Throwdown: Tonight’s episode pits Bobby Flay against Omar Giner of La Isla Restaurant in a stuffed French toast throwdown. Food Network writes: “Omar Giner, the chef and owner of La Isla Restaurant has been bringing a taste of Cuba to Hoboken, New Jersey since 1996. Omar thinks he is part of a special called “Brunch: Over The Top” featuring some of the best brunch spots across the United States. What he does not know is Chef Flay is getting ready to cross the Hudson with his own extraordinary version French Toast and he is ready to stuff the competition!”
Throwdown: In this week’s episode, Bobby Flay challenged Nick Vazquez to a cuban sandwich throwdown. Born in Cuba, Vazquez has a Cuban restaurant Azucar (“something sweet and delicious”) in Jersey City, NJ.
Food Network describes the challenge: “Cuban born chef Nick Vazquez came to America in the 1960’s. And luckily for the New Jersey food-loving locals, he never abandoned his Cuban roots. His popular restaurant Azucar serves up delicious Cuban classics like ropa vieja and vaca fritta. But, it is his Cubano Grande sandwich that has customers doing the Rumba.”
Dishes: Nick made a classic Cubano sandwich, with Cuban bread pressed flat and crispy on the outside. Nick seasoned his pork shoulder with a rub consisting of garlic, oregano, cumin (a necessary spice for Cuban cooking giving it an earthy texture and aroma), and sour oranges. The pork marinates for an entire day. Afterwards, Nick covered the pork in salt, which keeps the moisture in the pork while cooking it for 5 to 6 hours at 350 degrees. The salt peels off in a layer when done. Nick used layers of Virginia ham and park, with thin slices of long Kosher pickles and mayonnaise for his dressing. The sandwich was then pressed in a sandwich press (plancha) until the cheese melts. Yum!
Bobby’s cuban sandwich had pulled pork in it, a departure from the traditional ingredients. Bobby also used Swiss cheese, ham, and homemade pickles. Instead of sour oranges, Bobby used regular orange juice and lime juice to marinate the pork shoulder, which was seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin. After searing the pork, Bobby also added chicken stock, onion, fresh oregano, whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, and the sour oranges mixture. Miriam made fresh pickles–adding sugar, salt, mustard, dill, coriander seed, garlic, and some jalapeno to white vinegar while heating it to dissolve it, and then pouring it onto sliced cucumbers. The pickles need between 4 to 48 hours. For his dressing, Bobby used mustard, mayonnaise, and roasted garlic (a Bobby twist).
Judges: Cuban chef Fernando Marulanda and Cuban Broadway star Olga Marandez.
Winner: Nick Vazquez! But it was a closer decision than expected. The judges loved both sandwiches. Nick especially loved the crispiness of both breads–as tested by his tapping on the top of each breads to make a “sexy tang.” While enjoying Nick’s traditional sandwich, Olga also loved the pulled pork in Bobby’s, which gave it a modern, gourmet taste.
Throwdown: Today’s episode is a repeat from Season 1 (boy, there sure are a lot of repeats this year!). Bobby challenges Lynn Winter of Lynn’s Paradise Cafe in Louisville, Kentucky to a breakfast throwdown. Lynn wins!
Here’s a video of Lynn’s Paradise Cafe from YouTube:
Resident Foodies say: Cafe Tandoor is a cute Indian restaurant with locations in Westlake, Cleveland Heights, and Aurora. We visited the Westlake location and really enjoyed the food there. The restaurant is located in a strip mall next to Marc’s, but don’t let the location fool you. The food is far better than the no frills surroundings. We usually get the butter chicken, aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), cucumber raita, garlic nan, and saffron rice. For Cleveland, Ohio (not exactly a mecca for Indian food), the Indian food at Cafe Tandoor is very good. And the prices are very reasonable!
News: Scripps Network, the parent to the Food Network, just announced that it will be launching a second channel devoted to food, this one with the emphasis on cooking. The Cooking Channel will air on Memorial Day, May 31. To our great pleasure, Bobby Flay will host a cooking show devoted to our favorite meal–brunch! The show will be called “Brunch with Bobby.” Resident Foodies can’t wait.
Resident Foodies say: Tasi Cafe is a small, hidden gem in the Short North. Tucked away off High Street (turn on Brickel St. and then at corner of Pearl), Tasi is short on space (communal tables and smaller tables), but long on assorted selections for breakfast and lunch daily (and dinner on Friday and Saturday). The lunch sandwiches are very creative and tasty (e.g., open faced zoe tuna salad, with capers relish, onions, hard boiled egg, on sourdough toast), but today we sampled some good old fashioned breakfast! We had the huevos rancheros, and two different cafe fritattes with mesclun salad–one with chorizo, potatoes, onions, peppers, and the other with mozzarella, spinach, and roasted tomato. They were delicious. You can’t find this kind of selection anywhere else in Columbus. Oh, and the baked goods are amazing. The place gets packed on the weekend, so be prepared to wait some for a table and find a spot at the communal tables.
