Celebs - - Page 19

by gansie

Guy Beat Me To It

I was in Pasadena, MD last week with my friends Katie and Lory. Lory, a native Pasadenian, found us a classic Chesapeake Bay restaurant. And when I say classic Chesapeake, I only mean one thing: crabs. Maryland loves their crabs.

Unfortunately, after I snapped a few pictures, I realized I was beat. Guy Fieri already brought much deserved attention to Stoney Creek Inn. Noticing our paparazzi ways, the waitress asked us if we had heard of the place through Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Ugh, no, I hadn’t. Not that I thought I was discovering the place, but man, I was embarrassed to know that Guy (or his assistants) and I shared the same taste. He’s such a douche!

But I won’t let that ruin it. Here’s some pics of the crab-infested food from this adorable restaurant right off the water.

Above you will notice the most heavenly appetizer. I’m a sucker for a soft pretzel, and not just a soft pretzel to share as an appetizer, but a soft pretzel as my entire meal. I perfected the practice in college with Rock Bottom’s TWO large soft pretzels with spicy cheese sauce.

Anyway, there was no doubt I could not order this. A soft pretzel, topped with crab meat and cheddar cheese, served warm and with a huge steak knife. I’m not usually a fan of fish with dairy, but this worked really well. Shit, anything and a soft pretzel will work well together.

Here’s Lory with our awesome waitress, Donna (I think that was her name.) She rocked the cutest boat shoes. It was nice to see someone that actually has been on a boat wear these now trendy shoes. Lory ordered the thickest crab soup I’d ever seen. If I were a better writer I would bring on a kick ass metaphor to describe the thickness of the soup. I wanted to compare it to health care or something, but it just didn’t work. If I do think of one deserving of the soup, I’ll throw it in the comments. I’m also game for suggestions.

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Hello, Joe!

BS’s recent mac & cheese article reminded me: There’s a Trader Joe’s opening about two miles from my house this Friday!

You probably think it’s funny that the mac jogged my memory, but it illustrates a bigger point about TJ’s, which is that I love shopping there despite the fact I’m not 100% sure the stuff there is head-and-shoulders better than my local supermarket.

For instance, they have an organic shells and cheese that uses the ubiquitous packet-o-cheeze powder, yet I feel so much better about eating it. Recently, there was the case of the canned tomatoes that I used for my quick marinara the other day. They were a bit tinny and kind of scrawny, with a bad tomato to juice ratio. I’ll be sticking with my Muir Glen.

And yet I just love shopping there, with the energetic, brightly-clad staff, copious samples and bell-ringing code that I can never quite decipher. And, hey…most of the stuff there is pretty good.

I’m excited about the new Princeton store despite the fact that I could literally throw a baseball from my desk at work and hit the TJ’s in Philly. The fact that I’ll no longer have to pack a fully-outfitted cooler in order to buy the frozen products has me downright giddy.

Now, if only I can convince them to change their mind and sell alcohol at the Princeton location, I’d be in heaven.

Free samples of smörg served by Hawaiian-shirted foodies below!

– Mario has some advice for the pharmaceutical industry? Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with his close contact with the pharmaceuticals traditionally used in large amounts to fuel kitchen staffs.

– From the ES “Been There, Done That” File: In 1995, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin tried to hail a cab in his underwear outside the White House because he wanted a pizza. He was drunk, of course. The difference is that Yeltsin had Secret Service there to wrangle him back inside whereas I had my equally drunk friends reminding me to bring them pepperoni.

After the jump, yet another reason to love that cuddly Brit on Top Chef and fresh news from some old adversaries.

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– ESers are officially on the Mark Bittman bandwagon. Nicky:

I have to say I couldn’t agree more. I love Bittman or M. Bitty (as we jokingly refer to him in our house). His cookbook How to Cook Everything is excellent. It’s a wonderful resource.

ChiCityDame:

Yes, yes… I look forward to the online videos on Bitten every week. Please put this man on my DVR!!

You heard the people, Food TV execs — more M. Bitty!

– A few weeks back we covered the story of the world’s biggest cupcake. But cupcake queen C. Christy Concrete returns with a very good point:

A giant cupcake? Wouldn’t that technically just be a…cake?

Hmm…we might have to consult the Guinness people about this one.

– Finally, I’m not exactly clear how Summer‘s comment relates to powerful women in food, but she hits on Kraft singles, patriotism, and Heidi Montag’s boobs all in one go, so I’d say this one’s a winner:

in Celebs / Cheese / Desserts / TV 2 comments

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: I Want My HDTV

(Artist’s rendering of what Food Network looks like on my new television.)

Dear Comcast,

I know a lot of people give you a hard time, bit I don’t think you’re so bad. My service is pretty reliable, any problems I’ve had have been addressed quickly and accurately, and it’s cool living in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where I get both New York and Philly stations (I’m impossible to get off the couch on football Sundays). And I was really excited when I bought a new HD television so that I could start watching those HD signals that you run.

However, while my wife is thrilled to be able to watch Toddlers and Tiaras in stunning high definition, I’ve found the lack of Food Network in HD to be quite disappointing. You see, when they first announced that Food Network would be broadcasting in HD, I dreamed of the day when I would upgrade my unit, experience succulent dishes in amazing clarity and come one step closer to Emeril’s mythic “smell-o-vision.” And yet here I am with my snazzy new set and no HD signal with which to decipher the hidden messages in Guy Fieri’s tattoos.

Look, I know it takes a while to roll this stuff out, but anything you can do to fast-track HD Aida Mollenkamp would be greatly appreciated.

XOXOXO,

TVFF

Remember, the smörg always comes to you in the highest possible resolution.

– Padma insists that the odds aren’t stacked against women on Top Chef, but I do find the unusual requirement that all female cheftestants be both barefoot and pregnant to be a bit unfair.

– Here’s an article that includes the words “Jamie Oliver” and “testicles.” Bon appetit!

After the jump…a double dose of awesome news from Paula Deen and Duff Goldman wants to entertain your daughter.

in Celebs / TV 2 comments

by BS

Endless Questions: New Food Network Host Jeff Corwin

Many of you already know TV host Jeff Corwin from his wildlife and conservation shows on Animal Planet. And while we’re all about saving the earth here at ES, we’re more likely to get excited about animals when they’re thrown on a grill, which is why we’re glad to hear this hungry heartthrob is turning his attention to food. In Extreme Cuisine, which debuts on the Food Network this Thursday, September 17, Corwin travels the world in pursuit of the tastiest, most far-out food he can get his hands on. In short, he has a job that makes us very, very jealous. We caught up with Corwin to find out how he’s handling this difficult new assignment.

We mostly know you from your shows about wildlife and conservation. What made you decide to transition into food?
In my heart of hearts I’ve always been a passionate foodie. I’ve worked in the restaurant business for a lot of my life, since I was 12 with my family. And as I travel around the world I always look forward to getting to that restaurant everyone talks about or getting to that great food destination. So I’ve always wanted to take the spirit of adventure and exploration that I bring to a nature show and apply that to food.

Working in restaurants since 12? Tell us more about that.
My great-grandfather, Maximallian Macadelli, opened one of the first pizza shops in the United States. Some would dispute that. There are those who say the first pizza came from New York, but if you ask anyone in my family, the first pizza came from Brick Bottom in Somerville, Massachusetts. So when I was a little kid I worked in restaurants, everything from dishwasher to busboy to prep cook to line cook to bartender, waiter – I did it all.

Do you watch the Food Network yourself?
I do. That was very much an inspiration. I’ve been a fan of Food Network for like 8 or 9 years and like seven years ago I had a conversation with one of their executives and this show eventually grew out of that. Food for me has always been an adventure. So part of the impetus for this show was so that my own family, my daughters, will know where food comes from. I once had a conversation with a little kid who told me food comes from the refrigerator. Well what if you didn’t have a refrigerator? What if you didn’t have electricity? What if every morning you woke up and your day began with making sure you and your family have enough food to eat for the day?

How did you chose what locations to visit on the show?
There are a lot of food shows out there, so I wanted to make sure we were doing new things that people haven’t seen, to give them the spirit of a new place they haven’t experienced. We wanted to be able to not just walk into a home and shoot, but to be there at five o’clock in the morning with a fisherman as he paddles out, or in the Andes as they go out to harvest potatoes.

Did you get to take anything home with you?
Absolutely. Anything I can. I brought back this mortar and pestle from Peru and I’m using it to grind up my spices now. We also went to a salt mine in Peru where these families harvest salt as it dribbles out of a mine and I brought some of that salt home. I’m putting it on everything.

Extreme Cuisine premieres on the Food Network Thursday, September 17 at 9pm ET

Also on Endless Simmer: ES Chats with Ted Allen about Chopped

in Celebs / Food Travel / TV 0 comments

by tvff

Please, Sir, I Want Some More…Mark Bittman

It’s not every day that I find myself advocating for more exposure of a middle-aged food dude with a somewhat elitist tone to his voice, but I have to say, we could all stand to be getting a higher daily allotment of Mark Bittman. Sure, his weekly column in the NYT is terrific and his cookbook, How to Cook Everything, is plenty good enough that we would be happy if that was all we got, but relegating him to the printed page or computer monitor is a bit of a disservice.

So I’m calling on the TV gods to grace us with even more Mark Bittman. He manages to bring obvious authority and knowledge to the audience while providing sound, simple recipes and tips, finding the difficult balance between being a food snob and a just-get-it-on-the-table home cook.

Not convinced? He’s got a few other things going for him. Here’s three compelling reasons Mark Bittman should be turning up on or TV screens at least as often as Guy Fieri.

in Celebs / TV / Veggie 8 comments

by ML

Throw Me a Hot Dog, Ostrich Man

Several weeks ago I announced that the Reading Phillies minor league baseball team was holding Gluttony Night II. I was ecstatic. Tons of food. Pizza, ice cream, funnel cake galore. And if you’re at all familiar with minor league baseball, you won’t be surprised to hear that the Gluttony Night festivities were only a fraction of the very bizarre antics going down at the game.

First of all, I unfortunately missed the chance to drunk heckle a reality star and his children. Jon Gosselin plus eight minus Kate threw out the first pitch the night before Gluttony Night II. I should have sent a memo about all-you-can-eat french fries. But the Gosselins missed out, because Gluttony Night was an epic celebration of all things edible. Everything at this ballpark was about food. Everything.

Were there two private tent buffets in addition to Gluttony Night II? Yes.
Was there a “ROAST BEEF!” chant every time Kevin Mahar was up to bat because he was the Arby’s “RBI guy”? Yes
Was there a kid’s concession stand game, where small children representing pizza, a hot dog, and french fries raced around the field? Yes (and so wrong)
Was there a man riding an ostrich around the field, throwing hot dogs to the crowd, while a “hot dog for you!” song was playing? Yes, yes, yes.

The Crazy Hot Dog Vendor disturbed me the most, and after his little “performance” I promptly started pounding beers. At the bar we saw several young guys dressed up like pizza toppings. W. T. F.

All this craziness leads us to ask…We’ve already talked about the best major league baseball foods, but what about the minors? What are the tastiest, craziest, or straight up most disturbing foods you’ve seen served at minor league ballparks?

in Celebs 1 comments