Top Chef Las Vegas

[buffcoat]

I felt sorry for Marcel, too, Laurie. 

Why is this show so boring now?  Last season was boring, and this one is boringer.  And I'm sick of deconstruction (or decomposition, as someone on Hell's Kitchen said this week).

The best thing about this week's show was that everyone seemed to be really uncomfortable with both Penn and Teller. 

I hope Robin goes home next week.  Her constant manic babbling makes me feel crazy.  I felt huge sympathy for Laurine.

Switch to Hell's Kitchen, then we can talk about that.


Boy, Suzanne sure is mean!

[Andy]

I like the asshole. Is it Ian ?

[erika]

Mike, I think.

I like gnome-y Kevin and his adorable beard. My choice for winner so far.

I don't know why no one isn't telling that one chick (the one who made that nasty flan with a chunk of bacon shoved in it) to shut up in the kitchen. I would.

[jbissell]

Oh, thom. I hated that sommelier fellow until he got totally soused on the reunion show. Then I kind of loved him.

Plus he's responsible for one of my all-time favorite TV quotes "I'm always in the top 3 percentile with whatever I do"

[AndrewVDill]

I felt sorry for Marcel, too, Laurie. 

Why is this show so boring now?  Last season was boring, and this one is boringer.  And I'm sick of deconstruction (or decomposition, as someone on Hell's Kitchen said this week).

The best thing about this week's show was that everyone seemed to be really uncomfortable with both Penn and Teller. 

I hope Robin goes home next week.  Her constant manic babbling makes me feel crazy.  I felt huge sympathy for Laurine.

I think this season is so boring because it's been completely predictable.  No colossal disasters from a front-runner, no inspired dish from the back of the pack, and the challenges haven't been very interesting.  I think I can pretty confidently predict the next three people going home and what the final four will be.  Maybe once it gets to that point there'll be a little suspense.

[Sarah]

Yes, knowing with almost absolute certainly that the final four will be the bros, Kevin, and Jennifer does take away some of the excitement.  I know Carla came from behind quite late in the game last season, but I don't see anyone knocking any of those four out of the running.

And, b'coat, Suzanne is less mean than smarmy and sneaky. 

[Martin]

You know it's not a good episode when both Penn & Teller and Toby Young show up. They should all die in a mysterious food poisoning accident.

Good to see Ron go, although Ash should've gone too. He botched everything he did in this episode.

I was a bit worried that Jennifer would slump after those brilliant first couple of episodes - they've certainly made her more "fallable" recently - so I was pleased that she made the top four. Her lasagna looked tasty.

My problem with the show right now is this, if I can untangle my jumbled thoughts: I like that the cheftestants in this season are mostly decent (albeit sometimes boring) people who don't create a whole lot of drama, in-fighting, or automatic audience hate like Stefan and those cate. Which would be perfectly fine if the show was all about the food, but since it's a Bravo reality show there's this need to push/promote every little morsel of drama (and since they can't show what doesn't exist they have to "creatively" edit the dialogue instead), and since there's not a whole lot to push, it becomes boring.

So compared to last season, it's much weaker. Vegas is a horrible setting too. All those forced Vegas-themes challenges. Ugh.

"It's not Top Scallop!"

[Sarah]

But we all complained that last season was boring, too, Martin.

I wish they'd dump all the drama and just focus on how the contestants make their dishes.  It's very frustrating how little is shown.

Addendum:  Just came across this suggestion from Jamie on the Bravo site:  "TC should think about shooting on a cruise for Season 7. Seriously, the galleys are intense, the food is not ideal, and the constant movement makes for a very interesting kitchen experience, and then when the boat goes to port, the chefs can get out and compete in challenges that are local to wherever its docked."  This is a good idea.  Gimmicky, but it could also make for some interesting TV.

[jbissell]

I wish they'd dump all the drama and just focus on how the contestants make their dishes.  It's very frustrating how little is shown.

This is exactly why I really liked Masters.

[Martin]

I know, Sarah. We forget so easily. But at least that season had some colorful characters. If Bravo wants to play that angle, and it looks like they do, they must be kicking themselves for not having a Fabio or a Stefan this time around.

As for the cruise idea, I'm on board! (Sorry.)

[WhoWantsPie]

I don't know why it took me until this episode to realize that Ash is not a very good chef at all. I had always mentally grouped him in with the more skilled chefs, though reviewing the episodes in my head, I'm not at all sure why that was.

[Martin]

Hooray for Jennifer! Solid favorite for me now.

Curveball when it came to who was going home in this episode - the usual "talk about your family = go home" was a red herring!

Show's getting pretty boring though. Hated the quickfire challenge with its ridiculous slotmachine premise.

[ben]

I don't know why it took me until this episode to realize that Ash is not a very good chef at all. I had always mentally grouped him in with the more skilled chefs, though reviewing the episodes in my head, I'm not at all sure why that was.

I don't think he is a flat out disaster though like many were - more middling.  Him admitting he's not that good compared to Michael was a nice gesture, but a bit strange.

What about Laurine?  I can't really think of a moment from this season involving her.  Has she been so perfectly average that she has avoided most of the top and bottom call outs?  She seems fine and lovely, but rarely focused on.  Maybe she is just laid back. Or I have not been paying attention.

[senorcorazon]

What's up with Laurine? Besides the fact that she's my Blind Taste Test Pre-Season Pick based only on picture TO WIN? Oh, yes, nothing. And she'll go home in 3 episodes.

Kudos for Martin for pointing out the Dr. Red Herring Loser Edit for d-bag brother. Or, as Senora Corazon calls him "Owen Wilson" (obviously, that makes the other brother Luke. Try to prove her wrong.) 

For the record, the show is always this lame and cheesy at this point in the season. We just forget the times that it has slapped us in the mouth and only remember the flowers at the end of the season like FingerSwiss and Carla.... Diet Dr. Pepper challenge, anyone? Though I agree, we ain't seeing either of those two characters this season. Wilson Bros? PLEASE. Let us all praise Beardo Kevin and Drinky McJen.

Let's do this, people --  pick your finalists based ONLY off this picture:


Bowtie dbag (top row, three over)
Chest tattoo lady (third row, three over -- not the OTHER chest tattoo lady)
Martin Degrell's Long Lost Cousin (third row, one over)
Lady that I can't come up with a Nickname for (last row, first one)
The Technician (bottom row, middle)

**Wildcard: Guy that reminds me of Danny Trejo (bottom row, one over) -- I'm assuming he's going to be "really into" bacon and get dropped three weeks in. I also like Scarfy, but just because we could call him Scarfy.

--Final three
Bowtie dbag (top row, three over)
Lady that I can't come up with a Nickname for (last row, first one)
The Technician (bottom row, middle)

--WINNER
Lady that I can't come up with a Nickname for (last row, first one)

I apologize to Scarfy and Ash.

Cheers to Omar and Sarah for the final three pick of Beardo, Drinky McJen and Luke Wilson. It's like a dream Hollywood Squares combo.

[Sarah]

Were the rest of you convinced that Jen's illness was perhaps booze related?  Colicchio claims that she had a fever, but I bet that's just PR.  Looked like a hangover to me.

Overall, the episode was boring, which is par for this season's course.  Robin is a pain (I particularly liked it when she just barely managed to stop herself from arguing to Padma that curry is, too, Middle Eastern).  Mike I. is a turd (no matter how much of a pain Robin is, there was no excuse for his treatment of her during the Elimination).  Eli isn't half as good as he thinks he is.  Kevin is a good chef and likable to boot.  Jennifer and Michael V. are good chefs who take their work perhaps too seriously.  Bryan is Gary Cooper (his refusal to discuss his brother's dish in the stew room was exactly how GC would have played that scene).  Laurine is dark horse (though I don't she's going to make a run from behind).  Ashley gets inarticulate when challenged at Judges' Table--alas, nevermore.  About the only thing we did learn is that Ash is a hero worshipper.  And that was predictable.

One thing really bothered me, though:  There was no effort to insist on the incorporation of the "mood" element in the Quickfire.  Clearly, it was thrown in only to fill in the third slot on the machine.  From what we were shown, very few of the contestants even bothered to mention how their dishes exemplified the mood they were assigned, and the judges didn't seem to care.  Lazy. 

Still, wasn't it an odd coincidence that umami turned up three times paired with "stressed"?