Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Yeah, I had one just last week here in CA, to try and re-live those childhood memories. Blech! I think my tastebuds must have been broken as a kid. It was not what I remembered it to be.

Wow. Just kind of disappointed in the whole season. Most of the chefs seemed mediocre at best. Stephan was clearly the best technical chef, but Carla made food that had more feeling behind it. Hosea managed to squeak through and turn out something good in the end. It didn't hurt that he had Richard backing him up, I'm sure.

The whole season was just kind of a let down. I was really longing to see some truly inspired cooking, and I never saw it. Maybe it was the editing concentrating on the reality show crap, but I never got a real feel for the food this year. I honestly don't have a good grasp of what any of the chefs were about this. Oh well... maybe next season.

Damon, I'm afraid that you have missed the boat at Top's. The thing that they are actually famous for is the pastrami. Be it the pastrami burger or the sandwich (with a side of fried zucchini is my personal preference), the quality of the pastrami, and the quantity of course, will put you into a state of pastrami nirvana. The pastrami is much better than The Hat or any other pastrami chain around Los Angeles. The burgers there are fine, but no better than any of the other countless Burger/Mexican/Greek fast food places around. Do yourself a favor, go back and order yourself a pastrami sandwich, fried zucchini and chocolate shake. You won't be sorry!

She makes me vomit into my mouth every time I hear her name. Anyone pushing more processed crap food on the American public should be put in the stockades and have organic food thrown at their heads.

I haven't been impressed with this season's cheftestants at all. Other than Stephan and Jaime, none of them seem like they are nearly on the level of season 2-4 cheftestants. I think that any of the top 8 from the last three seasons could blow these guys away without trying.

Fabio is fun to watch but way too inconsistent. Carla is bat-shit crazy. Hosea is a competent cook, but not a chef. Leah doesn't give a crap. Jeff didn't have the cooking chops to keep up with his brain.

I still love the show, but overall, I have been disappointed. No one has wowed me with even one of their dishes yet.

Good article. I just love Shirley. She totally reminds me of my Mom. Both in looks and mannerisms.

I also agree with bobbob. I think it was Mario Batali that I heard say never add oil to pasta water. #1, it doesn't prevent the pasta from sticking together & #2 it coats it with oil when you take it out of the water.

You should add salt to the water however, but you need to add much more than most people think. A pinch of salt won't do squat. A couple of tablespoons in a full pot will help to season the pasta. Also, contrary to popular opinion, adding salt to the water will not increase the boiling point of the water significantly enough to really do anything. To increase the boiling point of 6 qts of water by approx 1 deg Fahrenheit, you will need to add 18 tablespoons of salt! (58 grams of salt/kilogram of water = +.5 deg C increase in boiling point.)

Gotta be Ribeye!

Anything with coffee flavor. Hate it! Bleech!!!! Also tiramisu. Never understood what the appeal was. Next up, cheesecake. Is it cheese or cake? The two by themselves are just fine, but that chalky yet creamy texture and the richness of them just makes me want to vomit. Finally, anything with dark chocolate. Can't stand the burnt flavor of it. Too much of a good thing I think.

Yup. In-n-Out totally rocks. It's one of the benefits of living in Southern California. As far as chains go, Applebee's has got to be one of the worst. My wife and I have tried it 2 or 3 times over the years and the food is just flat out inedible. I cannot imagine what the people we see going into these places are thinking. One chain that I will admit to liking very much is Claim Jumper. I've eaten about half the menu and only had one or two items which were not outstanding.

I also ate at a Legal Seafood 7 or 8 years ago in Boston and had quite an excellent meal. Couldn't really complain about it at all. Sure, it may not be as good as Red Lobster, but then again, what is! LOL!