I'm so excited! Top Chef is coming back soon, and I stumbled upon a marathon of the third season (which I never got to see)!!!! I really do love the show. Many people complain that Bravo just uses the... but I've never gotten anyone to teach me beyond breakfast and basic things. It's just cool to sit down and tuck away the tips for later when I can actually use them. I'm eagerly awaiting November 12

Some books are like fine wine, to use a tired simile. They need to be savored to fully realize their complexity and depth. And they give a you a satisfyingly pretentious air that can only be topped by...this season was one of the weakest yet, but Leanne was definitely the designer I was rooting for. I love the sleek, architectural look to her clothing. Now when's the next season of Top Chef, damnit

I made the grossest thing for lunch today... When my parents are out golfing I like to experiment with food. I like to look at what we have in the house and make weird food out of it. Most of the time...to hang out with him today. I don't know what we're going to do, but it's going to be awesome. Rubik's cube time for today: 1 minute 34 seconds (pitiful, I suck at life) Still happy about Connecticut :-

The gentleman friend and I are going to craft for dinner tonight. Yay! It's all a part of my "I'm still saving money every week, but...Eat, Drink and Be Merry For Tomorrow We Economically Die!" plan. I feel that, at some point, I'm going to be sitting at my kitchen table eating minced spam off a saltine remembering the good old days when I could afford steak and absinthe!

Bravo's website has all the prelims up for season 5 of Top Chef , i.e., all the chef bios. As Grub Street pointed out, the men are heavy on the wispy goatee trend; there's not a faux-hawk in sight. Something I noticed is the introduction of a new judge -- does this mean no more Ted Allen? If so, boo!

huskiebear told me about this introduction to the new season . One caveat: I will not use that "word" they use in the headline, the one Bravo keeps trying to shove down our throats. They're contestants; they're chefs.

Padma Lakshmi Christiana Ricci

Competitive reality shows on Bravo. Yes, I am a Top Chef and Project Runway fan. Shear Genius is godawful, though. I don't like watching people make fools out of themselves unless it's entertaining. And since no one's had an ear cut off yet, I'm not interested.

...I think. Tom Colicchio is the head judge on Top Chef. He owns a family of restaurants, the flagship of which is in NYC, natch. James Tracey is Chef de Cuisine at the flagship Craft. If you read...thought he'd ask and see if we could get a seat at the chef's table if we ever paid a visit to the restaurant in NYC. The answer was yes, of course. I think we'll be planning a trip this fall. *glee

So, what does this puffy, fat fuck have to do with the quality of food in fine dining? To my surprise, apparently everything. I had heard of Michelin stars before, though only vaguely, as a means of...of the Soup Nazi. It's really sort of interesting when you think about it. Especially when Coliccio is so nit picky about the dishes he tastes and Ramsay is either, I like it, or, I hate it