Bravo

Speaking of televised cooking competitions and the locals who participate in them, a lengthy Q&A with Shinsei's Casey Thompson was just posted on Slashfood. She talks up Dean Fearing and Asian Restaurant News and admits that, well, she's supposed to be blogging for Bravo's Web site about the current season of Top Chef, only, well, she's been a little too busy. (She admitted as much in her most recent entry from April 14, among only three she's written thus far.)

Besides, she's not really a fan of a few of the cheftestants currently slicing and dicing their way through the show that made her famous: "I was a little disgusted by their behavior," she says. "There are some really strong chefs, but I also think there is a lot of riff-raff that they need to get through. ... They may have worked for some restaurant in New York City, but it may not have even been good. For some, I can't believe what they came up with, and I can't believe they haven't been eliminated yet." For the record, Richard's her current fave. --Robert Wilonsky