So We Think We Can Cook

When last we saw the chefs in Vegas--as last week, Bravo tried to stretch out this boring season as much as possible by throwing in a random Top Chef reunion trainwreck dinner special--Douchebag Mike was being told to pack his Ed Hardy knives. So now here we are with only six chefs remaining. The episode kicks off with a quickfire at the Venetian. That's a different kitchen! The phone rings and it is Padma calling from bed. Room service breakfast in bed challenge, bitches, with Nigella Lawson to boot.

Because of the size of the kitchen, the chefs have to stagger their cooking in pairs. Robin and Bacon Shirt are first. Eli's making a beef reuben with a fried egg and thousand island hollandaise. Breakfast much? Robin is rushing and almost doesn't get her food on the plate. But she's the first to serve the robe-clad judges, and she's got a goat cheese blintz with carmelized pineapple and blueberries. Next up are Michael and Kevin, and the kitchen is messy. Brother Michael cleans, and Beardo Kevin makes steak and eggs. Michael ends up with a Cuban-inspired breakfast with eggs, rice, and banana. Now Jennifer and Bryan are cooking. Jen's making cream chipped beef on toast, while Bryan has a soft-boiled egg with vanilla fondue, crab, asparagus, and corn polenta. As Tim Gunn would say, "That's a whole lotta look." Nigella doesn't like the vanilla. Bottom two are Bryan and Robin, and top two are Kevin and Eli. The winner is Eli. Old Bacon Shirt gets his second quickfire win. I am sooooo hungry for breakfast right now.

Elimination challenge: create a dish inspired by a casino for 175 people. Are we back to Overtly Vegas Mode again? So all the chefs draw knives to see who gets what casino. Robin gets the Bellagio. The chefs go to their respective casinos. Michael is going to cook a New York firefighter tribute (never forget). Jen goes to Medieval Times at Excalibur all by herself. Bryan goes to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and wants to cook sustainable fish. At the Bellagio Robin sees all the Chihuly and wants to make art food. Kevin's at the Mirage and pets a dolphin.  So he will obviously be cooking dolphin meat. Eli ends up at Circus Circus, which is pretty perfect considering Eli is nothing but class. But he's still struggling to come up with a themed dish.

This episode we're getting more info on each of the characters (yes, characters), so that we have someone to root for. Brother Bryan misses his wife and kid, blah blah blah. It's very deliberate and boring. Back to the food: Robin's going to make a panna cotta with "stained glass" sugar. Not something she's very experienced with making, which doesn't bode well, plus on Top Chef, dessert often equals elimination. (Stefan, I still feel for you and your ill-advised lollipop.)

They go to the World Market Center and have another hour to get everything done before guests arrive. Folks show up and the judges start eating. Nigella really doesn't like Jennifer's sword in the stone steak. Of course they love Kevin's salmon. BTW, he's going to win this season, right? They love Brother Michael's grownup buffalo wings. Robin has an aspect of her dish (the stained glass sugar) that didn't work and didn't get plated (as per usual), and the judges think her panna cotta has too much gelatin. Brother Bryan's soup goes over well. Eli's dish sounds like a hot circus mess: caramel apple peanut soup with popcorn and raspberry froth. The female judges don't like it at all, but the males are more friendly, except for when Toby says that Eli "has gambled and lost."

Judges table: the top three are Kevin and the Brothers. Brother Michael wins it. Eli, Jennifer, and Robin go in as the bottom three. Toby has a couple zingers for Jennifer's dish. The judges call out Robin for yet again attempting something she's never done before. They hate Eli's dish and call it a failure. But it sounds as if they have the harshest criticism for Robin, so it looks like she's the one to go. And so it is. Robin is gone, and Bacon Shirt lives another day. Here's her farewell:

Next week, sans Robin: Stakes is high! Everybody is making mistakes!