but part of the charm of IC (for me) is the odd over-seriousness of Chairman Kaga. Somehow, Dascascos is the perfect choice to try and emulate that (in my head, anyway).
He's really been shunted to the sidelines in ICA.
He does a faux serious introduction, which is pretty much the same every week. During the tasting he will occasionally say something like "you honor us with your dishes, chef XYZ", but generally stays silent.
I'd say that most of the hosting is done by Alton Brown. That's fine with me, since I am large with the Alton Brown love, but I can see that might be less pleasing to others.
I don't think that Dacascos had the same intensity that the OC (Original Chairman) displayed.
From what I saw on set, I think he's bored to tears by the whole thing. (Which is understandable, since his job involves about three seconds of actual work over a 10-hour day.) I think he must be paid very well.
And now I'm starting to return to my original opinion that there's no way to repeat the wonderful quirkiness of that show.
It might be interesting to watch for Alton's input, but even that wouldn't quite be able to emulate the incredibly strange banter of the hosts of the original.
What I like about the American IC, besides Alton being Alton, is that the chefs interact verbally with Alton a lot more then they did with the guy who did that on the original. Also, that some of the judges really snark at each other, a LOT.
And now I'm starting to return to my original opinion that there's no way to repeat the wonderful quirkiness of that show.
Simply cannot be done.
ICA is enjoyable on its own terms, but it's not the same animal (or obscure root vegetable) as the original.
And now I'm starting to return to my original opinion that there's no way to repeat the wonderful quirkiness of that show.
It's a good show, but it's not a clone of the original. It's got its own personality. [NOTE MY EXTREME RESTRAINT IN NOT USING THE WORD "FLAVOR."]
the chefs interact verbally with Alton a lot more then they did with the guy who did that on the original.
Batali's banter with Alton is priceless, in my quite humble opinion.
Holy fuck, Lee! That's a lot of iguanas.
Congratulations, family Wolfram!
And, the bacon subthread reminded me of this cobb salad recipe I saw yesterday on The Barefoot Contessa. The cook mixed together cherry tomatoes, lobster meat, bacon, and avocados. Oh, and she also threw in a handful of arugula, but I think that was a bow toward the traditional concept of salad as much as an attempt to add it as an actual ingredient. She mixed the whole thing up with a mustard vinagrette. It looked incredibly yummy, and I'm thinking of trying to make something similar this weekend, if my stomach is happy with me again by then.
ETA: recipe [link]
