Re: Restaurant Folks, Send Us Your Restaurant Week Info

This comes from Bolla PR:

Bolla has a few openings next week, but nothing else this week.

Get on it if you want to try this new spot.

Restaurant Folks, Send Us Your Restaurant Week Info

If there are any restaurateurs/managers/chefs/PR people, etc., who want to let the SideDish nation know about extra Restaurant Week reservations that are still open, email us. Let us help you help the masses. Why? Because we like you. We really like you.

Where to Bend Your Elbow/Paw This Labor Day

Petfinder.com sends word today of a few local watering holes where you can hang with your pooch over Labor Day. Jump if you’re interested. (And comments are open for those who can add to this list.)

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One Arts Plaza Update: Tei An Opens Tonight

Teppo and Tei Tei Robata Bar founder Teiichi Sakurai is opening his new spot, Tei An, at One Arts Plaza tonight. If you aren’t knee deep in Restaurant Week, stop by and send us a report.

Mike Modano and Willa Ford Like Tei Tei Too

A super-stylish Disher sends this report from Saturday night:

Mike Modano and wife Willa Ford were at Tei Tei Saturday night with a few other people we didn’t recognize…you know I was hoping to spot Sean Avery and go hop into his lap with a bottle of sake, but he never showed up. Anyhoo, they were sitting at the bigger table and chairs in the bar area. It looked like they were having fun and it inspired me to go to more Stars games than I did last year. Lots of laughing and they were there from about 8:30pm until after we left at 10:30…he looked so cute and she was so gorgeous of course.

The only question that remains…what did they order?

Next Food Network Star: Big Daddy’s House, A Review

Yesterday, I decided to follow through on my first season of “watching” Next Food Network Star and check out winner Aaron McCargo Jr.’s show. I figured the folks at the FN know more than I do about their programming lineup, and they had their reasons for choosing Big Daddy. Aaron’s show, Big Daddy’s House, airs at 12:30 pm on Sunday, just after Down Home with the Neeleys. So from noon-1 pm, you get a full dose of house and home, if you know what I mean. That said, Aaron’s show was better than I expected. Of course, the dude has been heavily coached, and who knows how many outtakes hit the trash after they taped the 30 minute show? It was edited to the max.

The set, meant to look like his house–heck, maybe it is his house–is downright tacky. The refrigerator is decorated with picture magnets, and stage right there is a picture hanging askew in the hallway. Aaron says “yeah, baby” a lot. And he refers to most of his ingredients as “bad boys.” When he picked up a raw New York strip he quipped, “I’ve got the goods, baby. I love it.” Then he kissed it. He made potatoes au gratin with his three favorite cheeses-cheddar, white cheddar, and processed American cheese. He used panko to top the potatoes. He brought our his best friend, smoky paprika, which in hindsight sounds like a chick he picked up on the strip in Vegas.

When Aaron was cooking, he was nervous and uneasy and he sweated a lot. (”I’m sweatin’ cuz I’m so excited!” he claimed.) However, the editor managed to splice in plenty of gushy, over-the-top Aaron moments. My three favorites: “What is steak au poivre? It sounds French, right? It’s not. It just means pepper.” “Call Big Daddy and tell him to come back to earth cuz he just took off.” And, finally, “Kiss your behind goodnight cuz here we go.”

Am I bitter they didn’t pick Lisa? Hell, no. I think winning these things cuts one open both ways. For now he has his 30 minutes of cooking fame. Then he’ll write a cookbook. For the rest of his contract–and, probably, his life–he will make appearances at food product conventions all over the place. If that makes Aaron happy, then I’m happy. I will say I wanted to eat every bite of what he cooked. However, next Sunday, I’m going back to the Dog Whisperer. Cesar makes a mean salad. Woof.

Have a Perfectly Paired Meal with Cline Cellars and Jaspers Restaurant

You like wine. Check. You like four-course dinners. Check. You’ve probably got $85 extra dollars to spend unlike us (come on, August 15). Consider spending it on a food and wine pairing dinner with Cline Cellars at Jaspers restaurant. Cline’s own Melanie Jarvis will be there to answer every single one of your wine-related questions, and chef Kent Rathbun will make a meal that perfectly compliments the vino. Expect courses like jumbo lump avocado crabcake, braised Kobe shortribs, and a Valrhona chocolate and summer berry truffle flight. For resys, email jamiec@jaspers-restaurant.com.

Anyone Got Restaurant Week Scoop?

Good morning, Dishers. Don’t forget to send me your Restaurant Week reviews, if you’ve got ‘em. This was Preview Weekend, so if you went out and ate, let me know, and I’ll post it here. Forgot my email already? It’s sarah.eveans@dmagazine.com. I’m just sitting here hitting refresh on my email in anticipation of all the RW goodness that is about to hit my inbox. As Nancy would say–cue this.