Iron Chef Sturgeon and Elk battles

Today it was the Surgeon battle between Iron Chef Michael Symon and David Adjay from Toronto, whom I see on Restaurant Makeover show (which I have grown to like) on Food Network.

2 new judges that I have not seen along with the tried and true one who judges for Top Chef made it a difficult. There was a lot of sparring concerning the recipes, the fish, the tastes , the plating etc etc. I still thought the Iron Chef would win by +6. One judge did not like the plank with one recipe, couple had too much in the mix of the entrees with the sturgeon but still I thought Flay's had a little flair which is why I gave him the edge.

However when the chairman they have deliverated long and hard , I shouted "its a tie " and it was! Symon was up by 5 with the taste but suffered from -3 on plating and -2 on originally (which I found puzzling as I thought the Symon has more originality- the judges however had said that they did not find that the sturgeon was original to the dishes).

So I misjudged that too late.

Meanwhile earlier two chefs from Dallas, took on Bobby Flay in Battle Elk. I had Elk steak earlier this year at Jumping Catfish in Olathe, KS and it was very good. One recipe had habenaro mole (?) A Chipotle mollasses sauce with elk seemed interesting.

It was tough with all judges liking most of the dishes. I thought Flay would win by +4 but he LOST by 4. So I was 8 off. I am usually within 3 and on the side of the winner .

Better luck next time?

Batali vs. Carmellini what a battle 9/09/2007

Batali vs. Carmellini
I like matching wits with judges. I try to guess who will win and the number of points that win,
I usually tell my wife what I think during the intermission before the verdict so she knows I am no lying
Well this one was close.
I predicted Batali by +1.
I was right on the mark (mostly I am on target or 1 -3 off either side but rarely more)
Batali was aheadwith taste, Carmellini had better plating (+1) and the last was a tie.
I wish there was Iron chef recipe cookbook.
I think the polenta round cakes with pesto in the middle and then fried sounded good for me to try.

Masaharu Morimoto vsTom Douglason today "Iron Chef America."

I have been to Seattle with my wife (2003) and we hit several award winning places (Wild Ginger etc ). I did not know about Chef Tom Douglas at that time. So I never got to one of his restaurants.I am a big iron chef fan etc. I watched with anticipation of this battle when I heard of the rematch. I thought he might have a little edge because of the salmon though. I am usually right on with my vote or within 1-2 on the side I vote for , I knew it was going to be tough but thought because of the comments and the different types of salmon made by Masaharu Morimoto on "Iron Chef America."that he would win by 3. Instead Douglas won by 3 so I was right on but on the other site.
I must note that usually when there is a battle whether the old iron chef show or this American one, the loser of the first battle wins in the 2nd. Yes this was a different Iron Chef . Still I thought it was a well fought battle. I hope to try Douglas restaurant when we go there again sometime. Great battle but I was surprised.

Seattle chef picks Seattle favorites

We en joyed our time in Seattle and Vancouver 4 years ago.

Sue and I went to Wild Ginger for a snack when we were going to the art museum
Here are some other restaurants in Seattle which are deemed some of the best in Seattle.

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/travel_seattle.html

Tom Douglas the famous chef in the area lost to Iron Chef Mario Battali in April; 2007 by only 2 points.

In a rematch coming up on June 23, 2007 a rematch pits Douglas against Morimoto. Should be a good one.