If you didn't catch "Downtown Calling" at the HBO Latino Film Festival in Chelsea last night, you may have to wait some time to see it. But remember the title because the documentary is lively, expertly edited and presents a deft deconstruction of how New York's creative mythology rose from the ashes of a once broke, lawless and smelly city.
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Lessons learned from this week's Top Chef: "Less is more" and "It's only cheating if you get caught."
So, quickly, so we can get to the good stuff. What could top last week's weird proteins quickfire? Hors d'oeuvres! Uh. Sure, ok. On with it, then. Winner gets $20,000 plus immunity. Elbows are thrown in the scramble for proteins and amid little bits of lamb, pork and kebab, Angelo emerges as the winner. People clap politely for him (even Kenny) but you know they don't mean it. Angelo has the grace to look pleased and surprised. (Look at us! We're going sweet on Angelo, who doesn't deserve our affection. But we're a bit hard up for someone to root for this season, so it might as well be the cute one.)
Top Chef, we have a bone to pick.
How is foie gras in any way an obscure protein? When foie gras is so overexposed that it's not uncommon to see it on floating by on trays at ritzy society parties, why is it included as part of a group of "nasty proteins"?
When the James Hotel opens its doors this fall in SoHo, on the corner of Thompson and Grand, many things will be shiny and new. But some of the staff will look like they have waited years for customers to arrive. British menswear designer Andrew Buckler created uniforms influenced by Charles Dickens for the front of house staff.
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Having never dated a chef, we're unfamiliar with the mating rituals of the kitchen-inclined. But thanks to snooping cameras, we now have proof that when chefs flirt, they engage in strange food one-upmanship. Ed is sweet on Tiffany (anytime a man says he loves a woman's laugh, he's already a goner), so he tries to impress her by trotting out his trusty time-he-ate-a-fried-crocodile story. She titters appreciatively, craning her neck just so and raising her shoulder coyly. Oh, it's on.
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People, we don't even know where to start.
After last night's series-closing "Hills" episode, we feel a bit like those high school dweebs who thought that think the cute classmate is asking them out, but then they just get pansted in front the whole school. When executive producer Adam Divello promised "surprises," we thought he meant that maybe Lauren or Heidi would make an appearance. (Lauren did, but only at the after-show.)
Tonight, MTV will air a finale double-feature, as "The Hills" and "The City" wrap up their story lines. In the case of "The Hills," tonight's episode marks the end of the series, after more than 100 episodes, incalculable tears and some very public breakdowns. Executive producer Adam Divello was in the middle of editing his last "Hills" episode when he took our call late last week. He wouldn't give out any details, but said the producers "shot a lot of surprises."
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Last night's episode exhausted us, and we were only passive watchers. The latest pack of Top Chef wannabes were put through the proverbial wringer, cooking four dishes under threat of execution, I mean, elimination. No wonder that they were sniping bundles of nerves by the end of their day.
But we get ahead of ourselves.
Last night's dose of celebreality left us embittered, listless and craving a cigarette. Why bother having friends if they just let us down? What do you do when you lay bare your feelings, only to have people say it's not enough? What if we really, really deserve a $4,000-a-month apartment but can't afford it? It's enough to make a girl never want to leave home (well, that and a New York heat wave.) Just one episode shy of the finales, we watched Kristin and Whitney each go through a messy breakup.
And now, on to the patented Speakeasy Weekly Celebreality Ennui Challenge!
It's Fourth of July week on Top Chef! Get out the sparklers and pack the picnic basket.
The chefs stream into the kitchen to face famous Jean-Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini. This can only end in tears. Yep, it's a Make a Pie Quick Fire. As a preview for what Top Chef Just Desserts will be about, Johnny and Gail Simmons will supervise a pastry quick fire. (Personally, we're still patiently waiting for Top Chef Cocktails.)
