Top Chef - S9E14 Postmortem

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!

Comments

[Anon Man]

Sarah.... Weak sauce. Take the car.

[Anon Man]

Paul, enjoy Sarah's car.

[Independent George]

I can't hold it against Sarah to take the immunity; early in the competition, you go for it. Late, the odds are worse; just advance.

I'm really glad Bev finished on top. I love that the two chefs who went on runs on LCK were the two chefs who really had the toughest eliminations. The absolute disrespect that Lindsay and Sara show her just gets me frustrated; I have to remind myself that this is made for television. It really doesn't help much.

[Amanda P.]

Take the immunity - you don't have to prove anything until the finals.

I am not looking forward to more Mean Girls though.

[Dmantell]

Agree with IG...that constant disrespect, even when passive is just so unprofessional and so off putting.

[Independent George]

On a more positive note, Paul really is the terminator, isn't he?

[EGKate]

I really like Ed, and I was hoping he would make the finals and Lindsay would be sent home, but blaming Bev for his elimination was ridiculous. Using non-fresh seafood is always a ticket home on top chef.

[Janie Jones]

Was I the only one that got teary-eyed when Paul was addressing Tyson?

[dmantell]

Oh, and just because this annoyed me - Ed's last complaint that Beverly took his spot is factually incorrect. This was an elimination challenge - someone was going home.

Had Beverly not been a part of it, 4 chefs would have been competing for 3 positions, giving Ed a 1:4 (25%) chance of not moving on.

With Beverly a part of it, 5 chefs were competing for 4 positions, giving Ed a 1:5 (20%) chance of not moving on.

Beverly improved his odds of making it into the finale by 5%. In the same way, taking into account Sara's assured spot,

With Beverly, 4 chefs competing for 3 positions, Ed has a 25% chance of not moving on; Without Beverly, 3 chefs competing for 2 positions, Ed has a ~33% chance of not moving on. Again, Beverly increases his odds of making it into the finale by ~8%.

I was surprised that they offered an assured spot based on the quickfire though - it seems odd to offer immunity based on a gimmick quickfire. I would prefer that immunity had been off the table period, and that if it was going to be on the table, that the quickfire had been more straight-up.

[chrish]

Would the car still have been an elimination prize if the quickfire winner had taken it? I wonder if Paul was just a barely undercooked shrimp away from the double Prius V.

I think Ed's comment was that they thought they'd made it into the final four, so that he was (he believed) in the final four, and Beverly's coming back took him out of it and back into the final five, albeit with a chance to still get in.

Don't begrudge Sarah's decision to take the spot at all. Don't like immunity being given for a quickfire, and a somewhat gimmicky quickfire at that, anytime late and certainly for the finals. Even with the car option.

[Independent George]

I loved how blown away Tom was by Paul's soup. And if you think about it, that really was an incredibly gutsy move. With a chilled soup which was basically cooked the day before, there is absolutely zero margin for error. First, you can't do much of anything to save the dish if you screwed something up on day 1. Second, you can't hide any flaws with something that simple - the only way he pulls it off is with absolutely perfect technique.

[Kathy from Austin]

@Janie: no, you were not the only one. I have been so worried since the previews, and Dom calmed be down with his last post. I remember Paul when he was on the line on the sushi table at Uchi. He is truly a great guy.

As an aside, I have heard some "sneaky intel" that said Paul was here in Austin and not in Canada. Just goes to show that a lot of the stuff you hear is BS.

I don't blame Sarah one bit for taking immunity. Rest, a chance to get centered before the finale. Who wouldn't take that opportunity?

Paul has once again demonstrated that intricate flavors ace the predictable. I know I am biased, but having eaten so many times at Tyson and Paul's restaurants, I can understand why they are both revered by diners.

[garik16]

I'm actually going to defend Ed here - Last Chance Kitchen WAS unfair to the final four chefs - who were the only chefs who wouldn't get a second shot into the competition.

If you remember, they did a similar-esque get back in the competition thing in the Season 5 2nd to last episode - with the person who got back into the competition (Jeff) having to WIN the challenge in order to stay in the competition.

That was fair - while the final four besides Jeff wouldn't get a chance to get back in the competition, Jeff had a massive disadvantage once he was back in.

Here - yes, Beverly needed to fight to get back in, but Ed and the other three chefs here DIDNT HAVE A CHANCE TO GET BACK IN.

[chrish]

Thinking more about the car/immunity decision, taking immunity gives you a 100 percent chance of getting to the finals versus a (let's say) 80 percent change of getting through via the elimination challenge, so an extra 20 percent chance of getting to the finals. And getting to the finals is itself a 25 percent chance of winning the whole thing. If you focused only on the $125K prize, taking immunity is worth only $6.25K versus the car which is probably something like $25K depending on what they get.

Now, I know winning is really worth a lot more than just the cash prize. The publicity etc. really gives you a shot at opening your own restaurant (if you don't have one already) etc. But even if wining were worth as much as $500K, it's still kinda breakeven versus taking the car, no?

[Independent George]

With Beverly, 4 chefs competing for 3 positions, Ed has a 25% chance of not moving on; Without Beverly, 3 chefs competing for 2 positions, Ed has a ~33% chance of not moving on. Again, Beverly increases his odds of making it into the finale by ~8%.

I disagree with your math. If there are 3 chefs in the finale, without Bev, he's already in the final 4, and has a 75% chance to advance to the finale.

With Bev, he has to survive two challenges. He's got an 80% chance tonight's episode, multiplied by a 75% chance in the penultimate challenge, for a total 60% chance of advancing to the finale. Basically, they added an extra round for him to be eliminated in.

If it's a 2-person finale, he's got a 50.25% chance of advancing without Bev, and a 40.2% chance of advancing with her.

[garik16]

By the way, i hate the freaking editing, because from Gail's blog:

"I actually don’t think we conveyed just how extraordinary Paul’s dish was. I can actually say without hesitation that this dish was the best dish I have tasted from anyone all season long. Hands down. Possibly one of the best dishes ever cooked on Top Chef. It was un-f--king believable. If you asked me a month ago if I remembered a single dish from the entire season, I wouldn’t be able to tell you a single dish, because the second they're done it’s all a blur to me. They all go into the archive of Top Chef dishes that I’ll never have to eat again. But this single dish, I could recite every single ingredient, every detail. It was a chilled soup, which is so deceptively simple. I’ve never tasted anything like that in my whole life."

I thought Bev was going to win from the editing. Not cool.

[chrish]

"I thought Bev was going to win from the editing. Not cool."

I thought Tom's comments about Paul's dish were a pretty big indicator he would win. I do agree with the comment above that it was a kinda ballsy move. I can see the critique of "you thought you were going to win with soup", especially without a prominent protein in the soup.

[Skillet Doux]

" I can see the critique of 'you thought you were going to win with soup', especially without a prominent protein in the soup."

How it goes. All of those things we say the judges will crucify you for? Doesn't matter if you rock the dish. There's no recipe for it yet. I'll be really annoyed if they don't post it.

[Cousin Sam]

Ed's comment was total sour grapes. Bev won her spot fair and square. Ed lost because he bought canned oysters instead of changing his plan, period.

And seriously, what is it going to take for these people to give Bev some respect? Sheesh!

[doktarr]

@chrish: that was my interpretation of Ed's comments about Beverly. He appears to have a warm personal relationship with her and a high regard for her as a chef (he did bet a pack of smokes on her, after all), so this really looks like nothing more than "I thought I'd made it, then LCK got sprung and I didn't make it".

I also agree - it seemed pretty clear to me that Paul was going to win from the comments at the dinner.

I also got a bit misty when they brought out the mentors. I never used to cry at stuff like that on TV, but ever since I had kids I'm a bit more of a softie. I blame the lack of sleep. ;)

[chrish]

"Ed's comment was total sour grapes."

I think almost everything Ed says is with tongue firmly in cheek (except when he was pissed at Sarah over the bbq). I really didn't get sour grapes or Bev bashing from it at all.

[OmicronPersei8]

Agreed garik, with only four dishes they should have been able to squeeze in more than fifteen seconds for the diners' reactions. If the dish was as 'un-f--king believable' as Gail said, it should have come across on the show. And if they were so concerned about not revealing the result prematurely why did they telegraph Ed's elimination so early? Annoying.

Decent ep though.

[Independent George]

I think almost everything Ed says is with tongue firmly in cheek

I agree - Ed has an incredible deadpan which I'm frankly envious of. I think Bravo edits him to appear earnest, but it seemed pretty clear to me that wasn't the case.

[Independent George]

Dom - the recipe has been posted. I linked to it above.

[Skillet Doux]

Okay, I just went back and watched it three times, and I think you guys are reading WAAAAAY too much into a throwaway line. He's just saying that thinking you're in only to have somebody come back from the dead to knock you out would be a brutal way to go, and he's right, and if I were in his shoes I might use those exact same words without in any way meaning that I actually blame Beverly somehow. I reiterate my surprise that anybody even gave that line a second thought. It's a figure of speech, the guy's whole manner is dry, and he's routinely stuck up for Bev... this isn't even a molehill, much less a mountain.

[Skillet Doux]

IG... thanks. Dude's got some finesse. It's an easy recipe, and I'm sure you could make it 50 times and not capture the magic.

[dmantell]

@IG:

I disagree with your math. If there are 3 chefs in the finale, without Bev, he's already in the final 4, and has a 75% chance to advance to the finale.

We are saying the same thing here, just in opposite ways, a 75% chance of moving ahead is the same as the 25% chance of not moving ahead that I cited.

As far as the remainder of your point - I assumed that tonight's episode was the penultimate challenge and that the next episode was the 4 person finale.

If that was my incorrect assumption, and I'm guessing that it is, and there is an additional culling of 4--->3 (with bev), then you are correct with Ed's 60% chance.

I'm not sure I understand your logic about the 2 person finale (I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm saying that you'd have to walk me through it with a little more detail).

If there was no Bev, and it was just 4---3 for a 3 man finale, then this would have been the penultimate episode, and Ed would have had the 75% chance to move on, and Beverly cost him 15%.

[dmantell]

damn it. I keep screwing up the formatting - that first statement is quoting you, not making my own point. Sorry!

[Independent George]

By a 2-person finale, I meant that it followed the format of All-Stars last season - they had three single-eliminations until a two-man finale. If that were the case, then it's 80% * 75% * 67% = 40% shot of advancing to the finale with Bev returning, and 75%*67% = 50% chance of advancing to the finale without Bev. Either way, his chances go down because of the returning competitor.

We basically came to different conclusions because we started from different assumptions. You assumed that tonight's episode led to a 4-person finale; I assumed there would be another 1-2 eliminations.

[OmicronPersei8]

Has Tom abandoned his blog to be a full time twitterer now? I suppose it's just the medium but his tweets aren't nearly as erudite.

[Tom W.]

Curiously, Lindsay and (even more surprisingly) Sarah seem to be trying to make nice to Beverly on Twitter. Makes my head spin.

I'm a Bev supporter but I like Lindsay well enough and am curious to see how she does in the finals. I even want to like Sarah sometimes, too -- though she makes that pretty difficult...

It's been a fairly meh season but still I've enjoyed several of the episodes, including this one. And the finals preview vids are very amusing.

[Johnathan]

I'm a vegetarian, so I really don't know, but there seemed to be a lot of other fresh mollusks at Whole Foods that day. Would Ed's dish have suffered so much had he used fresh clams or mussels instead of oysters? Again, I don't have much experience with any of the above, just curious. I was sad to see him go.

[Duffy]

Of course she should have taken the car. It was not an either or proposition; she would have had had an 80% chance of advancing anyway PLUS a cool $40K ride to keep. Now, when she gets bumped off next week, she gets bupkis.

I would rank them Paul, Bev, Lindsay, Sarah

[Sweet Sue]

I think that we all knew Ed was gone the minute he bought the canned oysters.
He's been skating on thin ice for a while-dried out short ribs and rubber chicken.
But I've warmed up to him and I'm sorry to see him go.

[Beth]

Gail's EW blog takes it even further, saying Paul's dish was the best thing she's ever eaten on the show:

"There’s no point in hitting you over the head with it, but I can say with complete confidence that in all my seasons of shooting Top Chef, [Paul's dish was] pretty much the single best thing that I have ever eaten on the show. It was so unbelievably mature and creative and I don’t think that in our description of it we did it justice. It was so beautiful the way he hand-placed the vegetables, [which] he then made into tubes and stood upright in the base of this bowl. Then poured in this dashi-sunchoke soup, the flavor of which I can’t even describe. All of us took one bite and we were sold. It was a really extraordinary dish and it was one I will remember for a very long time. It wasn’t even a question who won that challenge. It was so obvious to all of us that day."

She's gushing like it's pepperoni sauce. Hope that doesn't mean Paul falls short at the end. I was really hoping for a female winner this season, and could generally get behind a Beverly win since I find her awkwardness more endearing than many (plus I think she can really cook). But Paul is in another stratosphere from the rest of this field and truly deserves the title Top Chef. If he loses they'd better cook up a new All Stars season for him pronto.

[gilmore]

Very happy for Bev. Not surprised that Sarah did not even congratulate her (she hugged Paul) when Bev and Paul returned to the stew room. Hope she is the first to go in the final four. No car. No top 3.

I love Ed's dry humor. I agree with those above about Ed - I think he likes and respects Bev.

Paul is amazing. Makes me want to go to Austin just to eat his food.

[Anon Man]

Beth, wow that is a glowing review. If he doesn't win is it the biggest fall on your face ever? I think so.

With that noted, I stand by my initial comment totals the car. It was Sarah who complained she hadn't won anything. And, now she turns it down. There is no guarantee that you win in the finals, so take the sure thing. Shows a lack of confidence.

Agreed that the latent hostility between bev and the others is bordering on unwatchable. Although I note that Sarah was more than happy to take a congratulatory hug from Bev when she won the QF. Here's hoping that she outlast those two, but I'm going to say now that Bev cannot win. She and Paul are both prone to cook Asian influenced dishes and thus they will be compared directly to each other, and based on what we've seen, Pail is the better technician f the two.

[Anon Man]

Btw "totals thecar" is "take the care". I shouldn't type on my iPad without glasses.

[paula]

I kind of knew Paul had rocked it BECAUSE the edit showed so little commentary about his dish. As for Ed, man, he really seemed like he was mental toast right from the start of the episode. Watching his face when the QF was between him and Sarah, you could see he had no expectation of winning. He seemed in a pretty self-defeatest mode, and was just waiting to get sent packing. And the way all the judges gasped and seemed to be literally blown back when he admitted he'd used canned oysters? You would have thought he'd admitted to spitting in their food.

Ed was a great contestant, though, and his deadpan hilarity was killer. I definitely plan to visit his restaurant in Louisville.

Paul and Tyson's mutual respect and the way they both tried to remain so stoic and composed (and failed) had me all verklempt. (Talk amongst yourselves.) Oh, and how kickass was it that Beverly won raves for a dish that required serious time-management, speed and control? Take that, haters!

[momjamin]

ITA that Ed's comments about Bev were about the surprise of LCK in general -- fill in the blank, "If I go home because of Keith/Chuy/Malibu/Nyesha/anyone we've already beat, I'm going to be POed."

Highlight on Bev's lack of social acuity: Her total delight at being back (understandable), while completely clueless that everyone else was ticked that the game changed (also understandable).

On a totally different note, British Columbia, in the snow, hacking up blocks of ice? Had they planned it before endless days of 110 degree temps, or did some sweating PA (or judge) say, "We've *got* to find some place with ice for the finale"?

[Redpoint]

Ed DID have a second chance to get back in the game. Right at the beginning.

[attheapollo]

On the topic of Ed's comments, I agree with Dom and I'll take it a little further: I think he was just stating a fact with no malicious intent at all. He plainly said that they called back all of the chefs thinking they were about to be congratulated for making the finals, but instead were introduced to the LCK twist.

Paul reaction to Tyson was just incredible. And Lindsay won a few points in my book for her JT appearance and the "no cryin' in fine dinin'" line. The pressure of this challenge must've been overwhelming to at least some of them.

[anne]

It's amazing to me how little awareness people have that they are on national television. Heather, of course, was lucky she was booted when she was she she didn't have time to display her bullying any more. But Sarah and Lindsay have been quite catty, and I simply would never want to hire them, ever. I'm actually angry at the women of this season for making girls look like they are perpetually in middle school--other than Grayson and Nyesha and Bev. It's hard for the viewers to see just what Bev has done that's so annoying, other than being a little slow and oblivious--it seems her biggest crime is seeming like someone who is powerless. I really hope Sarah and Lindsay grow up as a result of this experience and learn some kindness. And as much as I usually root for female chefs, I hope they don't win. Plus, Paul seems to be head and shoulders above everyone else.

I can't remember a season with this much cattiness among the female chefs.

[nm]

I agree with Dom about Ed wrt Bev. But ... canned oysters? When he reached for them I was saying "nooooooooooo!" and when he decided they would work I knew that he was the one who would be cut. I was rooting for him, but some mistakes you can't overcome.

[Pepperjack]

Another reason she may not have taken the car is the taxes. I guess you could take it out other winnings (she has won money at some point, yes?), but I know a lot of people win cars and then sell them because they can't pay the tax. Probably not the main reason, but could have factored into the decision a bit.

[Independent George]

I think that photo of Ed should be captioned, "I've made a huge mistake."

Actually, all elimination photos could probably be captioned that way.

[chrish]

Maybe Paul is too sincere and nice to do this, but I also thought that in his winners comments at JT (that this is the type of challenge that really means something to him and that he came here for) he was taking a little dig at some of the idiotic challenges they've put them through.

[Kimberly]

I agree with Dom that Ed's comment about Bev taking his spot in the finale was an off the cuff statement, not an intentional dig at Bev personally. I suspect he would have said it in the same manner regardless of who came back from LCK to win a spot in the finale.

When the blindfolds first came out [insert joke here] I thought they were going to do the quickfire where the contestants were blind and had to identify ingredients and/or quality of ingredients. I think they did this before, in the Chicago season, and I think it would have been a better quickfire for this stage in the game.

[Nikki L]

I really love Bev's transformation actually. It seems like she was just someone who got a rocky start and had trouble adjusting to the format and pace of the show. She got booted right when she was getting her footing - and the dish was simply the worst of the best. LCK was exactly perfectly designed for this kind of contestant - someone who just needed a little more time to get their footing. I have a feeling she's going to keep doing well in these last few challenges now that she has her confidence.

Also - yes, it stinks for Ed that he thought he'd be in the top 4 and then wasn't because of LCK - but it's not like the LCK winner was just sitting around. Bev still had to knock out everyone else head to head which is so much more difficult than just surviving the elimination challenges.

[doktarr]

On the math point... just to be clear, my understanding of what Ed said is that Last Chance Kitchen, in the form of Beverly, took him from a 100% chance of making the finals to a 80% chance of making the finals.

I can understand why people would interpret that line as biting at Beverly - after all, we've seen Heather and Lindsey and Sarah make many negative comments about Beverly. But Ed has not, and all indications are that he gets along with her fine and respects her as a chef. Again, he bet on her coming back!

Personally, I think Ed seems like a great guy, and he would be my vote for Fan Fave, with Paul and Tylor close behind. The only thing I can fault him for at all is the way he acted in the BBQ challenge, but I'm pretty sure I'd act the same way if I was up all night cooking and then my teammate who had left me in the lurch (for a legitimate reason, but none the less) swooped in to serve the judges and then went back to resting.

[Joanna]

Wow, Gail's praise for Paul's soup is pretty impressive, especially given the simplicity of the recipe. (@Beth, I seriously laughed out loud at "She's gushing like it's pepperoni sauce.") A chilled vegetable soup as the best Top Chef dish ever?? Who would've thought that possible? I do really wish that they would have shown a little more of this reaction beforehand.

I think, actually, the effusive praise is one thing that set this episode apart from the Ellis Island episode. There, the family members at the table did a crazy amount of gushing, as did the judges; here, the mentors gave praise in a different way... more subtle and reserved. Perhaps it's because they are chefs themselves and they could spot the flaws more easily? Or perhaps it's just the different dynamic of a mentor-mentee relationship versus a family relationship. I also got a sense in the Ellis Island episode that the judges were hesitant to critique the food in front of the chefs' mothers and husbands and wives because they did not want to insult anyone, where as critiquing food in front of a mentor would come across as constructive and not really an insult at all. (Or maybe the food in that episode was just consistently better than this one, which other than the soup is totally possible!)

Anyway, I'm just musing, and overall I did really enjoy this episode even though I'm sad to see Ed go. I also was surprised to see that he got his start at Crispo -- it's a really solid Italian restaurant around the corner from me in New York and between Ed's Korean background and all his talk about Kentucky, I never got a whiff of New York Italian from him or his food. With that said, I do really enjoy Crispo and I was glad to see it represented on TV!

[Libster]

Just a few thoughts

About immunity versus the Car - Remember when everyone gave Robin grief for picking immunity? Regardless of Sarah picked it I think she was just thinking about safety and getting into the finals. I agree with those that said it's different if this was in the early part or middle of the season but this was an offer to continue on so close to the final. I did feel that she missed out on an opportunity to cook for her mentor though. If I was her I would have been upset with that. But maybe the rest and the tmie to hang out with the mentor is enough of a prize on its own.

Put another penny is the TC Naughty bank. Canned Oysters is just a sin. I bet everyone was screaming at the TV. No Ed! Nooooooooo!

I have to say for me this wasn't the best episode ever like it was being touted. I think Gale just has fond memories of Paul's Soup because Ellis Island was way better. This was great though I did enjoy it.

By the looks of the edits for the teasers of the episode with Paul crying I thought, what could they probably be doing. Making him cook with the drugs he used to sell and the dog poop in the house? LOL. The elves sure tried their hardest.

One thought on Sarah. It's such a shame because if you take away the "mean girl" part of her she's quite likable. She's a great chef who pacing right behind Paul. Her food is something I would enjoy and this is why I hope the "mean girl" part is just an ugly extention of stress that comes with the contest.

[gilmore]

Ed's exit interview is excellent (at least I think so!!).

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-9/videos/canned

The extended judge's table gives a little more insight into Ed vs. Lindsay. I though there might be more on Paul's dish, but there was not. Just Ed vs. Lindsay.

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-9/videos/extended-judges-table-right-back-where-you-started

Just have to put up with the stupid Prius commercial.

[Sweet Sue]

I have a question for the serious foodies here: Are canned smoked oysters really that bad?
I get that you don't use canned or-God forbid-frozen seafood or dried herbs, for that matter, on Top Chef, but I've often thought that smoked oysters on toast points would be delicious, especially, when washed down with fine champagne.

[Kyle Rovinsky]

Sarah's choice of immunity over a big prize is completely consistent with her spineless personality.

Anyone else think an oyster/pork is just kind of weird?

[Independent George]

Heck, I've never had a problem with IQF seafood, but the margins are much smaller in a competition than they are for home use.

I loved the way Tom & Padma busted out laughing when Ed told them he selected the pork casings. Great job by him using them for the broth.

[Skillet Doux]

"Anyone else think an oyster/pork is just kind of weird?"

Not me. Put it this way... does oyster and bacon seem kind of weird to you?

[chrish]

"canned smoked oysters"

Many have said "canned" but they weren't really canned were they? Maybe vacuum packed, maybe not even that.

I second the question. I don't have a good understanding of Ed's dish, and smoked oysters may have been a bad match for it (certainly, they'd seem to be of a very different flavor profile from fresh oysters, but it's also far from obvious that smoke is a bad match for pork). But are smoked oysters any worse than using premade bacon or sausage (which I know gets a knock but isn't a cardinal sin)?

Tom really seemed aghast at the revelation. Sometime I think he just looks for opportunities to get on some hobby horse or other, and goes way overboard (not to mix metaphors or anything).

[Skillet Doux]

Chrish... "Canned" here refers to the process (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canning), not the container in which the food is canned, which may or may not be an actual can.

[chrish]

"'Canned' here refers to the process...not the container in which the food is canned, which may or may not be an actual can."

It wasn't obvious to me that it wasn't like these kinds of products (which I realize don't include smoked oysters specifically but was kinda what I had in mind). I don't think these are even vacuum packed. And is stuff that is vacuum packed considered "canned", especially when they have very short shelf lives?

http://www.ducktrap.com/other_items.html

[Skillet Doux]

Ah, okay, I see what you're saying. I don't know about the specific oysters Ed had. My suspicion is that they were probably canned, but that's not terribly informed.

As for whether it's any worse than alternatives you mention, bacon's certainly not analogous, since that has to be cured and smoked. It'd be impossible to make your own bacon on a Top Chef challenge, unless it were an overnight cure and a quick smoke the next day on an overnight challenge, but that really isn't going to resemble what we know as bacon. Buying premade is not only preferable, it's impossible to do otherwise. I don't think sausage is analogous either. In that case (presuming we're talking about fresh sausage), it's simply a shortcut. You can make your own, you can buy it premade. It's the same product. In this case, the assertion is that the canned/packaged oysters are an inferior product that Ed chose to use anyway. I don't know enough about packaged oysters to know how good they can be, but all of the judges knew something was off before they even found out, and given how quickly and easily bivalves spoil, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that there's no way to make that work. But even so, the problem wasn't that the oysters were canned, per se... it's that it didn't taste good. If the sauce tasted great, it's a non-issue.

[gilmore]

I thought the oysters were in a plastic container and Ed asked someone in the store if could open one up to taste. He did and said it would work.

The smoke flavor would overwhelm the dish and create something that was not desired.

[gilmore]

and I think the smokiness is what triggered the comment. This was a sauce they were tasting, not eating an oyster where the texture of canned vs. fresh would be evident.

[Bob]

My daughter says that Bev is like Cinderella and Sarah is like the wicked step-sister. I guess that makes Paul a wizard, and Lindsay a...um, not sure. Unicorn?

Bravo has to love it, however; "good" (Paul, Bev) vs. "evil" (Sarah, Lindsay) always sells. Maybe Ed was just too nice - would have upset the balance.

Nikki's comments on Bev are spot-on. I'm sure there have been a lot of really good cooks who simply didn't do well in this format. We see it all the time on shows like TC Masters. Making her food her way - I would put her #2 right now, but also agree with another commenter that she might well be compared (unfavorably) to Paul.

Any bets on how long into the semi-finals Sarah "accidentally" cuts her finger and has to rush to the ER?

[lou]

Once more I watched Watch What Happens, because I wanted to see Ed's interview.

The comedian, whose name escapes me, made the Cinderella/stepsisters analogy too.

Ed said Beverly has a "strange process" for prepping that seemed to get to the women. He also observed that she's a strong woman who played the victimhood card and that probably set the women's teeth on edge, while the men were clueless and not really paying attention.

Not that I defend Lindsey and Sarah, because they're still catty jerks.

And now I'm ready to get on a plane and go to Austin to try Paul's restaurant. Chilled vegetable soup that turns out to be one of the best things they've ever had? Wow.

[Cousin Sam]

awwright, I take back what I said about Ed having sour grapes towards Bev. But they better give her props during the reunion show after they way they've been ragging on her! I don't think she'll be able to beat Paul, but I hope she trounces Sarah and Lindsey in the finals.

[MB in MD]

This season it's been really interesting to watch people's reactions (both cheftestants and viewers who have no first-hand knowledge) to Bev's awkwardness. A lot of the commentary I've read indicates that many people are downright disgusted by her perceived weakness (references to her "constant" crying about her family [huh?], playing the "victim card," etc) I was very socially awkward as a child - thankfully I've grown out of it, I think! - and I remember what it felt like to be ostracized. I've been really uncomfortable observing the amount of vitriol that her "differentness" inspires.

Anyway, on topic: I would seriously love to taste Paul's soup, but prepared by him since as Dom said, he must have some kind of magic touch to make a relatively simple recipe taste so amazing. "Pepperoni sauce" - LOL!

[Gary]

I just don't see how it's fair Ed doesn't get a second chance but the other chefs did.

[Oceanside]

Anyone who thinks bev is a victim, is delusional. Ed commented on the after show the guys only thought of her as a strong cook, She threw down the guanlet when she taped her note up. Also remember Paul tried to set up kitchen rules because of her kitchen behavior. And personally if I was in whole foods when she was commanding-o thru the aisles,she wouldn't have made it to the register. She knows how to cook fish in her sleep, and threw Lindsey under the bus...she enjoys playing the victim, you did see her comments when no one else was around, she was pretty gleeful to me. if this makes me a mean girl, i'm 60 and know a fake when i see one.

[ally]

Wow calm down. Ed says she "played the victim card" and then suddenly she acted like a victim? We're the ones saying she's a victim. I'd like you to tell me any instance in which Bev acted like a victim with other contestants. Everything was either in-her-face hostile or behind her back. She talked about things to camera by herself, and as we know they respond to questions asked of them. So yell at us instead of vilifying Bev, eh?

[Shelly]

It sounds like you're saying she can't be a victim of a crime because she's come through it stronger, which is so wrong it hurts. Bev said she was in an abusive relationship. There is no proof that she was not. Saying that she's a fake based on nothing but a feeling is only perpetuating the problem of victim shaming that we have in this society, and it is wrong, because that what keeps the victims of such crimes silent and blaming themselves.

Bev said she's a victim and a survivor, and she can be as strong as she wants now without that casting any doubt on her story.

[Redpoint]

"Paul tried to set up kitchen rules because of her kitchen behavior. "

No. We don't know that was because of Bev. Paul never, not once, complained about her.

"she knows how to cook fish in her sleep and threw Lindsay under the bus."

No. It didn't happen that way. Lindsay told her how she wanted it done. Bev tried to suggest a different way but Lindsay was going to have none of it, and Lindsay acted like a btch here.

Bev never played the victim.

[chrish]

Happened to catch a little of the show while my wife was watching the recording. Saw that Paul drizzled a little of what looked like oil but could have been some other liquid onto his bowl. So it seems like the Bravo recipe is not complete.

[nomnomnom]

Well, the pre-season leaks were correct. They are going to really have to lock down their late season shopping trips. That is, if anyone really cares about this show after the way they have run it into the ground.

I wonder when they shot the Canada episodes. Couldn't have been that long ago with all the snow.

Has paul won more cash than the season 3 champion at this point?

All this discussion about Bev seems strange. Her personality is similar to many Asian women I know. Especially those which are 2nd generation. They try to put on a scatterbrain outward appearance to cover up the fact that they are either smart, hardworking, or frequently both.

Sarah is going to really regret not taking the car. At least she won't collapse due to heat from here on out.

[Libster]

That surely is a lot of speculating about Bev.

What we do know is that she has been a victim of domestic abuse and that isn't something people just get over. I think this is perhaps why she is so strong. She has managed to rise above all of that bullying and persevere.

I specualte that her scatterbrain mentality we see is more part of contest jitters and racing against a clock. In real life she probably doesn't opportate quite as skittish.

I don't think she is acting this way on purpose.

Lindsays fish was Lindsays fault. She had choices. She had the choice to ask someone else to execute it, if she did not believe in Bev. She had the choice to ask Bev to cook it that way. She had the choice to listen to feed back from Bev and Grayson. She made the choices she made. Bev did not throw her under the bus.

[gilmore]

nomnomnom - not one to look for or hear any leaks, but they need to look for somewhere to shop anyways.

Whole Foods has provided poor quality and selection at various times over various seasons. I am not sure if some of their product problems hurt them more than they help them.

Find a better place. Find two or three or whatever of the same markets within the city they shoot in and split them up. Send the eliminated chefs to Whole Foods or some other market as well to keep the ruse up.

[nomnomnom]

Well they did go to central market at one point while there.

If they really care about leaks, and I would argue they don't, they just need to stop the shopping with about 9 to go and bring everything to them or let them provide a list.

This was probably the most leaked show since season 3, but it really didn't change the enjoyment for me.

[Legs]

Watching them run around Whole Foods is ridiculously boring. I recognize that getting good ingredients is a big part of producing good food (which is why the "make gourmet food out of terrible ingredients" challenges are so annoying) - but this is Top Chef, not Top Whole Foods Shopper. I'm sure WF gives them plenty of $$, but the amount of screen time devoted to shopping there is out of all proportion.

[Lon]

I have talked before about how different judges can affect decisions and certainly how the episode plays out.

Having Gail present for the past two episodes has, to me, elevated the judging and certainly the commentary of the judges. I even enjoyed listen to Hugh this time. I thought he made a lot of good points without sounding as pretentious as he sometimes can. I felt the extended judges' table video helped me understand better the differences between Ed and Lindsay.

But I do agree, canned oysters is almost a guarantee of defeat, especially for a chef like Tom who has always used currently available materials for his food.

[garik16]

Nom, spoilers are unavoidable if they want to keep their sponsorship with Whole Foods (or another retailer), which I'd imagine they do. And really, if you don't want to be spoiled, it's really easy to avoid spoilers even if you are the type who reads Dom's blog.

The only time I've ever run into a "spoiler" was when rumors of Top Chef All Stars started when Carla and others were spotted in the union square Whole Foods in NY. That article included a list of the chefs seen at Whole Foods, and when Jen wasn't among them, it was obvious she was an early goner (though a shocking bit)

[Pepperjack]

Whole Foods is based out of Austin, there's no way they wouldn't be heavily featured on Top Chef Texas...

[nomnomnom]

To be fair, most of the intel came from Texas food blogs. They got confused because they thought they were finishing in Austin so they had shots of them in San Antonio, unwittingly they were shooting the SECOND bounce there. At the time it was frustrating because nobody knew they were going to qualifiers to get in. As soon as they figured out what they had done they pulled all the posts (probably bravo asked them to).

It was a shock to me to see Sarah stay in so long....Now I know why....

[Kathy from Austin]

Regarding the comments on Whole Foods, yes it is based here in Austin, but Central Market (HEB owned) is headquartered in San Antonio. And IMO Central Market is in a different and better league than Whole Foods. Early on, when the contestants were looking for flour tortillas I knew they were screwed going to Whole Foods. Central Market makes their own tortillas daily and they are the bomb. Also, I don't recall there ever being the shortages of a huge variety of clams, mussels, oysters, exotic fish etc. at CM as I often encounter at Whole Foods. Central Market has the backing of HEB with a much larger supply network that WF can't compete with.

Now, that is more than anyone asked for about the two grocery chains, but suffice to say, Whole Foods must have some type of sponsorship agreement with Bravo.

[Nikki L]

Since the Whole Foods thing keeps coming up... I always wondered why they just didn't do the shopping at some odd hour before the store opened?

[TxGriff]

Kathy from Austin- a thousand times yes to CM's tortillas. I especially love their Hatch tortillas during Hatch fest. Delicious.

Not much to add, except I think this is a pretty strong finalist group. Paul's in a different league, but it will be interesting to see how Lindsay, Sarah and Bev stack up against each other. No real "clunkers" this year.

[garik16]

Since the Whole Foods thing keeps coming up... I always wondered why they just didn't do the shopping at some odd hour before the store opened?

Nikki, because I imagine it's not feasible....You'd have to have many employees working overtime just because of the show, the meat and other supplies that arrive daily would have to be ready early, and it would require a lot of going out of the way of the Whole Foods routine for something that occurs at most 14 times during the season, and probably less than 10 times.

[Surrounded by Vegans]

I haven't commented at all this season because as a survivor of last summer in Texas, each episode gives me PTSD flashbacks. but I had to come by to celebs hare/boast: the inlaws are in town to celebrate my daughters birthday which means TONIGHT IM EATING AT UCHIKO Y'ALL!
And if there's a cold soup on the menu I'm getting it! Paul FTW!!!

[Anon Man]

SBVs: I expect some sort of report on the food at Paul's place.

[Beth]

Like Gail, I was curious whether Paul's sunchoke dashi was something he had made before, or if somehow inspiration struck to allow him to create a "three-Michelin star restaurant dish in Tokyo" on the fly. I don't recall it ever being on the regular menu at Uchiko (and if it was and I passed it up I'm kicking myself), but my friend Google tells me something similar was on the specials board last summer just before filming began:

http://communaltable.com/let’s-talk-quinoa-or-five-grains-of-goodness-in-austin-tx/dsc_0013/

I also found a recipe for a much more complex version featuring dried uni - obviously the time constraints of this challenge did not allow for that component, but boy I'll bet this is killer:

http://www.starchefs.com/cook/recipe/paul-qui/sunchoke-dashi-uni-powder-and-lemon-crème-fraîche

SBVegans, your post alone made me drool like Pavlov's dog. I ate most recently at Uchiko just two weeks ago and already I'm jonesing for my next fix. Just head-shaking flavor and texture combinations, resulting in the most craveable food I've tasted. I've eaten at a few other TC restaurants after the fact (Perilla, 10 Arts, Woodfire), but it has been a new experience to have a chef whose food I already know and worship appear on the show.

I'm thrilled for Paul and Tyson for the national attention the show has brought to the Uchi family (not that the culinary world wasn't already taking notice) and I honestly could not have hoped for a better showing from the well-liked chef of my favorite hometown restaurant. It's also great for the burgeoning Austin fine-dining scene in general. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the likes of Bryce Gilmore (Barleyswine), Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside/Backspace), Rene Ortiz (La Condesa) - or their protege - try out for the show in the future. My only complaint is that having a hometown favorite to root for has ratcheted my TC obsession up to new heights, and of course Paul's awesome showing means it's going to be that much harder to secure a table at Uchiko or an order of pork belly buns at ESK before they run out.

[mar]

We lived in Austin for a few years, 10 years ago, and STILL talk about (and yearn for) Central Market. Doesn't help that the closest WF is 25 min away and we're mostly stuck with Stop & Shop. Between all the talk about Central Market, the challenge at The Salt Lick (our fave bbq place), and Paul's restaurant, I'm almost wishing we still lived there.

Almost.

Hard for a New Englander to live in Texas, even Austin, for good. Though my blood has never quite thickened up again.

[ally]

can we please separate the terms "jonesing" and anything to do with eating food? It gives me the heebie jeebies.

[Beth]

I'm obsessed! I want to try this soup so badly. I found another mention of it as early as March of last year, so definitely a flavor profile Paul had perfected over time:

http://digitalpapercuts.com/travel/dinner-at-uchiko-even-better-than-uchi/

Ok I'll stop now.

Does anyone know when the reunion airs? The scheule at Bravo.com only lists a standard ep of WWHL after the show on 2/22 (that is the finale, right?). I am very curious how they address the whole Mean Girl meme. I think they skipped the reunion entirely in season 2 after the ugliness of the head-shaving incident, but I know from Twitter mentions they filmed one this year.

[TK]

Sarah cheated in the blondfold challenge. Go back and watch and you'll see she left a gap between the blindfold and her face, and when pulling ingredients from the fridge you can see her tipping her head back to look under the blindfold and grab exactly the herbs she wants. Ed should have won the Quickfire. I hope Sarah goes out next. Tony Mantuano should be mortified by her behavior on national television.

I find Beverly annoying at times but she won her spot back in the competition fair and square. She seems to be a solid cook but maybe not very imaginative. Same for Lindsay. She also annoys me but not as much as Sarah. Basically she's just boring - it seems like she's made some sort of stew with seafood in every single challenge (even the Charleze Theron one). But her record through the season is strong so she deserves to be in the finale.

That being said Paul is a beast and needs to win this for the show to retain any credibility. He seems like a stand up guy too. All the chefs seem to like him even though he is kicking their asses every single week. I like the said this was the challenge to win not because he won the car or got into the final, but because he made his mentor proud.

[Kathy from Austin]

@ Beth, I have to disagree on the Uchi vs. Uchiko though both are fabulous. Uchi has a refinement that is hard to describe. Not that Uchiko isn't refined, but I would say Uchkio is probably a little more on the risk-taking side and you have *a bit* more hit and miss. The highs are probably much higher at Uchiko, but you can drag my Hama Chili from my cold dead hands. :)

Both are exceptional restaurants and damn! Thanks for sending the pictures along. I need to head back over.

TX Griff: Have you been to Wink Restaurant (on South Lamar)? Went there last night. Sweetbreads were to die for.

[Kathy from Austin]

Last time I went to Uchiko (4 wks ago) I have everyone there a card with Skilletdoux.com info. So sue me. The Uchi's are out in force...

Kathy

[ally]

Kathy, enough already rubbing it in. You go to Uchi and Uchiko. We heard you the first ten times.

[Kathy from Austin]

Yowza, Ally. Fair enough, apologize for that. Not rubbing it in, that would not be in character for me. Just proud of the home team.

Yikes!