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

Christmas with the Good Stuffers!

The Good Stuff Gang had a down-n-dirty dinner party last night on the 2nd floor of the restaurant. It’s kind-of a Mendelsohn family tradition to chow down with our key people and get all sappy, sentimental and thankful right around now. So the guys and I used some down-time during the day to make: bone marrow, roasted and basted garlic and rosemary filet, beet salad with goat cheese and mint, cauliflower ala gratin….the menu was endless (and incredible). It wasn’t supposed to be such a big deal, but by the time my folks arrived at 10pm, we had prepared the feast of all feasts. It was so awesome looking around and seeing everyone enjoying themselves, getting served instead of serving others, taking time to smell the roses, or in this case, the crispy bacon-wrapped-asparagus. I was really moved by my surroundings. And then I was stuffed.
Today, Good Stuff closes a little early so everyone can head home for the holidays. My plan? Home for a quick nap, or maybe I’ll finish Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. Great flick, eh? Then my girlfriend and I will head to my sister’s for…yup, more food and family. Last I checked, my sis was going with a French theme (quiches, tartines, etc.). As of now, I’m showing up…empty handed. Classic. Maybe I’ll whip up some Croque Madame for all the beautiful mademoiselles in my life. Either way, I’ll make sure to have have=2 0un peu de champagne - because I truly have so much to celebrate. Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday. Were you naughty or nice?
Laughter and Eggnog Lattes,
Spike

LATKE-MANIA....GREWISH STYLE!

So….I survived Latke Mania! Barely! What started as a small cooking demo for “about 80 people” turned into an 600 person pow-wow. I’m not complaining-Can’t even tell you how flattered I was that everyone opted to spend their first night of Channukah with a Greek Jew who hasn’t had time for a hair cut or shave, let alone properly practice his candle-lighting prayers.

I’m lucky because I don’t get nervous in front of crowds. I didn’t have cold feet. I didn’t get performance anxiety. I was simply: psyched. I knew I’d be bringing my mom up on stage as my “sous-chef” and sounding board. Gotta say, she really sparkled up there. We loved talking about food and family with the crowd. It was actually an awesome moment together that I’ll never forget. (See, I’m not so arrogant, which is basically how they introduced me, LOL).

The cooking went beautifully, we tried to teach some culinary tricks, etc… The audience was a little intense about the kosher vs non kosher ingredients! I mean, we kept it “kosher style,” but come on, I was on Top Chef, not Top Rabbi. I will admit that neither of us realized Jello was such a no-no. Oooops.

So here’s what we made:
Sweet Potato Latkes
Zucchini Greek-inspired Latkes
Traditional Classic Latkes
Classic Apple Sauce
Mango Apple Sauce
Tzatziki Sauce

The sweet potato latkes were my favorite, not including the Tzatziki sauce (Tzatziki is my crack!!!).

The hundreds of latke-lovers and I went downstairs after the demo so everyone could get fed. It wasn't a lot but with so many everyone just got just a bite of latke heaven! It was really cool and refreshing meeting this new crowd of DC-ers. I spend so much time in the kitchen, I don’t get to kibitz too much these days! My mom, the belle of the ball, ended up inviting a few of the staffers over to my parents’ place, so we wound up eating, laughing and enjoying the good, kosher karma over there.

Today I’m a little latke’d out, but just when I was ready to return to my busy, stressful, not-as-mch-spirit-as-I-would-like life, my candles were…. rekindled, if you will. I walked into Good Stuff and saw dozens of people from the latke demo. It made me feel great.

And to the jewish mother mafia (love ya, ladies!) there’s absolutely nothing wrong with ordering a “big bacon meltdown burger” on the second night of Hannukah…Live and Let Live!

Bytheway, up top is me and Jackie Leventhal from the Synagogue at Sixth and I. Then it's all the volunteers that shared the stage, Jill, Cathy, my mom, Jackie and me!

TAMPA BAY-BY!! 02.01.09

Chef Spike Returns to His Hometown - Tampa Bay, FL for Super Bowl XLIII

Make sure to check out Spike at Taste of the NFL and Top Chef Tailgate Party!

Taste of the NFL, a Food & Wine Charity Event, brings together the top chefs from each of the 31 NFL cities,

along with a current member or alumni from each NFL team. Chefs and volunteers raise money for national hunger programs. Chef Spike is going to be preparing tasting samples and signing autographs.

Also, for the Serious Top Chef Fans...Spike is going to be participating in a Super Bowl themed cook-off challenge at the Top Chef Tailgate - Super Bowl Pre-Game Show. The official Top Chef Tailgate to be featured in the Official Super Bowl Pre-Game Show will include Chef Tom Colicchio and a panel of VIP and celebrity judges to evaluate the food and determine a winner.