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May 2008

Spiked at the Top Chef Finals

And then there were four, four finalists for Season 4 of Top Chef. Who are the four going to Puerto Rico? Stephanie, Richard, Antonia, and lastly, Lisa. The controversial but survivalist Spike was ousted in the last competition before the finals.

I got to admit that Spike knew how to play the game. He knew when to shine, and he knew when to duck for cover. He was versatile, running the front of restaurants but also contributing in the kitchen. He can cook but inexperience at his young age might have been a factor.

So other than Lisa, I have no qualms about the final four. Yes, I still think Dale should be in the finals, but all you potential Top Chef contestants out there know this – don’t be an Executive Chef for Restaurant Wars. It just doesn’t pay off. If your team loses, you’re out like Dale and Tre from Season 3. Even if your team wins, the Executive Chef doesn’t necessarily get individual honors. Stephanie won the Restaurant Wars competition even though Antonia was the Executive Chef. Just don’t do it.

Back to the finalists. Stephanie’s probably going to win. She’s the rock of the competition, rarely showing emotion. Wait, here she is getting excited.

Richard could win but has been a little inconsistent of late. Antonia makes “insightful” dishes as described by Judge Gail Simmons. Lisa… I don’t know. But what I do know is seeing the last three Top Chef winners as guest judges emphasized how unmemorable this year’s chefs are. Harold, Ilan, and Hung – now there’s a trio of memorable personalities.


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Blood Donation

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Gave blood for the very first time. Not as painful as I would have thought. The hole left by the needle was surprisingly big.


Was over in no time, but not as quick as the Tabasco Man and his steroid pumping blood stream.

How About Them $10 Kicks?

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So how do $10 Big Ben kicks from Steve & Barry’s compare with other kicks? Not bad considering the cost. For the price of a Hamilton, don’t expect sheer luxury ala Air Jordans, but these kicks are wearable. They kind of feel like a pair of $60 Nike shoes.

To keep costs down, there’s no visible Air unit in the sole, no Zoom, no Shox columns, no carbon fiber. No technology bling or anything like that. But there are some visual trims that don’t make the Big Bens look like clogs. If you look closely, these accents are where corners are cut for price reasons.

The metallic eyelets? They’re silver colored plastic, not metal.

The adjustable velcro strap is a good add on, but in the case of the Big Bens, it’s more for show than function. First, the elastic that provides the adjustability is very short. Good enough for my foot, but you can’t stretch that elastic too far. Second, the strap gets in the way of the laces. You can’t easily tie the laces since the strap covers majority of the laces.


I forget Nike’s quality standards, but I remember something about the stitching and if there was loose stitching on the shoe (even on the inside) right out of the box, you have the right to a new pair. If that’s true, the Bens would never make it through Nike’s quality checks with stitching like this.


Overall though, keeping expectations real for paying $10 bucks, you can’t go wrong with these kicks.

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Beware the WDC

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That’s now two hard drives made by Western Digital (WDC) that have failed on me. I got my iMac back from the Apple Store after one week in the shop, and what was the fix? Change out the original WDC internal drive and replace with a Seagate (ST3500630AS Q). Fortunately, my data (approximately 200 GB) was recovered though I had a fresh install of Leopard on the drive and none of my apps so my machine was pseudo usable. Restoring from Time Machine again did the trick.

Normally, this repair would cost about $400, but AppleCare took care of that bill. Lessons learned from this experience?

  • Beware drives made by WDC
  • Get Leopard and use Time Machine
  • Buy AppleCare

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Asian Jordan Out on Top Chef

The return of Restaurant Wars on Top Chef brought about a big loss with the elimination of Dale, the only Asian on the show. As Executive Chef of Mai Buddha, Dale was dismissed for his failure to bring together a team and deliver great dishes. Even though the Asian fusion restaurant had the strongest chefs trained in Asian cuisine, nothing came together.


Personally, I liked Dale’s style bringing kicks to the kitchen, first with his Air Jordan III in the Top Chef promo and always rocking them blue Air Max 1 (?, never got a good look at them). He usually did well in the competitions, but when it came to teamwork and elevating the performance of his teammates, Dale was like MJ in his early days. When Jordan came to Chicago, he dazzled and bewildered with his offensive abilities. Similarly, Dale’s individual creations were tasty and imaginative. But over the years, Michael came to understand that he couldn’t do it alone. The play of his teammates were vital to success and only being an offensive weapon was not good enough. Michael began to trust in his teammates and got them involved. MJ also diversified his own game adding tenacious defense to his unstoppable offense.


That’s where Dale fell a little short. In Wedding Wars, Dale did everything instead of finding ways of getting the team involved. While he sought input from fellow chefs, Lisa and Spike, in Restaurant Wars, Dale couldn’t get a team effort going. Everyone’s individual agenda overruled the success of the team. In the end, there was no cohesive menu complemented by Dale’s signature taste and style.

The format of the finals for this season changed a little with the inclusion of the top four chefs. Previously, it was the top three chefs. With five chefs remaining, I have issues with Lisa and/or Spike making the finals along with Richard, Stephanie, Antonia, and the now eliminated Dale. Richard and Stephanie belong in the finals. I picked Dale to be there. Antonia’s been solid in competitions dealing with fundamentals but her high end stuff has been kinda weak. Lisa is too angry and recalcitrant to make the finals an enjoyable event. Spike? He more weaseled his way this far on the show, not really standing out. Yep, Top Chef Chicago is becoming more and more unmemorable.

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Black Cherry Streusel Cream? Um, no.

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I went a little coffee cream crazy a while back, buying the new Coffee-mate flavors, Hazelnut Biscotti, Tiramisu, Italian Sweet Creme, and Black Cherry Streusel. I just tried the Black Cherry Streusel, and this flavor just doesn’t do it for me.

First off, this cream looks watery, pouring a little too freely from the bottle. My so-far-new-favorite, Italian Sweet Creme, pours “thicker” making it look richer and creamier. You can definitely taste the hints of black cherry in the cream, but its flavor is forced. There’s the coffee then there’s the fruity black cherry. The streusel part doesn’t bridge the two tastes.

I’ve been on the lookout for a good, fruity coffee cream since they sound so refreshing. The best I’ve had so far have been the Chocolate Raspberry and Coconut Creme. I won’t be adding Black Cherry Streusel to this list.

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