Dave U. Random wrote:
> (The Atlantic) - We have all dined with him in restaurants: the
> host who insists on calling his special friend out of the kitchen
> for some awkward small talk. The publishing industry also wants us
> to meet a few chefs, only these are in no hurry to get back to
> work. Anthony Bourdain's new book, his 10th, is "Medium Raw: A
> Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook"
> (Amazon: http://xrl.us/MediumRaw ). In it he announces, in his
> trademark thuggish style, that "it is now time to make the idea of
> not cooking 'un-cool' - and, in the harshest possible way short of
> physical brutality, drive that message home." Having finished the
> book, I think I'd rather have absorbed a few punches and had the
> rest of the evening to myself.
>
> Continued: http://sn.im/Foodies

I must say that I've found Steingarten and some of the other judges on Iron
Chef quite insufferable. I recall one Iron Chef round where a chef was
chosen by the other chefs--Flay, et al--because his fundamentals were
excellent. (Not that he was a plodder by any means.) Steingarten and co were
huffing and puffing because they didn't find his dishes to be exotic and
cutesy enough to tempt their jaded palates. They apparently wanted the guy
who couldn't properly braise or roast, but who served everything with
flowers and foam.