Yes Way!

An open letter from UTB to our favorite restaurateur:

Jose Garces, we salute you.

From your bevy of eateries (Amada and Chifa and Tinto, oh my!) to your nearly-seizure-inducing-in-an-awesome-way color choices in décor, you never disappoint. And once again, you’ve managed to put Philly on the map with your culinary technique (by association) (hopefully).

Joey, when we heard you were in the running for the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef” competition, we were thrilled. When we heard you were throwing a viewing party of the finale at Distrito, we were way jealous of the cool people who were invited. And when you kicked ass in the showdown last night (secret ingredient: short ribs) and were named the next Iron Chef, well, Jose, you take our collective breath away.

I mean, Morimoto is cool and all, and he may have been the O.G. Iron Chef on the far superior Japanese version, but you are Philly food. All we hope is that you won’t leave us too often for the bright lights of Kitchen Stadium, and that when you inevitably win your first battle as Iron Chef in on January 17, you’ll remember to thank the Philly foodies. And as your nationwide fame blossoms and you spawn your own reality show, America’s Next Top Latin-Asian Fusion Cuisine Chef: Mid-Atlantic, we hope, dear JG, that you’ll throw another party at Distrito and invite us.

Love and guac,

UTB