Darren72 wrote:Kenny, if they sent Jen home now, they couldn't do any more bikini shots of her.

In Tom's blog, he said they liked one of her two dishes and didn't like the other. I don't remember that from the show. But in any case, he concluded there was one strike against her, rather than two for Laurine. But Tom also complained about her lack of management of the kitchen, which did not seem to earn her a strike by his calculation. Agreed, the result seemed contrived. But I'm much more excited to see what Jennifer cooks than Laurine. So I am happy to play along here.

I usually feel that in the second half of the season, they will let someone skate through once based on past performance. Maybe I'm hallucinating, or it was Bravo's Project Runway, but I seem to recall someone making a comment about a very promising contestant being booted early on, to the effect that it was a shame it was too early to be giving anyone a pass based on their record. Be that as it may, I am pretty sure they do it in practice and then rationalize the result. It's hard to be sure when you haven't tasted the food, and it's not like it's really mathematical anyway.

Why was Kevin angry? at his own performance, or because he felt his cooking of the lamb got Laurine sent home unfairly?

They really had to stretch to make Laurine the worst of three screwups the other night, and I have to agree that as much as a little grading for past performance is inevitable, this year they've been ticking them off as predictably as a World War II impossible mission movie, removing the obvious next person to go almost every week (except that Robin never hits the bottom of the list). Remember last season, when Jeff and then Jamie got it, there was both shock and recognition that justice, however rough, was being served, even if it surprisingly left the likes of Carla and Hosea standing. There will be no surprises like that this time, I think, or last night would have been one, sending Jen or even Kevin home.

It's too bad because in every other way this was one of the best episodes I've seen, comparable to the best of the Masters episodes in terms of seeing how professionalism works or, sometimes, doesn't despite itself.

Mike G wrote:There will be no surprises like that this time, I think, or last night would have been one, sending Jen or even Kevin home.

Um.... James Beard Award-winning Hector?

I wasn't surprised that a guy who screwed up steak twice went home, no matter what his credentials on paper were. I was sorry he flamed out early on, like you were, but there was no mistaking that it was a flame out at the time that it happened.

(Also, he wasn't a winner, unless the guy who wrote this was wrong:

Hector has twice made the long list of James Beard nominees for Best Chef - Southeast.

Mike G wrote:I wasn't surprised that a guy who screwed up steak twice went home, no matter what his credentials on paper were. I was sorry he flamed out early on, like you were, but there was no mistaking that it was a flame out at the time that it happened.

(Also, he wasn't a winner, unless the guy who wrote this was wrong:

Hector has twice made the long list of James Beard nominees for Best Chef - Southeast.

Whoops... memory fails

(Also: ow)

Dmnkly wrote:

Mike G wrote:There will be no surprises like that this time, I think, or last night would have been one, sending Jen or even Kevin home.

Um.... James Beard Award-winning Hector?

The guy deep fried a steak. No surprise there .

finally caught the episode, laurine deserved to go, and if the wordsmith Jen has as crappy week next week as she did this week...., "she gone!" as "the Hawk" would say.

So they repeat themselves w/ the 'Surprise ! I'm a Vegetarian !' actress episode. First Zooey Deschanel in Masters and now Natalie Portman.

Frankly, the only dish that looked remotely filling was Kevin's. Mike's looked sad, pale and transparent. I suppose the editors will have to find a new way to edit Robin now that he's gone.

One thing that puzzled me was that no one made ravioli/angnolotti of some sort or another pasta w/ a mushroom based sauce . Surely that would have provided a "protein", been different, been substantial and would have pleased Bartolotta.

I ate at Bartolotta in the Wynn about 3.5 years ago. It was good, but not really all that transcendant. Looking at my credit card statement, I dropped $212.79 for two people. The Thai place we went to off the strip for $50 was better, I thought, as was Bouchon in the Venetian.

I also thought of the TCM episode with Zooey Deschanel. For me it was interesting to think of the dishes the Masters created compared to these. The Masters were so much more creative and provided dishes that seemed to have a lot of complexity (but didn't look that way). I don't recall how much time was given in TCM for preparation and honestly, I don't know how much time they had last night as I dozed-off through much of the program.

Kevin's dish did look delicious. I love kale.

Mary

One thing that puzzled me was that no one made ravioli/angnolotti of some sort or another pasta w/ a mushroom based sauce . Surely that would have provided a "protein", been different, been substantial and would have pleased Bartolotta.

They could have done any sort of pasta to provide substance, didn't need to have mushrooms. Also no one used couscous or any sort of legumes, except for the scattered fresh chickpeas Robin used. I thought the dishes were oddly focused on vegetables, rather than on dishes that didn't contain meat. Maybe they were limited in what was in the Craft kitchen.

I also preferred the TCM episode

Forgot about the banana polenta

There were also the lentils (Eli, right?), but between that and Robin's garnish, no other beans.
The polenta was the only pasta or grain -- no risotto, noodles, rice, bread, crepe, tamale, etc.

Portman said "vegetarian" and not "vegan" but I'm assuming that was the case from the complete lack of dairy and eggs. Mike I would have trotted out a yogurt, I'm sure, but that wouldn't have saved him. But criticizing him for lack of protein is disingenuous, as eggplant has only 1% protein by weight: it's filling, it has umami, but it ain't a protein.


For this late in the game, this was a pretty sad little contest. What might have helped would have been TC saying, "Make dishes I'd be proud to serve at Craftsteak, and the winner's item goes on the menu."

It definitely wasn't a vegan challenge:

GailSimmons wrote:No beans or legumes, few eggs and little dairy were used (despite their being encouraged to do so).

Of course, lentils are legumes.

Maybe they were limited in what was in the Craft kitchen.

Good thought, I wonder if that was the case? Because this was a pretty pathetic response to what should not have been a terribly difficult challenge. On the surface, you'd think they were given incredible leeway. ok, maybe vegetarian cuisine isn't anyone's specialty, but really, none of these people can make a main course without meat? That's awfully limited range.

But criticizing him for lack of protein is disingenuous, as eggplant has only 1% protein by weight: it's filling, it has umami, but it ain't a protein.

This frustrated me, too! Yet another reason why this challenge just played out in a really bizarre way. it's not that rare for people to be vegetarians anymore, it's not like they had to cook a meal for a level 5 vegan (nothing that casts a shadow!!!) or anything.

Colicchio says they trucked in a huge amount of fresh produce from the Santa Monica Green Market the evening before the competition. The real question is whether they brought in pasta (which craftsteak doesn't have on the menu) or extra beans/lentils/etc.

But criticizing him for lack of protein is disingenuous, as eggplant has only 1% protein by weight: it's filling, it has umami, but it ain't a protein.

"Lack of protein" seemed to be a pretty common complaint as the meal progressed. I think this was because all of the dishes seemed pretty insubstantial, so much so that the judges simply devoured Kevin's mushrooms (no protein there!) when it finally appeared. I wouldn't be surprised if all of the judges, sans Natalie, stepped out for a bacon-cheeseburger (hold the tomatoes and lettuce) after the feast.

jbw wrote:

But criticizing him for lack of protein is disingenuous, as eggplant has only 1% protein by weight: it's filling, it has umami, but it ain't a protein.

"Lack of protein" seemed to be a pretty common complaint as the meal progressed. I think this was because all of the dishes seemed pretty insubstantial, so much so that the judges simply devoured Kevin's mushrooms (no protein there!) when it finally appeared. I wouldn't be surprised if all of the judges, sans Natalie, stepped out for a bacon-cheeseburger (hold the tomatoes and lettuce) after the feast.

In Gail's blog she said they all went out for dinner afterwards.

gleam wrote:Colicchio says they trucked in a huge amount of fresh produce from the Santa Monica Green Market the evening before the competition. The real question is whether they brought in pasta (which craftsteak doesn't have on the menu) or extra beans/lentils/etc.

I think he said on his blog that they had a wide variety of grains as well in the Craftsteak kitchen. I think Gail mentioned in her blog how she was diappointed at the lack of eggs and dairy that were used as well.

Overall, I thought the food they put out was pretty lame.

I'm surprised to learn that this was a vegetarian - - not a vegan - - challenge. I figured by the lack of eggs, butter, cream, cheese, etc. that it was a vegan challenge, which is clearly much more difficult.

Even as a vegan challenge, I expected to see more beans, pasta - - something filling.

And, if it was a vegetarian challenge, I'm even more disappointed in the dishes. How many dishes would've benefited from some cheese or butter? I can't imagine there wasn't plenty of cheese and butter in that kitchen. And, eggs are such an easy protein to use.

In any case, another win for Kevin, which isn't surprising. As soon as he said that he cooks veggie for Lent, I turned to Richard and predicted a Kevin win. His food may not be the prettiest - - but it's usually tasty.

I'm not sad to see Mike go. His food looked consistently ok, but not great. Having had at least half a dozen meals at his decent Zaytinya (although I don't know if he was in the kitchen when I ate there), I'm not shocked that he didn't make it to the finals.

Ronna

Mike I would have trotted out a yogurt, I'm sure, but that wouldn't have saved him. But criticizing him for lack of protein is disingenuous, as eggplant has only 1% protein by weight: it's filling, it has umami, but it ain't a protein.

The whole discussion about the leeks was very bizarre. Mike I. understood they didn't have any protein - he was attempted to mimic a scallop. But the judges seemed to think he thought it was protein, maybe from the way he described his plate using those cheffy terms like "proteins".

since I know who was eliminated(I am ususally at least a day behind watching this show, & probably even more this week with the WS on tonight), and moreso that it was a vegetarian challenge I doubt Ill even go back & watch this episode.

REB wrote:I'm not sad to see Mike go. His food looked consistently ok, but not great. Having had at least half a dozen meals at his decent Zaytinya (although I don't know if he was in the kitchen when I ate there), I'm not shocked that he didn't make it to the finals.

Ronna

I've never eaten at Zaytinya but I agree that his food was always just ok. He talked a good game and was cocky about his skills but the dishes that were purely his were unimpressive.

Well, it's official. Robin is the Betty of this season. She's totally out of her league, is highly annoying (to viewers and those around her) and has absolutely no chance of winning. She's hung on way longer than she rightfully should have.

I ended up liking Mike more than I thought I would. I don't think he had a real chance to win, though, so his departure, while possibly a bit premature, was no big deal.

Kevin has so dominated the competition that for me, he already is Top Chef. If he stumbles one week and gets sent home, it's not going to change my opinion. I suppose that Bryan, Michael or Jen could eventually beat him in a moderate upset but at this point, he's already proven that he's clearly the best, over the course of the competition thus far.

=R=

In reading Tom's blog, I thought it was a little odd that he reiterated now strange the "leek scallop" idea was when Blais was praised last season for his "bacon scallop." Of course the latter was not only witty but apparently tasted good.

tem wrote:One thing that puzzled me was that no one made ravioli/angnolotti of some sort or another pasta w/ a mushroom based sauce . Surely that would have provided a "protein", been different, been substantial and would have pleased Bartolotta.

They were given two hours to prepare their dishes from the time they were told they had to be vegetarian. I think they were all too scared to attemp anything as ambitious as fresh pasta after being thrown such a curve ball and having to rethink their entire plans.

even I can make fresh pasta in about 15 minutes.

tem wrote:even I can make fresh pasta in about 15 minutes.

Can you make it on the spot, with no recipe, if it's not your specialty, to the standards of Chef Bartolotta? You've just eaten his pasta the night before, and there wouldn't be time to redo it if you messed up.

In reading Tom's blog, I thought it was a little odd that he reiterated now strange the "leek scallop" idea was when Blais was praised last season for his "bacon scallop." Of course the latter was not only witty but apparently tasted good.

They weren't made of bacon, they were chunks of banana. Also, Richard Blais wasn't a contestant last season - last season featured that Joshua guy and his canoodling partner Leah, who also managed to skate way, way into the contest with seemingly dubious skills. I don't blame you for wiping that season from memory. Blech.

sundevilpeg wrote:

...last season featured that Joshua guy...

You mean Hosea?

So, to summarize:
banana scallop - fun and delicious,
banana polenta - fun and confusing,
leek scallop - blech.

--Rich

ronnie_suburban wrote:Well, it's official. Robin is the Betty of this season. She's totally out of her league, is highly annoying (to viewers and those around her) and has absolutely no chance of winning. She's hung on way longer than she rightfully should have.

I ended up liking Mike more than I thought I would. I don't think he had a real chance to win, though, so his departure, while possibly a bit premature, was no big deal.

Kevin has so dominated the competition that for me, he already is Top Chef. If he stumbles one week and gets sent home, it's not going to change my opinion. I suppose that Bryan, Michael or Jen could eventually beat him in a moderate upset but at this point, he's already proven that he's clearly the best, over the course of the competition thus far.

=R=

Completely agree re: Kevin. This season has almost turned into a joke. No matter the challenge, Kevin just dominates the other competitors, and all while maintaining a calm, cool demeanor. It seems at this point Kevin can do no wrong, and we're just waiting it out. Has there ever been a season so one-sided?