I love Tom Colicchio
Well TC devotees, another season has come and gone. While it seems like every reality show competition is hopping onto the retribution band-wagon, I have to say I was delighted when Top Chef All Stars began a few months ago. There were so many contestants from past seasons that I knew were truly extraordinary chefs, but either had a bad day in their season’s finale or just had trouble hitting their stride. Plus I just missed their personalities. If I could pay Fabio to live with me, wink a lot and say ridiculous things in an Italian accent I would die happy.
With that said, last night’s finale did not disappoint. It was straight-forward Top Chef. No gimmicky contests with one handed cooking or weird last minute challenges to really get everyone on edge. Cook your dream meal, Padma said, and I think Mike and Richard did that pretty well. To be honest, I was rooting for Mike Isabella. Sure, he looks a little like Sloth from The Goonies. And he has about as much bravado (good word Richard!) as Pavarotti, but he really grew on me. He was such a hot mess in his own season, that to come into this re-match basically as a whole new chef was surprising and inspiring. On the other hand, Richard really irked me this season. He’s a strong chef. He knows he is. So to come off as neurotic and not very confident in his food was a real turn-off.
But by last night’s conclusion, I realized that I’m glad Richard won. I think both chefs cooked extremely well. Mike more straight-forward and simple Italian fare that he can do well. Whereas Richard went balls to wall per usual, but this time he didn’t choke and it paid off. After Richard was crowned Top Chef, I realized that if he hadn’t won, he probably would have had a psychotic break and never cooked again. Mike can handle rejection better as witnessed by his semi-drunk interview on the after-show with Andy Cohen. Was it just me or did Mike seem one and a half sheets to the wind? So congrats Richard….you are now TOP CHEF!!!
Normally at this time of year, I would be crying into my red wine knowing that I would have to wait 6 + months for another season of Top Chef. But thankfully Bravo has franchised the bleep out of this show and Top Chef Masters starts next week! Not as exciting as the original Top Chef (the master chefs are so much more composed and less willing to throw people under the bus!) but it will suffice. Plus now I get to see my boyfriend Tom Colicchio every Wednesday night again. So thank god for that!
And now for some food for the brain…… introducing Capsule Reviews! Sometimes I think a book review that is 12 pages long is just over-kill. Last weekend I was suffering from 2 parts hangover and 1 part food poisoning, so I had ample time to read in between my comatose naps and dry heaving. I banged through two books and here’s what I thought.
What: A Visit From the Goon Squad
Who: Jennifer Egan
Where: My bookshelf! Actually this book was a gift from my literary sugar-mama. She was tired of listening to me bitch about how I was still #30 on the library queue for this one, even though I had been waiting for approximately 8 years for it.
Should you read it? YES!
Why: A Visit From the Goon Squad was pretty damn fantastic. It was an “it” book of 2010, but it wholeheartedly deserves that nomenclature in more ways than one. Basically the book is a bunch of interconnected short stories—revolving around the two main characters of Benny and Sasha; a record producer and his kleptomaniac assistant. The “goon” in the title refers to time and how it wreaks havoc on everyones life. There is a lot of existentialist thinking here, but not that kind that makes your head hurt; the kind that makes you believe that despite life being a pain in the ass generally all the time, it is pretty great. Also, one chapter is constructed solely out of power point presentation slides, which one could see as gimmicky but actually is extremely touching and tear inducing.
What: Mr. Chartwell
Who: Rebecca Hunt
Where: I heard about this book from the NYT Sunday Book Review. I knew that it was British and about Winston Churchill; music to any anglophile ears.
Should you read it? Not so much. Maybe if you’re stuck on an desert island and you’re only other alternative is Mein Kamp.
Why: Long story short, Winston Churchill had depression and he called his depression “A big black dog”. Ergo, Rebecca Hunt creates a world in 1960s London in which Winston Churchill’s black dog of depression is real. He rents out a room in lady’s house. He rips up her furniture. He sits on Winston a lot. But that’s about it. I think this book needed some real re-working. The whole dog = depression angle was neat, but it didn’t really go anywhere. Oh well, better luck next time Rebecca!
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