'Top Chef: Las Vegas': Deconstruct this!
Liz and Justine here, still trying to get over the elimination of our favorite (OK, maybe not favorite. But he was at least the most fashion forward) cheftestant Mattin. The jaunty scarf made a brief appearance in mourning at Liz’s apartment as an homage, but we have to move on. This week looked promising in the previews, with someone’s equipment exploding in the kitchen and everyone hating on Robin. She hasn’t proved herself to us yet, and she’s got to do a lot to win us over as fans.
It seems as if the remaining chefs miss him, too. Jaunty scarf time! They wear scarves in memory. How cute.
Lots of people are hating on Robin in the beginning -- people are upset that Robin's still there. Jerkface Mike thinks Mattin was more talented than "many people who are still here." Perhaps him?
Enough with the hating and onto the cooking.
(Photo of the judges from bravotv.com)
Quickfire
Michelle Bernstein is the guest judge – she’s the first female guest judge but we don’t hear too much about her before the Quickfire starts.
The cheftestants must battle with the angels and devils on their shoulders by making a two-component dish that represents each side, e.g. the battle between healthy and unhealthy food.
Most of the chefs have good ideas, though Ash falls short with his custard because only one sets (and doesn’t do so completely). Otherwise, most of the plates look pretty good. A few stand out:
-Robin plays the cancer card and makes her dishes a battle over sugar.
-Michael V. (formerly of Maryland) does modern vs. traditional.
-Princess and the Pea Padma finds bones in Ron's food.
-Bryan chooses both desserts -- white and dark. They look good, but it might be a stretch even for him, since historically desserts don’t do well with the judges.
But some people missed the mark, and they were the least favorites: Ash, Bryan (NOOO!) and Laurine.
The favorites were Michael, Eli and Robin (When Robin was announced, did you catch the awkward shifting and other cheftestants shooting her dirty looks?)
Our jaws drop along with everybody else when Robin wins. She gets immunity for the second time, so she can’t go home. It looks like we’ll have to put up with her nonstop chattiness and annoying voice for at least another week. Darn.
One brief spark of joy to lighten the mood: Eli rags on the cancer but only because he went there!
Elimination
We are treated to a special guest appearance from Vegas entertainment staples Penn and Teller! They do magic! They show us how they do the classic shady street guy trick where you guess which cup the ball is hidden underneath (think of the crab game during Orioles games).
The chefs’ challenge is to deconstruct a classic dish. They have to take apart each element and allow the diner to put it together on the plate. By the time they've taken the last bite, they've tasted the whole dish in what it's supposed to taste like. (Thanks, Michael V., for the explanation.)
We also find out that Toby is back as a judge. Ugh -- the neighbors must've heard our groans. Last season when he filled in for Gail, he was trying to be the Simon Cowell of Top Chef with contrived lines that weren’t insightful, or funny for that matter.
Off to Whole Foods! (Google tells us the closest store to Vegas is in the suburb of Henderson, but who's keeping track of that stuff?)
Bryan calls his brother a show-off because he's baking his own brioche. Ah, sibling rivalry. We don’t get sick of it at all. Keep it coming, Top Chef producers!
Beardface Kevin says his toughest competition is the Voltaggio brothers. You betcha.
Back in the kitchen Jen has a meltdown over deconstructed meat lasagna because she’s “classically trained” and too good for deconstructing. She “doesn’t do” deconstructed food. It’s a cooking show, honey. Man up and be a well-rounded chef.
Eli's personal pressure cooker (damaged on the plane during his voyage to Top Chef) explodes and douses him and Bryan. Pork in the face!
Robin is acting too cool and pretty annoying because she has immunity. ("Go make some drunken prawns, you jerk," Liz said.) She’s bouncing all over the kitchen, giving us a taste of her inner monologue by narrating what she’s doing and saying anything that comes to mind. Mild-mannered Laurine is ready to kill Robin. ("I didn't like Laurine. But I like Bitter Laurine," Liz says.)
This is the first time this season Tom gets his Tim Gunn moment and checks in with the chefs in the kitchen. Jen is running away from Tom because she "doesn't have time" to talk to him. But he finally tracks her down. Perhaps she's too good for deconstruction.
The chefs seem to be divided into two camps -- those who are comfortable with deconstruction and two who aren't. Eli and Beardface Kevin try to help Ron because they don't think he understands what deconstructed means. Is it too little too late? Can Ron make a voodoo thing to make his deconstructed paella taste better like he did to keep the snakes away during the camping challenge last week?
Did you catch during the commercial break that there are 43,000 restaurants in Vegas, including one from Tom?! Liz and Jusitne area already planning a trip (in their dreams, of course).
Fun fact: Bearded Kevin might be compensating with his beard because we get a glimpse of his bald head!
When it comes time to serve their dishes for the judges, JFM seems out of his league, but Michael's Caesar salad with dressing encapsulated in some kind of edible orb goes over well (don’t know about you, but seems like there’s less molecular gastronomy now than in seasons past).
Bryan feels weird serving tiny food to giant Penn (the one who talks, for those of you who, like us, can’t keep them straight). They like Bryan's rueben (except Penn & Teller didn't think it tasted much like a rueben).
Jen's worried she might be going home as she finishes rushing through her plating. Ash is worried because shepherd's pie is an English dish, and mean judge Toby is British. Ash's doesn't go over so well, but they really like Jen's, especially the burny, melted cheese taste on top of the "lasagna."
They like Eli's sweet and sour pork (which he pulled off despite the pressure cooker malfunction), and we get a little note from Padma that they're a little big for bull's testicles (Toby uses that as a criticism. Tom looks thrilled with the food.)
Ashley makes our first foam and only of the night (Liz squealed with delight) with part of her pot roast. Bonus points! Bearded Kevin made chicken with mole sauce and they love it. They both nail their dishes.
Robin serves by herself, and the judges heavily criticize. Using "congealed" to describe a dish is never a good sign. But she has immunity so no matter what she served, she wasn’t going home.
Judges' Table
The judges’ favorites were Ashley, Michael, Kevin and Jen. Tom said Michael's salad made him excited about food! Tom was surprised that Jen did so well because she was an absolute mess in the kitchen.
The winner is: Bearded Kevin! Can the beard do no wrong? He wins a set of Calphalon nonstick cookware! He even said Ta-Da in a squealy little voice! (But it appears there's nothing in the box that he carries away because he does so very easily. Also, he shakes it around and there's no clinking.)
On the bottom: Laurine, Ron and Ash
Ash confesses that he only shepherd's pie he's ever eaten are ones he's made himself, so he tried to put in the flavor profiles he thought the dish would contain. But he missed a critical part of the dish: potatoes. He did have a potato parsnip puree but it was kind of gluey so he didn’t serve it. According to unofficial Top Chef rules, if you make something and it doesn’t turn out, don’t serve it. But that rule doesn’t apply when you’re cooking a British dish for a British judge.
Laurine's fish was overcooked. It wasn't the type of food that she does. Her fish was so deconstructed that it was hard to put it together. And it’s fish and chips. She took it to literally mean “chip” but the judges were looking for a deconstructed French fry.
Ron didn't have a good time with the challenge from the beginning. He overcooked things. Padma said he didn't manipulate the dish enough. And he failed to make it taste good. Somehow he had dry but soggy rice. (Also, Toby called it pie-ell-ah. Obnoxious. Thankfully, guest judge Michelle Bernstein puts him in his place.)
And the elimination goes to: Ron! He never seemed of the same caliber as the other chefs.
Predictions
Who’s going home next: Justine and Liz agree that Robin is, or at least should be, the next to pack her knifes and go. She’s not strong enough to win two quickfires in a row, and without immunity to save her she’s an easy target. Also, from the preview for next week, it seems as if our two least favorites (JFM and Robin) have to work together! We hope they make each other self destruct.
Favorites: No surprises here – nothing shook our faith in the top four we’ve been predicting for weeks and weeks. The Voltaggio brothers, Bearded Kevin and (Liz’s reluctant pick) Jen. Eli did well this week, but only time will tell if it’s enough to leave an impression on the judges.
Do you hate Robin and JFM as much as we do? Have you ever tried deconstructing a meal for your family’s Sunday dinner? How the heck do you deconstruct paella?
Categories: Maryland reality contestants, Top Chef
Comments
Nice mix of thoughts, observations, your friends' reactions, and funnies. I followed you well: you read my head! Eager to read your blog following next week's episode.
Thanks, Alys. Justine and I seem to read each other's thoughts when we're watching the show. Glad to hear you're thinking the same way, too. --Liz
Posted by: Alys | September 24, 2009 2:17 AM
I am convinced Ron is not really a chef. He's got some other job (flight attendant? engineer? mall Santa?) and just happened upon this show by mistake. He never seemed to know what he was doing! And I keep seeing raw frog legs when he's on the screen after that French challenge, and I'm thankful that won't happen anymore.
I predict the next elimination will be Robin or Ash. He seems to screw up a lot.
Ron would be a funny mall Santa, wouldn't he? I just keep imagining his thick accent. --Liz
Posted by: Mary | September 24, 2009 8:47 AM
I also enjoyed when Michelle called out Toby for pronouncing "paella" wrong -- or rather, for assuming no one at the table had a Latin/Spanish background. He is a goober.
I miss Gail.
Is it just me or does Bryan get cuter every week?
OK, I'm going to stop commenting now.
Having Toby on the show makes us miss Gail, too. Wonder what she does when she's on Top Chef hiatus? And yes, Bryan does get cuter every week. --Liz
Posted by: Mary | September 24, 2009 9:04 AM
I hate to say it, but this episode was a snoozer. While I am sure some of these dishes were appetizing, they look a lot better in their original form. When I go to a restaurant, I want good food, not a broken-down reinterpretation of it.
The next few weeks cannot go fast enough for me. Let's get rid of Mike, Ashley, Laurine, Ash and Robin, then the real competition can take place. I think the Voltaggio brothers, Jen and Kevin are all as least as good or better than the winners from the last few seasons. The final episodes should be fun.
Posted by: jay | September 24, 2009 10:24 AM
Ash is completely this season's Dale (Gay Mohawked Dale not Short Angry Dale) - I am predicting he will make it to the final four (if not three) and have a tearful moment where he remembers what it is like to be a chef again - we came close in this episode but he held it together.
I love Beardface, I think he could win it, he reminds me of the Brawny Paper Towel guy and that guy is great.
My final four prediction is Beardface, Mike Voltaggio, Ashley and Ash - I think Bryan will crack under the pressure that is Padma. I don't want Jen to win, she is a kindler, gentler Tiffany and I'm still not in her camp. Ashley needs to stop talking about how poor she was growing up and then I will like her more (seriously, last episode you mention the outhouse, this episode you say you didn't get to eat beef, and I could swear there was a SPAM reference earlier, we get it, you were poor, Robin had cancer, Mike and Bryan are brothers - moving on).
And apparently it takes Toby's annoying quips to make me like Michelle Bernstein, who I have always viewed as the bitchiest of guest judges.
The highlight of this episode was Penn and Teller, and, of course, Tom.
I'm surprised that Ash is your dark horse candidate for the Final Four. I wonder if he would have been in the bottom this week if his potato parsnip puree had worked out.
Thanks for helping me pinpoint where I'd seen Kevin before -- on a roll of paper towels! He should be logging a forest instead of coooking.
As always, your comments are hilarious, FMK. Please keep commenting. I value your opinion. --Liz
Posted by: FoulMouthedKitten | September 24, 2009 11:04 AM
JFM and Robin are definitely on my list of people I cant stand. I never cared about Robin in the beginning, but the more she wins, the more annoyed I am. You can tell she doesnt quite deserve to be this far in the competition. I think editing creates a lot of drama between the cheftestants, but you cant deny the dirty looks they were giving her when she won immunity.
I have hated Jen from the beginning but somehow this week and last week I didnt hate her so much. I'm mad that she is winning me over.
Bitter Laurine was awesome! She finally showed some personality. I love when they get angry.
Favorites going forward: Team Volt, Eli, Kevin, Ashley. I can do without her constant opinions, but her cooking seems right on.
Who I think will make it forward: Team Volt, Kevin, Jen.
Top Chef makes my Wednesdays and then this blog makes my Thursdays! Thanks so much! Keep up the good commentaries!!
What did Jen do or not do this week that made you dislike her less? That she acted like she was too good to deconstruct a dish? She can't redeem herself to me. Justine tolerates her and thinks she was more human and less evil after this week. --Liz
Posted by: lore | September 24, 2009 1:28 PM
This is only the second season of Top Chef I've followed. I look forward to your play by play analysis each week.
You have a keen eye for details, i.e. Kevin's brief bald spot flash. I was waiting for you to mention some fancy camera work during the good versus evil quickfire. They had a shot of your beloved Bryan when they mentioned the "angel" and then one of his brother when they mentioned the "evil" part of the challenge. That made me chuckle.
I would put the brothers, Kevin and Jen in the final four. I think Kevin or Jen will pull an upset as the brothers sibling rivalry brings about their eventual downfall. Yeah.
I must have been to busy scribbling in my notepad during the angel/devil Voltaggio shots. I should be mentioning your eye for detail, Jenny -- well done! I think the Volts are too professional, even for Bravo's clever editing, to be each other's downfall. --Liz
Posted by: Jenny from NJ | September 24, 2009 3:11 PM
The Whole Foods they go to is not the one in Henderson, its the one on Las Vegas Bldv in the newish Town Center.
http://www.townsquarelasvegas.com/go/gmap.cfm
My bad, Brian. The Google let me down once again. Yet another reason for me to go back to Vegas --Liz
Posted by: Brian from NV | September 24, 2009 6:29 PM
I could see Ashley being a dark horse for the Final 4, but not Ash. He's a poor man's Hosea from last season, and I don't think he'll make it much longer.
Posted by: Chris in KS | September 25, 2009 8:29 AM
Great blog guys, I read it every week.
But no one has mentioned my favorite part of the show yet. JFM didn't know how to make Eggs Florentine. The guy has been annoyingly arrogant the entire show and now he doesn't even know how to make a fairly well known dish. If he's going to talk a big game he's going to have to back it up.
Thanks for reading the blog, Kirk. I don't eat eggs (I know, what a weirdo) so I don't know what's in eggs florentine either. Guess JFM didn't know what it was because it's not Greek food. --Liz
Posted by: Kirk from Cincinnati | September 25, 2009 8:55 AM
Does anybody else think Bearded Kevin is an Ewok in disguise? Just sayin'.
Posted by: crabhappy | September 27, 2009 11:41 AM
i like reading blogs of people who dislike jfm as much as i do. the guy is a poser
as for jen, i think in this last episode she didn't show an "i'm too good for this" attitude at all, but did show that she was out of her element. it's a testament to her being a good cook that she did produce something good...
... unlike laurine. who also made the "i'm not a deconstructionist" claim and went on to make soggy chips. whether or not it's your genre, a cook should be able to make crisp chips
If you don't like JFM, apester, you've come to the right place! Stay tuned...next episode when he has to work with Robin looks like a doozy. --Liz
Posted by: apester | September 29, 2009 6:43 AM
We just got back from a trip to Belgium. At our last meal there the chef sent out an amuse-gueule that was a deconstructed version of the classic Belgian eel in green sauce. We got a shot glass with some bites of smoked eel, topped with whipped cream. On the side was a tiny cup of the hot green sauce. It was delicious and witty.
That sounds like nothing I've ever tried before. Not sure I can handle eel in anything other than an amuse-size portion. Thanks for sharing that. --Liz
Posted by: Dahlink | September 29, 2009 6:45 AM
I personally dont like all the hating between chefs, I prefer seeing the cooking and the dishes put together. Michelle Bernstein had a local show on PBS, where she and other diners reviewed local restaurants. In that dress, she was a sexy little thing, and I love her smile. Hope she's back
Posted by: Steve | September 30, 2009 9:29 AM
Anyone know why there's no Top Chef on tonight but just a rerun??? Grrr, I so look forward to Wednesday nights, not sure what I'll do tonight now that no new Top Chef. :-(
Believe me, alexa. Justine and I are saddened by the lack of Top Chef. Looks like we'll have to be kept in suspense for another week about the JFM/Robin showdown! --Liz
Posted by: alexa | September 30, 2009 1:25 PM
Hello everyone, PLEASE, let's get Robin and JFM outta there!!! I feel badly about Robin's Cancer...it's horrible and I DO feel for her. She's a fighter and no one should have to go through something like that. While I commend her spirit, I also get more annoyed with her the longer she stays. Thus far, she's gotten through on sheer luck coupled with the seriously unacceptable mistakes by others (although Mattin was talented enough to stay longer than he did, his food actually made Tim Love PHYSICALLY SICK, you do the math) but enough is enough. Robin's in this competition and is supposed to win on merit, this is not a "honorary oscar party" for a sick chef who's never won anything before. JFM needs to be out on principal. He may be more talented than a couple of the less likely candidates, but he's DEFINITELY not on par with his Voltaggio Idols. He's nasty, chauvanistic, egotistical, and an all around negative person who sucks the life out of the show. It feels like we are sitting here dragging our feet waiting for the real competition to begin.
I don't see what problem anyone has with Jen. With her, what you see is what you get and I like that she's so gritty and down-to-earth. Not trying to be sexist, but wouldn't it be nice to have another woman (deserving to be there) in the running? I've worked in several "high end" restaurants, and have watched the inner-workings of the kitchens very closely. I think Kevin and the Voltaggios are in the running and I believe Jen will be too. She doesn't put on airs or take crap from anyone and when she's gotten upset it has been rightfully so. She gives credit where credit is due, and when she was "running away" from Tom, it was truly because she panicking b/c she was running out of time, had NO idea what she was going to do, and didn't want to let him know. (She's not stupid...regardless of anything, there IS a fair amount of pre-conceived notions that go on at the judges table, albeit unintentional...more-so than the quickfire). Not only does she have the right competitive attitude and instincts, she is talented and (as seen with the challenge when she had immunity and ran the kitchen professionally and cleanly) she delegates responsibility with natural ease and the combination of authority and respect that is necessary for a Head Chef. She's quick on her feet and despite her trepidation about doing something she's never been trained or asked to do before(that's what it was people, not ego), she pulled it out. Her comment about never having "done deconstruction" was not proclaiming she felt she was better than the challenge, but that she was scared because it would suck to be sent home for something she's never done before, when she's done so well thus far. As usual, she rose to the challenge and she came out near the top as she deserved to.
Jen is just a regular person in a stressful situation. I guess people who don't live near larger northeast cities like Philly, don't get the personality traits and take it for conceit. She's tough and no-nonsense, with a city-girl touch of sarchasm and dry wit. No one I know who watches the show has ever seen her act like she's too good for anything or anyone. We are totally pulling for her. After last season's HUGE disappointment with Josea winning by default, I can't imagine a better final four competition than Kevin, The Bros. V, and Jen. They are all deserving and I'd be happy if any of them won. Anyway, thank you for listening to my tirade, I appreciate the opportunity to comment on everything that's been brewing this season!. Great site, thanks for the entertaining opinions.
- Beth from Long Island, NY
Posted by: beth | October 7, 2009 1:05 PM
It drives me nuts that the brothers lack personality. They hardly smile and act as if they are in the military. And the back and forth look over shots (i.e., I don't want my brother to win) - lame. They cook well but I can't wait for them to be booted.
Posted by: Fraisefields | October 18, 2009 1:58 AM