disagree?


"No really baby - I can prescribe anything you want!" - Dr. Nick Rivera

Hi, Dr. Nick!


Ok, got nuthin' else till I watch it tonight. I will say that the Cantu battle showed Alton at his most partisan. I like him but he seemed to be actively rooting against the Moto guys.

Dr. Nick wrote:Bobby Flay's food pales in comparision. Two desserts? Wow! What a stroke of genius when working with chocolate! That pumpkin soup looked like something I chucked up after a night of drinking in college years ago.

I was quite amused when Steingarten (who may have had a few pops before the show) looked up from his pumpkin soup and at Flay and asked, with disbelief in his voice, "Have you actually ever eaten this?"

Octarine wrote:Hi, Dr. Nick!


Ok, got nuthin' else till I watch it tonight. I will say that the Cantu battle showed Alton at his most partisan. I like him but he seemed to be actively rooting against the Moto guys.

Alton has an active dislike of molecular gastronomy.

Dr. Nick wrote:Bobby Flay's food pales in comparision. Two desserts? Wow! What a stroke of genius when working with chocolate!

And that's only if you don't count the chocolate johnny cake ice cream napoleon type concoction that confused Steingarten to such stuttering speechlessness that I was briefly worried he might be having a stroke.

David Hammond wrote:Steingarten (who may have had a few pops before the show)

Steingarten appeared to be drinking straight vodka in a rocks glass during the cooking portion, but maybe that's just me projecting...

Kristen