Greetings from Texas

Jim Webster here. We made it to Fort Worth today without much to report. There was nothing scheduled today. I met briefly with Darcie, Mario Batali's brand manager who has been my contest contact
for the past month or so. She and I have exchanged about 300 e-mails and a handful of phone calls since I made it to the quarterfinals. So it was nice to meet her. She gave us some of our race tickets and updates to the itinerary. Oh, and gave me the menu for Sunday's tailgate party.

I am trying to keep it a big secret that I am not a big NASCAR fan, so don't tell anyone. But I also suspect that I am going to have a lot of fun. Saturday's schedule has us getting to the track at some hour at which I am usually not awake, and we are getting a VIP tour of the track, get to check out the pits and watch the race from a suite. My experience with suites and sports events suggests I will enjoy that. After the race, I am going to an event where Rachael Ray, Mario Batali and Dallas chef Tim Love are competing in something called Asphalt Chef. They'll each be paired with a NASCAR driver and compete in some Iron Chef-like thing. My understanding is that this is being recorded for the pre-race show on ABC on Sunday, so check your local listings. After that, my wife and I get to go to the swanky Speedway Club for dinner.

(I actually met Tim Love once before, and it's kind of a funny story. It was my 40th birthday, and my friend and I were having lunch at Cafe Ponte. I saw Michelle Bernstein, a fairly famous Miami chef, walk in, and I was left a little speechless. As we were walking out, I stopped by her table to talk to her. She was with two guys, one of whom seemed mockingly annoyed that everyone always knew who Michelle Bernstein was. He called himself and the other guy her "backup singers." It was Tim Love.)

Sunday, we get to the track early again, and I get to go for a ride in a pace car, then go over to the tailgate party. Sounds like I'm not actually cooking, but sitting around getting credit for inventing one of the dishes. The party is supposed to be for sponsors and media. Should be interesting. I have seen the menu, and I'll post it on Sunday night. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to before the party. I think I can safely tell you that pig-wrapped, pig-stuffed pig is on there. And I'm pretty humbled by that fact, when looking at the rest.

After the tailgate party, we watch the big race from the suites. And we come home Monday. A lot of the itinerary is loose, and I'm happy about that. I'm hoping that it gives us a chance to do whatever seems fun at the time.

No pictures to post right now, but I'll have something up tomorrow.

-- Jim Webster

All hail, our Mario-bound brother

Jim Webster packs his bag--he's got fresh dry-cleaning, maybe undies and a pair of flame-orange Crocs--and leaves tomorrow at dawn to meet his destiny, plus Mario Batali and Rachael Ray. We live vicariously through him this weekend as he embarks on this new culinary challenge. Tampa's own Top Chef, Iron Chef or Blubbering Awe-Inspired Chef, he goes where no Floridian has gone before him...to cook Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig while entertaining NASCAR fans and Food Network hangers-on. 

Webster will blog for us this weekend while not doing shots with Batali or fending off the paparazzi. We wait breathlessly for his first epistle.

Most expensive bay area restaurants

The Tampa Bay Business Journal comes out with its list of the most expensive restaurants in the area. See if you agree and I'll tell you my thoughts below. All the average prices are for dinner for two.

1. Armani's, average dinner for 2 $200, entrees $29-$42
2. Oystercatchers, average dinner for 2 $200, entrees $24-$39
3. Maritana Grille, average $195, entrees $34
4. Six Tables (Tampa), average $180 (fixed price)
5. Boizao, average $150, entrees $41.90
6. Vernona, Sarasota, average $150, entrees $36
7. Charley's Steakhouse, average $150, entrees $35
8. Chateau France, average $150, entrees $30
9. Ruth's Chris, average $150, entrees $18.95-$49.95
10. Euphemia Haye, Longboat Key, average $140, entrees $23-$48.50
11. Marina Jack's, Sarasota, average $130, entrees $18.95-$45
12. Beach Bistro, Holmes Beach, average $125, entrees $39-$68
13. The Colony Dining Room, Longboat Key, average $125, entrees $17-$45
14. Il Terrazzo, average $125, entrees $17-$45
15. Mise en Place, average $110, entrees $24-$33
16. Morel, Sarasota, average $110, entrees $16-$32
17. Cafe Ponte, average $100, entrees $25-$33
18. Michael's on East, Sarasota, average $100, entrees $20-$45
19. Fly Bar and Restaurant, average $100, entrees $14-$16
20. Cafe L'Europe, Sarasota, average $100, entrees $29
21. Roy's, average $100, entrees $26
22. Donatello, average $100, entrees $25.95
23. Bern's, average $100, entrees $20.91-$69.68
24. Caffe Paradiso, average $100, entrees $15
25. Marchand's, average $95, entrees $18-$36

Alright, an idiosyncratic list, and I'm not totally sure about the prices--Roy's seems low to me, as does Michael's--but it definitely makes me think about what places are overpriced and what places constitute a bargain. The Colony? Not a bargain. Armani's, I'd pay that. Mise en Place and Cafe Ponte seem like bargains, especially when compared to ho-hum Il Terrazzo or Boizao, or egregiously overpriced Chateau France. Now I think I'm going to wrack my brain for the pricey ones that are missing from the list. Stay tuned.

Top 40 restaurants in the country?

Gayot's annual list of restaurant greats came out yesterday. Again, Florida gets the shaft. A couple questions: At how many of these have you dined? And which Florida restaurants should have been included (I ask partly because I just got asked to be on the James Beard Foundation Restaurant Awards committee)?

BOSTON
• L'Espalier
• o ya

BOULDER, CO
• Frasca Food & Wine

CHICAGO
• Alinea
• Charlie Trotter's
• Everest

HEALDSBURG, CA
• Cyrus

HONOLULU
• Chef Mavro

LAGUNA BEACH, CA
• Studio

LAS VEGAS
• Alex
• Joël Robuchon
• Picasso
• Restaurant Guy Savoy

LOS ANGELES
• Mélisse
• Patina
• Providence
• Spago Beverly Hills
• Urasawa

LOS GATOS, CA
• Manresa

NEW ORLEANS
• Restaurant August

NEW YORK
• Daniel
• Eleven Madison Park
• Jean Georges
• Le Bernardin
• Le Cirque
• Masa
• The Modern
• Per Se

OGUNQUIT, ME
• Arrows Restaurant

PHILADELPHIA
• Vetri

SAN ANTONIO
• Restaurant Le Rêve

SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dining Room
• Gary Danko
• Michael Mina

SEA ISLAND, GA
• Georgian Room

WASHINGTON, D.C.
• CityZen
• Michel Richard Citronelle

WASHINGTON, VA
• The Inn at Little Washington

WESTCHESTER, NY
• Blue Hill at Stone Barns

YOUNTVILLE, CA
• The French Laundry

A tip for you. Or not.

Do away with tips. That's what The Linkery in San Diego decided to do, according to a recent story in the New York Times. Not a new idea at all. But perhaps it's a strategy that could benefit and even smooth over some of the longstanding grudges in the restaurant industry.

Here's why.

In troubled times, the incidence of dine-and-ditch goes up, as does just some garden-variety chintzy tipping. If restaurants instituted an automatic service fee (15 percent? 18 percent?) and forbade additional tipping, a server's income would be somewhat assured (alright, not in the case of dine-and-ditch).

But then what's a server's incentive to give good service, you ask? We routinely go to restaurants and take out our frustrations about poorly prepared food on the server. Steak not prepared to your liking? Express your dissatisfaction at the end of the meal via your tip. But it wasn't the server's fault. There's not a lot of evidence that good service is rewarded with a good tip, or bad service with a bad tip.

People's tipping habits are idiosyncratic. There are unfortunate stereotypes in the industry: African Americans are said to tip more poorly than their white counterparts; women are said to tip worse than men. I have no evidence to support the former, but I have read studies that, sadly, bear out the women-and-tipping phenomenon. A standard service charge would have the added benefit of encouraging servers to treat customers equally (not, "ugh, that table of four older women is definitely going to undertip").

Studies indicate that Americans prefer discretionary tipping by a wide margin. Still, superstar restaurants like French Laundry, Per Se in New York, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and even our own Bern's have a built-in service charge. In most cases, it's because that service charge is pooled and split between servers, captains, bus staff and even the kitchen staff.

This brings me to another longstanding beef in the industry: Cooks often make a lot less money than servers, for work that is arguably much more skilled. I'm not saying serving is not difficult, stressful work, but someone can be competent at it within six months. At a high level, learning to cook is a multi-year commitment. This inequity fosters a spirit of mutual distaste in many restaurants between the "front of the house" and the kitchen.

I'd love to hear the thoughts of folks in the industry. What are the pros and cons to a standard tipping system?

Open and shut

Cripes, seems like I start every week with a list of casualties in this beleagured restaurant market, followed by a short list of courageous newcomers who've launched fresh projects. Here I go again.

Catherine and Jose Luis Pawelek have sold Elements Global Cuisine (3121 Beach Blvd, Gulfport), the new owner taking over today. The decision was in part due to illness in the family. We wish the Paweleks well and will miss their cheery presence in Gulfport's little Restaurant Row. The new owner, Frenchman Alex Hambert, will spend the week renovating and tinkering, and is hoping to be open by the end of the week (and he also aims to open a much needed French bakery in the empty space adjacent to the restaurant).

Brophy's Dug Out Sports Pub (11270 4th St. N Ste 202, St Petersburg, (727) 577-0876) owner Tom Brophy died at the beginning of September, and the restaurant has been closed for the time being as the family grieves. My thoughts are with Tom's sister, Mary, who runs Brophy's Bistro (1353 Snell Isle Blvd NE, St Petersburg, (727) 824-0700).

If you watched TV this weekend, and I know you did, you saw breathless commercials for Wesley Chapel's new Shops at Wiregrass, which holds its grand opening this weekend. Along with the retail stores, two restaurants will launch. A Grillsmith location and the area's first Cantina Laredo will open their doors. Laredo is a 300-seat, white-tablecloth kind of place serving upscale Mexican, enchiladas Vera Cruz and camarones poblano being big sellers. Based in Dallas, Tex., the concept has 30 locations, five elsewhere in Florida (Jacksonville, Sandestin, Fort Myers, West Palm and Orlando, which opens soon).

A Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches' franchise has opened at 553 S. Fort Harrison, on the corner of Turner & Ft. Harrison in Clearwater; (727) 210-2364. They're having their grand opening on Sat., Nov. 8th (the same day as the World Championship Iron Man Race which takes place in Clearwater; for that, Jimmy John's has partnered with 102.5 FM for a live simulcast hosted by the radio personality 'Cowhead'). The word on Jimmy John's is that it's like Subway, but faster, with fresher ingredients, and with a "wrap" alternative that puts your sandwich fixings in a big swath of lettuce. There are 700 stores nationally, but this is the first one in Pinellas.

Let's do lunch

Two restaurants have just launched lunch business. Vintage on Fifth (114 NE 5th St, Crystal River, (352) 795-0008) now offers midday meals Wed. to Fri., 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and on Fridays there soft acoustical live music. Now that's a nice way to end the work week. The menu items are similar to Crystal River Wine & Cheese Co, but also includes some new favorites such as shrimp & grits, black grouper sandwiches and vegetarian dishes. In Tampa, Roy's (4342 West Boy Scout Blvd, (813) 873-7697 has started serving the International Plaza/Westshore business corridor at lunch time, with a menu designed by chef Chef Kiel Lombardo.

Serving both lunch and dinner, a new concept in St. Petersburg opened its doors on Oct. 21. It's called Bowled Restaurant (3451 4th St. N, St. Petersburg, (727) 895-BOWL), and the concept is complete meals (protein, vegetable and starch) served together in a bowl. Here are a few of the menu items: Thanksgiving Wrap (roasted turkey breast, traditional sage stuffing & cranberry compote), Ciopino Bowl (mussels, clams, baby gulf shrimp, calamari, and mahi-mahi simmered in a light tomato-fennel saffron broth, served over soft polenta, with roasted sweet corn & herbed crostini), or Asian Bowl (soy & ginger glazed Asian vegetables over lime- and coconut-infused jasmine rice served with  orange-cashew shrimp). It's located in the old Brown Dog Café and Catering spot, open 7 days a week, 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5:30-9:30 p.m. for dinner. They hope to start serving brunch by the end of November.

Mark your calendars now

TICKETS TO GO ON SALE MONDAY, OCTOBER 27 for the 2009 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. One of the country's premiere culinary events, tickets sell out practically  overnight. For those of you who've been living under a rock, it's a national, star-studded, four-day destination event showcasing the talents of the world's most  renowned winemakers, spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities. A complete line-up of events for the 2009 Festival is available here.

It takes place Feb. 19-22, and the coolest thing seems to be a tribute dinner honoring Emeril Lagasse, prepared by Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Eric Ripert, Charlie Trotter, Nobu Matsuhisa, Thomas Buckley, Gordon Maybury and Norman Van Aken. That sounds like some seriously good grub.
   
 

The spitting image

In Singapore, residents are caned for doing it. In his early days, Ozzy Osbourne would fill a bucket of it and drink it.

The topic is spit.

Game One of the World Series and spit is in the air. Literally. On Sunday night, game seven of the American League Championship, Matt Garza spit so much he looked like a ship’s maidenhead in heavy seas. To be fair, J.D. Drew had some impressive production as well.

The average healthy mouth produces about 600 milliliters of saliva each day, an estimated 25,000 quarts in a lifetime. Visualize: about a 20-ounce soda bottle’s worth in a day; more than a swimming pool’s worth in a lifetime. Most of the time, it enjoys a low profile, quietly solubilizing dry food, initiating starch digestion and generally lubricating.

Unique among American sportsmen, baseball players bring it front and center. Football and hockey players may just be stymied by mouth guards; soccer and basketball players could be parched from near-constant running. Baseball players’ cups runneth over.

Maureen Groer, the Gordon Keller professor at the USF’s College of Nursing, and Kristen Salomon, social psychology professor at USF, study spit. They are currently at work on a study of Hillsborough County police officers, analyzing saliva in stress tests. In Groer’s experience, there’s great variation in flow rate.

“Emotions can impact the flow. When people are stressed, they usually have a dry mouth. I don’t know much about the culture of baseball, but they can’t be making that much spit without chewing tobacco, sunflower seeds or gum.”

Mark Rose, a former Yankees pitching coach and owner of Mark Rose Sports Academy in Tampa, gives a little bit of history.

“Baseball came from farms and fields in small-town America. They were farmers, and smokeless tobacco was part of the fabric of their lives. I believe it was in 1992 that we were told in the minors that smokeless tobacco was prohibited on the field during games and that the umpires were to enforce that with a warning and then an ejection,” he remembers.  “It was coming down from Major League Baseball, the thought being that if we outlawed chew at the minor league level, eventually the players in the majors would not be chewing and thus present a more wholesome image to kids.”

“It worked. But because there’s a lot of standing in baseball and people were in the habit of doing something, they replaced smokeless tobacco with bubble gum and sunflower seeds. Players don’t think [spitting] is gross. It’s just habit, a way to calm yourself.”

But maybe it’s more than that. Like old Pavlov’s dogs, this salivation might be a conditional reflex, an anticipatory response triggered by the prospect of victory.

Because really, the Rays are just spitting distance from glory.

Tuesday potpourri

In September I favorably reviewed a vegetarian/vegan/raw restaurant in North Redington Beach. Alas, Leafy Greens had a dispute with the landlord and is out on its ear. According to owner Denise Becknell, she will find a new home at the site of the defunct Kitchen in downtown St. Petersburg, 409 Central Avenue. A destination for vegetarians will be a nice addition to the downtown dining scene.

Nicolas Paloma wrote me to tell me about her new project, Lakeview Grill, located at 1510 Lakeview Road in Clearwater; (727) 564-1517. The menu is a mix of Mexican and American dishes, from chile rellenos and enchiladas to pork chops and burgers. Looking forward to checking it out.

The Polished Palate and Island Way Grill are putting on a tequila tasting and dinner to benefit the Abilities Foundation on October 29. It's a three-course tequila dinner paired or infused with tequila and other Mexican spirits. Patrons will learn about the history, culture, and production of Tequila, sample a wide assortment of brands, and learn to taste and judge from an Academia Mexicana del Tequila ‘Tequilier Ambassadeur.’ Reservations cost $95 all-inclusive, and can be made online here or by calling Dori Bryant at (727) 947-3522.

Webster wins!

He does not have the blindingly white smile of Giada De Laurentiis, nor Paula Deen’s easy folksiness. Still, St. Petersburg Times copy editor Jim Webster may just have a future for himself in one of the Food Network’s studio kitchens.

He is, in fact, the Ultimate Grilling Challenge champion, an intergalactic honor bestowed upon him today by none other than Food Network darling, Mario Batali. The announcement, made this morning by Batali on Rachael Ray’s daytime talk show, should come as no surprise. It’s easy to see why Webster’s Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig stomped the likes of semifinalists Gabriel Campbell’s Memphis-style pulled pork sandwich and T.J. Palmrose’s grapewood grilled squab in a tomatillo-ancho marinade served with polenta. The former? Too down-home. The latter? Too froufrou. Webster’s PWPSP has all the allures to catch Mario’s eye. It’s elegantly simple (only 7 ingredients), gutsy (crisp pancetta encircling a pork tenderloin stuffed with homemade pork sausage flavored with orange zest and toasted fennel) and it’s molto Italiano. A culinary achievement somewhere between Isabella Rossellini and Al Pacino.

Most importantly, it’s a whole lot of pork.

“When I started planning my entry,” explains Webster, “It was about thinking about Batali’s sensibilities. I knew he was a huge fan of pork. I vaguely remember something Homer Simpson once said to Lisa, ‘Yeah, sure, like there’s some magical animal that gives us ham, bacon and pork chops.’”

This is the second time Webster has entered a cooking competition, the first the annual Build A Better Burger Contest sponsored by Sutter Home. He didn’t win that one, but he’s come a long way from his early culinary adventures in high school.

“I started cooking because I was the oldest and my mom worked. I did the normal stuff; my classic meal was chicken with barbecue sauce, Rice A Roni and canned spinach.”

His subsequent cooking epiphany sounds like that of many 21st century cooks.

“I hate to make it sound like a promo, but it really was the Food Network--the early days of Emeril, and Bobby Flay’s first show, Grillin’ and Chillin’, which they filmed at some park in Clearwater.”

Beyond bragging rights, Webster’s win has netted him autographed cookbooks, cookware and a bounty of kitchen gadgets. But that’s not what has Webster most excited. As part of his prize, Webster flies to Fort Worth, Texas, on October 31 to cook his winning recipe at a tailgate party with Batali and Ray at a NASCAR race.

“The prize to me is getting to cook with Batali. The trip to Fort Worth is all well and good, but cooking with somebody I admire is one of my big goals.”

Times editor wins Ultimate Grilling Challenge

Mario Batali has announced that Times copy editor Jim Webster has won the Ultimate Grilling Challenge.  Webster will be joining Rachael Ray and Batali for a trip to the ultimate tailgating party at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Webster's winning recipe? Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig.

NFL cookbook brunch

Mise en Place will host the first Taste of the NFL Cookbook brunch this Sunday, October 19, with proceeds benefiting America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay. The brunch will be hosted by player representative Scot Brantley, former University of Florida and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker, and restaurant proprietors Marty Blitz and Maryann Ferenc, and it will offer a sneak peek at the new cookbook (to which Mise en Place contributed). The brunch takes place at 11:30 a.m. and costs $50 per person. 442 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, (813) 254-5373.

Florida's signature food?

Chowhound regulars had a chat a couple weeks ago about Florida' signature dish. Check it out here. It may just be that I'm champing at the bit for Wednesday to arrive, but it seems to me stone crabs fit the bill. After all, in Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, persnickety world traveler James Bond had "the best meal he had ever eaten" at a restaurant in Miami where he ate stone crabs with melted butter served with toast and iced rose champagne. Surely Bond is a decent arbiter of such things.

If it's not stone crabs, what is our most iconic foodstuff?

(photo Doug Clifford) 

Zagat's wittiest surveyor award winners

The release of Zagat's New York City 2009 Restaurant Guide guide brings with it the results of their Wittiest Surveyor Contest. With 38,128 diners participating in the survey, they get some humdingers. Here's an array of the top contenders.

Wittiest: "For emergency BBQ fix only. Use sparingly. Side effects may include stomach upset, buyer's remorse and contemplation of a vegetarian lifestyle."
–John D., Hoboken NJ

Best Service Quote: "Just because vapid rhymes with rapid, it's not the same thing."
–Ron F., Upper East Side, NY

Best Food Description: "Oysters so fresh the pearls are still being formed."
–Marcia R., East Village, NY

Most Succinctly Descriptive: "Used to be great – now just a used-to-be."
–Alan M., West Village, NY

Best Atmosphere Quote: "If you need to see and be seen, buy a mirror and order takeout"
–Charlotte A., Upper East Side

Editors' Picks: "Maybe they're trying to be a contestant on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares."
–Dana C., Forest Hills, NY

"The patrons are predominately young and female – see if you can spot the brave Y chromosome in the room."
–Stephanie S., Upper East Side, NY

"Like eating in the cyclops' cave, only the service is worse."
–Nik C., Astoria, NY

News from the beaches

Bob Griffin, publisher of Best Restaurants Magazines gave me a number of tips about what's going with restaurants in Pinellas beach communities and beyond. Despite all the gloom and doom, it looks like there's a new crop of restaurants on the horizon.

Newcomers:

• Dakota's Grill & Bar (formerly Monterey Bistro), 7924 Ulmerton Rd., Largo, (727) 536-7380, casual American fare, opened three weeks ago
• Time Out Restaurant, 111 Boardwalk Place, John's Pass Village

• Rio Grande Mexican Grill , 520 Cleveland Ave., Clearwater, a 5,000-square-foot restaurant is almost complete (and I'm not yet sure if it's related to this chain, but I have a call in to their marketing people)
• The Red Room Cafe & Sports Grill, 999 Missouri Ave. N., Largo, (727) 586-5170, opened last week
• Latitudes, 13111 Gulf Blvd., Madeira Beach (coming soon)
• Don Alvino of Jack Willie's and Tarpon Turtle is working on two new restaurants in the condos across the street from Eddie's Bar and Grill in Dunedin

New owners:

• There's been an ownership change at Captain Jack's in Tarpon Springs. It is now owned by Mike Lowe, who also owns Catches and Pappas Riverside Restaurant, and evidently he's done a great deal to renovate the property.
• Keegan's Seafood Grill in Indian Rocks Beach was purchased August 12 by the Schowowski family (parents Jon and Jacque, sons John and Rob). John has worked in local favorites such as Frenchy's, Beach Bistro and King Fish.
• While the ownership at Marlin Darlin (2819 West Bay Drive, Belleair Bluffs, 727/584-1700) hasn't changed hands, it looks like it's added a new "Key West Grill" concept. Check out the menu here.

Burger meisters

The fourth Five Guys (now that's confusing) in Pinellas County opens to the public at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Oct. 8, at 111 Third St. N, St. Petersburg, (727) 895-8070, conveniently near my office.

But not so fast -- also tomorrow EVOS restaurants join with the Center for Disease Control’s “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week” to help educate people on antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. Huh, you say?

Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing health problems. Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers, threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat. For this reason, antibiotic resistance is among the CDC's top concerns.

Cut to the chase: on Wednesday, EVOS customers can enjoy a free EVOS Freerange Steakburger as the company’s way of saying thanks and helping to spread the word about this important initiative. The EVOS Steakburger -- just like all beef and chicken at EVOS -- is 100 percent antibiotic free. EVOS has four locations in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area: 2774 E. Fowler Ave., 609 S. Howard Ave., 157 Westshore Plaza and 2631 4th St. North.

(photo Dirk Shadd, Times)

Jonathan Richman coming to Skipper's tonight

See that little quote up in the righthand corner? The Jonathan Richman one? He's coming to Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa tonight. I love that guy. So, I'm departing from this whole food thing for a moment to sing JoJo's praises.

Ch-ch-changes

Mariposa Mexican Grille (17623 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Van Dyke Commons shopping plaza, Lutz, (813) 264-1212) is changing its name. Owned by Rand Packer, formerly chef at Roy's in Tampa, the restaurant hit a snag because a restaurant of the same name in Colorado started grousing. The new name is Mekenita Mexican Grille. Same menu, same vibe, just new name (a riff on Rand and wife Tiffani's daughter's name, up there in lights).

Jasmine Thai, which somehow consistently wins top Thai honors with Zagat despite an increasingly crowded local field of worthy Thai contenders, closed its Kennedy Blvd. location a few months back. The Dale Mabry location is going strong, and at the end of October a new S. Westshore location will open. Stay tuned.

In other Tampa news, a little bird told me Charlie's Wine Cellar, the wine bar next to Whaley's (which itself closed in August after 75 years in business), at 533 S. Howard Ave., will close its doors this Saturday.

Webster triumphs!

It was touch and go there for a bit. Mario Batali’s Ultimate Grilling Challenge encountered technical difficulty with its vote-counting mechanism before wrapping up the competition Sept. 29. Still, we remained optimistic about St. Petersburg Times copy editor Jim Webster advancing to the semifinals. We had tasted his entry, after all: Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig.

Homemade pork sausage flavored gently with orange zest and toasted fennel, stuffed in a pork tenderloin which is then wrapped tightly with pancetta and grilled. What could charm “Molto Mario” more than this Italian spin on turducken (a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken)?
And indeed, our own culinary titan has triumphed, his recipe and accompanying cooking video advancing to the semifinals, to be judged by Batali himself, with the winner announced on-air on an episode of Rachael Ray show later this month.

Beyond bragging rights, Webster’s quarterfinal win netted him two pairs of Crocs, two autographed cookbooks, a grilling stone and a lot of Uncle Ben’s rice. Now, for advancing to the next level with two fellow competitors (one with a pork butt recipe, the other with grilled squab), Webster wins cookware, an array of kitchenware, a panini grill and a year’s supply of Viva paper towels.

Stay tuned for the full recipe of what we hope is Webster’s winning dish. The grand prize winner receives a trip for two to Fort Worth, Texas, to cook at a tailgate party with Batali and Ray at a NASCAR race — not to mention the privilege of being grill master at every future party he’s ever invited to.

Find more contest information at www.mariobatali.com.

Friday potpourri

Last week Mike Von Burg was promoted to the chef of Armani's Restaurant atop the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay located at 2900 Bayport Drive in Tampa. Mike has been with the Hyatt since 1996 and was previously the assistant sous chef at Oystercatcher's Restaurant also located at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. He is currently at work on a new menu (but don’t worry, the antipasti bar isn’t going anywhere)—still Northern Italian, but not as fancy. The restaurant is also scheduled to undergo a renovation in January. The position of chef was left vacant by Valentin Castaneda’s departure on Sept. 26.

Now here's an interesting concept: Chef Tom Colicchio said he will turn a private party room in his highly rated Craft eatery in New York into a 32-seat restaurant-within-a-restaurant every other Tuesday, with guests served a prix-fixe meal prepared by Colicchio himself. Prices will range from $125 to $150 per guest, depending on the ingredients Colicchio chooses, according to the announcement. The meals will consist of “Tom’s personal, no-holds-barred cooking,” done in a display kitchen, according to a statement. Now that's going to be a tough reservation to nab.

And, um, my friend Dave Davisson at Re/creating Tampa brought this lovely tidbit to my attention. Ljubomir Erovic is author of the new The Testicle Cookbook - Cooking With Balls, in case you're looking for a recipe for testicle pizza or battered testicles (those two words together make one wince, eh?). And reader Bob Woerner just zapped me this link to his brother-in-law's commentary on the cookbook. Too good to pass up, but I'm immature that way.