back now with more of "today" on this thursday morning, february 25th, 2010. sun slowly rising over downtown vancouver as we say hello to everyone who made their way to the top of grouse mountain to start their morning with us. i'm meredith along with matt, ann, al and natalie. and just ahead, all the olympic action from what was a very eventful day 13 of competition, including a surprise medal for team usa in short track speed skating after the south korean team, which came in first, was disqualified. we're going to tell you what happened there. also ahead, there is a very big event tonight here in vancouver, hockey, women's

hockey, canada versus the u.s. for the gold medal. a lot of people are going to be watching that, and we're going to show you the story of a true hockey mom. it's jenny potter, a four-time olympian and mother of two on the u.s. team. she's going to tell us how she's managed the balancing act. and it is happy hour somewhere, and -- yeah! >> don't say anything. >> did i say anything? >> no, you didn't. >> i did not. >> no. >> anyway, it's happy hour somewhere. we're going to sample two very unusual drinks, and popular drinks, right here in vancouver. >> yum. but first, ann has a wrap-up of the latest olympic activity. >> i do. as we all know, it's day 14 of these olympic games, and on wednesday, there were some very familiar faces competing for team usa with mixed results. >> comes out wide. >> reporter: at the olympics, elation and frustration are separated by fractions. >> oh, she's got problems! look out! oh! she crashes! >> reporter: after crashing the

bobsled, it was americans erin pac and elana meyers who took an unexpected bronze. >> this is going to be a medal. >> we just tried to stay relaxed and have a lot of fun. erin's a great pilot and we had to stay calm and do what we had to do, and we did it. >> reporter: but while the u.s. celebrated at the sliding centre, at women's aerials, the american women faltered and failed to capture a medal. >> here comes another pass, right here on the inside, apolo anton ohno. >> reporter: on the same night, the most decorated american winter olympian of all time made it look easy. >> a veteran race by apolo anton ohno, so patient, so relaxed. >> i'm having fun and anything's possible. >> reporter: he advanced to the 500-meter short track finals on friday. >> the american team that was never in the race actually hanging to see if they are going to get a medal out of this. >> reporter: but the women in the 3000-meter relay it came down to the referees. >> there's the bump. >> reporter: americans took bronze after the south koreans were disqualified for hitting a member of the chinese team.

>> it's going to be quite a challenge today. >> reporter: and bad weather was to blame in whistler, where the american women skiers had a rough day on the giant slalom course. >> oh! >> reporter: after lindsey vonn fell, breaking her finger -- >> meanwhile, here comes julia mancuso. >> reporter: julia mancuso began her race. >> because they lowered the interval times between racers -- >> reporter: while vonn still lay against a protective net, mancuso's run was abruptly stopped for safety reasons. >> but lindsey vonn -- >> whoa, now they've stopped her. >> reporter: after starting again, mancuso finished the day in 18th. >> it's just absolutely extraordinary bad luck for julia mancuso. >> it was a lot of emotion, a little stress and energy put into that run. >> reporter: she wrote on her facebook page, "imagine running a 400-meter sprint and then missing your time and making you run it again after five minutes. not easy." >> i know she's disappointed. i mean, i feel terrible. i mean, it's -- obviously, the

course deteriorated a lot and i feel terrible, but you know, i crashed and, i mean, i don't want to crash myself, let alone to hurt my teammate's chances of getting a medal. >> reporter: still in the medal hunt in men's hockey, team usa beat switzerland. and in a hard-hitting game, canada defeated russia 7-3. tonight, all eyes will be on the grace of women's figure skating. wednesday, they took to the ice to rehearse their long programs. that's right, it's a huge night tonight with the women's figure skating finals to decide the medals. and also, the last two jumps of the men's freestyle skiing aerials and also team usa takes on canada in the women's ice hockey gold medal game. all right, now back to you guys. that's your wrap-up. >> just a little interest in that one. >> yeah. >> a big rivalry. >> either way, though, that's exciting. >> we have one more day here at grouse mountain. >> yes. >> but it's going to be very busy and hectic tomorrow, so we wanted to take a second here,

and we hope you don't mind this, to really say thank you to some of the people who have helped us put our show on over the last two weeks. it starts with everybody in the control room. you know, we basically turned a ski chalet into a control room and lugged all of this equipment from new york and all of our producers, senior producers and directors and technical people occupy that space and do such a great job every single morning. >> our technical staff. this is an amazing accomplishment, getting the show on the air every day, from audio to video to the running of lights. >> and when you think about it, they had to bring all this stuff up in that tram up this mountain. >> such a great job keeping us on top of what we have to do. >> we're really spread out here, too, because they had a lot of running to do. >> wardrobe, hair and makeup, making sure we look as good -- >> oh, great, there's me. it takes an hour, folks. >> and a village. i originally look likeliester holt before the day. >> and there's the design. >> creates the set. >> a bunch of great people. >> they're working out here in

the elements, we should mention, rain and snow. >> and they get here at 10:30 at night. they go to bed basically when they leave here in the morning. they are working extra hard to make us look good. >> look at the conditions they're working in. >> we love them, we thank them. they pull it off every time. >> there's mark, a lot of people on the scene, but also a lot of people back -- >> we took our cast photo. >> -- in new york. >> the only one we resent is the one who makes the fire every day. >> he does a good job, too. >> yeah, he does a good job, but you know -- >> you just mentioned, not only the whole staff here, but we have an entire staff back in new york supplementing us, supporting us, getting the job done there, and they have done a wonderful job. >> led by steve fode, who does t-shirt night and hawaiian night -- >> so they feel part of the olympics. >> thank you to everybody. it's been a great two weeks. >> there's steve right now. >> actually, steve drinks heavily every night. >> and you're going to be heading out. >> i'm heading out right now. i'm going to get home a little early and you guys have a great

show tomorrow. >> well, maybe not so early. >> snowstorm on the east coast. >> some great restaurants in toronto! >> but anyway, it's been great. >> i would kiss you good-bye, but that would be disgusting, so -- >> all right, all right. it's okay. it's okay. >> three times, four times -- >> it's okay. it's okay. >> you only hurt the ones you love. this is nice. bye, baby. bye. >> love you. >> take care. >> safe travels, baby. >> see you. have a good one. >> we'll throw it over to amy robach, who's standing by in new york with the rest of the news. >> amy's done a great job! >> thank you. thank you very much. safe travels, matt. it's snowing here. all right, today, animal experts and investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong after an experienced trainer at seaworld in orlando was tragically killed by a 6-ton whale in front of horrified bystanders. nbc's kerry sanders is in orlando with the latest on this story. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, amy. it's unclear what went wrong, and the animal experts say they may never really know why this

killer whale named tilikum attacked his trainer. tilikum, known as tilly, is the largest killer whale in captivity, more than 12,000 pounds. the orca wednesday killed 40-year-old trainer dawn brancheau. >> i'm very high-energy behaviors with the animals. >> reporter: that's dawn from an interview two years ago with the nbc station in orlando, described as highly experienced, dedicated, at the top of her profession. the head of animal training at all seaworld parks says the whale suddenly yanked dawn into the pool after a noontime show. >> she was rubbing his head, and what we know is that this animal grabbed her and then pulled her into the water, and unfortunately, she drowned. >> reporter: some visitors say the trainer mentioned tilly seemed agitated right before the attack. >> the end of the show, she said, oh, i'm sorry, but you know, they are wild animals, so they need to do what they feel like to do. >> reporter: tilly has an aggressive history with humans.

in 1991, the bull orca was blamed for the death of a 20-year-old trainer in british columbia, after the whale attraction there was closed, tilly was sold to seaworld and eventually wound up in orlando. steve huxter was one of tilly's trainers in british columbia. >> so, it was my understanding at the time that the orcas were not going to be display or performance animals. >> reporter: eight years later, another death. a 27-year-old tourist found dead in the tank with tilly. the whale was captured in the wilds off the coast of iceland. the u.s. no longer allows the importation of captured orcas. the grandson of famed oceanographer jacques cousteau says this now reopens the debate on whether it's correct to hold whales. >> in some cases, there is educational value, and in some cases, you know, facilities make a lot of money off these animals. >> reporter: seaworld has extensive video security systems, but it's unclear from the officials of whether they captured on those cameras this

attack or whether a tourist got it on their home video. that would be important to investigators who will try to determine whether this was something that could have been prevented or whether it was just the erratic behavior of a wild animal in captivity. amy? >> all right, kerry sanders in orlando, thank you. president obama wants to push stalled health care reform closer to the finish line with today's nationally televised summit meeting. he's hoping to make his case during a six-hour give-and-take session with three dozen key democrats and republicans. and matt might want to listen to this one. call your airline if you're flying today. hundreds of flights have been canceled as the northeast gets hit with as much as two feet of snow. it is another blow for residents from pennsylvania through new england who are just beginning to dig out from as much as two feet of snow that already fell over the past two days. it is ten minutes past the hour. back now to the aforementioned matt, meredith, ann and al. >> you've been busy, al.

geez. >> i got a heck of a souvenir. >> wow. >> she's so cute! >> beautiful souvenir. >> gorgeous. >> she's 5 months old. mommy and daddy back over there let me borrow her for a little bit. >> congratulations. >> a sleepy little girl. >> she's doing what we all wished we were doing right now. >> exactly. >> i know. >> aww, she's just like our director joe michaels. >> sleeping like a baby in the control room. >> she cries and she smells a little funny, too. let's take a look, show you what's going on. she is beautiful. right now we've got a big storm in the northeast. take a look. this is a videotape just in this morning from newark liberty international airport. snow's coming down pretty strong and it's going to continue throughout the morning. in fact, as you take a look on the radar, you'll see we've got this system now winding up, bringing snow along the coast, rain up into new england. as the low pressure system works up the coast, it's going to intensify, move inland, colder air will wrap in around it, bringing in more snow and the snowfall is going to be quite a bit. we're talking first a lot of rain out of this thing, anywhere from one to two inches of rain with flood watches from eastern

long island into maine with 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts later on tonight. then the cold air comes in, turns into snow. we're talking some areas picking up one to two feet of snow near binghamton, anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow in >> for the rest of the they expect off and on the snow showers and flurries. accumulating snows are over with. it becomes breezy late this af >> announcer: "today's olympic moment" is brought to you by coca-cola. al, thank you very much.

this morning on "today's olympic moment," going out on top. 37-year-old canadian speed skater clara hughes marched into vancouver as her nation's flag bearer, knowing these games would be her last. hughes has an olympic resume to end it. a former cyclist, she's the first canadian ever to win medals at both the summer and winter games. on wednesday, hughes capped off her career by skating in the grueling 5000-meter race, carried along by the cheers of the canadians in a packed arena. hughes gritted it out to the finish line, winning a bronze, the sixth medal of her career. >> oh, yeah! what a way to end it! >> reporter: tying canada's mark for most decorated olympian ever. she called it one of the best races of her life. >> that crowd was amazing today, and i'm officially retired as a speed skater now! >> reporter: what's next? hughes says she just wants to buy a kayak and go on some new

adventures with her husband. up next, the spirits of vancouver. we will sample the city's most popular drinks, right after this. ... all over my body... ...it just doesn't go away. it's so baffling. (announcer) does this sound like the pain you've been experiencing? this is fibromyalgia. chronic, widespread pain and tenderness that affects millions. sometimes i need a hug... ...but i know it's gonna hurt... (announcer) there is hope. understanding your pain... ...is the first step to treating it. talk to your doctor and visit fibrocenter.com for answers and support. ♪

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maxwell house gives you a full-flavored cup of coffee. so you can be good to the last drop. ( sneezing ) i didn't take zicam cold remedy... but i did. zicam reduces the duration of a cold. ( sneezing ) no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no... can you do it by 3:00 ? yes, i can. how about 2:00 ? hmm... ( sneezing ) ( moaning ) get over your cold faster. now try new throat-soothing liqui-loz and great-tasting zavors. welcome back to vancouver, home to two popular and unusual drinks, ice wine and caesars. we are trying them both with the help of tim ellison, a certified faculty member at vancouver's institute of culinary arts. tim, good morning to you.

>> good morning. >> when it comes to drinking here, we start immediately. >> fantastic. >> we will start with the caesar. i had never heard of it, neither had ann. >> until we got here. they look like a bloody mary, but they have what else? >> indeed. the secret is clamato juice. they were invented in 1969 as a cocktail to go with an italian-style restaurant. so, he drew his motivation from linguini, the tomato and clam dish, and the idea is that the flavors echo. >> fantastic. is this a virgin one or -- >> no, no, we have vodka going on. this is iceberg vodka from n newfoundland and the edge is celery salt. we have pepper, worcester, tabasco, we have asparagus, green beans, you can have prons. of course, the traditional celery skewer and lemon. >> in a glass. >> it's like a salad, right?

>> let's move on from that to ice wine. >> because this is interesting. >> this started in germany, right? >> indeed, indeed. they say it started in the 17th century, and the story there was a german viner went to market and came back and found out that his crop had frozen on the vine. so he pressed the grapes and made wine anyway, and it really didn't start being exported until the '60s. czech republic makes it, new zealand makes it and canada. >> perfect in the climate here, right? >> well, we get nine vintages per decade where the conditions are right, where it's so cold that the grapes will freeze like little marbles on the vine. >> the difference is you don't -- >> this -- >> this is very sweet. >> it's a dessert wine. >> indeed, indeed. so, it's sweet. there's almost a pound of sugar per quart in this. so very sweet. >> wow. >> so, we have like lemon roulad, the red grapes like pinot noir, the merlot, and even

surprisingly, blue bay cheese. >> the thing about this one is the flavor is so intense. because unlike regular wines, during processing you're not heating it. with processing, by squeezing the water out and then you've got the flavor left. >> the grapes are harvested at 17 degrees fahrenheit. so, they're like frozen little marbles, and when they squeeze them, the water actually forms as ice crcrystals. they remove that, so it removes the water and concentrates the juice. so you have a wonderful flavor of apricot -- >> it is delicious. >> honey and sweet -- >> i'm proposing a toast to the ice wine and to canada. >> yes, and to canada. >> thank you very much for having me. >> yay, thank you. up next, a member of team usa giving brand new meaning to hockey mom, right after this. sprinkle it. sweet! [ male announcer ] grilled. filled. chilled. sweet! [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. more ways than you ever imagined. [ male announcer ] flakes. shakes.

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>> announcer: "today's olympic moms" is brought to you by p&g, proud sponsor of moms. this morning on "today's olympic moms," a veteran member of team usa giving new meaning to the term hockey moms. here's our nbc west coast contributor maria menounos. >> reporter: the day starts early at jenny and rob potter's house in anoka, minnesota. >> do you want eggs, too? >> reporter: like any household with two kids full of energy, jenny and rob have their hands full. >> do you want to go skating today? >> reporter: you might say they're a typical minnesota family with one big difference. at age 31, jenny potter is playing in her fourth olympic games, the oldest member of team usa. she's already made history here in vancouver with two hat tricks

in her first two games. >> either you're getting better or getting worse and you can't stay the same. as much as you want to stay the same, things are changing around you. >> reporter: in many ways, jenny is just like any other mom, struggling to balance work and family. it just so happens jenny's job is training for the olympics. jenny met rob the summer before the nagano olympics in 1998. uncharacteristically, she made the first move. >> i actually asked him out. >> she sent us tickets to this banquet, and so, we showed up, and all the players were looking at me funny, and i sat next to her. >> reporter: rob coaches high school girls hockey and shoulders parenting responsibilities when jenny has to travel. daughter madison is 9 and already a champion swimmer. when it comes to hockey, rob and jenny don't want to push her. >> we bring her down to the park where it's just fun, and that's where i learned to love hockey. >> reporter: 3-year-old cullen seems to love it already.

jenny and the rest of the team share a tight bond forged by months of living and playing together. the younger members of the team do have different priorities. >> they call me up, like hey, do you want to go to a movie? and i'll be like, no, i can't do that. you know, i have to take mahdi to swimming or pick her up at school, so. >> reporter: but jenny's teammates love to have the kids around. with the training base located close to their home, cullen can even help mom out in the gym. sharing the olympic journey as a family has helped jenny impart some valuable lessons. >> you know, we're not making lots of money, and we're doing it for the love of the sport, and i think that's where you can see it on the ice, the passion and the heart. >> reporter: a love kindled on a pond just like this one, playing for fun until it's time to go home. >> whoa! >> reporter: for "today," maria menounos, nbc news, minneapolis. >> and we wish jenny and the rest of team usa good luck as they play canada for the gold

tonight. you know who else we're wishing a lot of luck right now. >> mr. lauer. >> mr. lauer. >> he's on his way home. >> that's right, but you know, he's on the gondola. >> there he is. he's being protected by jim bell, our executive producer. >> racing home, interestingly enough. >> you're not getting home! ♪ [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole.

and that's good because the competition's steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a coastal storm could bring strong winds and snow tonight. tony pann has a check of the forecast for us. >> we got crushed by the storm earlier today. the rest of the day and to the afternoon, expect off and on showers and flurries. mostly cloudy. he might get a peak of the sun. the winds will pick up a little bit this afternoon. tonight, the wins will really start to pick up. after midnight, we will see gusts over 40 miles per hour,

and the snow showers will come back into the forecast. temperatures will drop back into the 20s. there could be slipping and sliding on friday morning. during the day on friday, off and on that snow showers, and there could be a few inches of additional accumulation. things will improve over the next few days, but there is still a chance for snow flurries on saturday and sunday. we did get a little coating of snow in some spots. sandra shaw is up in towson with more on that. >> we are here on york road, very slight wintry mix fell overnight. it persisted until about 5:00. it was so light that you can see no accumulation whatsoever. this is the snow from the previous two storms. this continues to move up to the coast, up to doing lindh. two to 3 ft. of snow -- up the coast, opted to make good. two to three feet of snow is

very blustery conditions starting tonight. we will see if the but more light snow accumulation as we head into tomorrow morning. sandra shaw, wbal-tv 11 news. >> we will hav

♪ one of these women will be crowned olympic champion tonight as the figure skating competition wraps up here in vancouver. can they top the drama and emotion of tuesday night? you can watch it live tonight on nbc. we're walking around the fire pit now because the smoke is following us. >> following you! >> wherever we go. >> the smoke monster from "lost." >> oh, my gosh. >> listen, the three ladies here, al, we're all going to be at the figure skating finals tonight, all right? >> i'll wear a dress and come with you. >> come on, al!

>> canadian skater joannie rochette, whose mother died of a heart attack on sunday, two days before the competition, will be here tomorrow to talk about her emotional olympic experience. >> and she's performing again tonight. >> yes, and her short performance was brilliant and she skated for her mom. >> two days after her mother died of a heart attack. >> right. >> so it was really dramatic. also coming up, we're going to meet a chief -- we're still on the move because for some reason the smoke is following us. >> it's the wind. it's in that direction. >> we have to get out of the way. we also have a cool story coming up, because we've got a hida chief who caverns totem poles. have you seen those beautiful poles? >> yes. >> they're worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. well, this man is remarkable. his great-great grandfather is charles edin shaw, who is a fantastic artist. we'll be finding out the story behind the poles, coming up. >> wow. and we're going to head into the kitchen as well. giada and meredith got to check out one of the most famous restaurants here in vancouver. >> it was great. >> i hear it's amazing.

can't wait to try it. >> first, al, a check of the weather. big news today. >> we'll take a look, morristown, new jersey, live. and the snow is coming down and continues to. it's just going to get worse. this is just the beginning, folks. we've got a big storm system getting itself together. as we look at your forecast, looking ahead to the weekend, for tomorrow, more snow continues, or i should say saturday, we've got more snow continuing, just kind of wrapping it up in the northeast. rain in the pacific northwest. then sunday, sunday, we've got frigid conditions in the >> we should get a little coating of the snow in some areas. we will not off and on the snow showers and flurries for the rest of the morning. breezy they in

>> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you. >> thank you very much. up next, the time and talent it takes to carve those remarkable totem poles. but first, these messages. [ male announcer ] if we knew more about our food, would we eat better? [ rewinding ] at hellmann's, we search for the best sources to make our mayonnaise. we use eggs, vinegar and oil rich in omega 3. ♪ for the quality that could only be hellmann's.

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>> announcer: "today's northern exposure" is brought to you by bank of america. bank of opportunity. this morning on "today's northern exposure," the first nations. the native people of this area are basically a partner in these vancouver winter olympic games, and that is significant, because their collective voice was nearly silenced just a generation ago. >> in the beginning, we lived in supernatural times. >> reporter: the physical and spiritual worlds are not always separate. >> we come from the trees, we come from the ocean. we're water. we're a water people. >> reporter: sometimes they ebb and flow like the ocean's tide, linking people, animals and land in a natural trinity, native

symbols that have been featured prominently here in the vancouver winter games. what does it mean to you when you watched the opening ceremony those totems rising? >> very happy that it's happening for us here because we do have something to say, we do come from somewhere. >> reporter: jim hart comes from the eagle clan of the heida nation, one of almost 200 indigenous groups living in the canadian northwest. for more than three decades, he's worked as a totem pole carver. like a heart surgeon with a scalpel, he carefully etches away. >> little tricks that our ancestors developed in the art form. >> reporter: carrying on a 200-year-old tradition that had nearly disappeared by the 1950s, due to a canadian government ban on the potlatch, a traditional

ceremony featuring the totem pole. >> relics of a proud past, when lofty totem poles proclaimed the glory of the tribe. >> reporter: jim grew up in a small town on the northeastern tip of haida golai island. the work of his great-great grandfather, charles edin shaw, can be seen around the world. >> one of the things, he wished he could use his hands first. >> reporter: jim started carving in his 20s when a group of local artists began resurrecting traditional art. so, what is the meaning behind these totems? >> well, it's ancestral, right? you're bringing your ancestors forward, where you come from. it's who we are. it's who you are. >> reporter: carved from a single cedar tree, each totem pole can take two years to complete. they are read from the bottom up and tell stories about important people, events and myths. i can't believe you carved this.

this thing is huge and there's so much, you know, in here. there's like these little grooves in here. >> it's a record of that time that you had it made, created and raised. it's the way we think. >> reporter: today, s passing the craft down to his son, carl. >> this corner. >> reporter: teaching the next generation of haida. >> this is one we made. we made that one there. >> reporter: and the world the importance of remembering. >> what i tell people is i'm whittling my way to heaven. >> and the olympics are really about inclusion and leaving one's mark on history, and those are two very important believfs for the haida people, and we thank the haida nation for allowing us to do that story. coming up next, meredith gets a cooking lesson from one of canada's most popular restauranteu restauranteurs. that's after this.

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this is vancouver's most famous indian restaurant. it doesn't take reservations and it doesn't need to. >> there's a nice table right there by the wall. >> thanks for coming. there's a table right there in the middle. >> reporter: and surprisingly, no one seems to mind. for more than 15 years, vikram viji, originally from bombay, india, has run this cozy establishment in the south granville section of vancouver. vik, as he is universally known, is the dynamic personality in the front room, but the real heart of the restaurant is here in the kitchen. which is run by a staff of seven, and by chance, all of them women. giada and i thought, what better place to try our hand at being a restaurant chef than here, before the crowds arrive? >> hi. >> thank you for coming. >> oh, not at all. >> reporter: vik and his wife, neru, who runs the kitchen, greet us. >> i guess i should do that then. >> reporter: we're dressed for

the part and given our stations. >> hello. >> hello. >> reporter: and when you think about it, who is more qualified to stand with the best of the best than mwa? giada fits right in. >> i chop the onions as finely as possible. that's beautiful. >> oh, you're beautiful, it's beautiful. mine's not bad. as she teaches us how to prepare the vegetable curry dish on the menu. >> you can also decide here which vegetables you like more and which you like less. >> i don't like peppers that much. >> i don't really like egg plant. >> yeah. let me cube up the -- >> you cube away. >> i'm just going to cube -- >> need tomato. >> meredith does not want to share with me at all. >> i share, i share! >> reporter: it's our own olympic event, as we learn to chop, season, stir and saute. >> this is how you hold the wooden spoon when you're cooking. >> like this. >> yeah, come on. show us what you've got. oh, now it's looking beautiful! >> yum. >> colors! >> i can smell something. mine's darker.

mine is a man's curry. yours is like a sissy girl curry. >> reporter: but it soon becomes apparent that even with the best of coaching, i'm out of my league. >> yes? >> ooh, geez, i almost cut myself. ooh, whoa. the flames shot out. >> despite my lack of prowess, miru and her staff make me feel like a member of the team. >> very good. >> she's just saying you don't judge the book by its cover. >> that's not what she said. what'd she say? >> that's a nicer version of what she said. >> oh, okay. >> reporter: in true olympic spirit, it's the comradery that takes the gold. >> you can feed meredith yours and meredith can feed you hers. >> i'd love to. oh, you're going to love it. >> it's good. it's really spicy. i'm giving two as for effort. cheers. >> cheers. >> cheers! >> and vikram is with us this morning. good morning to you. >> namaste. >> namaste.

how did we do? >> well, you did a good job over there. i was a little surprised that the cutting techniques weren't quite there, but that's part of it. >> well, i know your restaurant does not take reservations. we mentioned that. but you do serve food at the bar, and this is an example of the hors d'oeuvres you have. walk us through this. >> you know, this is like a street food of india, a cracker made with salad. the reason of the no reservation policy was i wanted everybody to be equal, and i always said to people, if you have nothing to talk to each other about for an hour while you're waiting, what the hell are you going to talk to each other while you sit down and eat? so the idea is you come to the back, hang out, have a glass of wine and chill out. >> nobody's more special than anyone else. i like that. and it's all about the spices, right? >> the most favorite thing about the indian food is the spices. freshly roasted, so, tihe spice. and it's when you add it, how long you saute it. that's the beauty of cooking.

>> tell me about your lamb popsicles, because everybody talks about those. >> it's basically a rack of lamb, an ideal fusion style of cooking where it's marinated with mustard and sweet red wine, grilled and the sauce and potatoes are made beforehand and the cream sauce on top of it. >> roker, get over here. you want one? >> wow. you can feel the love. >> put the lamb right on there, baby, for my pal al? >> put the lamb right there. the idea of the popsicle was that you can just kind of pick up the bones and eat it. one of the beautiful things about indian food is that you should be using your hands to enjoy the food. >> we're good at that. vikram, thank you very much. lamb popsicles. the restaurant is called viji's. i'll be there this afternoon to help you cook. back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

he's nominated for an oscar for his role in "the messenger," and gene shalit says this is a movie that knows how to deliver. >> good morning and welcome to the "critic's corner," as the olympics ski, skate and speed to the finish line, the "critic's corner" skis into butternut in massachusetts with a film that deserves a medal. virtual virtually, all of the academy awards go to individuals, and yet, most movies are memorable not because of a single actor, but because of performances by their whole, whole-hearted cast and that's why the oscars should add an ensemble category for movies like "the messenger." an army captain, woody haralson, and a staff sergeant, ben foster, are assigned to knock on doors and recite mumble, mumble, been killed in iraq. one thus struck is made an instant widow. the excellent samantha morten.

>> we need to be clear. i need so say killed or died. what we don't say is the deceased or the body. weall each casualty by name. we honor them. >> reporter: haralson has been nominated for an academy award, and deservedly, yet all performances are honor-worthy as a group. >> this mission is not simply important. it is sacred. >> it's not set in iraq. it's set in america, in service to those who have served and the severed hearts of those who survive. the superb "the hurt locker" is hell in iraq. "the messenger" in america knocks on doors that open to a different hell. >> no! >> for elliptical friendship, for hesitant love and for dramatic force, "the messenger" delivers. and that's the "critic's corner" for "today." >> high praise. >> really, absolutely. >> it is snowing like crazy right now at newark, new jersey.

the storm is getting itself together. >> wow. >> there was almost no snow 20 minutes ago and now it's really coming down. >> very heavy. >> good luck, matt. >> that's right. meanwhile, coming up tonight, live in primetime, the conclusion of women's figure skating. it all starts at 8:00/7:00 central time here on nbc. >> going to be a big night. >> and tomorrow's our last day on grouse mountain, so we are hosting a big party. lots of athletes, lots of fun. come out, if you can. >> all right. first now, hoda and kathie lee. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> while in kindergarten, her teachers staged the opening ceremony. from that moment on, he dreamed of being an olympian. >> it's going to be a medal! >> we made it, you guys!

>> from vancouver, british columbia, canada, i want to say thank you very much. >> i'm heading out now. i'm going to go home and get a little early. >> i would kiss you good-bye, but that would be disgusting, so. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. coastal storms could bring heavy winds and a little bit of the snow tonight. meteorologist tony pann has a track of that. >> we had a bit of a coating in some areas, but for the rest of the day, off and on a snow showers and flurries. you might get a peak of the sun.

winds will put up a little bit in the afternoon did tonight and tomorrow, winds will gust over 40 miles per hour.

>> you can check the forecast any time he would like with the click of your mouse. log onto our website,

wbaltv.com, to access the interactive radar, where you can track the storm to your area. see you back here for 11 news at noon.