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Post by mummifiedstalin on Jan 18, 2011 2:21:31 GMT -5
Anyone else like him? I have his books, have "Mexico: One Plate at a Time" on DVD, and I eat at his Chicago places at least once a month. And once a year, my wife and I splurge at his ultra-overpriced Topolobampo.
I find his mannerisms to be...irritating. But the dude has finally made me able to cook all the Mexican stuff I've always wanted to do. (I've even made huge batches of tamales five times in the last two weeks using his recipes...we've been travelling a lot and seeing family, and they all want to see how to make them when my wife brags about how good mine are. Yes, I'm awesome.)
So, anyone else?
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Post by Chuck on Jan 18, 2011 6:08:05 GMT -5
Frontera Grill is cheaper (and we feel better) than Topolobampo.
We think he's Mexican for the anal retentive.
But I recommend Frontera Grill highly.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Jan 18, 2011 10:09:09 GMT -5
Frontera's not just cheaper. It's humanly affordable, whereas Topolo is intentionally...not. I actually prefer Topolo's food, though, because I've found Frontera to actually be a bit bland at times. The first time I went to Topolo, I had a mushroom soup that remains the single most awesome soup I"ve ever had.
And I actually enjoy his "anal retentiveness." Heh. My favorite book of his is "Authentic Mexican" because he talks about all the regional differences in Mexico, even sometimes down to how different families he's eaten/worked with make the same recipe. He's definitely mellowed his absolute and total insistence on being as "authentic" as possible as time goes on. His book "Mexican Everyday" really does show you how to turn enchiladas and other things that you'd think take a lot of prep to be quick and easy daily meals.
I still haven't eaten at Xoco, his little street food thing next to Frontera. But I will. Apparently the churros and hot chocolate are frickin' amazing. And now he's got a little deal at O'Hare...makes me actually want to fly out of there instead of Midway.
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Post by Chuck on Jan 18, 2011 19:39:21 GMT -5
Mums, try the Saturday morning brunch menu some time.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Jan 18, 2011 21:56:21 GMT -5
Mums, try the Saturday morning brunch menu some time. Mmmmm. Must do that.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 20, 2011 14:01:22 GMT -5
Mrs. Atari likes his stuff.
I can't get over the fact that ESPN blowhard Skip Bayless is his brother.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Jan 20, 2011 14:41:37 GMT -5
Heh. I don't know, I think there's enough arrogance in Bayless' presentation at times to show their true relation.*
But speaking of wives, mine told me this morning that I've been talking about Bayless enough that I ought to do a "Julie and Julia" type blog about him where I just cook through his cookbooks. I have to admit that it's an idea...
*Skip Bayless: but of course Bayless is obviously just playing the asshole. He knows it's his role, and he does it so well. The whole point of him is to piss people off with extreme reactions.
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Post by reaperg on Jan 22, 2011 11:27:52 GMT -5
He'd better be a great chef to beat my boss on "Top Chef Masters".
I've been to both his restaurants, they had the best guacamole and ceviches I've ever tasted. His PBS show is cool and informative, but I could do without his daughter and "Now what could be better than this?" is way overdone.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Jan 22, 2011 12:07:44 GMT -5
Who do you work for?
And, yes, on his daughter. And he has a number of mannerisms that I could do without, I agree. That damn smirk...
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Post by reaperg on Jan 23, 2011 10:05:51 GMT -5
I won't name names, but one of Bayless' fellow finalists (the nice one, BTW).
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Post by mrcleveland on Feb 10, 2011 19:34:49 GMT -5
Bayless seems to always whisper and is always with his daughter!
But he DOES have a good relationship with my favorite PBS Cook...well, host...Christopher Kimball....
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