April 25th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
It has been a very exhausting whirlwind of a trip that had included tons of cheese and laughs, drinking and dancing, and winning and losing. I learned a lot from the Karma Sutra and feel the Ballsy Boy did pretty damn good, considering it also went up against MTV’s Robert Dyrdek and his Glee club that came to compete. I hear here really cared about grilled cheeses so mad props for that, but the rest of the show was a little too much for cheese-town. That and he mysteriously got front and center for him and his chaotic club. I actually got more of a chance to meet a lot of cool competitors, some I had even competed against in other cooking competitions like SF Food Wars.
Yet in the end it was the brick and his trick that took yet another trophy home to make 3 total trophies for this legendary sandwich. (2 firsts and the 2nd place yesterday in Missionary) Thank you all who voted for this sandwich and I hope to take some of the advice I heard out there about my sandwich and its serving so we can bring it back to the top next year. But luckily I got 364 more days to not worry about that. The Brick’s Trick did well and I will admit here and now that the man who beat me had a damn good grilled cheese (although if I mentioned the bread that beat mine……ppl would cry) and a damn good little cheese topping to go with it.
Beautiful day. Major crowds. Fun to compete against the MTV Glee Club. Awesome grilled cheese fans. Awesome after party.
1st heat should have waited until the crowds were in the pen before we started. 2nd row got shorted a bit. Award ceremony hella rushed because of some announcements that should have gone AFTER.
Great job Tim, Tillamook, and all those volunteers and people that make this fun ass event possible for the cheese chefs of the USA to come and share our creations. Thanks TT for teaching me the art, beauty, and simplicity of cooking. Until next time, there is always the Oakland Art Mur …….. ..
2nd place Missionary Man.
Brick’s Trick Maker
3 time winning cheese champion (and 4 if 4th places count)
Michael D
(Ballsy Boy was still delicious and gained some serious followers. Respeckt)
Articles:
http://freshneasybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/04/thousands-get-cheesy-at-fresh-easy.html
http://dailycollegian.com/2010/04/25/wicked-cheesy-ring-in-u-s-grilled-cheese-month-in-good-taste/
http://uncouthgourmands.com/2010/04/24/my-time-at-the-1st-8th-annual-grilled-cheese-invitational/
http://biggieville.blogspot.com/2010/04/grilled-cheese-invitational.html
http://grilledcheeseinvitational.com/
April 13th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
One day while riding home I saw a chalk board with Fish Fry on it and turned around to see what I could find out. Luckily the two ladies hanging about knew a lot. They hosted a fish fry on some Friday nights and they were supposedly 10 bucks and a good time. I have been to every one since. A great deal and if the weather is nice a pretty great little niche to have a neighborhood meal with friends. You get two well-battered pieces of white fish, 2 potato pancakes, cole slaw (or salad if they run out), variety of bread, and an old fashion or beer or some water for the non-imbibing.
I also won some salad dressing…..while praying for the T-shirt.
Biggest highlight by far. The carrot cake. I start thinking about it by Thursday sometime and kinda start drooling by Friday morning.
So good. $3 bucks.
I love you Stella Nonna nights.
April 12th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
Seaweed makes cheese.
Luckily for me that relevance allows me to use that day to tell you about the class I was in this particular Monday evening. It was a class on seaweed (algae) of the California coast. I’m afraid to speak much further about on my own because I know some people in the field who still get pissed for me saying algaes.
So therefore, I will give you some short but sweet and true facts about algae and their role in many things. almost cheese.
Seaweed has alternation of generations. It lives in different states of seaweedism. It’s very cool.
There are three types: red, brown, and green. just because it looks green doesn’t mean its green.
One thing it makes is Carrageenans, which are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides which are extracted from red seaweeds. (WARNING: nerdiness ahead)
Carrageenans are large, highly flexible molecules which curl forming helical structures. This gives them the ability to form a variety of different gels at room temperature. They are widely used in the food and other industries as thickening and stabilizing agents. A particular advantage is that they are pseudoplastic—they thin under shear stress and recover their viscosity once the stress is removed. This means that they are easy to pump but stiffen again afterwards.
USED AS/OR IN/OR SOMETHING:
EMULSIFIERS!
BEER!
ICE CREAM/SHAKES!/SAUCES!!
PATE! PET FOOD!
ALIENS THE MOVIE SALIVA!
CONDOMS!
AND A WHOLE LOT MORE!
Thank you seaweed for your many ways. Wish you actually were involved in cheesemaking. Peut-etre pate grilled cheese, oui?
April 11th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
Once again this year I asked my local providers if they could help provide me with some help in anyway. I hope that giving both Acme and the Cheeseboard credit for their bread and cheese, respectively, as much as I can with my friends and fans continues to help these two great company/co-ops grow.
The Cheeseboard Collective is Berkeley’s special place to try a trouve of cheeses from near and far. How can I not use their cheese when I have the luxury of a place so grand in choice and friendliness so close by? You rock Cheeseboard. Make you rock enough to say yes again to giving me a little love with the lumps……..of cheese.
Acme is a bread company that I only assume found its name because someone liked Roadrunner cartoons a lot as a kid. Nevertheless, the bread is the closest I can find to reminding me of what it is like to eat a European loaf of any sorts. I love Acme. I bike far and wide and early and routinely for Acme. I hope you still are up for the challenge of attempting destroy my competition again this year with your wonderful loafy powers.
I part you on a great secret fact and mini-story: Acme bread company in the ferry building serves sandwiches from like 11 – 2 (not positive of exact times) that WILL make you think you are in France having a little sandwich with thinly sliced ham, cornichons, and some wonderful butter. All they are missing…..is the cheese…..which I only say for the overall cheese theme/lines going on….otherwise no way with that sandwich. True story within this mini-story: I was in line once excitedly telling a visiting friend what I was about to share with them when a real San Franciscan* turned around and proceeded to tell me that “No, they do not sell sandwiches here. (with great agony)” Yes, I have been here only 3 years. Also yes, I have learned a WHOLE lot about the wonderful things that make my first west coast experience a good one. Good enough to bring my friend their and try the sandwich while visiting. When I pointed to the little sign up indicating the sandwiches being served for the limited time of day, he was crushed, silent, and turned around. Battle won.
*I base this off looks and the fact he implied he has been here since the dawn of Acme in the Ferry building and knows the rules like some Richard Alpert of Foodie Ferry Island.
April 10th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
A very, very dear friend of mine got the lucky of chance of getting to turn 30 before myself or any of my close friends and I got to enjoy the benefits. It just had the event was a wine and cheese pairing party!!!!!! Ooddles of fun, ooodles of men, and oooodles of cheeses that were mostly half-heartedly attempted to be paired next to something salivating.
All I remember was there was a really good port that I tried and finished. There were some good cheeses. It went up to somewhere around “R” from what I remember. And the best part was the boys who brought string cheese and grape Capri Suns. Talk about a true classic pairing of wine and cheese for all to enjoy and endear. Especially if it had that port too.
I also had to bring a little extra for the Birthday boy……..!
Ian's Pizza
April 9th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
It’s got a name. It’s name is a verb. It’s what you do when you love something so much….especially as they do in these here parts of Berkeley, Californee!
Gatheris good. Really Really good. I have to say the two pizza’s we had took the title away from my current fancy favorite….Pizzaiolo of Oakland.
Try the wide nettle and purple artichoke pizzas. How the west coast has taught me to love (which is beyond accept) such a beautiful variety of veggies and such is beyond me. But I thank it everyday.
Beyond this, I hope actually that pizza is the next main theme you see on this website after a class and a move on from my current food celeb status.
We ended the name at the Berkeley BAM/PFA to see a performance of a friend of mine’s. It was nice to see some hometown flavor like this man.
Kalup Linzy
April 8th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
Who knew someone had already dedicated a whole website to keeping track of some of the best grilled cheeses out there? America’s finest can be found here and it was possibly on this day that I entered my last year’s winning sandwich in hopes of a possible entry among the melty megastars of grilled cheeses.
Grilled Cheese Academy
PS _ I also started a website class in hopes of creating a better website for myself. and a better tomorrow.
April 7th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
Day 7
On this day I learned the grilled cheese competition has spread far and wide.
I do love Seattle. And it’s right around my birthday.
I hope if I won there they would take me out to see/pet/hang out with a pod of killer whales. I’m just saying.
Seattle Cheese Festival – Where Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Dreams are made of…..in the cold.
April 6th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
Day 6
New learned fact: you can edit wikipedia pages really easily. (Ex. Add your small time two bit win for the GC to the GC page.)
Newer learned fact: someone else can unedit you really easily. (Ex. Delete. Remove. I think I read about some Wolf angel guy that was a Wiki-knight that controlled certain boards?).
I’ll leave the wiki-world to others.
But you can learn a lot about food.
Wikipedia Cheese Sandwich
April 5th, 2010 | Uncategorized |
How is that title possible? Well, just like LOST I got a way to play with time. (Eat that D. Farraday). I will now attempt to catch up on my life of cheese and food and planning and every other out-of-left field thing I can remember. Since I am currently battling the epic battle that is carpal tunnel I am contractually required to keep it short and sweet. Luckily that means I am going to post short and post fast to try and catch up with my promise of posting on a daily basis.
Let me say on this very manic Monday that I feel good and great about this attempt at keeping my title amongst this surge of food fantacism that is sweeping the nation! Professional chefs!!! Crazed costumed worshippers!!!! Vendors!!!! Oh my! I only hope that in the end it is that final flavor of this competition that really holds through, and that is victory. Victory for the attempt at making what the category asks for.
If you want to taste a sandwich that reminds you of the essence of the American icon sandwich then I hope you get to true my Missionary masterpiece. Here, I do not create anything new, only master the foundation of the GC. Literally, brick by brick.
If you ask me what karma sutra and grilled cheese means, I can say this. This means a grilled cheese sandwich goes to the very extremes of what a grilled cheese sandwich is. When you look at it, if you dare, you will see what a twisted form of the thing you know. It has reminded people of many things. Grilled cheese. McDonald’s. Amazing. Cheesy. Crazy Shit. Downright ballsy. It’s a cacheeese with cahones, pronounced and alluding to it’s part homage: the caprese. The rest will be revealed at the showcase showdown. For now, it was on this day that I registered with these two names that will hopefully ring from cheese to shining cheese.
Brick’s Trick (Missionary Position)
The Ballsy Boy (Karma Sutra)
Next Year* (Honey Pot)
Now in the other-verse.
(next year is not a sandwich it means I am not entering this category. I just wanted to give a head’s up I gotz some ideas.)
