I saw Richard Blais! – NYC

This happened a few weeks ago, but hey, I’m still in vacation mode, leave me alone! Anyway, a few weeks ago I read on Midtown Lunch that Richard Blais from Top Chef was going to be at Garrett Popcorn making “popcornsicles.” Now, I must say Dale was my favorite. Bourdain, I love you, but you really screwed up big time when you sent Dale packing instead of angry Lisa. I mean, besides his skills in the kitchen, I found Dale hilarious to watch. I loved how he would always grab his crotch whenever he got into a screaming match with the lovely ladies on Top Chef. Hey, if I were him, I would too! After Dale left, Richard soon become my favorite. Stephanie seemed good, and I’m all for female chefs, but she was a bit boring for me. In case you wanted it, or not, that’s just my two cents about the show.

When I got to Garrett, I was surprised to see he was making the popsicles himself and handing them out to the crowd. When it was my turn, I asked him for a photo and he said, “Of course!” He really seemed like a sweet, down-to-earth person. He couldn’t have been nicer. I bet he is going to be a great dad.

The popcornsicles were composed of cheese and caramel popcorn and then dipped into liquid nitrogen, à la molecular gastronomy. Now cheese and caramel sounds weird, but it really went together. It was a bit of a surprise. I guess it’s kind of like when you eat a lot of caramel corn, you get sick of the sweetness and then want something salty. In this case, you have sweet and savory all at once. I would have preferred more of a sticky binding agent though. Every time I took a bite, a few pieces fell off, which is not exactly great when walking around on the street. I think some pigeons followed me back to work.

Anyway, best wishes to Richard. I heard he’s at the helm of a new restaurant in Atlanta. I can’t wait to go the next time I’m there.