A few local notables will vie to be the next Iron Chef on the Food Network's aptly named The Next Iron Chef, namely Michael Chiarello (wildly charismatic and attractive chef/owner Bottega) and Elizabeth Faulkner (chef/artist of Orson, Citizen cake). Our favorite TV personality, Anne Burrell of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, will also compete, so that's good. However, the Food Network will also add Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn. How is that fair to have him compete with Top Chef Masters players? That just... we don't get the Food Network these days. Seriously. They took a dark turn somewhere around Chopped and the god-awful Cupcake Wars. Ugh. Anyway, there you have it. more ›

Renowned for his skills on "Iron Chef" in both the United States and Japan, Masaharu Morimoto's newest Napa restaurant, Morimoto Napa, received a rare three stars from Michael Bauer. A few of the highlights? "Exquisite sushi, tofu. Playful creations. Glamorous warehouse environment. Good sake and local wine list." more ›

by Amy Crocker more ›

This lifted our sad, oil soaked hearts. The Craft Gym will be hosting their 2nd annual Craft-Off competition this Friday. Following the model of Iron Chef, there will be a secret 'ingredient' revealed to teams before the 30-minute DIY battle begins. A random assortment of craft supplies and tools will be available for teams to use in the creation of their creative masterpieces. Prizes will be awarded to the winning team, who will be... more ›

Let's start with "The Next Iron Chef." For the challenge ("Resourcefulness") the chefs were broken into teams by last week's winner Chris Cosentino, of local restaurant Incanto, and the teams then selected secret ingredients for their teammates. The challenge wasn't a team challenge, though, so there was much crying of "sabotage" when the chefs got to their outdoor, charcoal grill-equipped location and saw their ingredients. more ›

We'd like to take a brief moment to thank this week's advertisers on SFist. more ›

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Hey, remember a few weeks ago when we mentioned that Noise Pop was sponsoring a one-day make a music video contest a la Iron Chef? Well, here's the winning video! more ›

It's almost Noise Pop time in San Francisco again! While SFist (and Bagel Radio DJ!) Krissy keeps you covered on the nonstop jingle-jangle clang-clang of the local indie rock scene, don't forget that NoisePop always presents an excellent array of music-related film as well. more ›

SFist interviews Liz Hickok... maker of Jello cityscapes more ›

Hey, folks -- what better to whet your appetite for the most food-laden of holidays than an episode of Top Chef, tonight on Bravo. And what better to whet your appetite for tonight's Thanksgiving-themed episode than a reminder of and our take on what happened last week? You may recall a bunch of bitching in our last review -- the short reminder is NOBODY WENT HOME. Well, as some even predicted, this week made up for that (at least in terms of numbers) by sending two of the chef-testants home. Obvious foreshadowing by the show's editors: Josie telling the camera's that she and Marisa are the only ones that trust each other. Hmph. more ›

In the past month we managed to catch up on two seasons of "Battlestar Galctica" (yes, we listened to our dear readers and got good and hooked) including the season finale, and now it's all over and we have to wait until OCTOBER for new episodes. Sheesh. Maybe we should have savored those DVDs instead of devoring them like the gluttons we are. more ›

Every Head Coach has inclinations about how they like to run their team. For example, our Niners' savior-genius Bill Walsh ran a short passing game informed by strong running. Bill Cowher, Head Coach of the Steelers, prefers heavy ball-control pounding with a dash of trick plays, and a powerful 3-4 defense. The two Head Coaches in The Battle Of The Repurposed are both out of their comfort zone, and that is fascinating. more ›

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Two SF restaurants go oxtail-a-oxtail as we size up their specialty dishes. more ›

Weekly recap of food writing. more ›

SFist is the first to admit that we've had a hand in a lot of crappy press releases, but there's something about Godiva's ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’ Celebrity Charity Auction that really sticks in our craw. more ›