I was out of the country for a couple weeks and came home to a DVR chockful of television goodness. (This is why my TiVo is my best friend.) Over the past few days, I did a TV marathon to get all caught up for the new episodes this week. Video preview for tonight’s episode of Top Chef above. Look for the Project Runway rundown tomorrow.
In the “Dinner Party” episode of Top Chef, local cheftestant Ashley Merriman went home for making undercooked spot prawns and over-salty gnocchi. She seems to have landed on her feet, considering she’s moved to New York to work with Alex Guarnaschelli on his new restaurant. The dismissal kinda came as a surprise, as most folks thought that out of the two local chefs, Ashley would make it further than Robin Leventhal.
But no, Robin’s hanging in there, and the past few episodes have actually been quite Robin-centric. First, Robin had to work on a team with Douchebag Mike (and lived to tell the tale). Then on the “Pigs and Pinot” episode, she had to tussle with Bacon Shirt Eli, who still lives with his parents and was mad that Robin was going to clean up after him in the kitchen when she’s not his mama. Robin ended up in the the bottom three and Douchebag Mike–who earlier in the episode called her “Rotten Robin” to her face, ugh–said he hoped the judges would “make the right decision” and send “Grandma” home. But of course they didn’t. IT’S CALLED DRAMATIC TENSION, DOUCHEBAG MIKE. So they kicked off Ash instead.
Then it was the episode eagerly anticipated every Top Chef season: “Restaurant Wars.”
This was an extra-long episode that began with Laurine saying she’s glad to be one of the last chefs standing, but little does she know that she’ll be kicked off soon. Um, she should know that, right? I mean, the best chefs in the house are the Brothers, Beardo Kevin, and Jen, so unless one of the wild cards really brings it, the rest will just be kicked off one by one.
This episode marked the first-ever tag-team cooking quickfire challenge, in which each chef cooked ten minutes of a dish while the other three members of the team were blindfolded. Is this a thing? Not quite sure how a relay race is at all a measure of an individual chef’s talent, since it’s a collaborative effort, nor is it evidence of one’s ability to work on a team, considering there’s no communication about the dish between team members, and about half of each person’s time is spent trying to figure out what exactly the previous team members were going for. By the time both teams are done, somehow there’s a sauteed sablefish with mushrooms and radish salad over a shittake broth and a strip steak with whipped miso avocado puree and pickled vegetables. It’s magic!
For the Restaurant Wars elimination challenge, they keep the same teams, so Robin is on the Red Team with the Brothers and her best friend Bacon Shirt. Thankfully, the producers don’t make them create a restaurant from scratch, as on past seasons, but allow each team to take over a floor in a Mandalay Bay restaurant. So no one has to work on decor, but the team is still split into front of house and service, though the team members working front of house are still responsible for the design and execution of one dish. All meals are to feature sustainable seafood. The Blue Team decides to take the $10K from their quickfire challenge and let it ride (because Vegas), so if they win, they each get $10K.
The Brothers are sniping at each other when they’re designing the menu, which isn’t a good sign. As soon as they get in the kitchen, Michael starts bossing around everyone and even snaps at his brother and calls him a dick. Now it’s time for the restaurants to open, so Eli (kinda) puts on a (poor-fitting) suit and Douchebag Mike dons his finest Ed Hardy tee. No, Mike doesn’t even have time to put on a new Ed Hardy tee (he’ll have to wear the stinky one he’s already got on), because the Blue Team is running way behind! Oh noes!
The judges go to the Red Team’s restaurant first. They like Brother Michael’s chicken, but they consider Eli’s char to be “one-dimensional.” The Red Team’s kitchen is backed up too, and the Brothers are yelling at each other. Their cod is really good, but the beef is only okay and should be warmer. Michael and Robin yell at each other, because Michael starts plating Robin’s dessert. Her pear pithivier goes over well (Toby calls it “easily the best thing Robin has made”), as does the chocolate ganache.
Meanwhile, at the Blue Team’s restaurant, the char was under-salted and the asparagus was boring. The kitchen is still running way behind, so the judges have to wait for their food, and then Laurine doesn’t even give a spiel about the dishes. Jen’s trout was a disaster and the halibut and mussels consomme wasn’t really a consomme. The kitchen is also having issues with the lamb, so some cuts are going out too done and some too rare. The pork belly is of course good, because everyone loves pork belly. Toby complains about no dessert, even though doing dessert has sent past chefs home (see Stefan last year).
Of course, the Red Team wins Restaurant Wars. Tom Collechio calls it the best Restaurant Wars restaurant in six seasons, and Toby says he’d give them a three-star review. Michael wins the challenge, and Brother Bryan is mad that his “bad behavior is being rewarded.” Look forward to more in coming weeks of BROTHER FIGHT. Of course, with the Blue Team’s loss, Laurine goes home, because it was going to happen sooner or later.
Tonight they cook for Natalie Portman because she knows food? No, because she’s vegan. Get ready for a whole mess of garbage dishes.