Iron Chef America - Masaharu Morimoto vs Mario Batali - (spoiler)Battle Spiny Lobster(end spoiler): Batali is a Seattle native, so he's the one I'm rooting for. So far I'm 0-1.
Morimoto spilled rocks all over the kitchen... interesting. And is it considered an interruption when Kevin jumps into the kitchen itself to discuss stuff with Batali? Just a thought, we've had two live ingredients in a row. Yuck. If I were Batali, I'd tell Kevin to go annoy Morimoto. Of course, right after I wrote that, they started talking about Morimoto being frustrated and holding more knives. Is it just me or is Kevin blind? He keeps missing obvious things.
It's slightly amusing to watch the Chairman walking around in the background. Unlike Kaga, this guy just can't settle down. Speaking of background, I miss the gallery. It was nice to have a small audience that sometimes claps, cheers, or sits quietly adding presence. Hubby-Eric found the name of the actor playing the Chairman, it's Mark Dacascos, and he's a martial arts champion.
Are Batali's assistants wearing shorts, too? Alton really needs someone else to play against. He's hyper, but he needs someone else up there to ask questions. Batali's assistant Anne is wearing a skirt. I can't see what his other assistant, Mark, is wearing, but I don't think it's shorts. I guess Batali doesn't force his dress code on his kitchen. I want some of those dumpling things from Batali's side.
Hubby-Eric pointed out that I put spoilers around the secret ingredient from the last battle, but not around the result. I guess I enjoy the unveiling of the ingredient more than anything else in the show, so that was the bit I hid. Today I'll put the actual result in spoilers.
I miss Fukui saying "The Rice Battle Is OV-AH!" or whatever battle it is. Morimoto goes first this time. I liked the flashbacks to the making of the food during the serving. This time the Chairman was definitely eating along with the judges. Only someone from Seattle would make a sea urchin cappuccino. The reaction to Batali's dishes seems positive. I want to try one of those doughnut thingys.
So, whose cuisine reigns supreme? (spoiler)Mario Batali! Wow! I'm 1-1 now!(end spoiler) This was a fun battle. 
Two more new Iron Chef shows will air tonight, and I'll blog 'em if I have the energy. At the moment, this cold is driving me nuts. Now, on to something more up my alley:
Planet of the Capes by Larry Young and Brandon McKinney: He got me on the first page. I'm such a sucker for alternate history stories, and the alternate story of how Benjamin Franklin supported the raven as the national bird instead of the turkey or the eagle was very cool. I'm not entirely sure about the ending, but the flashback was neat and silver-agey. It would have been nice to see more of Justice Hall's reactions to how different this other world was from his own.
And lastly, another book pulled out at random from the AIT/Planet Lar box.
The Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto by Brian Wood and Rob G: Um. Ok. Let's see, what's the nice way to put this? This is a car chase/shoot 'em up comic. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of comic book I like at all. At one point, one character says "Why aren't you dead yet?" and I had to agree, with all the bullets flying around, why not? This was a swear-fest, too. It definitely didn't work for me. 
