Chef Chris Cosentino brought great dishes to the table, but in the end Iron Chef Mario Batali's cuisine reigned supreme. I was a little surprised, however, that Batali had no offal dishes (unless you count caul fat) knowing he was going up against Cosentino. Batali focused his dishes on a trip to Majorca, Spain...do the the Spaniards use offal? I'll have to research that.
Back to the show. I was trying to catch the dishes as fast as I could, but I know I missed some. If anyone caught the whole menu, please post it or send it to me. Though I am hoping Chef Chris might might post his dishes on his blog, Offal Good.
Just found...Whoa! Paolo posted a blow-by-blow of the show at MenuPages Blog. Awesome. But I'll post an abbreviated rundown.
Cosentino
1. Cheese crostini of ricotta w/ garlic bread
2. Sea scallop crudo with pickled and raw garlic
3. Garlic pasta with [thinly sliced] snails
4. Garlic roasted squab holding a clove in its talon (including the head cut lengthwise to expose the brain)
5. Eighty garlic clove braised pork belly & tripe
6. Garlic infused honey mousse and pine nut brittle
Batali
1. Tapas: garlic bruschetta with lomo, garlic-potato tortilla, brandade stuff piquillo pepper
2. Gambas (langostine) al ajillo
3. Cod with green garlic emulsion
4. Cold gazpacho soup (garlic, almonds, melon) &; sopa de ajo with the quail egg ricotta ravioli
5. Lamb chop with escalivada (squash blossoms)
The score:
Taste: 25-24
Plating: 13-7
Originality: 8-13
Total: 46-44
C'mon! An "8" and he used the squab talons, livers and brains. Chris was robbed.
Anyhow, I think the best part of the show was when Mario was dribbling some sauce over the cod and Alton Brown said, "Look, Mario is saucing his codpiece." I've watched enough Alton to know that joke wasn't a freudian slip. Good one, Alton.
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