PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
As usual, there's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself.
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Well, that's better.
Due to a wee vegetable peeler mishap, typing is somewhat less enjoyable than usual, so I'm going to keep this short and save it for Monday. But I'll say that I'm pleased with the finale matchup. I had Paul and Sarah 1-2 in the preseason, and every episode since E5. Whatever you think of her, Sarah's a helluva chef and she didn't stumble her way into the finale... she earned it.
That said, I hope Paul smokes her.
Discuss.
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Yeah, I got nothing.
Rankings Monday if I can summon the will. If not, catch you next Wednesday.
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Bummer.
I'm still feeling Ed's loss, though that's largely because I just reviewed his exit interview (one of the better ones, BTW). But I can't complain about how it happened, because this was a pretty decent episode, blindfold idiocy aside.
First, though, a quick apology... in playing with the blog's settings this weekend, I discovered that there's a comment spam filter much as there is for an email inbox. Contained therein was mostly spam that had been automatically removed, but there were a couple of legit comments that had been removed as well. Something about them (I can't imagine what) must've triggered the filter. I had no idea this filter even existed. In any case, I restored the few real comments that were in there, so if you were wondering what happened to yours, it wasn't censored. At least not by me. I'll try to keep an eye on it from now on.
Okay, the show. Dumb quickfire. Really dumb quickfire. Like, "I can't believe a car is riding on this crap" quickfire. But it was a quickfire, not an elimination, so I can't get too bent out of shape about it. The first 15 minutes of the show is the time for the dumb stuff, I say. As amusing as it is to watch the chefs bumble around the pantry, and to see that Beverly is just as unaware of the degree to which she's invading others' space while blindfolded, I can't find any redeeming qualities in the setup. Soooooo we're going to move on.
The elimination, on the other hand, was right on the nose. Bring in some meaningful guests for your drama, and when it comes to the cooking, just set them loose. I noticed that given Ed's downfall, there have been some complaints about the elves' decision to use Whole Foods for shopping excursions. I can't speak for San Antonio. But even setting aside a sponsor relationship that's been in place since the show's inception, there are plenty of places where that's your best bet for one stop shopping... Phoenix included. Believe me, I wish it weren't this way. But if you come to Phoenix and tell me I have to cook the meal of my life and I can choose just one place to do my shopping, I pick Whole Foods.
A little side thought... it isn't ordinarily something I even think about, but am I the only one who thinks fan favorite is a total tossup? I think Grayson probably snags it, but really, I wouldn't be all that surprised if Paul, Ed or Ty-Lör got it either. And if LCK weren't web only, I'd add Nyesha to that mix as well. Not the usual TCPR fodder, I know... but I confess to being a little curious to see who takes it.
Okay, let's do this...
The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.
You can't ask for a stronger finish going into the finals than that. Since Restaurant Wars, Paul's been on top of all four elimination challenges, winning three of them. And Gail's blog indicates that the elves heavily downplayed how well his soup was received in the edit. To hear her tell the story, it may have been the best dish she's ever tasted on the show, which is impressive given its simplicity. The recipe might not be entirely complete (as is often the case), but I suspect it's close. Tyson Cole's presence at the end of the regular season is actually wonderfully appropriate, because I think that in terms of public perception, this run of Top Chef has changed Uchiko from a Tyson Cole restaurant to a Paul Qui restaurant. Even if Paul somehow manages to crash and burn in the finals, I doubt it will have any significant impact on people's perception of him. Unlike the other three chefs, this felt like a true passing of the torch, and I'm a little angry that the elves watered that down in the interest of trying to maintain suspense. Seeing that table freak out over the excellence of Paul's dish would have made for much, much better viewing than whatever faux suspense was manufactured at Judges' Table. This has happened before, but rarely in so blatant a fashion. Too bad. In any case, yeah, Paul, number one going into the finals. By ten lengths with a bullet. Nobody's ever a lock for the win (not even close). But I think this is about as close as a Top Chef contestant can come. |
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It should come as no surprise that Sarah holds number two. If she's at her best, she'll give Paul a run. But if they're both at their best, she won't win. She seems to have a really nice touch, and the kind of restraint that only comes with a great deal of culinary maturity. That quickfire soup, with corn, mushrooms, chiles, and peaches, certainly looks like a winner, though I'm puzzled that Tom expressed reservations at the combination of corn and mushrooms. Really? Corn and mushrooms? Talk to Mexico. And have some huitlacoche while you're at it. Also, it was the corn and mushroom combo that threw you and not the peach and mushroom combo? Very strange. In any case, so long as she doesn't start speaking to Beverly in a tone so condescending that I wouldn't use it with my five year old again, I'm really looking forward to what she cooks for the finals. |
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And I'm looking forward just as much to what Beverly has to offer. As I've mentioned, I'm highly suspicious of Asian fusion, which is what Beverly's food most closely resembles, but she's really won me over. And though the judges took the words right out of my mouth before I had a chance to type them, let me reinforce the notion that doing a stir-fry for that many people under those circumstances was really, really ballsy. There's a reason stir fry dishes are generally done in one batch, dropped on a plate and sent right out. It requires very, very close attention, split second timing, and isn't at all forgiving to even the smallest errors. Two woks, two batches, composed plates, and from the sound of the comments, zero errors. Ed had it right. Countenance aside, she's a bulldog, and if the break before the finals is all about preparation (see: Mike Isabella), who in this crowd is going to prepare harder than Beverly? |
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And we come to the enigma. This was one of Lindsay's weaker showings, and though I waffled a bit on whether to put her or Beverly at number three, this bit of wilting under pressure combined with Bev's strong reentry (coming in second to Paul's best dish of the season is easily overlooked, here) makes me feel as though this is where she belongs going into the finals. But I really don't know what to expect from her. Perhaps it's just the edit, but other than the witch's stew, I'm having a hard time coming up with a dish of hers that the judges seemed thrilled by. Most of her dishes, particularly in the second half of the season, have looked strong. It's clear that she's highly skilled. But when talking about her food, the judges have seemed to emanate respect more than love, and while the former keeps you alive deep into the competition, the latter is what wins it for you. But who knows? I wonder if she's going to pull a Mike Isabella on us, kind of hanging around all season long only to return from the break looking like a completely different chef. I still can't quite peg her style, though she obviously likes to use seafood a lot. Seafood stew aside, has she made anything this season that you could look at and call a Lindsay dish? I don't mean to denigrate someone who is obviously a very talented chef, but am I the only one who finds her kind of weirdly out of place here? |
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Ah, Ed, you couldn't hang in there just for just one more challenge, huh? Extended JT made it clear that this decision was more of a no-brainer than the edit let on, particularly since Lindsay clearly thought she was toast when they were critiquing her dish. Even Ed concedes in his exit interview that his dish was probably too busy, though he's mum on the oyster issue. As discussed in the comments, I suspect the issue isn't that he didn't use fresh oysters. The issue is that it tasted off to the judges, and of all the reasons your dish can be off, "I couldn't find the fresh ingredient I wanted so I substituted a packaged version instead" isn't one that's going to cast you in a favorable light. I don't know packaged oysters from Adam. I have no idea if this was a terrible call. But it didn't play out. We've seen this story countless times before. If you can't get what you need, don't try to force it with a substitute. The chances you'll get away with it are slim, particularly in the final rounds. A shame, too, since the move with the pork casings was a brilliant bit of thinking on his feet, and nearly won him the quickfire. I assume he would have taken the car over immunity, so we'd still be wishing him well. But at least he'd have a car. |
WARNING : MINOR EPISODE FIFTEEN SPOILERS AHEAD
Well... if the elves are trying to combat the growing sentiment that Top Chef has jumped the shark, I'm not sure having the chefs cook in moving gondolas, chip their ingredients out of solid blocks of ice on snowy mountaintops, and compete in a culinary biathlon complete with rifles is the way to do it. I'm all for working in the locale, but c'mon. Still, I strive to keep an open mind, and my hopes up.
Finals Part I Postmortem on Wednesday night... discuss!
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Aaaaaaaaa! Well, I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that I went this deep into the season before one really hurt. I was bummed to see some others go, but this was the first one that got me, even if I'm not surprised. And I was thisclose to getting my midseason wish for the final four, too. Bummer.
No, this was clearly no Ellis Island (that has to be the best episode in the history of the show), but it was still a solid finish even after an incredibly stupid start. Looking at some comments below, I didn't see Ed's comment at the end that way at all. He's been one of the few who have stuck up for Bev. It struck me as some harmless blowing off steam in a safe place to do it rather than something genuinely misdirected or malicious. I'm actually a little surprised it struck some folks so negatively. But then I've enjoyed Ed an awful lot, so I'm probably inclined to have a more positive interpretation.
We've got our final four. Even if Lindsay still seems like a weird interloper, somehow. I can see it, I can rationalize it, but she still seems weirdly out of place in a way I can't quite describe.
No more Last Chance Kitchen! Rankings Monday. Ish. You know how it goes.
Discuss!
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Running a little late this week! Between Top Chef and powering through eight posts about China over two weeks, I needed to take a few days. But let's squeeze in some rankings before the new episode tonight.
Can we just stop and take score right now? The four remaining chefs are my preseason 1, 2, 5 and dark horse 7. The return and survival of Bev or Grayson would make that look a lot less impressive :-)
That could have been a lot worse. On a lot of fronts. Since I made such a big deal about it, I feel like Pee-wee had his moments, but there's definitely something odd about seeing such a grossly exaggerated character in a non-exaggerated context. It goes from good weird to weird weird. I suspect everybody missed the funniest bit, though... the look on his face for a split second during the "judges looking sternly straight ahead" shot at the beginning of Judges' Table. Priceless.
Anyway, we got a nice, straightforward quickfire (not to mention a scintillating cameo by Mr. Breakfast -- pancake table, front and center), thematic but with plenty of room for creativity. The elimination was the one that rightfully gave everybody hives, and the fact that it wasn't a total disaster is as much a matter of blind luck as it ia a testament to the remaining chefs. The fact that everybody has to pretend this isn't all carefully laid out ahead of time is really stupid. As I've said before, all it does is undermine the show's credibility. And there's no reason for it. It wouldn't have been any less interesting if they'd just been forthcoming about how the challenge was set up. In any case, even though the actual structure of the challenge was far safer than the purported structure of the challenge, there's so much that could have gone wrong, so many stupid ways somebody could have been eliminated that had absolutely nothing to do with food, that we're fortunate it turned out as well as it did, I think.
One thing I will stand up for, however... I suspect one of the driving ideas behind this challenge, liks some others this season, was to really get the chefs out and into the city, interacting with their surroundings. I mentioned it earlier in the season, and thing is something I think they've always needed to do more of, and I love to see them doing it... just perhaps not quite like this.
Okay, hopefully it isn't too obvious at this point that I'm totally phoning this week in. On with the rankings.
The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.
Surprise... another solid week from Paul. His pancake recipe was mostly straightforward, with a little MG twist. I'm a little curious what tossing the batter in an iSi canister accomplishes... a little aeration to keep them light? I'd be curious to know if it achieves a significantly different texture than just pouring in the batter, or the move was simply one of convenience. The champagne dippin' dots (can we use that name now that they're dead and buried?) were simply champagne and agave blended up with liquid nitrogen to turn it into little frozen spheres. A simple but clever recipe, and I wonder how it stacked up against the others. His elimination dish looked fantastic as always -- red curry gastrique, yes -- and Gail notes in her blog that what kept him out of the winner's circle was balance. Everyone, Paul included, agreed that it was a touch on the sweet side. So Paul continues to cruise. Which is just how we like it. |
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This is the third week in a row that Sarah's ended up on the bottom with what it sounds like was essentially a very good dish, just not quite as good as some others. Though underseasoning is flirting with disaster, to be sure. Love the look of that salad, and there's nothing that doesn't sound awesome about chicken skin vinaigrette. Two chefs did a vinaigrette based on crispy rendered animal fat, and note that one chef did something a little different and interesting, while the other went to a grossly overplayed (if delicious) version. Just one of the reasons Sarah's still hanging in there at number two and Grayson's gone. But all of a sudden, there's somebody breathing down Sarah's neck... aaaaaaand it's not who I would have guessed a few weeks ago. |
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I'm still not sold on her, nor can I explain what the heck her style is, exactly (that can be a problem in the finals), but she's kind of forced my hand. However she's doing it, Lindsay's on a roll. That's five consecutive top elimination finishes, and she finally has a solid, solo elimination win to call her own. Her recipe is surprisingly straightforward, some braised beef cheeks with a little tomato rice, zucchini, greens and goat cheese, with the addition of some celery and carrot pickles for punch. But she apparently nailed it. I still don't see the kind of food that I expect will win this thing, but there comes a point where you have to recognize and respect when somebody is routinely banging out good dishes, and since the midpoint of the season, that's Lindsay. |
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Ed's making this kind of easy, though. For the most part, I still feel like Ed's peaks have been more noteworthy. I like the look of his elimination dish, and as simple as his quickfire was, I love the idea of serving only the crispy edges of the pancakes. But this is now two weeks in a row that Ed's flirted with disaster. If he makes it to the finals, I suspect he'll be sharp when he returns. But man, he's teetering on the brink of oopsing himself out of a trip to Vancouver. |
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Along with everybody else, I hate to see Grayson go. But you all know that in my opinion, this is the basement finally catching up to her. And her elimination dish was a great example of the problems that have dogged her all season. She made an odd choice to "go healthy" without actually going healthy, and though it didn't receive a huge amount of attention on camera, Gail's blog suggests they were really bothered by the fact that her recipe was at total odds with her concept. If you're going to try to do a lower-fat dish, after removing the beautiful chicken fat, why on earth would you turn around and smother it with bacon? There's just an odd disconnect there. Plus, we have more Flintstones portions, and though it went unsaid, I suspect there's a certain amount of feeling that a spinach and gorgonzola boneless skinless chicken breast just isn't enough interest to overcome some flaws. Again, I think this is what Tom was trying to get at with her last week. But this is largely speculation. In any case, maybe she's gone, maybe she's right back in it... we'll see! |
WARNING : MINOR EPISODE FOURTEEN SPOILERS AHEAD
Not so much with the spoilers this week, because the elves sure didn't reveal much in the previews this week. We'll find out if it's Bev or Grayson and then... who knows? Incidentally, I wouldn't read anything at all into the clip of a weepy Paul. That plays like classic elven misdirection. Unless it's the double head fake. But though I know there are many who disagree, I'm of the opinion that trying to decipher the "hints" is an exercise in futility. I'm happy waiting to see what happens. Gail notes in her blog, however, that episode fourteen is season nine's Ellis Island, so fingers crossed, maybe we'll have a nice coda for the regular season.
Sorry again for the delay, folks... discuss!
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Okay, that was brutal. And it should have been soooooooooo predictable. I'm a little ashamed I didn't see it coming.
For our overseas compatriots, Last Chance Kitchen has a winner. And of COURSE the final web episode ends in a cliffhanger, with the decision and the reveal to be shown on next week's episode.
Great finish, kind of a simplified mirror image of the Top Chef finale. Half an hour, give me your best shot, one dish. Beverly does a seared red snapper with coconut broth, some kind of vegetable stir fry and a fennel mango salad. Grayson goes to the scallops, seared with bacon, a cherry and champagne grape gastrique, tarragon, arugula and pistachios.
Aaaaaaaaaand, we'll see! I'm really sad to see LCK go. I've enjoyed it as much, if not more, than the regular show. Here's hoping we see it again in S10.
Discuss!
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Re: Pee-wee... ummmm... a little from column A and a little from column C?
Mixed emotions on this episode all around... on the guest, on the challenges, on the elimination... everything.
I'm late to the party, and you guys have it pretty well-covered below. More Monday. And LCK in a few hours.
Discuss!
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So is it two more of these before the finals?
It's a marathon, it always seems like every season goes on forever, and suddenly the end sneaks up on you. Feeling good about this week's elimination, though less so about how they got there.
This quickfire was a nice, simple twist on the prep race. But am I the only one who thought, "Where's Beverly when you need her?" when the shrimp came out? Love that Kat Cora wasn't a rubber stamp prep judge. Tom's always had kind of an "Ehhhhhhhhhh, fine" approach to checking people on the prep race. Kudos to Cora for holding their feet to the flame. Though once again, I'm puzzled by the pasta timing freakout. Worried that nine and a half minutes will be enough time to pull together a pasta? Fresh pasta, prep done, water working... make it five.
As mentioned in the comments last week, the "healthy food" challenges are always an annoyance to me, and one that I won't revisit again. More interesting, of course, was the question of whether Ed or Chris should have been sent packing. Extended JT adds a little depth, which I'll get into below, but there's still a basic question here of whether it's better to follow the rules or make delicious food. We shouldn't be surprised at this point that delicious food wins, except when it comes to the most flagrant violations of the rules. But as much as I like Ed, trimming the fat off short ribs and swapping bread for rice is such a blatant thumb in the eye of the challenge that I find myself wishing they'd enforce a little more.
Getting down to the wire... let's get down to it.
The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.
Blah blah blah blah dominating performance, blah blah blah another level blah blah how does he do that? Blah blah wire to wire blah blah unless he really blows it, blah blah blah $50,000 blah blah really remarkable blah blah. Did that about cover it? Good, because I'm running out of things to say about Paul. Though I'll say watching him beat himself up over the shrimp was kind of hilarious. |
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I'm still not seeing a compelling reason to bump Sarah down, though the past few episodes she's seemed less on Paul's tail than before. Losing a pasta challenge has to hurt, particularly with such a head start, particularly with the mess Grayson made of her pasta (I have no idea how she managed to work those dry clumps of dough into a respectable noodle). Double ouch on the elimination, though I thought meatball was actually kind of a smart choice for Sarah and Lindsay. You've got Italian vs. Latin. It's polpette vs. albondigas. Of course, Lindsay threw a wrench into that by going Greek, but the point is that I know it seemed odd to some, but it made perfect sense to me. Anyway, long story short, she's been wounded enough the past couple of episodes that I'd consider knocking her down a peg if Edward or Lindsay were kicking ass. Well, Lindsay's doing okay, I suppose, but... well... let me just get Edward out of the way. |
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I like Ed a lot, but that really was one of the lamest JT defenses I can remember. I was trying to make it healthier so I substituted bread for rice is so laughable that it's almost deserving of a Tyler Stone style "You know what? How about you just go home right now." And he completely knew it. And that only makes it funnier. And somehow he managed to get away with it. I'm starting to think Lindsay might silently pass him after all. |
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So can somebody please explain to me what the heck is up with Lindsay? That's three of four top mentions the past two episodes. Another week like this and I *will* vault her past Ed, ten episodes of near silence notwithstanding. And I'm pretty sure it'll be the least enthusiastic I will have ever been about a top three chef this late in the season ever. Well, excepting when Antonia screwed up pigeon peas and Lisa defaulted to number three. Hosea, maybe? I dunno. She's just seemed like such a non-factor all season long, the total embodiment of "just don't screw up," and yet here she is, knocking on the door of the finals. |
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But Lindsay's not half as consternating as Grayson. I know that keeping her in the basement has become increasingly unpopular, but as awesome as she is, and as much as I like her, I just don't believe. See "...a little bit of gut feeling," in orange italics above. Mikey survived way too long, and everybody including Mikey agreed about that. I thought Carla was surviving too long, but by this time she was making a believer out of me, and I was on the cusp of going all-in. But with Grayson... I still don't see it. I just don't see it. I'm open to arguments. Lay them on me. "She's still here," doesn't cut it. We've seen a lot of chefs get a lot farther than they probably should have. Why does Grayson belong in the final five? Case in point. Chicken salad. Let's sidestep the argument over whether it was or wasn't a good selection. What's in Grayson's chicken salad? Celery, onion, mustard, honey, grapes and tarragon. I mean, seriously, this is every chicken salad I've had anywhere ever except for one other version, which is the one Chris made. I'm trying to ask myself, if she were a self-centered jerk rather than spunky and level-headed, wouldn't we all be complaining about how long she's overstayed her welcome? All of that said, that was an absolutely fabulous exchange at JT. And I think she was wrong, and it still does not diminish the awesomeness of her response. I do think the length of her stay has overreached her skill. And yet, I'm glad she's still here. UPDATE : Of course, I somehow managed to forget to say what I most wanted to say about Grayson. This thing about the chicken salad wasn't about the chicken salad. I think this was Tom saying what I've been trying to say (poorly) for half the season. That's great that you made a good chicken salad. You're not going to win this thing with chicken salad. It was as much a comment on her performance as a whole as it was about this week's challenge. |
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I'm not convinced the tofu mayo was a bad idea. If he's really worked wonders with it in the past, it was a great call. The bad idea was making a chicken salad with green onions and curry powder. See "every chicken salad I've had anywhere ever," above... except without the walnuts and grapes/raisins. But Chris, like Grayson, is somebody I find completely likeable, and though I hate to continue to beat up on Moto, I hope he lands somewhere else at some point. Based on my experience, he was completely a product of his environment, and though that meant he could have had a shot at winning by surviving to the finale and then uncorking the three best dishes in his arsenal, he was never going to get that far, and was lucky to get as far as he did. Still, to borrow a phrase from the comments, he strikes me as a quality human being, I'm sad to see him go, and I wish him well. |
Now's the part where I embarrass myself.
WARNING : MINOR EPISODE THIRTEEN SPOILERS AHEAD
Let me explain precisely where I'm coming from here. I was nine when Pee-wee's Big Adventure was released. And I thought it was one of the greatest movies ever. Mannheim Family, wherever you are, I'm sorry for subjecting you to the entire screenplay en route to dinner. J.P. Marzano, I always resented that everybody called you Pee-wee. That was my movie. MY movie. (Well, that and Buckaroo Banzai.) And then it dropped off my radar. And sometime in college, I popped it back in, wondering if it was as great as I remembered. And I discovered that my nine year old self had sold it short. It was THE greatest movie ever. I exaggerate, but no matter what Paul Reubens has done since 1985, professionally or personally, I will always stand by this movie as an underappreciated work of comic genius. So let's be clear... one of three things will happen this week:
Just a heads up.
Anyway, it's pancakes in the quickfire. I hope and pray that some member of the crew has managed to obtain Mr. T cereal.
The elimination has disaster written all over it. A very short period of time in a random kitchen, everybody in different kitchens, biking all over San Antonio, short prep time... seriously, this is shaping up to be the late-season elimination challenge that has no business being late in the season and will probably send somebody home who should have been in the finals. I mean, you know... we'll see. But it looks bad, bad, bad.
Discuss!
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And these LCK challenges started off so well.
I'm not a fan of challenges that involve mystery boxes with multiple ingredients and no apparent unity. Restrictions breed creativity. But there's restricting and there's stifling. Still, I suppose it could have been worse. That they both pulled out edible dishes speaks to their skill, I suppose.
For our international compatriots, Chris and Beverly were given a mystery box containing lamb, buttermilk, cinnamon, parsnips, marshmallows and pine nuts. Then, twice through the challenge, another box arrived with another mystery ingredient. First was radicchio, and then was white anchovies. So yes, both made dishes with all of the above, and Tom felt that Beverly's more skillfully married all of the flavors into a cohesive dish, if I may be so bold as to paraphrase Tom Colicchio.
If there were any question, it's been confirmed. Tom told Beverly quite clearly that she has one more chef to beat to reenter the competition, which means the next *two* episodes -- barring a double elimination -- will have five chefs. I'm curious to see how this is going to work. Hopefully an extra episode rather than a five chef finals. Though actually, I suppose a double elimination to kick off the finals wouldn't be so bad, if nerve wracking.
I know it's been a hot topic of discussion, and I'm not sure it really matters, but I don't doubt some of these are shot in rapid succession. But I don't get the sense that Chris standing around the chefs' house kitchen for ten minutes, having misunderstood which kitchen he was supposed to report to, was staged. It was also fabulous and so very Chris.
I'll be sad to see LCK go! Here's hoping the last one is a good one.
Discuss!
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Ed: "Should've been me, Chris..."
Yeah, you're right.
Don't get me wrong, much as I like Chris, there's no question who I'd rather see advance at this point. And I hate healthy cooking challenges. But those are the rules, and unless Ed did something more to adjust his dish that wasn't mentioned, it should've been him.
It could've been worse. It could've been the Target challenge. So I suppose I should be happy that the annoyance factor was as low as it was.
Many, many thoughts. I'll save 'em for the rankings.
Discuss!
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