Spotted: Top Chef Tiffani Faison, Home on the Range

Guys and dolls...it's been a while.  But things have been banging.

Want to know where we've been?

Montana, y'all. AKA Man-tana. That's right New York ladies, the ratio of men to women in Big Sky country is something like 4:1 and the drinking age is seemingly as soon as you can ride a horse. (Which is like, 5 or something.)

That means a lot of eating, drinking and...fire-making.

And while we were not there to let any cowboys take us away, we did have the pleasure of attending the Montana Master Grillers weekend at The Resort at Paws Up (a luxe resort known for glamping) over Memorial Day Weekend, where Top Chefs Tiffani Faison and Ed Lee competed in a Bad Ass Burger Dash, created wine, beer and cider-paired dinners and engaged in highly imaginative karaoke acts. We respectfully chose not to post a video.

We think all that protein inspires greater range. Yeehaw!

Nicole Richie Craves In-N-Out Burger

Guess whose pregnancy cravings include juicy cheeseburgers from In-N-Out at 2am? None other than the still skinny, but pregnant, Nicole Richie, according to gossip site I'm Not Obsessed.
On a recent trip to San Diego, we fell in love with California's best burger (again). We also adore the not so secret names (i.e. Animal Style) that insiders have given to various versions of the iconic burger.

We think it would be genius for someone to open an In-N-Out in NYC! What do you think?

Hello Jello!

Image from Eat Me Daily

We love freaky food art, and Eat Me Daily reported earlier this week on the results of Brooklyn's bizarre and beautiful Jell-o mold competition.

Some of the best molds included realistic looking burgers, jewelry, and breasts (yes, you read that correctly).

Rachel Morrison's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was unusually realistic, and dare we say, appealing? Read more about the competition at: http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/06/photos-from-the-jell-o-mold-competition-events-food-art/

Meals on Wheels: La Cense Beef

It may still be awaiting the green-light from the Health Department, but soon enough, you'll be able to enjoy healthy street meat from NYC's latest food truck to make the rounds, La Cense Beef burger truck.

These burgers come from 100% natural, grass-fed Black Angus beef, free of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, and all that other junk in our meat that we don't like to think about.

Keep your eyes peeled in next week's amNY for my roundup of new food trucks for an update on La Cense's progress and menu. We do know that their burgers will be a moderately-priced $7 and come topped with caramelized onions....yum!

Metromix Article: An Inside Look at S2 Beer Garden

Ahhh, beer gardens.

LIC's newest beerhaus is going to give that other, er, German beer garden in Queens a run for their money with an $8 food menu and affordable pitchers--not to mention sangria on tap for the ladies.

Metromix had me profile the gigantic (read: 30,000 sq ft) space (above). Click on the image for the full article, or here at: http://newyork.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/essay_photo_gallery/inside-studio-square/1173183/photo/1173182

Kool Bloo

The Wicked Wolf