Kobayashi was arrested after he jumped up on stage following the contest, to protest his inability to participate in the contest due to “contractual obligations.” It turns out that Kobayashi has an issue with the contest’s organizer, Major League Eating, which has an exclusivity clause barring him from taking part in other non-MLE events. According to Kobayashi, Major League Eating is “trying to take away my freedom.”

As the crowd chanted “Let him eat!”, a group of security officers tried to usher him off stage. Kobayashi resisted, grabbing onto a metal police barricade, and had to be dragged off down the stairs by security officials.

MLE’s Richard Shea responds, saying the clause has been in place for years and he can’t understand why Kobayashi is only now taking exception to it.

Kobayashi was indicted on charges that included trespassing, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. He was released without bail pending trial, still wearing his “Free Kobi” shirt that he’d worn when he climbed up on stage. Following his arraignment, Kobayashi was noted as telling reporters: “I’m really hungry. I wanted to eat hot dogs.”

Joey Chestnut, this year’s winner and who earned his fourth consecutive title, said only “I feel bad for him.”

Kobayashi has been an unfriendly rival to Chestnut for years.

It’s now officially Summer, and one of the great things we enjoy about summer is a steak, fresh from the grill. But too many people are absolutely ruining perfectly good cuts of meat, and calling it steak. Spotted over at Lifehacker, cooking instructor and author of Planet Barbecue is sharing the facts on a good baker’s half-dozen wrong ideas about steak.

Stuff like:

Myth:

Steak tastes best sizzling hot off the grill.

Fact:

Like most grilled meats, a steak hot off the grill will taste leathery and dry. You need to let it rest for a few minutes on a warm plate before serving. This allows the meat to “relax,” making for a juicier, more tender steak.

Finally, for flavor, sheen, and succulence, don’t forget to drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil, melted butter, or beef fat over your perfectly grilled steak before serving. Think of it as the varnish on your masterpiece.

There’s nothing worse than ripping a steak off the grill and just tearing into it with your chompers, only to complain later that it was tough and a little dry. Check out these busted myths and educate your way to a better steak, to better enjoy this summer’s barbecues!

[source] Lifehacker.com

Sue Veed at Serious Eats has a great post on how to deep fry without all the fancy equipment. She runs down technique, and just what you need to get the job done. It’s handy, when you want to fry something just every once in awhile.

I used to think that in order to deep-fry, you needed a deep-fryer. Not so. To do it at home, just grab a stockpot, wok, or deep-walled saucepan, and a candy or deep-fat thermometer, and go to town.

Other things to keep in mind: Don’t try to fry too much at once. You’ll drop the oil temperature and ruin the crisping up goodness that we’re striving for here. If you’re making fries, be sure to soak them first. And above all, don’t try this naked.

[source] How to Deep-Fry at Home Without a Deep-Fryer (Serious Eats)

Their full top six is below:

1. Faygo Original Root Beer
2. Fitz’s Premium Root Beer
3. Jackson Hole Soda Co. Buckin’ Root Beer
4. Olde Rhode Island Molasses Root Beer
5. Sioux City Root Beer
6. Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer

Got a favorite not on the list? Let us know in the comments!

[source] Bon Appétit

The nominations for the 2010 James Beard Awards are in! Mindy Segal of Hot Chocolate, my favorite place to consume said beverage and probably better called an addiction rather than a drink, has been nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef for the fourth year in a row. And for geeks, note that there’s a nomination for a restaurant named Ubuntu.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

• Bibou, Philadelphia – Chef/Owners: Pierre and Charlotte Calmels
• Flour + Water, San Francisco – Chef/Partner: Thomas McNaughton, Partners: David White and David Steele
• Frances, San Francisco – Chef/Owner: Melissa Perello
• Locanda Verde, NYC -Chef/Owner: Andrew Carmellini
• Marea, NYC – Chef/Partner: Michael White, Partner: Chris Cannon
• RN74, San Francisco – Chef: Jason Berthold, Owners: Michael Mina and Rajat Parr

OUTSTANDING CHEF AWARD

• José Andrés – Minibar, Washington, D.C.
• Tom Colicchio – Craft, NYC
• Gary Danko – Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco
• Suzanne Goin – Lucques, Los Angeles
• Charles Phan – The Slanted Door, San Francisco

OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF

• Amanda Cook – CityZen at Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.
• Michelle Gayer – Salty Tart Bakery, Minneapolis
• Kamel Guechida – Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
• Nicole Plue – Redd, Yountville, CA
• Mindy Segal – Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, Chicago

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT

• Babbo, NYC – Chef/Owner: Mario Batali, Owner: Joseph Bastianich
• Boulevard, San Francisco – Chef/Owner: Nancy Oakes, Owner: Pat Kuleto
• Daniel, NYC – Chef/Owner: Daniel Boulud
• Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL – Chef/Owner: Frank Stitt, Owner: Pardis Stitt
• Spiaggia, Chicago -  Chef/Partner: Tony Mantuano

OUTSTANDING SERVICE

• Alinea, Chicago – Chef/Owner: Grant Achatz
• Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas – Chef/Owner: Joël Robuchon
• La Grenouille, NYC – Owners: Charles Masson, Gisèle Masson
• Michael Mina, San Francisco – Chef/Owner: Michael Mina
• Vetri, Philadelphia – Chefs/Owners: Marc Vetri, Jeff Benjamin

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR

• Timothy Hollingsworth – The French Laundry, Yountville, CA
• Johnny Monis – Komi, Washington, D.C.
• Grégory Pugin – Veritas, NYC
• Gabriel Rucker – Le Pigeon, Portland, OR
• Sue Zemanick – Gautreau’s, New Orleans

BEST CHEF: GREAT LAKES (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• Michael Carlson – Schwa, Chicago
• Koren Grieveson – Avec, Chicago
• Arun Sampanthavivat – Arun’s, Chicago
• Bruce Sherman – North Pond, Chicago
• Alex Young – Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC (D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Cathal Armstrong – Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
• Jeff Michaud – Osteria, Philadelphia
• Peter Pastan – Obelisk, Washington, D.C.
• Michael Solomonov – Zahav, Philadelphia
• Bryan Voltaggio – Volt, Frederick, MD

BEST CHEF: MIDWEST (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

• Isaac Becker – 112 Eatery, Minneapolis
• Gerard Craft – Niche, St. Louis
• Colby Garrelts – Bluestem, Kansas City, MO
• Alexander Roberts – Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis
• Lenny Russo – Heartland, St. Paul, MN

BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY (FIVE BOROUGHS)

• Michael Anthony – Gramercy Tavern
• Wylie Dufresne – WD-50
• Gabrielle Hamilton – Prune
• Daniel Humm – Eleven Madison Park
• Michael White – Marea

BEST CHEF: NORTHEAST (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY STATE, RI, VT)

• Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier – Arrows, Ogunquit, ME
• Peter X. Kelly – Xaviar’s at Piermont, Piermont, NY
• Michael Leviton – Lumière, West Newton, MA
• Tony Maws – Craigie on Main, Cambridge, MA
• Marc Orfaly – Pigalle, Boston

BEST CHEF: NORTHWEST (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY)

• Naomi Pomeroy – Beast, Portland, OR
• Andy Ricker – Pok Pok, Portland, OR
• Ethan Stowell – Union, Seattle
• Cathy Whims – Nostrana, Portland, OR
• Jason Wilson – Crush, Seattle

BEST CHEF: PACIFIC (CA, HI)

• Michael Cimarusti – Providence, Los Angeles
• Jeremy Fox – Ubuntu, Napa, CA
• David Kinch – Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
• Matt Molina – Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
• Michael Tusk – Quince, San Francisco

BEST CHEF: SOUTH (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS)

• Zach Bell – Café Boulud at the Brazilian Court, Palm Beach, FL
• Scott Boswell – Stella!, New Orleans
• John Harris – Lilette, New Orleans
• Christopher Hastings – Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, AL
• Michael Schwartz – Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Miami

BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

• Hugh Acheson – Five and Ten, Athens, GA
• Sean Brock – McCrady’s, Charleston, SC
• Linton Hopkins – Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta
• Andrea Reusing – Lantern, Chapel Hill, NC
• Bill Smith – Crook’s Corner, Chapel Hill, NC

BEST CHEF: SOUTHWEST (AZ, CO, NM, NV, OK, TX, UT)

• Bryan Caswell – Reef, Houston
• Saipin Chutima – Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas
• Ryan Hardy – Montagna at the Little Nell, Aspen, CO
• Claude Le Tohic – Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
• Rick Moonen – RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas

Following in the footsteps of American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta, and Alaska Airlines, United Airlines is now getting on the mobile boarding pass bandwagon. (Yes, they’re a little late in the game on this one.) The move will theoretically cut down on ID fraud and time spent waiting in security lines, but anecdotally, electronic boarding passes don’t seem to be saving time in many airports around the country because not all security personnel have equipment that can read them. I suppose at the very least, it will save trees. And since I’m more likely to lose a piece of paper than my Blackberry, perhaps it’s a smart idea overall.

Source: Consumerist

If you missed Chicago Restaurant Week 2010, you still have a chance to sample some of Chicago’s finest dining establishments at a bargain price during the Chicago Chef’s Week, running from March 22-28. Although the list of participating restaurants is considerably smaller than during Restaurant Week, the quality is no less outstanding – many of the Chef’s Week restaurants also participated in Restaurant Week – and in fact, the dining deals are even slightly cheaper: $20 for a three-course lunch, and $30 for a 3-course dinner.

The following restaurants are taking part in Chef’s Week*:

• Aja (Asian)
• Big Jones (Southern)
• Blackbird (Contemporary American)
• Boka Restaurant (Contemporary American)
• Duchamp (American)
• Elate (American)
• Eve (Contemporary American)
• Green Zebra (Vegetarian)
• Hearty (American)
• Ktih & Kin (American)
• Landmark (Contemporary American)
• LM Le Restaurant (Contemporary French)
• Lockwood (Contemporary American)
• Mado (Organic)
• Market House (American)
• Mercadito (Mexican)
• Mexique (Mexican)
• Perennial (Contemporary American)
• Piccolo Sogno (Italian)
• Prarie Fire (Contemporary American)
• Province (American)
• The Publican (American)
• Sepia (American)
• Sola  (Contemporary American)
• Spring (Seafood)
• Vie (American) NOTE: this restaurant is in the Chicago suburb of Western Springs
• Zealous (Contemporary American)

Reservations are highly recommended. These are some amazing restaurants at which reservations are a good idea on a regular evening – the deals offered during Chef’s Week usually mean that tables are booked far in advance. You can make reservations at OpenTable.com.

*Some restaurants only offer the prix-fixe dinner special. Be sure to check listings on Open Table.

It’s a well-known fact among our friends that I am an unrepentant fiend for bacon. If I go to a restaurant and there’s a dish featuring pork belly, bacon or pancetta, I’ll get it – whether it’s an appetizer, entree or even dessert, it doesn’t matter. I see bacon in the ingredient list and I’ll try it at least once. My culinary experiments regularly involve finding ways to incorporate bacon into a dish.

So naturally there is no way I am going to miss the Chicago Baconfest next month at the Stan Mansion in Logan Sq. Baconfest is the brainchild of three Chicago natives who decided to use their love for bacon and contacts in the Chicago food scene to organize a celebration of crispy, salty, smoked pork goodness. The fest will feature seven hours of bacon love, including two Bacon Tasting shifts provided by twelve outstanding Chicago chefs (with a different line up in each shift) presenting twelve different bacon courses; a Bacon Expo with vendors offering everything from “gourmet smoked bacon to bacon-lip-balm to bacon-cupcakes to bacon-tshirts and jewelry,” and a Bacon Café, Bar & Cocktail Lounge in which “local restaurants will serve bacon-based snacks; local bakeries will concoct bacon-sweets; local bars will serve up bacon cocktails and refreshing beer.” There’s even an amateur baking/cooking contest, to which yours truly is submitting a recipe for consideration – if it’s rejected, I’ll post it here for you to try yourselves, but mum’s the word until I hear from the organizers. Suffice to say, I’m creating something that reflects my love of mixing the salty with the sweet in an easy, bite-sized treat.

Sounds like a can’t miss for bacon afficionados, right? I regret to inform you that you snooze, you lose – tickets went on sale at 12pm, CST, on March 4th. By 12:15pm, the event was sold out. And my friends thought I was silly for setting an alarm for 2 minutes before sale time to remind me (I had my ticket confirmation by exactly 12:03pm – when I checked the event Facebook page an hour later, I was stunned by all the “I can’t believe it’s sold out already!” posts).

But don’t fret, bacon fans – the organizers were so surprised by the interest generated in their humble idea that it’s likely to become an annual event. You can check out the event website at http://baconfestchicago.com and you can also join the Baconfest Chicago group on Facebook. Plan ahead for next year, folks. Something tells me that this is going to be an unforgettable evening. I promise I’ll write up the event after I’ve attended. Assuming I’m not in the hospital due to an overdose of bacon.

French-Italian restaurant Socca is offering free burgers on Monday, March 29th. I had dinner there last night, and if their regular menu is anything to go by, you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t make use of this deal (on a normal night, I recommend the Braised Beef Shortrib). Bring a few friends – select wine bottles that day will also be 50%-75% off.

If you don’t make reservations in time to catch the burger deal, you can still make use of Socca’s $25 prix fixe (any salad, entree, and dessert) from Sunday-Tuesday every week.

No matter which option you go with, order the Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Crostata for dessert. You won’t be disappointed.

Socca
3301 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60657
773.248.1155

You’ve heard of cheese made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and even sheep’s milk. But how about human breast milk?

It doesn’t exactly sound tempting, but Chef Daniel Angerer of Klee Brasserie in New York will serve cheese made from his wife’s breast milk to customers who are curious enough – or brave enough – to try it. I suppose the weirdness factor shouldn’t come as a surprise from a chef who not only made an appearance on the American version of “Iron Chef,” but won.

My gut reaction upon hearing the news: “That’s gross!” But if you think about it, humans were made to drink human breast milk – who first saw a cow and thought, “Hmm, I wonder if the white stuff from those udders would be tasty and healthy?” The chef’s wife, Lori Mason, certainly doesn’t seem to find anything that strange about the cheese: “I think a lot of the criticism has to do with the combination of sex and cheese, but… the breast is there to make food.” Sure, but I think I’ll pass on this one.

The next culinary collaboration between the two: gelato.

Source: NY Post