Top Chef Season 4 Finale-Find it online here...

After Dale got punted off the show, I promised never to watch the show for the rest of the season. But like a month to the flame, I just couldn't stay away and was drawn back.

Now, not neither TIVO or cable poses a problem. Where does one go to watch the episodes. While Youtube may have been a sufficient source of television shows, I recommend Hulu.com. A collaboration of NBC and FOX, Hulu (you can read about it here) contains your everything from SNL clips, episodes of Family guy, and movies like The Girl Next Door.

But more relevant to this post, it has the most recent episode 13 (Season Finale pt. 1) of Top Chef. The compression is smoother and larger than anything you can find on Youtube, veoh, or surfthechannel.

If you haven't seen it yet, I advise you follow the following drinking rules put out by Metromix Chicago:

Rule No. 1: Drink every time Lisa curses.

Rule No. 2: Drink every time a Glad product appears on screen. Chug for the first five seconds of any Glad commercial.

Rule No. 3: Drink every time Dale lashes out, directly or indirectly.

Rule No. 4: Chug for five seconds any time someone says “threw me under the bus” or similar.

Rule No. 5: Drink for every tight shot/zoom of a GE Monogram logo.

Rule No. 6: Drink every time Spike appears on screen wearing a hat.

Rule No. 7: Drink every time Tom says “interesting,” asks “Have you done that before?” or “kind of just blinks and pulls his head back.”

8. Drink every time a contestant butchers the pronunciation of a Spanish word.

The Fruits of June

Not too long ago, I read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. It's a great book that tracks back how four different meals are made. Michael discusses the benefits of eating with the seasons. Not only is the produce more fresh, but because they are in abundance, they're cheaper.

Tastes good and costs less!

For the month of June, check out: watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, cherries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, corn, lettuce.

Discover, month-by-month, the fruits and vegetables that you should buy here.

Kill Bill Splatter

New billboard promotes the TV release of Kill Bill with a little blood splatter. Love it.

Source: bestadsontv

Southern Fried Chicken Sandwiches

For lunch, I tried McDonald's new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich (SSCS, so I don't have to type it over and over again). It is my hope upon hopes that the SSCS rivals Chick-Fil-A's Chicken Sandwich (CFACS). Here's my review.

Chicken: From the first bite, I was pleasantly surprised at the juiciness factor of the patty. The Chick-Fil-A chicken is sometimes a bit dry and uneven.

SSCS 1: CFACS 0

Crispiness: SSCS were flying off the shelf. I had to wait for a bit while they made my sandwich. Unfortunately the freshness didn't translate to a crispy batter.

SSCS 1: CFACS 1

Pickle-Factor: While the McDonalds Pickle has nice flavor, it's not like the Chick-Fil-A's Chicken sandwich, which ingredients play with each other like an 'N-sync dance number. Could it be because Chick-Fil-A puts their pickle on the bottom? or the lack of mayo to bind everything together? I also found the Southern Style chicken Sandwich pickle too thinly cut and not crunchy in the middle.

SSCS 1: CFACS 2

Overall Taste: Diversification is risk. Chick-Fil-A only offers a couple items on the menu, but they're just so so good. The sandwich used the same bun as a cheese burger, so my tastebuds were a bit confused.

SSCS 1: CFACS 3

In Conclusion: McDonalds should stay with the all-beef-patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese... I just wish there was a Chick-Fil-A in the Chicagoland area. A guy can dream can't he?

Street Art Globalization

The Tate Modern in London recently launched a street art exhibition including artists from all over the world. Creativity Online interviews Will Gompertz, director of Tate Media, about the exhibit.

Read it here.

The History of Cubicles

According to Steelcase, we spend 70% of our office life inside cubicles. David Franz points out that while he doubts that we'll be seeing a one-hour Modern Marvels on the History Channel showcasing cubicles anytime soon, the fact that we spend so much time in these creations merits some study and exploration. After all, the 190 square feet filled with personal tchotchkes is our home away from home.

From the original vision of egalitarianism to its permanent position in corporate pop-culture a la Dilbert and Office Space, David tracks the history of cubicles. Yet another interesting article to read from you cubicle.

Ratatat just announced a very short short tour. I'm so sad that they're not stopping in the mid-west.

6/07 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
6/08 Portland, OR - Holocene
6/10 San Francisco, CA - Slim's
6/12 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
6/15 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg

Thanks JP.

Brooklyn Science (Nihongo Style)

The past few weeks I was back in DC working at my company's headquarters. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I went up to NY to visit K. Sunday morning, we went to go check out the much talked about Brooklyn Flea.

What does one do at the Brooklyn flea? EAT! After waiting for just about an hour for Popusa's from Red Hook, we browsed the wares at the flea market. I gotta admit, I am a self-acknowledged geek. I bought a t-shrit--the print below. Can you guess what it is? It's taken from a Japanese science textbook for children:

If you guessed anthropomorphized water, you were right! To see more of Kari's work check out her etsy site.

sighting

Dob seen in brooklyn

(Taken by my HTC Touch)

More Cooking Games

First it was sushi go round, now its HK Cafe. I don't know what it is about cooking games, but they always seem to suck a good 15 minutes of my life away...

Scorching a Baked Alaska

When it comes to food, many chefs need to differentiate themselves from the competition. While we would all love taste to be the differentiating factor, gimmicks are a lot easier. We've all fallen victim to the flash bangs of the world. Whether it's the chef at Benihana or some of the gastro pubs, there are times when chefs go too far.

Chef Homaro Cantu's interpretation of a Baked Alaska is anything but subtle. It's way too heavy handed.....

Watch the video at chicago foodies.