I Made It On Oprah...kinda

I'm on oprah.com but that's pretty HUGE right?

I was very excited to be hosting a Burger Ball (during Obama's Inauguration), which went superb. The DJ - DJ Butta-was off the chain! People were dancing till 2am, eating, drinking and just overall enjoying the moment. The undescribeable moment in history, that I know I'll never forget, along with the feeling of actually being in front of the U.S. Capitol that morning.

That's right, I woke up at 6am and walked down to get a view. It was a great view and yes, my feet are still defrosting, but it was worth it. To be hanging out with all these people that braved the freezing cold, looked at their alarm clock and actually got up that morning, stood in line till 9am to get to an entrance and then again till the ceremony started. The vibe, the people, the feeling of change and that yes, everything is going to be alright...amazing.

Then I huffed it back to the restaurant, busted out 2,000 burgers with our outstanding staff and at 5pm got ready for the Burger Ball...am I insane? Yes.

So in the middle of the Burger Ball who walks in? Stephanie, Producer for Oprah.com with her crew. They happen to be super cool, awesome and thank goodness, loved the food!

So check us out on Oprah. I take you through a tour of the Good Stuff Eatery kitchen, you meet all the boys behind the line and my shakistas. You'll also get the secret recipe to the Obama burger and other awesome dishes for hosting your own party.

Now...please email oprah and let them know how much you love the good stuff at Good Suff!

lovin' oprah,
Spike

Me & Whoopi

So Tuesday morning I went to NYC and hanged with barb, joy, sheri and whoopi - ladies of The View.

I was in a competition with Lisa Fernandez and Stephen Asprinio on how to cook for a family with a budget. I still can't understand why the win went to Lisa...I mean how can you beat Greek Pizza and Greek Yogurt with Honey? but it did.

Also reunited with Padma...for every guy (and girl) that has asked me...she IS even more beautiful in person!

The ladies were amazingly sweet. A shout out goes to Rachel, the show's producer who was in charge and made sure everything was perfect AND she was funny as hell.

I got a dressing room, moving up in the world, am I? It was pretty slick.

In case you want to recreate the best recipes.

Think You're a Top Chef?

Ok, so, one of the coolest things to happen this week...I'm a spokesperson for Quaker® Oats in Washington, DC. That's pretty cool right? I mean I should be their spokesperson for the world - Ambassador of Oats - but that's another story.

Part of this amazing job I'm spreading the word on the Quaker® Oats Quickfire Challenge.

You want a free to trip to New York? Enter a recipe, made with Quaker® Oats and not only can you watch the taping of a Top Chef episode but you'll have some serious bragging rights.

Interested in cooking with Quaker® Oats, find more than a hundred recipes here. Just make sure you submit an original recipe. I've come up with a few of my own that I'll post once I tweak them.

So run out and grab your stash and start your own test kitchen.

Enter to win and hopefully we'll be hanging in the Big Apple!

oats and love,
Spike

All Stars...All Me?...All Carla!

If you were smart enough to head to Good Stuff Eatery this Wednesday for our Top Chef viewing party - you must have been seriously surprised.

That's right...you got to watch the show with this season's awesome Chef and DC girl - Carla.

No one though, was more surprised than husband of Top Chef Season 5 Contestant, who surprised hubby with two tickets to the Super Bowl after she revealed that not only did she win the elimination competition but she won two sweet ass tickets to Super Bowl.

It was a great night with over 100 people packing into the restaurant to watch Andrew and I duke it out - can Andrew be anymore hilarious and inappropriate in a totally awesome way?

I was up against Fabian...oh no wait, Fabio...and guess who lost? Do you really have to even ask?

Coolest part of the night was seeing the surprise in Carla's husband's face when he got two tickets, for him and his son, to head over to Tampa.

He's not the only one heading to the sunshine state though - make sure you tune in to the Super Bowl Pre-Game show to see who wins in that competition. Andrew, Richard, Antonia and I head to Florida this weekend for a Top Chef Challenge.

Good Stuff Cookies...can anything be better?

Phenomenal, right! All thanks to the amazing mother and daughter team of Margie and Abbey Greenberg.

How can you not love these gorgeous women and trust me, when you taste their amazing cookies, you just fall deeper and deeper.

I want to introduce all the good stuffers to The Flour Pot, a cookie decorating company based in Ambler, PA.

When we spoke with Margie and Abbey they were so excited to be part of the team and we couldn't be happier that they agreed to be our supplier for the Good Stuff Cookie.

As we do with all our ingredients, we know exactly was is being put in the cookies and that they are being made with care for our customers.

It was Margie's love for design and sweets, plus Abbey's stellar business skills that started and helped The Flour Pot grow into a thriving business - God, I love small business owners!

So ladies, here's a shout out to you, thanks for making our Good Stuff Cookies, we love them and we love you.

Spike

INAUGURATION NATION, YO.

Whatttttsup!

I’m blogging at the speed of lightening because it’s like 3 seconds until inauguration weekend starts to kick my skinny b*tt and I need to be flipping burgers not writing blogs. Even tho blogging is a blast… and I get far less dirty doing it! So where do I begin. From now until Wednesday, here’s a small taste of the insanity, otherwise known as my to-do list:

1- Feed the billions of hungry, Obama fans who will be walking by Good Stuff, or intentionally stopping by thanks to all the buzz circling around town. We extended our hours, edited our menu and are ready to rock ‘n roll. Actually, BA'RACK 'n roll.The customer energy is incredible, my staff is all pumped up, and honestly the fun hasn’t even begun!

2- My life is 90% chaotic kitchen, 10% red carpet. If I can manage to escape Good Stuff, and I’m not sure I”ll even want to, I’ve got a few awesome events lined up. There’s a “Declare Yourself” party hosted by Jessica Alba…yeah, I know..speaking of sizzling! And also Maroon Five is playing and a bunch of other people that I should recognize but don’t. The dress code is “celebrity-chic” which means, well, I have no clue. Thank god for the nosy women in my life - my wardrobe is one thing I don’t mind them controlling! After that we’re all going to strip down to our PJs and hit the Obama Pajama Party, which sounds sweeeeeet for two reasons - I get to wear my favorite ‘jammies, AND Marisa Tomei will be there in hers. Need I go on?

3- In the middle of all this, I’m shooting a bunch of TV shows, morning shows and such. I’m afraid to jinx myself and say the names yet. But let me just say- they are BIG. And, they are EARLY. Where’s my espresso, Katie Couric?!

4- Let’s just add a paragraph for all the people I know heading to DC this weekend! I wouldn’t change it for the world but I’m literally running out of seconds in the day! Hopefully everyone will understand when I give them a delicious burger, a juicy kiss, and then…. peace out.

5- The grand finale is my BURGER BALL on Tuesday night. Forget the tuxes and the pretentious schmoozing, I’m all about a night of FUN to celebrate this sensational moment in history. You know me, I’m laid-back, so I created a celebration that’s more about good people and great vibes, not the uptight, upscale stuff. I’ve heard Constantine from American Idol is coming and something about The Counting Crows, but I leave that to my PR peeps. All I know is that surviving this week, not to mention the Inauguration of the most inspiring man alive, gives me plenty of reason to revel in pure, uncensored, unrehearsed, forever awesomeness.

Gotta get back to the kitchen.

Love n Bacon,
Spike

CHEF SPIKE'S BURGER BALL

Come to the most fun ball of inauguration night – jeans highly recommended

Tuesday January 20th, 2009
8pm, $99 a ticket.

This is for the hip crowd that doesn’t want to buy a ball gown or rent a tux but wants to celebrate Obama’s swearing-in with 8 different handcrafted mini burgers, mini handcut fries with a selection of mayo’s, mini shakes (don’t worry the toasted marshmallow shake is on the list) and farm fresh salads. Beer and wine is included in the price and there will be vegetarian burger options.

Doors open at 8pm for the party and the restaurant will transform to a candlelit farmhouse chic atmosphere - mini cocktail tables, bar tables and stools, throw pillows for the booth and people can jam to some awesome music.


During the day GSE will be open and serve it’s regular menu.

To buy tickets call asap, credit card required, limited capacity:
Call Micheline at 202.543.8222 or
email: info@goodstuffeatery.com