Top Chef New York

[samir]

"Peace out, bitches!"

THE WORST.
People putting "...bitches!" at the end of sentences really annoys me. So her saying that on the way out just confirmed that she's on my lifelong enemy list.

[jbissell]

I agree, Sarah, this season has been one long disappointment.

You know it's been a down season when I found myself glad to see Gail back.

[erika]

Good grits are not that hard to make if you put enough cream and cheese in them.

I'm just sayin...


(GO CARLA!)

[franks.]

Every now and again I'll watch a little bit of Emeril's show and he's just shuffling around a kitchen mumbling to himself. He seems depressed. But in Top Chef, he seemed almost lively and had a good energy. So last night's Top Chef had that going for it. 

[Sarah]

I enjoyed it.  There was even a little suspense. 

Bringing back Jamie, Jeff, and Leah to fight for a fifth spot was bogus (I would have been furious if I'd been one of the final four who actually had to do all the work to get there), but I was nevertheless sort of glad that Jeff got another chance (I would have been equally pleased for Jamie).  That he ended up getting booted even struck me as a little unfair, since his dishes met with higher praise than either Fabio's or FGS's.  But it would have been more unfair if he'd won, not just because Carla did such a good job but because there's no way it would have been right for both Fabio and FGS to be dismissed.  That Fabio got the axe is not unreasonable--he's been consistently merely high average throughout--but if FGS had had to go because Jeff won, it would have been a travesty.

Miscellaneous observations:

*  How'd everyone like Leah's saying she was "bitter" about having been told to leave?  On what grounds, one wonders? 

*  Jeff's talking about the two Jeffs in his head reminded me of Carla's comment some weeks ago that he couldn't "quiet the creative monkeys," which I thought was lovely.

*  Fabio's hair?  Even Hosea had to comment on it.

*  FGS chunked up a bit during the break and looked much older and unhealthier.

*  I think Finland must have given FGS a little grant or something:  he sported both a T-shirt and a hat that said "Suomi."

*  Another noteworthy FGS T-shirt:  the one bearing the slogan "Nothing tips like a cow."

*  Carla is very diligent in her naming of brands. 

*  The amount of wasted plastic wrap is horrifying.  When they were ripping it off those moving shelf things they use to transport food, it hurt.

*  Why do so many people say "chipolte"? 

*  I never knew the roux for gumbo is supposed to be almost black.

*  I, too, was surprised by how glad I was to see Gail back.  May Toby Young never return.

*  Fabio and FGS's embrace when Fabio was kicked off was rather sweet.

*  I'm surprised but pleased that Carla won.  Her food seemed good, and her manner was pleasingly modest as well.  If FGS loses to her, I'll be fine with it.

*  Finally, though this season has been crappy, I'll still be sorry when the show ends next week.

[Denim Gremlin]

i don't know why everyone thinks this season sucked.

i loved it and i think that this is the first finale where i actually didn't know who to root for because i kinda like and want all of the remaining contestants to win (except hosea, what a goon). maybe i'm not enough of a food person or whatever but it doesn't seem like the contestants are any worse at cooking than any other chefs on previous seasons.

they were certainly as entertaining as any other contestants in my opinion.

so i ask, what makes it crappy?

[Sarah]

I thought there was much less focus on the food and the cooking process this season.  I also thought the contestants were less adventurous and their dishes more dull.  Finally, too many of the challenges, both quick fire and elimination, were gimmicky.

[franks.]

Yeah, same problem here.

I thought a lot of the quickfires didn't seem to really show off anyone's skill. An oatmeal-based dish? What is that? Then Toby Young bummed me out. My other problem was that I didn't have a clear sense of who to really root for because they all seemed to be dithering around or whining about FGS.

But as the cast his thinned and the challenges have become a little better, the last few episodes have been really good, I think. The eel quickfire was cool.

Carla has really surprised me and I'd like to see her win this thing.

[Sarah]

Yeah, the last three have been good.  Other than that, though, I only really liked the one at the farm.  Even restaurant wars wasn't as good as it usually is.

[Omar]

From Colicchio's blog:

"That night, however, Jeff was never in the running for a reason that didn't make it into the final edit. He did a very fine job, however he used some sort of sterno chafing dish to keep his oysters warm that, for whatever reason, imparted a taste of burning sterno to the oysters. We all smelled it and remarked on it while the chefs were setting up their stations, and then we tasted that horrible taste when we sampled his selections. So, unfortunately for Jeff, who otherwise was cooking very well, he could never have taken the top spot of the evening."

[samir]

I like the way Hosea always, always moans about how FGS is trying to psyche him out, and then in this newest episode, Hosea himself does exactly that to Fabio.

[franks.]

Yeah, I may not be the biggest fan of molecular gastronomy (SORRY, Grant Achatz, I'm not impressed), but my respect for Wylie Dufresne increased tenfold when I saw him give Toby the hairy eyeball.

Wylie has chemistry professor hair! That is lovable. He's like a chef version of J Mascis. Wylie makes a soup that tastes exactly like buttered microwave popcorn. It is awesome.

[Sarah]

That sounds like one of the more disgusting things in the world.

[Martin]

I'm a bit late, just watched the latest episode, and as always I have nothing to add to Sarah's rundown.

[Sarah]

Well, that's not right.