He’s like one of those dudes that i’d want to grab a beer with and talk about food. Hope he experiences continued success in his career.

We shared a friend in common, Andrew Goodwin, may he rest in peace, and I can honestly say that all the success has not changed this man. He proved the old adage that if you are good at what you do, people will beat a path to your door. More power to him! I am soooo happy for him.

Two weeks ago I attended a food event in California where Duff Goldman had a hockey stick out and was slapping cup cakes into the audience.

I do love Michael Symon and his giddy laugh.

Chocolate-covered bacon pretty much beats every Food Network chef out there. It’s (CCB) destined to join deep fried Snickers, and become a secret hankering. When CCB hits Costco and 7-11, it’ll be big time. I just hope Symon plasters his face on the packages (sold next to the jerky and Bic lighters) and cashes in.

As for the show, it’s fun. And in all the “reality TV” shows, at least this one doesn’t factor in any weird dates or unruly parents. At least, not yet.

If I was Symon, I would not have accepted and politely refused. Why? Well Irvine padded his resume a little bit and as many have stated, Dinner: Impossible was Irvine, should still be Irvine and the unruly hacks at FN who call themselves “executives” should be ashamed at how they responded. Hypocritical much ?

I’ll bet any money these weasels like Tuschman and Brooke Johnson have some good skeletons in their closets, but decided to make an “example” of Irvine. I hope the show tanks and Symon if he had any stones, would have stepped away. I think this dude has the fame disorder like many of you FN glory junkies.

and I love you for…”Another thing Alot of times veg cookery is usually what seperates the big boys from everyone else. Anyone can wave a steak over a grill and make a sauce say bordelaise, but to handle a vegetable properly takes real skill. ” This is basically and conciselly what I meant to say.
This is what separates the 30 dollar plate res…and the 75$. Which is to say the vast majority of chefs do not know how to handle a vegetable. So if there are rules…they don’t know them.
I am in my best day a home cook. Believe me when I say I can do better veggies and fresher proteins and sauces than I enjoy eating in 75% of the restaurants out there.
My God man, the last after dinner tab for four reached over $250 and my veggies were bland and tasteless… The comment by Simon is suspect because you can not screw bacon or much of a pig or protein. But make a memorable vegetable…. chef’s CAN’T…or won’t. That is not to say they can not make delicious salads? go figure. I just think it’s the sidekick syndrome of the third wheel veggies in a protein/bread/sauce plate vs the star of the show ’salad x’.
But thank you very much for the tip, I will be sure and follow up… I also think Kafka, Chessman and others do love vegetables enough to write books on them. The Chinese, Koreans,Japanese and most orientals honor vegetables pretty well as well. I think economics and other issues interfere with the popular eateries that employ generic cooks when it comes to cooking vegetables.
They pretty much leave it at mashed potatoes, french fries, baked potatoes and green beans.

Plus, those Editor guys do a pretty good job….

One nice touch at the end of last night’s ep was showing more of the cooking (while playing the Devil Went Down to Georgia as the VO for that.) If I have any complaint about the show, it’s that I would love to see more of the prep and less of the fluff inbetween (though Symon’s “I’m like the wind!” had my boys and I in stitches!)

@Lora: I’ve eaten at Lola once and it was great, as was the Flying Fig. Beers at Great Lakes are OK but food is so-so. I’ll be back in CLE this weekend but probably won’t have time to go to any good restaurants. (Stupid work.) Hopefully I’ll at least have time for a beer or two.