MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hi Friends..........been absolutely so crazy busy here at Hi-Life that I have had not time to update my blog...thanks for your patience! As promised, following is the Christmas carol that the Noel Quartet created for me. Thanks so much to Carrie, Jeanne, Michael & Danny for this - it meant so much to me!!

Top Chef

(Sung to the Tune of "The First Noel")

The first Top Chef, the judges did say,

"Bring Carlos to us, we may send him away!"

But Tom and Gail, they could not berate,

For Carlos did NOT serve them "crap on a plate"!

Top Chef, Top Chef, here's to our Top Chef!

Carlos will always be our Top Chef!

More challenges came, fast food and flambe'

Crown Carlos the king for his bouche amusee'!

Through the scandals and scenes, through the intrigue galore...

Someone PLEASE take those lychee nuts back to the store!

Top Chef, Top Chef, here's to our Top Chef!

Carlos will always be our Top Chef!

Alas, we come to the Thanksgiving meal

When the judges thought salad was just not ideal.

You packed your knives, but gladly we'll say

We'd rather have you here at Hi-Life Cafe!

Top Chef, Top Chef, here's to our Top Chef!

Carlos will always be our Top Chef!

Top Chef, Top Chef, here's to our Top Chef!

Carlos will always be our Top Chef!

Merry Christmas Everyone.........stay tuned!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY...

Yesterday was my birthday, but even though we had a busy night at the Hi-Life, I managed to celebrate with friends and staff. Thanks for all the good wishes.

I have gotten many requests, so my birthday gift to you is the Lime in da Coconut recipe...

16 oz coconut milk
1 qt limeade (purchased or homemade, who cares...it's a cocktail!)
4 oz light rum
3 oz Meyer's Rum
2 tbs orange juice
2 tbs pineapple juice

Blend all together, shake and served over ice. Garnish with lime slice and shaved coconut.
"Look ma...no curdling!" LOL

Stay safe and stay tuned...

Mama Mia!

Congrats to Mia! You have joined the ranks of the honorable. On the set you were the mother figure. (And I will always remember the time you tucked me into bed!) Even though the end was very trying, and I know the pressures of the judges table, you followed your conscience and were true to yourself.

I know your friends, fans and family welcomed you back with joy. Now fight the powers that be and go FEED THE PEOPLE!

Jaws dropped as the drama unfolded last night at the Hi-Life. Thanks to all of you who showed up to enjoy the last episode of Top Chef for 2006.

Congrats to Sam "dangalow" -- you da man. Nice job keepin' your crew together. No easy task.

For more, stay tuned...

Happy Holidays -- It Had Better Be Good!

This Weeks Top Chef Party Theme At Hi-Life Cafe --
Come As Your Favorite Christmas Ornament, Or Wear It!

Our featured cocktail is Lime in da Coconut. This will be the final TC party for 2006 as no more new episodes will be aired until January.

This episode had better be good in order to hold the fans over the holidays. This episode's title is holiday spirit, maybe they'll get some. Maybe noone will go home...oh yeah...they already did that! LOL

Thanks so much to "the gals" at Top Chef 2 They Cook. We Dish. for all of the wonderful parody pix (see example above) that they have done for us this season. If you have not been to their blog, you are truly missing out.

Last weeks Plaza 3000 holiday party was a great success. Lots of good cheer and great music. Thanks to the Noel Quartet for the very special song they composed for me. I will post it in its entirety closer to Christmas...you are gonna love it!

Stay tuned....

Wednesday Night's Outrageous Tee-Shirt Party Pix!

What a blast we had on Wednesday night. Thanks for all of you who keep the Top Chef Parties going strong! It was great having our Sarah fly in from Boston to party with us!!

Til we meet again Frank, but never Goodbye! As long as we have "good food, good wine and good friends." Even though Frank left, the show was quite enjoyable.

The quickfire was a great challenge. No crap...just a straight-forward challenge - true Top Chef style. Congrats to Marcel on
your first individual win.

Seeing the fire pits in the elimination challenge definitely would
have made me chuckle. Good job to everyone considering they
had to work on their knees! LOL... Eggs cook at a very low
temperature and that flame was a roarin'! I am surprised that
more weren't burnt and rubbery. Extra shout out to my buddy
Elia for her second win in a row!!!

And what childhood memory has Gail so perturbed. Did you
get the impression that she doesn't like brown eggs?!?

Love to you all and stay tuned...

The Perfect Holiday Gift!

"...wore my "It's not crap on a plate" shirt to Whole Foods on Thanksgiving (yes, I was one of those idiots still shopping on Thanksgiving day...) - Had several people stop me and say things like "oh...that's from Carlos on Top Chef!" and "how cool...where can I get one?" - (of course, I gave them Carlos' web site address...) I left feeling quite smug and privileged!"

This was a note from a fan who got one of the first tee-shirts we made. You can order tee-shirts and they can be shipped. They are only $10 plus shipping.

If you plan on visiting Ft. Lauderdale or know someone who is, we can also mail Hi-Life Cafe gift certificates. They are customized and can be made in any denomination. To order tee-shirts or gift certificates, you can email me at carlos@hilifecafe.com .

Hope to see some of you tomorrow night for our Top Chef party! Stay tuned...

This Wednesday Night...

It was very considerate of Bravo to skip a week so we could all mourn the packing of my knives! Ha!

But now it's once again SHOWTIME!!! Wednesday night's theme: Outrageous tee-shirts. Wear your most scandalicious tees and as always we will have gourmet popcorn & light bite fare. Our featured drink special is made-from-scratch Champagne Sangria.

We know you can't wait to see who will be packin' up their knives this week. I will be available during the show to offer my personal insights and answer questions. Join us if you are in town.

Tasty Tidbits:

Recently I received a post telling me to ignore the Bravo boards. So true Chef Carlos style, I hit 'em...hit 'em hard! There were alot of emotions there. To all of those who think I was trying to be safe and in the middle, please note that when this was said on the final episode, I was wearing a different color shirt than in the rest of the interviews. Who knows when I said that or what I had been referring to...oh the magic of editing!!

To all of you who support me...I love you!

Stay tuned...