Good Things Come...

What a great weekend! First, Duke lost. Then I wake up today and am able to get a reservation at Momofuku Ko, which is by far the hardest reservation in NY (and possibly the U.S.), for next Saturday night. I'm so excited, you can't even understand.

Chefs That Care

Michael Ruhlman had a nice (albeit fairly fluffy) piece in the New York Times about the charitable work of chefs. The Emeril Lagasse Foundation, for example, raised nearly $8 million over the past six years, and Lagasse devotes 1,000 hours a year traveling and cooking for various charitable causes. Mario Batali, Paul Kahan, Aarón Sánchez, and others are also mentioned for donating time, food, and other resources. Given how successful "celebrity" chefs have become in our society, I was glad to hear that Jonathan Waxman said: "Chefs are very generous. We always bring our own food, our own staff, and if we have to pay for anything, we do it out of our own pocket."

BBQ-Smoker-Turned-'Robocop'

CNN had an article and video with one of the best headlines that I've seen in a while: "BBQ-smoker-turned-'Robocop' chases off bums"

The facts are even crazier: "It's a barbecue smoker mounted on a three-wheeled scooter, and armed with an infrared camera, spotlight, loudspeaker and aluminum water cannon that shoots a stream of icy water about 20 feet."