Faithful Top Chef viewers (or dedicated Padma Lakshmi oglers) may remember CJ (Chris Jacobson) as the absurdly tall, absurdly handsome Season 3 chef who -- spoiler! -- was doing really well in the competition until a particularly disastrous "broccolini" dish sent him packing. Of course, his departure was sealed with a kiss by guest judge Anthony Bourdain, who went through the trouble of gently letting CJ know that his dish "wasn't fit to serve in prison."
But still, we know in our heart of hearts that our big tall kitchen-man is an all-star chef when broccoli isn't involved -- and CJ, who was also a pro volleyball player, definitely knows healthy food.
Apparently, the Hilton Garden Inn chain agrees with us because they commissioned him to design some items for their brand new Big Day Breakfast Menu. Ahem, sorry: "BIG DAY Breakfast" Menu.
Check out highlights from the new menu after the jump. Hint: there does not appear to be any broccoli, but there IS brisket.
Radisson Hotels have announced a new promotion for the end of the summer that will please you hotel breakfast fiends.
The chain is giving guests free breakfast--not just cereal and juice--along with free internet, a free weekday morning paper and 2,000 bonus Gold Points. A bit about the new Radisson b-fast:
Our breakfast menu now includes new entrees developed by some of the best chefs across the country. Tasteful Choices by Radisson features amazing cuisine with choices that range from healthy to indulgent.
Breakfast is available in the hotel restaurant or from room service. It's still no lavish spread--the deal only covers breakfast for two up to $20 but the bonus Gold Points are sorta sweet.
The deal is good through September 15th. Go here for all the details.
Last week, HotelChatter entered Tribeca Grand Hotel hoping for some of their famous brunch goodness, only to be told by an employee at the restaurant that the brunch was repealed due to the recession. While disappointing, the excuse was not unbelievable given today's crappy economy.
Yet a rep for the hotel wanted to let us know that the brunch at Tribeca Grand actually goes on hiatus every summer and it has nothing to do with the recession or food shortages. The official flack statement is after the jump.
An interlude at the Tribeca Grand Hotel this past holiday weekend led to more than our usual share of disappointment: they have stopped serving their famous buffet brunch!
What was once a shining example of the grand tradition of hotel buffets, the weekend brunch from 10am to 3pm held in the atrium's Church Lounge was basically a $30 jumbo shrimp-for-all. So you can understand how our heart sank when we descended for such an experience at the ripe hour of noon and were instead greeted only with a menu stating that "breakfast" ended at 11am.
For a slightly different New Year's Eve celebration, we want to recommend heading to Russian capital Moscow for a chilly but spectacular way to bring in 2008. There's probably no better way than to experience the very first New Year at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow, a decadent hotel that only opened during 2007. Even without the luxury inside, it's a hotel with the perfect location, and a view over the heart of Moscow (pictured).
This hotel seems to exist to remind the world that Moscow is actually full of millionaires. That means it might be a bit pricey for your New Year celebrations, but fortunately that's only a once-a-year event, right?
The Ritz-Carlton Moscow isn't advertising any special New Year packages, but still has room availability for December 31. Rates start at 14,500 Roubles (US$580) and rise quickly to 126500 Roubles (over $5,000) for a Carlton Suite with Club level access. You'll usually have to pay extra for breakfast but imagine waking up to this as your first meal of 2008:
The Tsar's Breakfast includes a Kobe beef steak with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and truffle omelet, foie gras "Au Torchon" with caramelized apple and pain brioche, Beluga caviar with blinis, sour cream and quail eggs and Italian prosciutto and cheeses -- all washed down with fresh juices and a bottle of Crystal champagne.
The only problem is that with a start like that, the rest of 08 would probably seem like a downward slide.
HotelChatter likes a good challenge. Here's the latest - find a good hotel in Oporto ('Porto' in Portuguese).
It's a fantastically lively, beautiful, cheap, cheerful city in the north of Portugal, but it's one of the poorest in Europe and the residents are only just waking up to modern tourism.
Most of the hotels there - residenciais or pensões - are the kind of cheap hostel-style crumbling old houses that went out of fashion when TVs were still black and white, with splintered wooden floors covered in what looks and feels like ripped 70s wallpaper, and bits of carpet stuffed into the holes in the wall.
But don't despair, there's a real gem of a hotel to be found in this city: the 4-star Pestana Porto Hotel. It's in an old, converted building, part of a cluster of 16th-century houses that make up a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Courtyard by Marriott hotel brand has been running a free breakfast promotion all summer long but that will soon dry up after Labor Day. So if you're looking for a hotel over the long weekend in either the U.S. or Canada, consider a Courtyard which, along with free WiFi, is offering free breakfasts on both Saturdays and Sundays.
The breakfast selection includes healthy, as well as indulgent, menu choices to suit a variety of family tastes.
Summer sizzles with the "Eggs are It" buffet, which features cooked-to-order eggs and omelets, potatoes, bacon and sausage with Belgian waffles and oatmeal. Create-your-own-omelet stations offer a range of options, and various à la carte items are available at some participating locations, including French toast and breakfast burritos.
Extra surprises such as chocolate-chip pancakes, flavored milk and other sweet goodies can be found at select hotels. The Continental Buffet plays it cool with cut fruits and yogurt, an assortment of breads, pastries and cereals.
Wow. Props to the Courtyard PR man for spicing up that breakfast description. More about the promotion can be found here. Remember, the offer is good only for Friday and Saturday night stays through September 2, 2007. Use promotional code YB3 when booking.
Since we learned that sometimes booking a breakfast-inclusive package can be cheaper, we've paid a lot more attention to the morning meals on offer around the hotel world. So when Flickr photographer MildlyDiverting posted this pic of breakfast at the Malmaison Oxford Hotel we were a bit more than mildly diverted.
This attractive-looking basket is home to the breakfast-in-bed option at the Malmaison and it rather looks like something we'd like to souvenir, if we had a suitcase big enough. But since the Malmaison is housed in a former prison building, we're not actually recommending this course of action. To get this great breakfast there's a deal going there at the moment:
From £255 per night you can enjoy one of our glorious suites or super suites, champagne on ice, chocolate dipped strawberries, aromatic oils and candles, a chilled Mal CD and that all important champagne breakfast in your room.
Looks like our Flickr tipster got through the champagne before they took the picture!
Where: United States
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by Jenna
