Best This, Best That … We Say, ‘Who Cares?’
The year-end rush to give out awards has started in earnest, and two totally meaningless such contests present themselves to us today. On Endless Simmer, the nominations are in for Eater of the Year and include Tony Bourdain, Padma Lakshmi, some locavores, and Joey Chestnut. Are you kidding? Why even ask the question? If Joey Chestnut, having vanquished Kobayashi and established himself as the greatest competitive eater in the world, doesn’t get this award, why bother giving it? The man deserves it just for eating 103 Krystal burgers in eight minutes earlier this year.
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Chefs Are All Over ‘Ratatouille’; Allen and Delancey May Open AfterChefs say “Ratatouille gets it, it totally gets chef culture.” Even Tony Bourdain is onboard, calling it “the best restaurant movie ever made — the best chef movie.” [Ruhlman]
Related: How Much Thomas Keller Is Really in ‘Ratatouille’’s Remy?
Allen and Delancey may be coming back. Or rather, opening for the first time. [Eater]
Related: Allen and Delancey Tripped at the Finish Line, Won’t Open
The good people of Iowa may not get the whole niche-pork thing, but they are happy to supply the product. [Des Moines Register]
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King Kobayashi Dethroned; Per Se Chef Moves OnJoey Jaws skewers Kobayashi in hot-dog contest, downing 66 HDBs for new record. [Major League Eating]
Per Se’s Mark Twersky becomes top chef at Alfama; Brian Goodman named exec chef at Parea. [NYT]
Is the controversial farm bill responsible for childhood obesity and diabetes? [NYT]
Daily News survey of two restaurants, writer’s own eating habits indicates that servings of ratatouille may be on the uptick. [NYDN]
Flushing is a hotbed of Korean chicken joints. [VV]
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New York Rated Top BBQ City in the U.S.; Kobayashi Making Bookies SkittishNew York is listed as the No. 1 destination for BBQ in the U.S.(Memphis, in case you were wondering, was No. 10.) [BizJournal]
World-champion competitive eater Joey Chestnut isn’t buying talk of Takeru Kobayashi being hurt: The Tsunami “could come to the Fourth of July with his jaws wired shut, and I’m sure he could still do all right; he’s that good of an eater.” [NYT]
Related: Hot-Dog-Eating Champ Struck With Jaw Arthritis Determined to Gulp On
The odds-makers, though, aren’t as confident about a crippled Kobayashi, and the board shows it. [McBrooklyn]
NewsFeed
New York Hot-Dog Eaters Take It to the Next Level
At the Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest July 4, competitive-eating fans across the world will be watching to see if Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi can defend his title against the American upstart Joey Chestnut. But here at Grub Street, we’re always more interested in the local angle. New York is representing with two of the country’s top eaters, East Village roommates Tim “Eater X” Janus and Crazy Legs Conti.
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American Reclaims World Hot-Dog Record; Bruni Calls Out SietsemaAt a Nathan’s hot-dog-eating contest qualifier in Phoenix, American Joey Chestnut shatters the world record set by Takeru “the Tsunami” Kobayashi. [NYP]
In a rare critic-on-critic showdown, Frank Bruni comes down hard on Il Brigante, whose pizza the Voice’s Robert Sietsema called “the city’s most perfect evocation of the true Naples style.” Hardly, Bruni says. “Nothing about this pizza argued strongly for a trip outside your own neighborhood.” [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Related: New Restaurant Not Just for Lonely Mountain People [Grub Street]
A critical roundup of the city’s lobster rolls decrees Ed’s Lobster Bar “the world’s best.” [NYP]
Related: Consider the Lobster Roll [NYM]
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Seemingly Sober Individual Consumes Seven Pounds of Brother Jimmy’s Wings
We’re just back from Grand Central Terminal, where top-ranked American gurgitator Joey “Jaws” Chestnut has retained his title of chicken-wing-eating champion. Proving that he’s only getting stronger in his quest to return the coveted “mustard belt” to America when he faces champion Takeru Kobayashi in the Nathan’s hot-dog-eating contest this year. Jaws set a new record by decimating 7.105 pounds of medium-hot wings in twelve minutes, a good pound more than the visibly shaken onetime champ Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas. We don’t have photos yet, but trust us, the “wingtastic expression of chicken wings,” as emcee Keenan Thompson described it, wasn’t pretty — third-place finalist Tim “Eater X” Janus, wearing a beard of hot sauce in addition to his usual face paint, was reduced to picking chicken scraps out of his teeth with a MetroCard.
