Mardi-Gras Party Pix

Despite no new episode, we still had a festive time with our die-hard friends! Congrats to Nicole for winning the gift bag.
Stay tuned...

Top Chef Gift Bag Give-Away @ Hi-Life Cafe!

Another day, another scandalicious happening...Seems there is no new episode tonight for our Mardi-Gras party at Hi-Life. So we decided to throw in a very special treat for one lucky partier here tonight. We will be doing a raffle and the prize is a Top Chef gift bag. The Top Chef bag has a Top Chef Cork Screw, an official Top Chef Apron and a Top Chef issue special issue of the Zagat Guide. We will also be giving away free Hurricane Cocktails. Hope to see you tonight as we celebrate my run on Top Chef...what a trip!
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The Infamous Cutting Edge Salad...

I've been getting alot of questions on the Thanksgiving day salad from friends, family and fans. Now folks don't get me wrong...it was a wonderful experience...but I was ready to come home. Being placed at the bottom of the quick fire challenge was absolutely shocking! I made a flavorful pasta Putanesca in fifteen minutes!! Chef Tom even tasted it twice. I was shocked that he chose a couple of inedible dishes over mine.

My plan for the elimination challenge was to make a pretty salad "so not to be offensive" and to use mixed greens out of a bag in order 'not to be cutting edge'. I thought this strategy would secure me a ticket home. Little did I know that I would have competition from Betty & Michael for least desirable dish.

Harold is the only one Bravo blogger that got it right. "He just seemed done. Like, 'I have a great life and this is not for me.' You can almost watch him talking to the judges. He's fustrated, he's short with them, he's ready to go home."

Amen brother, Harold's right. For the first hour of the judge's table, I was smiling all the way. The second hour, well, I was trying to move things along.

Moral of the story "be true to yourself and have fun." - And speaking of fun, this Wednesday nights' theme for our Top Chef party at Hi-Life is Mardi-Gras madness! We'll have the beads and the New Orleans punch and you can dress like "When The Saints Go Marchin' In"! Hope to see you there.

Stay tuned...

Today's Lexicon...

Thanks to the folks at Bravo for the meticulously recording every detail. Let's start off with the words that had our crowd oohing and aahing last Wednesday night. You never know when those big SAT words are going to pop out.

DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED: Betty & Marcel...Frank & Marcel...ok, anybody & Marcel

OXYMORONIC: Chef Anthony & Michael

BRAGGADOCIOUS: Insert your choice here...

My phrases that will hopefully become part of the American vernacular...

SCANDALICIOUS!

BREAK AN EGG!

DON'T GO ALL BETTY ON ME!

One Of Many Notes I Have Received...Thanks To Everyone For The Support!!

"BRAVO Chef Carlos!!

Congratulations on your run on TOP CHEF!! It is impressive that you made it and you were the nicest and most gorgeous contestant!! I am just so excited I found you, because I have thought of you often over the years!

One Question: Is Betty a drunk or a psycho?? I wanted to kick her ass last night when she pointed to you and SCREAMED CARLOS!! (Bitch, does she know she is messin' with some pretty tough Hoboken girls who are madly in love with you!!!! Where is her restaurant??!!)

WE LOVE YOU!! It was a thrill to have one of our Hoboken Boys represent!!

Congrats, again, and please send me info on ordering some crap on a plate T's!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! and when I roll into the Hi-Life in my Nike roller-skates (circa 1981) I would like one of those beautiful salads waiting for me!!

All my love,
Jennifer"

Top Chef Thanksgiving Party Pix!

And thanks to everyone for bringing all of those canned goods. Our cup overfloweth! We have so much to be thankful for and it is so nice to see good folks sharing with those who are less fortunate.

10 Little Indians All In A Row...10 Little Indians, One Had To Go...

After the quick fire challenge, my team felt a little demoralized. We went shopping at Wild Oats, where I found a national Zagat guide. Inside was the Hi-Life listing and I thought to myself..."What the hell am I doing here with these freaks!" It was one of those moments where I felt like George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life". " TAKE ME HOME, CLARENCE...I WANT TO LIVE...I WANT TO LIVE!

The whole experience is really wonderful. I knew I had a fan base, but didn't know how large. That is what fills me with a new sense of confidence and pride. My goal was to get on the show and be the most descent person on reality TV. I think I was successful.

And don't worry folks, the Wednesday night parties will continue come rain or shine. We are gonna see this thing through to the end.

Stay Tuned...

Bring It On!

Many thanks once again to the gals at Top Chef 2: They Cook We Dish for the plugs and photo shopping! For this Wednesday's Top Chef party, we are asking everyone to bring a canned good that we will donate to the food bank at the church accross the street. Hope you can make it and party on with all of us here at Hi-Life Cafe. Also want to wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for all of your support and hope to see you very soon...

Stay Tuned.........

South Beach Chic Pix

The party turn-out seems to be growing weekly...right in line with our regular dinner service! Here are just a few of the shots from our last party. Many thanks to all who continue to come and play with us...

What a Show!

It was a great pleasure meeting Michelle Bernstein. Our paths have crossed in the past a couple of times but it was just hi & bye. It was so nice to actually get to work with her. She is a saucy one. Now onto the food...

If the judges liked the paella, more power to them. However when we tasted it in the kitchen, it was dry. I wonder if that is why they dubbed the word baked into the episode? Honestly, Elia & I did like our juice which was served chilled, but I guess Michelle doesn't like her pommegranite's tasting like pommegranite's or her kidney's tasting like kidney's! LOL

It almost seemed like a catch 22 at times. If we did multiple items, we were told to keep it focused on one thing. But when we focused on just one item, we were asked why we did not do more. Boy was Chef Tom grumpy. I guess it was because he was stuck in a hot kitchen with us instead of outside wining and dining with the guests!

While it was shocking that they sent home two contestants on this episode, we had our suspicions since noone had gone home the week before.

Hi-Life was packed with a great crowd for this episode. Seems to get busier with each episode! Many thanks for those who showed up to play with us.

Stay tuned...

South Beach Chic!

Hey folks.....tonight's party at the Hi-Life is "South Beach Chic" bring your sandals & sunglasses and enjoy some scandalicious bites! Our featured cocktail tonight will be the mojito. If you are looking for a sneak peak, yahoo.com has chivalrous Chef Carlos in action.

Many thanks to Uli for designing my outfit for tonight's party. Thanks also to Java Junkie & The Big Shamu for capturing me at my best at Olympus! See you tonight...

Stay tuned...

Blue Jeans & Bling Party Pix

The Snackmaster Has Arrived!

Yes, this years snackmaster has arrived. It feels good to have immunity, but I'll tell you folks, it feels better to win. Life is just full of irony. The episode I win an immunity is the one in which nobody goes home! But at the end of the day it's all about their bright & shiny eyes...

BTW Sugar, I still love ya'! I just couldn't see any of those people on the chopping block going home. Remember I had immunity and didn't have to speak up, but the truth should always prevail.

Congrats to Frankie on your victory. You da man.

We had a jammin' time last night watching the action at the Hi-Life. The place was packed. Thanks to all who showed up. And the tee-shirts are a big hit! Next weeks theme is "South Beach" chic.

Stay tuned...

SCANDALICIOUS!

Hey Folks We have been slammin' here at Hi-Life Cafe this week. Thanks for all your continued support!

Last week was very exciting and we were all thrilled that Carlos came in 2nd on the ice cream challenge on Top Chef. This Wednesday night's Top Chef party will be themed Blue Jeans and Bling! Throw on your tightest jeans, flashiest jewelry and gaudiest shirts--it promises to be scandalicious!! Don't miss this episode...you know I am a cool cat and for me to be rubbin' my eyes in the promo video, it must be somethin' major. Available soon: check out the BravoTV web site and purchase my "Scandalicious" ringtone.

This week we will be offering bourbon slush as our featured cocktail as well as other scrumptious morsels on our late night menu. We will also be featuring Chef Carlos avacado ice cream with marshmellows...yummy. The show starts promptly at 10 pm, so be there or be...you know, four corners.

Lastly, the "It's NOT Crap On A Plate!" tee-shirts are in stock. (Carlos' now infamous quote from episode one.) They look fabulous. 100% cotton short-sleeved black crew neck tee's with the magenta Hi-Life Cafe logo on the front and the "crap" on the back. They are only $10 each, so let me know if you want one. (We can ship for an extra charge.) You can email to chefcarlos@hilifecafe.com.

Stay tuned......

Halloween Dinner

BTW... Here are some pix from our Halloween wine dinner. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Wins The Day!

What Bravo didn't tell you:
That day at Redundo Beach the heat index hit 130. The only reason I knew that was because I had found a scrap of newspaper behind our loft apartment the very next day. This is how sequestered we were! Was it someone's bedding, I don't know...

We had approximately 20lbs of dry ice attached to our shoulders and our chef's coats were polyester. Heat exhaustion should have been the elimanation challenge!! It feels good to be in the top three. I really loved my flambee and sushi challenges so it was nice to finally get some recognition. And thanks to Blogger Top Chef for putting me in the yummy pack!

Into the firehouse:
I really hated to see Emily go. Now would someone explain to me why her jokes would have been funny and well received on Last Comic Standing, but not on Top Chef. Isn't funny just funny? And I really think the show could use more humor to balance out all of the drama that they have created.

I want to send out a thank you the South Passadena Firehouse. They were very gracious because we came in and took over like a hurricane. My angle was to give TGIF a shrimp appetizer which they did not have on their menu. Chicken fried shrimp with a mustard sauce with chopped spinach, served over a corn, red pepper & lime medley.

Last night's Top Chef Party at Hi-Life:
Thanks to all who showed up for our luau themed party at my restaurant. Great turn-out and kudos to Lee & Phil for best costume (loved the grass skirts guys) even though Chuck & I came in a close second with our outfits! (see below)









Many thanks to Java Junkie and Big Shamu for the parody pic!