"derby girls" news and stories

The Oakland Outlaws. Photo: The Bay Area Derby Girls

If Brian Boitano's Food Network debut had us a little worried, the mere description of episode two gave us hope: "While hosting a dinner party of an all-girl roller derby team, Brian creates simple yet delicious recipes using bacon." Roller derby and bacon? It's like poetry to our ears.

Sure, the utterly canned social-event premise is still there, and Brian's repertoire is still limited to fussy little canapés and fad martinis (in this case, the dreaded bacontini). But not only did the food this week actually make our mouth water, the host managed to work in a costume change from his former career: a plunging v-necked, rhinestone-covered figure skating unitard. Shame? Brian doesn't know the meaning of the word.

In an episode devoted to pig fat, our host hammed it up, of course, but with nowhere near as many cutaways to him dancing, cackling and performing in animated skits. (If this is the last time he uses a couple of parsley sprigs as false eyelashes, however, that'd be fine by us.)