Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I have eaten Hot dogs on 5 continents and almost 1/2 of America, probably about 150 cities in my travels. I would have to say none so far even compare to Rhode Island's, their "Hot Weiner" all the way are the best! They are small mild hot dogs served on a steamed bun with some kind of meat sauce, mustard, onions and celery salt! Addictive...I eat about 6 when I go to RI.

In Rhode Island they also sold hot dogs in the raw at the market under the brand "Saugy's" and these were the best I have ever bought, very mild, made with veal,pork and beef with a snap from the natural casing. I have a friend who ships them to me in Florida. You can also buy the New York System's Weenie Meat Sauce online at www.olneyvillenysystem.com and make them at home. It is easy to make and tastes like the real thing, I use the Saugy's brand with this meat sauce and I think it might even be better! You make them in this order..place dog in fresh steamed bun, a generous amount of plain yellow mustard, then top with a heaping pile of the meat sauce, then top that with the finely diced onions and shake some celery salt on top. Do not forget the celery salt on top..it's important. You'll Love it!

I enjoyed the "gimmicks". Let's face it, these chefs already have earned their toques. Now it is time to take them out of their comfort zones and make them sweat (but not like Michael - ew). I was rooting for Tim too, but Hubert was a class act from start to finish. They don't need the loft-drama. They already know and respect each other. This is really about showing their poise and creativity when things go south. Kelly is about as appealing as a plain rice cake, and she can leave any time.

Masters is as exciting as an Ambien with a chamomile tea chaser...

Show is ok, more entertaining than Masterchef Australia (which is on right now, go check ISOHunt), but not as real as Masterchef Pro.

Worst part for me was the editor of Saveur (who was insufferable on Iron Chef as a judge), and the short time each contestant lasts on the show. I know it's a hard to tie up top people like this for more than a day or two at a time. But it seems like we are loosing some of the most entertaining people right after we met them.

Enjoyed the show very much! I liked seeing the chefs out of their comfort zones, I liked seeing how they got creative and just plain enjoyed watching people who are really good at what they do...do it. Plus, I really liked that the chefs were friendly and nice to each other--seemed like real rapport going on among them. Looking forward to the whole season.

In terms of innovation and creativity, Hubert Keller seemed the more talented of the group by leaps and bounds. Plus he had the hot factor.

I enjoyed the show. I thought Hubert had a lovely whimiscal presentation with his quickfire challenge and it looked like all the components tasted great. Also his use of the shower for his mac and cheese was a classic. He really seemed pretty relaxed even when he lost his shopping cart. What fun!

I really enjoyed it, but did they have to show it four times in a row? (at least according to my TV Guide page) I watched it, and then I thought they would show another episode, but it was the same one, over again. I turned off the TV at that point, so I'm not sure how many times they actually showed it. Still, I did enjoy it, and thought the best man won. (I also liked the hostess. I thought she was better than Padma...sorry! She just seemed to have more style.)

I was on a slow burn because of the gimmicks. I have long said that the weakest bits on TC are cooking for kids and making-something-out-of-the-snack-machine type stunts. For the love of Julia Child, let them cook real food for adults!

Both quickfire and main contest were gimmicky tonight. Aaarrgghhh!! At least they told them ahead that they were cooking for kids. The dorm deal was not so fair (from what viewers saw) as I don't think it was said whether the judges were college kids, sophisticated critics, or the combo. Hard to decide your dish w/o knowing the audience and weight of scores.

I second the motion that tasting be blind.

I think the judges were way more forgiving than they would be for the typical TC contestants. I was rooting for Tim, who they praised a bit for doing so well despite the freezer fiasco. Imagine what they would have said had one of the regular goofs made that mistake. Colichio would have crawled him good.

I hope the future contests are less gimmick, more real cooking chops. Congrats to Keller. He deserved it. I enjoy his PBS shows.

I was in the Poconos for Race Week and stopped at a Street Cart on Rt 940. They advertised "The World's Largest Chili Dog" ......and it was!
This thing had to weigh a Half pound! The Chili Sauce was execellent and the Price was Very Fair. My 3 boys and I chowed down on The worlds Largest Chili Dogs and washed them down with Yoo Hoo bost me 15 bucks I was full all the way home. I think the Name was simply Pocono Hot Dog.........

I'm over in nashville tomorrow or the next - glad I came across this thread.
Thanks!

This is hysterical - I have been trying to enlighten my fiance on the yumminess of Magic Middle cookies (apparently he was sheltered and never tried them) and he just doesn't get it. I guess if you never tried one, you wouldn't know what you were missing, but still. Also, LOVED Crystal Pepsi!!! Was it really only out for one year? That's surprising - I thought it was fairly popular in my little neck of the woods.

I'll be honest and say I don't have a success story yet!