The Remote Island

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• Top Chef Rolls The Dice

  Top Chef has chosen its Season 6 city. And what city is that, you ask? Big hint: it's a town that's already very familiar with chips.. Read More... Posted Apr 27 2009, 11:22 AM by Jake Kalish with | with no comments Filed under: Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Toby Young, Season Six, biscuits and gravy

• Photo of the Week: Is Tom Colicchio Sexier Without Hair?

  We're not sure we ever conceptualized a time when Tom Colicchio wasn't gloriously bald. Or, for that matter, a time when TC actually needed a hairnet to prepare gourmet food. Weirdly, when we look at this photo, we keep picturing Colicchio as the host of a mid-eighties home-improvement show, á la This Old House. Maybe it's the denim shirt? So, the question of the hour: which Colicchio is sexier? Hair or no hair?   Click through for the verdict...and the most amazing photo of Tom, ever! Read More... Posted Mar 16 2009, 01:35 PM by Lindy Parker with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Tom Colicchio, Bob Villa, This Old House

• "Top Chef New York" Reunion

  Strangely, we found ourselves enjoying last night's Top Chef New York reunion more than some of the season's episodes, perhaps because the camraderie and general vibe of good will amongst the cast was a nice change from previous seasons' reunions that have featured, among other things, screaming matches,  drunkenness, and palpable tension between the contestants.   Other than the moment where we were forced to endure Hosea and Leah watching the video flashback of their hookup, we can't remember another uncomfortable moment.  Mostly it was a lovefest for all involved.  Here's some highlights from the show... Read More... Posted Mar 05 2009, 05:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• Our Favorite Oscar Commercial: Tom Colicchio Keeps It Real With Diet Coke

  What with all the shameless product placement on Top Chef these, we suppose it's not that surprising to find Tom Colicchio knocking back a few Diet Cokes for The Man.   Take a look...   Read More... Posted Feb 23 2009, 03:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• "Top Chef": Bright Lights, Big Easy

  Before we get into the actual episode, a brief note about Emeril Lagasse: Our relationship with the exuberant Food Network chef has undergone something of a rebirth of late.  We can't understand what happened exactly -- we used to find all his wild gesturing and bellows of "Bam!" to be excruiating, but then, two weeks ago, we were at the gym and found ourselves mesmerized by his preparation of fried cheese bread with andouille sausage.  Then, the other day we were making chicken soup in the kitchen, and we turned to our boyfriend and said, "Sometimes I just say to myself, 'Self...ANOTHER NOTCH!!'" before chucking more sliced jalapeño peppers into the pot.  Our boyfriend was weirded out, but it was then we realized that we'd come to love Emeril in spite of ourselves.   In the same vein, our Emeril love fest continued last night during part one of this year's Top Chef finale... Read More... Posted Feb 19 2009, 12:15 PM by Lindy Parker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse

• "Top Chef Masters": Does The Judge/Contestant Equation Now Result In An Improper Fraction?

  We've got this theory about the successful power dynamic between judges and contestants on shows like Top Chef, Project Runway, and American Idol, and are concerned that the upcoming  Top Chef Masters," which pits "internationally famous chefs against each other," may upset that delicate balance... Read More... Posted Feb 13 2009, 03:33 PM by Jake Kalish with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Kelly Choi, Top Chef Masters

• "Top Chef": Thrill Me or Kill Me

  We're a little weirded out by this picture.  The elimination challenge required the chefs to draw knives with the names of various culinary allstars and then prepare the meal that said allstar requested as their "last supper," so, you know, we get it, but we've still spent the better part of the morning obsessed with which of these chefs would be Jesus.  We've decided on Tom Colicchio.  Toby Young would obviously be Judas Iscariot... Read More... Posted Feb 12 2009, 12:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Toby Young, Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pepin, Susan Ungaro

• Cook Like Tom Colicchio

  A few days back Top Chef's Tommie C, as we like to call him, appeared on the Today show and offered up a great, affordable steak au poivre recipe, complete with charming cooking demo. After the jump, the steak recipe and Today video, wherein Colicchio shows the Top Chef hopefuls how it's done... Read More... Posted Feb 02 2009, 12:29 PM by Jake Kalish with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Today Show

• Top Ten Moments With Bob Costas During NBC's Super Bowl Pregame Coverage

  You know how sometimes you type a word, and the longer you stare at it the less it looks like a real word?  We find that the same is true of Bob Costas -- the longer we stare at him the less he looks like a real person.  We're just saying. Did we mention that NBC did FIVE HOURS of pregame coverage for the Super Bowl? If you couldn't catch it all, not to worry -- we have the top ten highlights with host Bob Costas... Read More... Posted Feb 02 2009, 12:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Tom Colicchio, Al Roker, Keith Olbermann, Sarah Palin, Super Bowl, Bob Costas

• "Top Chef" Reject Says Bravo Used Him As a "Sex Object"

  Alternate titles for this post: "Jeff Serves Up Sour Grapes" or "Top Chef Has a New Drama Queen."  It seems this week's Top Chef reject, Jeff McInnis, had some less-than flattering things to say about his experience on the show... Read More... Posted Jan 30 2009, 11:25 AM by Lindy Parker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Jeff McInnis

• "Hell's Kitchen" Season Premiere Tonight At 9 On Fox

  We're calling for a televised super celebrity chef reality show cookoff - Ramsay vs. Batali vs. Colicchio vs. Bourdain vs. Flay vs. Lidia Bastianich (just because we like her) vs. the winner of a televised cook-in match between all the previous Hell's Kitchen winners, and the winner of a televised cook-in match between all the previous Top Chef winners. That would give us an 8-chef playoff, with the winner responsible for feeding America. Hey, times are tough, and we need to eat. No, but seriously, how awesome would that be? We should totally be in programming... Read More... Posted Jan 29 2009, 03:03 PM by Jake Kalish with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, gordon ramsay, Lidia Bastianich, Bobby Flay, Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, Hell's Kitchen

• Top Chef: The Carla Show

  We have an official, full-scale, girl crush on Carla.  We LOVE her.  Our dearest hope is that she comes from behind to take the title and we'll witness the greatest comeback in Top Chef history...  Read More... Posted Jan 29 2009, 01:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• Tom Colicchio Saves A Life

  He performed the Heimlich on cookbook author Joan Nathan Sunday night in Washington, DC... Read More... Posted Jan 21 2009, 09:28 AM by Jake Kalish with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Internet Food Association, Heimlich Maneuver

• Top Chef: We're Warming Up To The Europeans

  Funniest quote of the week from Stefan: "I'm the only guy there.  I have Shannon the chicken lady.  I have Jamie.  Carla.  And 140 hens.  I'm the only cock in the stock." [chuckles to himself] "COCK."  Most annoying quote of the week from judge Toby Young: "When I'm faced with a beautiful, well-reared piece of meat, I don't want to stand back and admire it, I want to have full-blown, unprotected sex.  I didn't even get to first base with the pork."   Ew.  Perhaps it's his skeevy tone of voice that makes us shudder a little when he uses the word "well-reared." For the record, Colicchio looked uncomfortable too...   Read More... Posted Jan 15 2009, 01:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Toby Young

• Show of Hands -- Who's Annoyed By New "Top Chef" Judge, Toby Young?

  We'll be honest, we didn't find the sarcastic, rambling criticisms of new judge, Toby Young, to be either cute or clever.  Reader poll: who thinks he writes these things down beforehand, reads them aloud to the mirror and says to himself, "Yes. Did well there," and then plucks his eyebrows with a pair of golden tweezers? Because that's how it felt to us... Read More... Posted Jan 08 2009, 02:20 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Ted Allen, Toby Young

• "Top Chef": New Girl Crush and a Possible Threesome

  First things first, why is Martha wearing a look of dread in this picture?  We get why Padma looks annoyed -- or rather, she always looks annoyed so we're not surprised by it -- but we can't say why Martha looks like someone's holding her at glue gun point.  She's a complicated woman.  The Martha-inspired quickfire involved baking a one pot dish for the holidays.  Martha liked Ariane's beef and polenta dish best and gave the win to a fellow Jersey girl.  Jamie was none too happy that yet another quickfire win escaped her eager grasp but there wasn't much time to wallow in inadequacy because Padma brought in the Harlem Gospel Choir to serenade the chefs into the elimination round -- an elimination in which the several of chefs nearly lose their minds and we develop a new girl crush... Read More... Posted Dec 18 2008, 11:00 AM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson

• "Top Chef" Fantasy Update: We Need A Consultant

  We feel like our Top Chef fantasy team strategy needs a bit of an overhaul this season -- in short, we kind of suck at picking winners this year -- not really a surprise since the only strategy we ever employed when helping our boyfriend choose his fantasy football team was whether or not the players went to our alma mater.  Regardless, we don't like feeling sub par, we're calling in the big guns... By the way, the above photo (courtesy of Bravo) has nothing to do with anything, we just can't stop staring at it.  Those CHOPS -- they are mesmerizing.    Read More... Posted Dec 17 2008, 04:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Bravo, Tom Colicchio

• Tom Colicchio Doesn't Pay His Waitresses?

  This looks sketchier than C.J.'s broccolini. Read More... Posted Dec 16 2008, 09:36 AM by Jake Kalish with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• "Top Chef" Fantasy Team Update

  So, we've made some last minute changes to our fantasy team for tonight's episode... Read More... Posted Dec 10 2008, 12:00 PM by Lindy Parker with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• "Top Chef": Whose House? Tom's House.

  If we could've found a picture of Tom Colicchio raising one eyebrow to use for this post, we would've done it.  We feel like that image would pretty much communicate the general feeling of this week's episode.   First the good news, two of our fantasy picks won this week's quick fire and elimination challenges respectively.  The bad news is we traded both those picks last week.  No points for us... Read More... Posted Nov 20 2008, 10:20 AM by Lindy Parker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• "Top Chef": We're Re-Thinking The Whole Thing

  Last night's premiere opened with a quick-fire apple peel-off (you know, for the Big Apple) -- the contestants had to peel fifteen apples  to Tom Colicchio's standards.  That's a lot of apples, dude.  Knives are flashing, chunks of apple are flying into the air -- it's a madhouse, and once again, we're kind of impressed by the tenancity of the Top Chef contestants.  Chefs that didn't make the cut in the first round were asked to give the apples a perfect dice in the second.  The remaining four Chefs (that looked pretty ashamed to be standing there) had to use the peeled and diced apples to create a dish for Tom and Padma with the promise that the chef with the worst dish would go home on the spot.  We knew Lauren was gone as soon as she said the words "blue cheese," "bacon," and "spinach sald" -- Tom hates a boring Betty. Needless to say, last night's action made us completely re-evaluate our fantasy team picks, and we've made some trades... Read More... Posted Nov 13 2008, 11:20 AM by Lindy Parker with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio

• "Top Chef New York": Rock Stars and British Aristocracy

  Why is Tom Colicchio so dashing?  We'll ponder this question as Bravo gears up for the fifth season of Top Chef (premiering November 12).  We always enjoy Top Chef -- there's food, funny banter, challenges that inevitably involve vending machine candy -- what's not to love?  We'd assumed this season to be pretty much more of the same, but then some notable changes were made to the judges panel... Read More... Posted Oct 08 2008, 03:26 PM by Lindy Parker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Top Chef, Tom Colicchio, Foo Fighters, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wizard, Ted Allen, Toby Young

• And the Season 4 “Top Chef” Winner Is…

  Can you guess from this quote? I didn’t think I won at all. I really had no idea because they said negative things about all of us which in the end feels good because I know that nobody was perfect that day but of course I would have wanted to be much more perfect. But they definitely made it hard for us all to have any idea what happened. You can never read the judges and I just had no idea.  Episode recap, winner interviews, food porn and more, after the jump! Read More... Posted Jun 12 2008, 12:30 PM by Nicole Ankowski with | with no comments Filed under: Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef, reality shows, Tom Colicchio

• Top Chef Judge Tom Colicchio to Irate Viewers: Did You Taste the Food?

  We were floored last week when Top Chef contestant (and cutest head band-wearer ever) Antonia was booted from the show, instead of the perpetually disgruntled Lisa. We have a feeling Top Chef judge (and…sex symbol?) Tom Colicchio would tell us, firmly yet lovingly, to shove it. At least, he kind of did that when questioned about Dale getting kicked off the show (don’t even get him started on Gordon Ramsay)...   Read More... Posted Jun 11 2008, 04:00 PM by Nicole Ankowski with | with no comments Filed under: Top Chef, reality shows, cooking, Sarah Hepola, Tom Colicchio, gordon ramsay