Restaurant Wars Becomes Reality
Top Chef Dale Talde opens his own version of the winning Top Chef restaurant, Bodega.
We didn't have to wait long to find out what Dale Talde was up to since he was eliminated from Top Chef All-Stars.
He's making one of his TC challenges a reality, as he opens a real-life version of the winning Season 8 Restaurant Wars pop-up eatery, Bodega.
Dale told website, The Feast, that this Saturday he'll be serving up a $100 per person, family style meal, at a special invite-only version of the restaurant in his Lower East Side neighborhood.
Dale's been hinting at taking up the mantle of Bodega since the episode aired, tweeting in January "Inspired by the bodega concept on last nights restaurant wars I'm [sic] have a pop up dinner late February, details soon."
And now post-elimination the reality-show concept becomes reality. But don't rush to arrive just yet. The pop-up will be an intimate affair for just 36 lucky foodies.
"I''ve had to turn away so many people," Dale said.
But what about us, Dale? And will your teammates Carla Hall, Richard Blais, Fabio Vivani and Tre Wilcox be invited? Did they get the shaft as well?
Besides the question of which cheftestants will get to enjoy the good eats, there's also the question of what exactly is on the menu. Dale's mostly staying mum, but says there will more of the corner deli-inspired food that won the judges over. "I have a tuna melt on saltines with torched lardo, deviled eggs." He's also mentioned a few other possibilities on his Twitter including pretzel-roll sandwiches (hopefully sans Jimmy Fallon-coined "Salt Monster") and his pho-ndue Quickfire dish.
Dale's also hoping that this isn't just a single pop from Bodega.
"We're looking for investors," Dale mentioned (hint, hint, people). "Bodega, the concept, is all about having the old Dominican guy who's been in the neighborhood for 25 years walk in, not knowing it's my joint, and order a bacon-egg-and-cheese and get one that's made with house-cured bacon and a farm egg. In the front, there'd be take-out, and in the back sit-down, with great local brew and plated dishes."
Sounds pretty good to us. If you want to get a preview of what might be on the menu, check out photos of the winning Restaurant Wars challenge dishes.
