SHAME on Top Chef

for using Monk Fish and Chilean Sea Bass on last night's episode. Those are two types of fish that we should avoid using because of overfishing and mercury contamination.

Not everyone is a Top Chef

And, quite frankly, that's OK. Sure you have the Stars in the kitchen, but it really requires TEAM WORK to make a restaurant work.

San Francisco, one of the foodiest of foodie towns, is finding it difficult to keep it's "kitchen staff pantry" stocked.

....Craigslist has dozens of help-wanted listings from the Bay Area's top restaurants - all vying for the dwindling numbers of experienced cooks willing to put in long, hard hours for pay that barely covers their cost of living.

"They say they have all these bills and have to pay the rent, and they can't be making $12-$13 an hour," Lahlou said.

That crunch, plus many young cooks' expectations of the "Top Chef" high life, are just two of the factors that may make San Francisco's unique mix of chef-owned high-quality neighborhood restaurants a thing of the past.

Across the country, restaurant owners complain of staffing shortages. Many partly blame the newly glamorous role of chefs in the media, which has created a legion of chef-wannabes. But San Francisco's high cost of living, minimum wage laws and new sick leave and health insurance mandates mean that restaurants are being hit harder here than in other cities. - SFGate

Top Chef Title Hung on Hung

Congrats, Chef Hung. But, we, in all honesty, were not cheering for you. Too much foam...too much attitude. Too many smurfs.

We had hoped Dale's cuisine would "reign supreme." Alas. We'll pack up our santuko's and wait for next season.

AfterElton.com has an interview with Dale...so does Chicagoist. (Looks like Chicago is on the burner for Season 4.)
The "Sandy Eggo" Tribune has a write up of Brian. (who knew that he was a "pony loving" railbird photographer!)

I wasn't really watching the food that Hung was preparing, anyway. I kept looking at Rocco and wondering when (or...cough, cough..."if") he got a facelift.

Wednesday...Top Chef Night

Just "Eat It!" or "Reheat It!"

Ciao, Clay!

The Chef representing Santa Barbara got tossed last night on Top Chef. When the judges use the word "inedible"....it's not a good thing. The "Cored Apple of Doom"

OK, Clay....It's back to the SB University Club for you.

Top Chef Season Three - Santa Barbara is represented!

Chef Clay Bowen (Sous Chef, Santa Barbara University Club)

The season officially heats up June 13th.