Pictured left to right - Mike Fincham, Eli Kirshtein, Jim Laber, Jennifer Carroll, Kevin Gillespie, Bryan Voltaggio, Michael Isabella.
Despite the cold weather, five of the contestants in Top Chef 6 gathered in a parking lot in downtown ATL to engage in a little tailgate festivity before the Falcons v. Eagles game at the Georgia Dome. According to Eli, this mini-reunion had been planned since last June. Tailgates are all about food and friends. It's obvious that the Top Chef alum really enjoy each other's company, and Eli and company chose Community Q to provide a BBQ spread for the pre-game. Jim Laber and I showed up (without David Roberts who had cooked every last morsel of this delicious food but had to stay behind to run Community Q) with a full spread of pulled pork, brisket, chicken, ribs, cole slaw, mac-and-cheese, brunswick stew, and beans. Eli and his way-too-awesome parents provided the Pabst Blue Ribbon and some great stories. I'm very happy to say that everyone loved the BBQ and had a great time. It was a great day for Community Q. As far as Top Chef gossip goes, I was very jealous to learn that the Top Chef crew had done a culinary tour de force of Atlanta restaurants the night before, including Pricci, Eno (Eli), Pura Vida (Hector), and Woodfire Grill (Kevin), and Holeman & Finch. Past that, I've got no gossip for you. We hung out, drank PBR, and ate delicious BBQ. Good times and good people.
Color me jealous!
Posted by: Joey W | December 06, 2009 at 04:48 PM
do you work for community q?
Posted by: toothsom | December 06, 2009 at 05:15 PM
Dear Toothsom,
No, I don't work for Community Q in the traditional sense. I work for AT&T. However, I've cooked and competed alongside David Roberts and the (former) Sam and Dave's crew (specifically Dave Poe - my man) as a friend for years at catering events, BBQ competitions, and events. I like to think of myself as part of special teams. I get called in for the weird and exciting stuff, and I don't take a paycheck. I just really believe in the product that they all (David Roberts and David Poe) are delivering and want to spread the good word.
Posted by: BBQgeek | December 06, 2009 at 05:38 PM
Idunno about Jen - eating BBQ with a fork, what's up with that? (1st photo) Maybe it was for the beans. At least Eli gets street cred for having teltale BBQ sauce on his fingers. Looks like a great time!
Posted by: SalMonela | December 07, 2009 at 01:07 PM
Good for you Mike, and good for the folks to have a dedicated BBQ guy like you to tailgate with/for them...
Posted by: GadgetGeek | December 09, 2009 at 09:02 PM
very nice to be in the community, nice post.
Posted by: Brinkmann gas grill | December 20, 2009 at 12:43 PM