Pops Restaurant & the Top Chef semifinal.

Klawchat today at 1 pm. I’m on Rumor Central today talking Donavan Tate’s broken jaw and Polanco to the Phils. Top Chef spoilers at the bottom of this piece.

I had dinner with a friend last night at Pops Restaurant in Boston’s South End, a small place that serves fine-dining-caliber food with prices one level down from what fine-dining places in the South End or Back Bay would charge. I’d recommend it, as the meal was well above-average despite some small issues.

Once I saw the crispy confit duck on the menu, there was no shot I’d order anything else, as duck confit is probably my favorite meat dish and it’s not something I’ve made at home. The duck was close to perfect, with crispy skin with a little bit of spice (I think five-spice, but there was too little for me to say for sure) and outstanding texture; duck skin needs very little seasoning since it has so much flavor of its own. The meat inside was perfect, tender and moist, falling apart like a braised pork shank. The duck comes with a mixture of asparagus, wild rice gnocchi, and a ‘red wine chocolate sauce’ that was astringent and overly salty and that didn’t do much to complement the duck; duck and rice do go well together, but something like a risotto with asparagus would have worked better. The side also contained lardons that were excruciatingly salty – and really, when have you ever known me to say a bad word about any form of bacon? – and weren’t listed on the menu, which, given how many people don’t eat pork for religious reasons, is a little customer-unfriendly. We also ordered a side of French fries at my friend’s suggestion – they’re lightly seasoned with herbs (thyme and rosemary?) and perfectly fried with virtually no grease, reminiscent of the fries at the defunct Back Bay restaurant Excelsior, which made probably the best fries I’ve ever had and served them with a rosemary aioli.

We started with the truffled butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter and fried egg; the egg was more of a garnish but the ravioli were excellent, just a little too soft, with the squash allowed to come through as the star of the dish. The arugula around the dish seemed like an afterthought but, softened slightly in the brown butter (which was mixed with a little pasta water), it was worth fishing out.

Service was good, not great; the waitress brought me the wrong beer, and it took over an hour from seating to the arrival of the entrees, although I imagine that would have been shorter without the appetizer. On the plus side, I had started at the bar and ordered sparkling water, and forgot about it when my friend arrived, but the bartender brought it back to the table for me after realizing I’d disappeared. The restaurant has two sections; we sat in the back, which is quieter but dimmer and lacks the visual appeal of the tables in the front near the bar and kitchen. The limes from the bar were dried-out, which isn’t a big deal for me but raises a small question about quality control in the back of the house.

Quick thoughts on last night’s Top Chef semifinal:

* Is Padma trying to be condescending, or is it just that her natural way of speaking comes off that way? My wife said last night, “I can’t picture her as a mother.” Growing up with a mother who is hot, famous, and sounds incredibly disappointed at the most minor of things is a recipe for a lifetime of therapy, no?

* We need to get Gail Simmons on “What Not to Wear.” It was like someone decided to add melons to the crush party menu. I feel bad for her – it’s not like she’s unattractive, but that dress – and it’s not the first – was not working in her favor.

* Have to try Bryan’s idea of cooking figs with short ribs and then pureeing them with the braising liquid to make a sauce. I’m thinking a dry red wine with good body but not too much fruitiness, but since I know jack about wine, I’m open to suggestions from the oenophiles in the audience.

* Jennifer undercut herself by, in effect, apologizing for making duck confit instead of grilling it. Play it up, talk about how you improvised, you love how it came out, spin it positively. Telling the judges you wish you’d done it another way isn’t going to make them like your food more. Of course, there’s a limit, since Kevin’s line about the undercooked didn’t go over well.

* This elimination was predictable, although I wonder (again) if the decisions are based on the dishes in that specific challenge or on the broader body of work. The weakest remaining chef was sent home; the three best from when I picked up the show about six episodes ago are going to the finals. I’m still sticking with my pick – Bryan.

Comments

  1. Klaw, my fiancee and I picked “horses” for Top Chef after the first show last year and this year. Last year I picked Hosea and she picked Stefan, and this year I took Bryan and she has Kevin. Pretty crazy blind luck – we picked them basically off of their first “talking head” and before they even cooked their first Quickfire.

    If either of our picks wins, the other takes the winner to dinner. So obviously, we’ll be going to Pops Restaurant, thanks to this review.

  2. Wow, Excelsior takes me back (lived in the S. End from ’99-’04). What about the fries at Sel de la Terre? I recall those being excellent.

    Where is Pops in the S. End? Tremont?

  3. You’re going to have a major kick yourself moment here, Keith. I made a side of asparagus risotto last night and Somerville can’t be more than 5 or 6 miles from the South End. Yeah, you blew it.

  4. I’ve thought for quite a while, about 6-7 episodes it would be one of Kevin and Mike V. I still can’t decide.

  5. Keith, with your love of food, I’d recommend an excellent food blog (which does a lot of Top Chef related material in season)…www.skilletdoux.com. Really wonderful reviews, recipes, and the reader comments (he’s built a sizable following) are typically smart and thought provoking. I believe he just moved to the Boston area as well because he’s had a few Boston centric restaurant reviews recently.

  6. I agree with most of your Top Chef observations. Jennifer really was harmed throughout by her lack of confidence. However, if you only joined the show halfway through you really didn’t get to see her at her peak. She absolutely dominated the first half of the season before suffering what seemed to me to be a crisis of confidence that really affected her performance. I still think it was fair for her to go but really all four of those chefs seemed almost indistinguishable for me in terms of overall skill and talent.

  7. I for one had no major objections to Gail Simmons’s outfits.

  8. I imagine Gail brings her “briskets” to most episodes in order to compete with Padma being there.

    How about the slogan…Gail’s Briskets, putting the porn in food porn since 2002?

    I think the show is skewed toward too much emphasis put on simple food done well. (Kevins style) This is fine with me as it is what I prefer. But I think Colicchio brings this influence as well as many of the guest judges. They don’t seem to be searching for chefs that could become 3 star michelin chefs but rather 2 star chefs. I think Brian and Michael have a better shot at 3 stars but I think Kevin has a better shot at being economically successful.

    Anyways I am rooting for Kevin and if not him then Brian. I do think this season is incredibly talented especially compared to last season.

    I loved the stew room conversation about toothsome last night.

  9. Keith,

    I offered dinner recs on the four letter chat and you accepted. The easiest way would be to send it as a word doc, that way I can link to websites and menus. I do have a couple of quick questions. 1) I’m assuming you are staying downtown but need to confirm that. 2) What’s your transportation situation and how far (in minutes) are you willing to go downtown. 3) Finally, I’ve got a general idea of your preferences from the Dish, but any additional preferences will be helpful. Feel free to email me at the email submitted. Thanks
    Aaron

  10. Ugh, apparently I can’t proofread my posts. That should read “how far (in minutes) are you willing to go from downtown.”

  11. Yinka Double Dare

    There’s been a thread on BP re: food options at the meetings. Link:

    http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1450

  12. The Colicchio blog (http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/tom-colicchio/a-grain-of-salt) explained unedited what happened – of course much hit the cutting room floor – shocking.

    That said – I think when differences are small the body of work has to matter – and it sounded like Jen’s decline has contributed to her fate being sealed. That is, if the four chefs were instinguishable, the body of work kicked in.

    All three chefs at this point I think are worthy winners – just a matter of delivering in the close. And yes, Padma is that mean sounding – I think she practices her “pack your knives and go” line in front of the mirror. Speaking of which, is it just me or did Jen pack her knives in the same set the other eliminated contestants did, with a Vegas hairdo – in other words Bravo makes them do the elimination walk of shame when they arrive on location!

  13. Keith,
    Food rec for Indy: Harry and Izzy’s, just down the street from Circle Center Mall (awesome mall, great selection of shops). Very good steakhouse, the little sister of St. Elmo’s (next door). A little less expensive and less fancy, but incredible food, great waitstaff, nice atmosphere. The best of the places I went during my four trips to Indy in the last 14 months.

  14. Top Chef has been kinda a joke to me since Ian beat Marcel in season 2. Marcel was basically sbotaged (yes, he was a dick); took a lot of risk; prepped a better finale meal; and still lost to a one-note simple but well prepared chef.

    From then on it has been about preparing simple dishes well and the contestants all know this. The show lost a lot of creativity that season.

  15. Jason: Just went to Skillet Doux and read the top post + about the author and it looks awesome (and local). Great recommendation.

  16. Keith,

    I wouldn’t call myself a wine expert, but your “dry red wine with good body but not too much fruitiness” thoughts are right in line with my tastes. If you want to go fairly cheap, I would go with a Columbia Crest Cabernet or Merlot. They have many different levels, but most are good. You should be able to get their Two Vines line for under $10. Also any of the Chilean wines from the Marques de Casa Concha “Concha y Toro” line are quite good and under $20. If you want my personal favorite get a couple bottles of Provenance vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (2005 is pretty good. I’ve heard ’06 is even better. If you can find a bottle of 2004 buy it immediately). The easiest thing to do is go to Costco and ask someone. They’ll usually have a Concha y Toro and something from Columbia Crest. In general, I’m a fan of Cabernet from the Rutherford district in Napa Valley. I hope that helps.

  17. I agree about Jennifer undercutting herself. I think the difference with Kevin is that the judges were already critical of his dish, so he had to try and spin his way out of it. In Jennifer’s case the dish was quite well received until she confessed that it wasn’t what she’d initially planned.

  18. Agree with the Bryan pick. Michael will take too big of a risk, Kevin won’t take enough of one. Bryan is five-tool.

  19. Keith,

    I’ve done a braised lamb shank before using fig and Kouros Nemea Agiorgitiko (a semi-fruity Greek red) that came out rather nice. It should be pretty easy to find, given the amount of Greek markets in and around the city, and a bottle usually runs under $10.

    I dropped this question in your chat earlier today but I was a little late. I know you like Gruyere in your mac-n-cheese. Have you ever tried taleggio in the recipe instead?

  20. Gail Simmons’ exposed top-heaviness was awesome, and I don’t see how any straight male could disagree. You should keep your day job (ripping the Cardinals).

  21. RE: Dry red wines with good body and not too much fruitiness – the Old World (i.e. France, Italy, Spain) is a good place to look for wines fitting this profile. Some of the New World wines suggested above, while nice values, are actually very full-fruited and heavily oaked, which can mess with the flavors of your dish. Any relatively full-bodied Bordeaux should fit this profile to a T – they tend to be more restrained in the fruit department than American Cab/Merlot based wines, and won’t be as influenced by new oak. A full-bodied Rhone wine would work well too. If you want to go Italian, I think a Nebbiolo would work beautifully – that’s the grape that Barolo and Barbaresco are made from, but it can be found cheaply in wines labeled simply Nebbiolo, or Nebbiolo d’Alba, etc. Plenty of Sangiovese-based wines (Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino, Vino Nobile de Montepulciano) could work as well, but they can be lighter in body some will see that new oak.

  22. Just caught these odds from the Wynn in Vegas (from earlier in the year):

    · Michael Voltaggio: 4/1
    · Jennifer Carroll: 5/1
    · Kevin Gillespie: 6/1
    · Michael Isabella: 8/1
    · Ron Duprat: 10/1
    · Bryan Voltaggio: 12/1
    · Mattin Nobila: 14/1
    · Jesse Sandlin: 18/1
    · Eli Kirshtein: 20/1
    · Laurine Wickett: 22/1
    · Hector Santiago: 24/1
    · Preeti Mistry: 25/1
    · Ash Fulk: 28/1
    · Eve Aronoff: 30/1
    · Ashley Merriman: 35/1
    · Robin Leventhal: 40/1

    I thought Michael got sent him a bit early (he’s was entertaining too).

  23. Keith,

    I’m a big fan, I saw on your espn chat you’re going to be here in Indy for the winter meetings this week. I highly reccomend Yatz (on Massachusetts Avenue downtown) for lunch or dinner. It’s cajun with a midwest twist and by far the local’s favorite, winning best food in Indy (based on our Nuvo newspaper) for the past 3 years. I’d love to know your take on it. I also reccomend getting away from downtown and taking a cab over to broadripple village (10 min cab ride) to sit by the canal and try Brugge, it’s our belgian microbrewery that specializes in buckets of mussels and crepes. Have fun in our town.

  24. How do the fries compare to the ones at Radius? I’ve found those to be the best since Excelsior.

  25. Now that the show is over and I am all caught up…I felt free to read here again.

    Gail needs a change in wardrobe, I agree, but I think Padma’s stylist is doing drugs. Her clothes are getting stranger and stranger!