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I'm sure it wasn't very healthy with a full can of coconut milk in it. But at the same time, you're not chugging an entire can of it unless you eat the whole pot. I think next time I'll use low fat coconut milk. :)

I'm not sure what it's called, but I know their origin is Cambodia. It's a bowl of rice noodles topped with a sweet soy mixture and oil with thin slices of liver, pork, chicken and ground stir fried pork with green onions. It's garnished with cilantro. You can either order it with soup in or on the side. I like ordering it on the side and adding spoonfuls of soup to it and then breaking up the noodles with my chopsticks and soup spoon. It's serious comfort in a bowl for those cold nights.

Thank you so much for posting this! I'm traveling to Paris in December and although I knew about the infamous Pierre Hermes, you've given me tons of other options if we can't make it. :)

I agree with Marvin's comment haha. I totally giggled when I saw that he said the words "fucked" & "dumbass". I would've never guessed that he speaks just like the rest of us. :)

Tampopo FTW!

I'm also interested in seeing Killing Flies. I heard that's a good one too.

boyfriend and I are examples of "polar opposites". last week, he adorably puppy-happy dragged me into his kitchen and said "you're going to be so proud of me, I spend almost 200 bucks on groceries today!". I think I counted a good 10 boxes of totino's pizza rolls... those are what, 3.99 a pop?

Not. We had to wait in line for quite a while also and I made a big deal out of them because the person we were with from NYC was a huge devotee. I found the cake quite dry and the icing was way over the top , sharp pain the the jaw kind of sweet. I would try any of the other dozen bakeries nearby next time.

I'm sure it wasn't very healthy with a full can of coconut milk in it. But at the same time, you're not chugging an entire can of it unless you eat the whole pot. I think next time I'll use low fat coconut milk. :)

^^^Wow, a tad judgmental aren't we? Please come back and add a comment when you climb down from your high horse.

Great interview, love Alton.

Can't go along with your logic or your analogy. The Beatles didn't invent rock'n'roll. They were interpreting something that was already established in America--the real birthplace of blues and rock. To make your analogy work with regard to Michael Symon and Mediterranean food, you'd have to posit a Beatles group that had never heard Elvis or any American blues at all, and expect them to still be as good.

1)
I maintain that where Symon hails from is a crucial matter. Because we're talking about authenticity here. The real power these chefs have, is because they present themselves as figures of integrity and authority in a certain branch of regional food. They've trained and explored at length, in a rich local food heritage, which finds its way into their cooking. Food is culture. The way that local Spanish chefs make a meat sauce in Barcelona or the way that sushi chefs in make miso in Kyoto was the heart of the original Iron Chef show.

Else, why did the original Iron Chef Japan have each chef represent a major world cuisine? Iron Chef French, Iron Chef Italian, Iron Chef Chinese. This makes eminent sense and was a fundamental part of the program's success. This methodology provides a way to learn about food in a systematic way, rather than piecemeal.

And although it was not stated as such, this is clearly what Iron Chef America was mimicking with it's lineup. But now, they've unraveled this simple and effective arrangement--because Symon comes from the sucking void that is Cleveland, where he does his own thing--whatever that is. He hasn't traveled, but poses as an expert in Greek food. Okay, so where is the authenticity? Where is the depth? What can he transmit to us directly from the Greek food culture? You tell me. Is he capable of doing authentic dishes or just Cleveland, Ohio's version?

I mean, what is more important here? That we have a dumbed-down 'American Chef' program so that suburbanites can feel comfortable in the kitchen, or can we keep the integrity high and come to grips with the fact that the greatest cuisine in the world springs from sources outside our own country? French, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Latin--let's stop pretending these are American creations and turn to the sources. Or, if we stick to American regions, then go with Southwest, Italian, Southern, or Californian. But pray tell what can any of us learn from Cleveland?

2)
And my other point is that he is also redundant in a show with two other Mediterranean chefs. What sense does this make? Or doesn't redundancy bother anyone else but me?

3)
But I guess my beef is with the way the producers handled this whole affair. I mean, there are so many places along the way, or in the concept itself, where you can see strings being pulled and events being rigged. Someone else mentioned, for instance, that it was obvious an ethnic chef with a thick foreign accent (Chef Marou) or another female chef weren't going to be chosen, right from the start. Food for thought.

Or, how convenient was it that one chef got slammed for 'failing to salt his dish properly' when, (behind the scenes) it was an ice bath which accidentally spoiled his dish at the last minute? And then this whole thing about Ruhlman and Symon going back nine years, and Ruhlman having some kind of personal preference for the midwest? And then Ruhlman jumps on Besh because his consomme wasn't clear enough? Come on. What I'm saying is that this is hardly a realistic competition to begin with.

The competition stages are interesting (and make good television) but they shouldn't be the total criteria on which a new chef for this show was chosen. Remember that when 'The Next Food Network Host' was chosen, two finalists reach the endgame and then FoodNetwork viewers voted.
Obviously the benefit of such a scheme is that it eliminates all the chefs who actually made drastic mistakes. But to eliminate John Besh from a silly final round battle in Kitchen Stadium against Symon?

Also, I hardly think Chef Symon blew anything 'out of the water'. His dishes were sloppy and insipid where Besh's were complex and composed. There was an imbalance in the silly choice of stage-winners each time. 'For example, Symon won the 'Resource test' how? By preparing a 'family style' plate and giving each judge a glass of juice?

In my opinion, losing the 'Artistry test' so badly that it nearly eliminates you from competition is a key reason not to add a chef to a cooking *television show*. Such a show is all about artistry. A contrived reality-show 'contest' (using the word 'contest' very loosely here) shouldn't be taken so seriously that we (or FoodNetwork) forget that this is television. If they're going to carefully import Michael Symon into the program, fine. But I'm calling it a hideously bad decision, and the excuse that "well this WAS a contest" is more of a smokescreen than anything else.