Top Chef All-Stars Exit Interview: Episode 9

I don’t care if Jimmy Fallon is some douchey talk show host now. I will always love him for always breaking character on Saturday Night Live. Fallon celebrated his birthday Top Chef style by tasting and judging dishes from our beloved crew of All-Stars.

Be ready to wipe your tears. A true character packed their knives this week.

(ed. note– Fabio was driving on the freeway to the airport during this call, and that, compacted with his strong accent lent itself to a fairly incomprehensible interview. Here’s my best interpretation of the Italian’s thoughts on getting the boot.)

You’ve been a very popular character with the Top Chef fans and family. What’s it like to be a part of the organization?
Fabio Viviani:It’s done much for me. It’s good exposure. We’re all looking for exposure, it’s the number one reason why we signed on. Bloggers need exposure…so does Top Chef, NBC, even Colicchio likes exposure. He doesn’t do this because he likes to judge a bunch of pirates.

Have you ever made a hamburger before?
No, no need for it. So now I guess I’m learning. I went to Richard and said “Blais, how do you make your burger?” I made what he told me to do. It doesn’t matter. Burger is a burger.

It was discussed last night that Richard keeps helping people out. What do you think of that?
Blais will do anything to win this competition. I don’t think he would go out of his way. He did help me out. I think Mike Isabella is a great guy. I think Angelo is a camel toe. He wears his pants a little too tight for my taste.

What do you think of Top Chef All-Stars? What was your favorite challenge?
Best of the best. Challenges harder, judges are tougher. Except for Gail, she’s always a sweetheart. Besides Restaurant Wars, it was the dim sum. Welcome to the land of opportunity, dim sum style!

There was a sort of back and forth with you and Anthony Bourdain. What do you think of him now?
I LOVE, put it in capitals, I LOVE him. He’s a fuck nut. I love him. He just said his one liner about the wrong guy. I talk to him after, I talk to his wife, they’re good people.

(Photo: Bravo)

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Feed Us Back: the new luther, bacon cupcakes and bourdain vs. martha drink-off

- To be filed underEndless Simmer changes the world, we hear D.C. restaurantChurchKeycan barely keep up with the increased demand for its version of the Luther, ever since ES crowned it thebest new sandwich in America. AsWe Love DCreports:

The Luther’s new-found fame, however, may be its undoing. By the time weordered our second one (ed. note: bravo), around 1:30pm, the kitchen had already run out of donuts and was scrambling to make more. The manager assured us that we would get our second sandwich, but hinted that we were lucky, since they might not be able to serve them much further into the afternoon. Although reportedly served during an eight hour window on Sundays, the time frame for sampling this creation might be more like three or four hours. Go early to sample, but be prepared to hit the gym on Monday extra hard to work it off.

ChurchKey owners, just let us know what our percentage is for all these extra sandwiches you’re selling. By the way, I’m happy to report We Love DC backs up our adulation of the New Luther:

The brioche donut, pecans, and maple jus were sweet, but not cloying, and they combined effortlessly with the salt from the bacon and chicken. Biting through the soft donut resulted in an extremely satisfying crunch of the bacon and chicken breading, tempered by the juiciness of the perfectly cooked chicken. Each bite left me wanting another. It might have been the best combination of flavors and textures that I have ever tasted.

- In other over-the-top amazing food news, you ESers predictably creamed yourself all over thesuper bowl bacon cupcake. I thinkAimee @ Simple Bitessaid it best:

Cake and bacon? Thanks for not making me choose between the two. Because I never could.

- Finally, thanks to britannia’s interview, we discovered morecloset Martha Stewart fansthan we thought existed in the ES ranks:erica:

i like Martha. i’ll bet she could drink Bourdain under the table.

Now there’s a food show I think we’d all like to see.

(Photo:Max Cook)

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