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Rick and I just got back from a ‘mini-moon’ – a long weekend in NYC the week after our wedding. It was great to be on the East Coast in the Fall. I love any chance to wrap up warm in cosy hats and gloves, and go walking, so this was the perfect time of year to do that.
NYC is also one of the rare times i get to bust out an outfit that doesn’t involve flip flops in some way. You know I love the West Coast, and believe me, i’m not complaining about the weather, but San Francisco is just sooooo casual. You can feel over-dressed if you wear proper shoes with no fleece! In NYC, you have to step it up a level, even for casual days. So, i enjoyed the opportunity to play a little ‘dress-up’ and glam it out at a few restaurants and bars we were dying to go to. I also kick started my wardrobe overhaul, finally!
My top NYC spots from this time around?
- CraftBar - yes, i have an obsession with Top Chef, and spent weeks literally drooling in advance after perusing the menus of Tom Colicchio’s various restaurants. CraftBar had this wonderful chicken consomme with home-made tortellini and a fresh farm egg. Delicious! Cool spot too.
- Balthazar - i still love this place! Even though they didn’t have my favorite eggs in red wine and bacon sauce this time around. An NYC classic.
- Spotted Pig – we didn’t get to eat here, but spent a very cozy and late Sunday night propping up the bar. Of course, i felt right at home, as it’s styled like a classic English pub. Albeit a classic English pub full of young New York hipsters, clawing their way to the front of the line.
- Top Shop – you can’t understand the excitement this store causes for an English girl living in the States. When will Top Shop come to San Francisco?? Poor Rick was dragged around 4 floors of fabulous, and fell asleep waiting for me to try things on. Oops! Worth it though.
- City Bakery - I don’t think Rick will ever forget the hot chocolate they serve at this place. Ridiculous. And the candied French toast? Divine. We had to go back twice for the hot chocolate alone.
- Central Park – still wonderful, even when it’s raining!
- Uniqlo – way too busy and overwhelming. But cool, stylish basics. Again, when will SF get a store?
- SoHo – just in general. My favorite part of the city, no doubtt.
Here are a few snaps of the stay – enjoy!
Balthazar
What used to be Buddha Bar
City of contradictions
Again, the contradictions
Coolest revolving door EVER
NYC nights
The elevator at Tiffany. Sigh.
Window dressing
Guess who?
Ugly beautiful
Cental Park
View from our hotel room
Flying the flag in SoHo!
A little macabre in SoHo
Along with the outrageously good SYTYCD and Glee, the other show that makes my Wednesday night TV viewing party complete is Top Chef. I’ve been on the bandwagon since Season One, which aired in the first few months of me moving to San Francisco. The first season was actually set in the city itself, which made it even better, as it helped orient me a little to the foodie culture here.
I never get tired of a good TC episode. Even when they’re bad or boring, they’re never bad or boring! I’m not sure what it is about the show that people love so much (whatever it is, it clearly wasn’t Katie “Fembot” Lee Joel, as she was replaced with Padma Lakshmi after the first run), but for me, it boils down to a couple of choice ingredients. Sorry. Had. To. Pun. Personal drama, great food, and challenging situations. The perfect episode is when the three mix to create something amazing, but I’m not gonna lie – sometimes the personal drama just makes the show!
So then, here is my Top Chef Top 10 . Of course, they’re in no particular order, and I recommend you wasting a rainy day sometime soon watching one of Bravo’s marathon stints. But, the reasons I love it so much:
1) Best cheftestant – No question, has to be Tiffani Faison, the flame haired bad ass of Season One. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that Tiff was badly mis-represented in the show. To me, she was just someone who was straight up about wanting to win, put her best into everything she did and demanded that everyone else do the same. In my book, that just makes you a formidable competitor and an effective one, not a b**tch. I loved Tiffani and her food. That pumpkin ravioli in the first ever episode? Oh my gosh. And looks like I’m not alone in my assessment, right Tom Colicchio??
2) Most mouthwatering dish – Hmm, tricky, as there has been so much great food over the last 6 seasons or so, but I think I’m going to have to go with the roasted chicken with tomato and corn salad that got served up at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, by Season 5 cheftestants, Jamie, Steffan and Carla. That dish had me craving roast chicken for weeks afterward, and actually motivated me to try a similar dish. Top Chef in inspiring people to cook shocker!
3) Best overall season – Yep, I’m going to have to stick with a classic and say Season One. Start with it being set in San Francisco, throw in an awe-inspiring trip to Napa, the best cast of contestants EVER, and the hilarious bitchiness from Dave and Stephen, and you have me sold. I also love the fact that some of the challenges were just really hard core (remember the original wedding challenge? Rough!), even though they got modified and made a little easier over subsequent seasons. Yes, it was lower budget and less glossy. But i think it was better for it.
4) Most drama-filled episode – Of course, you know which one I’m going to say. Remember in Season 2, when Cliff tried to hold Marcel down to shave his head and got thrown out of the competition? That was actually a little disturbing to watch, and went waaay beyond being a cooking competition. Seeing the judge’s reactions to the row of bald heads they were presented with the morning after was pretty funny though. And come on, didn’t you feel just a little bad for Marcel? Which brings me to…
5) Most mis-represented cheftestant – Even more so than Tiff, I think Marcel got a really bad rap, and I staunchly defended him throughout Season 2! Ok, so he might have been a little annoying at times, but I never saw him do anything that deserved the verbal kicking he repeatedly got on that show from the others. Especially Betty. Really Betty? Your slow-roasted soups were all that? I don’t think so… Unfair, unfair!
6) Guy who shoulda won and didn’t - Ok, I do think Stephanie was very talented, and I don’t begrudge her the win in Season 4. But Richard Blais totally deserved to get there. In addition to being a constantly inventive and technically excellent chef, he also seemed to be just a really nice guy. Professional, generous and sincere. I’d love to try out some of his food!
7) Most disappointing season - Sorry, but it was really hard to see anything that was cooked during the entire Season 5 that really deserved anyone taking home the big prize. I think overall, the quality in Season 5 was lacking actually. Sometimes, you could literally read Tom Colicchio’s mind thinking “The talent level isn’t good enough, the talent level isn’t good enough”. There were so many bad dishes that season! And worse than that, there was just a lot of mediocrity on show, and i think it showed in every episode. (To be honest, did anything in that season really knock the judge’s socks off?) Looks like they’ve rectified it for Season 6, especially with the addition of…
8) Hottest cheftestant – Ok, ok, so maybe I have a thing for soft-spoken boys with manners who also happen to have tattoos, but Michael V from Season 6! Luscious. Even cuter than Jeff (he of the blond hair and startling resemblance to Billy from Neighbours – that one’s for my English readers!) from Season 5. And damn, that boy (and his brother) can cook.
9) Most unfair elimination – Ooh, this is a contentious one, but I’m going to have to go with Dale getting the boot in Season 4. Ok, ok, he was the head chef that night of the restaurant challenge, but Lisa’s Laksa and sticky mango rice mess? Come on! Even the presence of Anthony Bourdain couldn’t stop me from shouting at the television in derision. I think Dale deserved to go further in the competition.
10) And finally, my favorite ever TC moment - So many good ones to choose from! But at the end of the day, it has to be when Fabio calls out Jamie for cooking one too many scallop dishes. “This is Top Chef, not Top Scallops!” Too funny. There are many, many, more. Probably another blog post!
I’m so glad Season 6 looks like a good one, both in terms of quality of food, and potential emotional drama. I’ll have to start following some of these blogs for their take. Yeah, I’ll admit the seasons where the drama was lacking (er, hello, Season 3??) kinda lacked something for me. And the TV producers, clever little things, know that. So expect it to be ratcheted up this season. My guess is it might have something to do with Robin. Anyone???
