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Top Chef Truck Tour Parks It in Union Square
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 24, 2008
Modified Oct 24, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 24, 2008
Modified Oct 24, 2008
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The big Top Chef Truck rolled into Union Square this morning for the last stop on their 20-city tour, with Season Four's rejected cheftenstants Richard Blais and Andrew D'Ambrosi on board to give cooking demonstrations in the kitchen housed within a 48-foot tractor trailer. The two day event, which continues into tomorrow, gives fans of Top Chef an experience that Knight Rider nerds would surely kill for.
Andrew told the crowd he's dubbed the tour "Bitchfest 2008" because he's spent most of it venting about how he should have lasted longer on the show than he did. Richard decided to make New England Clam Chowder, declaring that "Manhattan clam chowder sucks." Remembering what tour stop he was on, he quickly added, "The only thing good about it is the Manhattan part." His chowder was made with bacon, chopped clams, celery, onions, lemongrass, ginger, cream, and potato chips on top for texture.
Andrew noted that he's now working at Le Cirque and is headed there immediately after the truck tour: "I'm going to the dungeon. It's where I belong." And Richard is planning on opening a burger joint in Atlanta called "Flip," and hoping to put a second location in NYC. Fun fact about Richard, he's really "into" liquid nitrogen and has a tank outside of the truck to freeze fish and then grate them on top of soup.
Those who didn't make it into the truck could watch the action on the flat screen TV sets mounted on the sides. After the demonstration, they handed out chowder, answered questions, signed autographs, and said they might make ice cream later. And they'll be back again tomorrow with more Bitchfest demonstrations at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m.
Photos and reporting by Amanda Spurlock.
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bravo
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season five
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top chef
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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