Top Chef - S9E5 Postmortem

Are we getting a little bit more separation between the contestants yet? Is Chris too in awe of John Besh's teeth to cook? Has anybody shivved Beverly? I'll check in later... you get started. Discuss!

UPDATE : Kill me now.

UPDATE II : Please, kill me now.

UPDATE III : AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

UPDATE IV : Well, thank god that's over. Here's hoping they crammed most of the ick into one episode. Can I just pretend this episode never happened? No? Rankings on Monday? *sigh*... okaaaaaaay.

I'll wait until I'm less annoyed to write more. But don't let that stop you guys.

Discuss!

Comments

[TxGriff]

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I grew up in Highland Park. Nothing they showed was an exaggeration of the area. My favorite part was when skinny blonde woman #2 called the panna cotta "jiggly looking"

I thought Chris C was going home for sure, so that was a bit of a surprise. Also, go Paul.

[attheapollo]

....what dom said. at least there's last chance kitchen?

[garik16]

You know, it's one thing to show fancy restaurants...but showing this type of Affluent neighborhood (plus the accent) in this economy? Ballsy.

Also, Whitney got some time! Amazing!

Very interesting episode; I suspect "Everyone is beautiful" Chris survived only because the Judges gave the benefit of doubt to the dessert team.

[bfish]

It seemed to me that during all three courses both Tom and John Besh were doing a lot of eye-rolling and trying hard, but not totally successfully, to suppress their reactions to some of the inane comments made by the progressive dinner people. Highlighting that in the edit was kind of subversive. Tom and Besh weren't going to say anything to contradict the diners' reactions but they clearly weren't agreeing with much of what was complimented, and what was dissed. The exception was Tom having to answer a question about Chris C's cupcake dessert, to which he responded with that mother's disclaimer "if you don't have something nice to say . . .". I would love to know what they were really thinking -- off to the blogs to see if they let on any of their true feelings.

[Amanda P.]

The consensus in this house was that we saw the 5 worst dishes to date. Just how bad must the bottom 4 have been that overcooked lamb doesn't even make the bottom!

I do wish the elves would stop telegraphing the outcome, though. We got to JT and I knew it was Chuy because of the commercial break footage.

[Amanda P.]

Oh, and I agree with bfish. Tom looked EXTRAORDINARILY pained listening to the hosts!

[Kathy from Austin]

Paul is just quietly cooking as he does in the Uchi/Uchiko style. Seemingly simple dishes but very complex flavors. The restaurants he has helped lead (with Tyson Cole, of course) are rich with layered flavors and surprising finishes. Also, they do an amazing job with textures. Since it is primarily sushi/sashimi they rely on two elements in addition to quality ingredients: texture and kick. Having eaten there probably 20 times, I am always grateful for the consistency and the surprise of the dishes. Pedestrian: NEVER.

[Olie]

Thanks Bravo for bringing your signature blend of vapid AND pretentious to Top Chef, I thought that was reserved for the Real Housewives of xyz.

Sad to see Chuy go, I thought it was going to be Chris C. based on the edit.

At least this episode will create the polarity that viewers have been missing in the first episodes of the season.

[anne]

Watching Tom's combination of annoyance and amusement develop through the episode was at least entertaining. But seriously, who are these people?

[Independent George]

1. Darn. I liked Chuy, and love his restaurant.
2. The season had started so promising.
3. What was the Effing Eff was the point of that QF?
4. Why would anyone volunteer to host a Top Chef challenge if you weren't into food? Couldn't the producers have just invited the kid from the quincinera back?
5. Ed didn't get a mention, but his dessert looked & sounded amazing.

[Bawdy George]

Olie, my thoughts exactly - I thought I was watching the Real Housewives of Vapid. Acheson's blog on this episode is priceless, he sounds even more annoyed than Tom appeared to be.

[Sharon Metzger]

One of my temptations to discontent: People who don't enjoy food (both cooking and eating) having 800-sq-foot kitchens with top of the line appliances. I guess if they're going to film TC in a home kitchen, they need that kind of home, though.

Tom's blog explains his crankiness (sounds like he was in a lot of physical pain), and although he didn't come right out and diss the hosts, I'm sure the comments of the Real Housewives of Highland Park didn't help -- he was grateful to have John Besh as fellow-eye-roller!

[Independent George]

In their defense, at least they hate cilantro, as all sane, God-fearing peoples do.

[Sweet Sue]

The dark haired woman who has written "lifestyle" books but isn't adventerous about food really set my teeth on edge.
Aw, hell, they all did.
And, how disgusting did the chicken cigar and ash look?
I thought Chris was a gonner for sure, after Tom said "close but no cigar."
All I can say after that episode is eat the rich.

[Independent George]

I woke up this morning feeling a little more charitable about the hosts. Sometimes, it can be difficult articulating your likes and dislikes to strangers, and things can easily be taken out of context by editors looking to make good television. I've really only gotten into food in the last 5-6 years, and don't want to turn into the kind of pretentious foodie who turns his nose up at anything that hasn't been deconstructed and served on a bed of homegrown greens plucked by specially trained Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers whose unique abilities enable them to pick without damaging the fragile seed pods.

That said, I stand by my original point that it seems silly to volunteer to host for Top Chef if you're 'not an adventurous' eater, never saw a panna cotta before, or blanch at the sight of 'bloody' meat. I was going to say somethhing snarky about cupcakes, but I'm actually gratified that there's at least one town where the overpriced, overfrosted cupcake craze hasn't hit yet. That's actually a point in their favor in my book.

[Vesuvius]

I was saddened by those beautiful shiny copper pans that looked like they had never been used. I wanted to rescue them and give them a loving home.

[Tigerpiper]

Did one of those vapid bimbos really say "If I like a dish, I'd definitely have the chef cook for me again?" Who are these people? What about getting the recipe and using your $4000 viking range to cook? What is this show about? Has Tom Collichio jumped the shark?

[TokenOmnivore]

I think the Bravo scouts for "Housewives of..." got mixed up with the Top Chef scouts. I'm now afraid for what they chose in Austin. We've got funky down here, with a reasonable set of dives, trailers, and farm-to-market eating (long before it was trendy). But if you look for Housewives you'll find them. If they show them in Austin, please, we relegate them to select parts of the city. Just like any other "bad part of town", they're easy to avoid once you know where they are.

I thought Moto Chris was a goner. Just the thought of eating a cigar turns my stomach. Although props to him for trying to find fresh corn. Not this last summer, dude.

[Libster]

Just a mention about Chris' Cigar. It has been featured on the Moto menu before. I first saw it when Anthony Bourdain did his No reservations Chicago show a few years back.

I hope Chris learned the valuable lesson here. Sometimes things only work well in certain environments. This was not that environment.

I was sad to see him in the bottom because I think he can deliver us some really interesting and thought provoking dishes.

[Independent George]

After further reflection, I can't help but think that the producers missed a huge opportunity in NYC last season. I think the ultimate NYC challenge would have been to have to cook dinner in a typical 500-sq ft Manhattan apartment. For example, my brother's apartment, where the kitchen seems to have been installed in a converted utility closet. Miniature range/oven, sink, microwave, and less than 5 square feet of counter space.

That would have been ten times more interesting and location-savvy than last night's 'survival kit' challenge.

[KinderJ]

Haven't read Tom's blog yet, but I can tell you that he has been very active for quite a few years in promoting things like food banks, school lunches and a host of other food security issues. His hosts may well have gotten so far up his nose a rich, silky pelt of hair may be forced into existence.

On the QF- You bring in John Besh for that?! Not my fav. chef in the world, but that's a QF someone's toothless survivalist cousin Lemmy could judge. And should. You know what would be a good Besh challenge? "Here is a whole mess of grits and all kinds of shrimp. Cook me something delicious that I haven't seen/cooked/eaten at least a dozen times before." Could they not find an actual survival kit? Or real MRE's or something? One of those cans still had the Whole Foods house brand label on it. Dom, we can't kill you know. You have to join us in hunting down the person who created that atrocity.

As for the EC, the actual format was good. You have to cook an app/main/dessert for a reasonable number of people with a very reasonable budget and few real restrictions on ingredients. Yes, some of your hosts preferences may have been annoying, but they were hardly draconian. Gummy Bear Guy did not, in fact, demand a gummy bear, he just said he was seriously into them. So really, there were options. And while I did find the wives/girlfriends instantly confirmed many of my prejudices about the idle rich, they were not picking the winners and losers either.

IG- You use NOVA SCOTIA duck tolling retrievers? Jesus, I cannot... God. Look. If you are getting your duck tolling retrievers from more than 100 miles away from your house, the Terrorists win. They win, George. They win forever. Because you don't care enough.

[Independent George]

IG- You use NOVA SCOTIA duck tolling retrievers? Jesus, I cannot... God. Look. If you are getting your duck tolling retrievers from more than 100 miles away from your house, the Terrorists win. They win, George. They win forever. Because you don't care enough.

But... but... but... they're just so gosh-darned cute!

[Redpoint]

Worst challenge ever. Cook for a group of boring, petty, rich people with no taste. Who thought of this? Plus, there was no incentive to cook anything interesting. Competent was good enough to fly through.

The cigar looked inedible, however, I have to give it to him for the subterfuge in this setting.

[mncharm]

That episode was awful, from the silly quickfire to the worthless hosts.

I can put that aside, though, as just early-season silliness. My biggest concern is this: at the end of the day, this was a challenge these chefs should knock out of the park (with the exception, perhaps, of the dessert crew -- although at least two of them did just that) -- and so many messed up so badly.

Overcooked lamb? The cigar, which was the opposite of what your host asked for and frankly, looked inedible? Perhaps this crew -- with the exception of Paul -- isn't nearly as talented as I had first thought.

[Anon Man]

With no offense intended the fine Texans who comment here, but never have I been happier that I don't live in Texas than while watching last night. I'll hold off on my more obnoxious comments about the hosts except to say, they couldn't find people with more interesting tastes? Sure, the random "I hate cilantro" or "I would love to see gummy bears elevated to fine dining" is the kind of curveball you're supposed to get when it's a "cleint-based" challenge. But, that was approaching remote-throwing levels.

Too bad about Chuy. I liked the guy, but really an odd choice of recipe.

[nomnomnom]

Pretty sure that was the worst episode ever. Being from Dallas I had some hope they would show it well. Looking at the contents of the next 3 episodes it appears this will not happen.

The talent level here now appears to be somewhere between Season 5 and 7 and falling. For all intents they had no real restrictions on the dinner element. They had a small, but well stocked kitchen and no real time crunch and put out nothing that even looked interesting.

I actually liked the cigar bit. It was well worth the shot to try that there.

[Lon Lasher]

I am enjoying this season's cast. Interesting personalities with very few duds. Liked the return to individual challenges this time after two shows with group winners. Makes me glad to be able to read Dom's comments because he's so often right on.

Independent George, I cracked up at your pastiche of culinary commentary and KinderJ's responses. Brought some brightness to my day and adds to my enjoyment of this site.

[nm]

One of those kitchens was done up in faux-Renaissance style. Not like Renaissance kitchens, of course, but like Bronx Renaissance living-room breakfronts from 60 years ago. Only really, really expensive. I could not even notice the unused equipment and gleaming pots, I was so flabbergasted by the cabinets. People do that?

[Skillet Doux]

Well, apparently all we needed to do to get the comments rolling was get everybody annoyed :-)

[Independent George]

With no offense intended the fine Texans who comment here, but never have I been happier that I don't live in Texas than while watching last night. I'll hold off on my more obnoxious comments about the hosts except to say, they couldn't find people with more interesting tastes?

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I wonder if that was an unconscious bias on the part of the producers. As a network, Bravo's frame of reference seems to be, well... this. I suspect that all of our teeth-gnashing was precisely the intended effect - it was an easy opportunity to score cheap laughs and feel superior. And it's not like NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco aren't filled with young couples interchangeable with last night's EC - they just didn't make it onto the TV. It feels like a case of NY-based producers finding exactly what they wanted & expected to find.

[Libster]

Did Like

- EC Winner, and it was Paul WTG I feel so much better now keeping him at the top.

- Gummy Bear Guy, the least annoying and most fun. I think he just meant to give them ideas and to tell them go big with your ideas.

- John Besh! Also loved the eye rolling.

Did Not Like

- Real Housewives of Dallas - "I don't like food mentality"

- A not so great quickfire with a not so great looking winning dish. I wish I could have tasted it but it looked like something my redneck uncle would make at 3am in the morning when he's wasted on a 12 pack of Budweiser.

- Chuy getting bounced out. :( Thought he had more to give.

To me Ty-Lor is hanging by a thread he seems to be in the bottom a lot and Chuy had his down moment here but during the course of the show he's had some highs. It's a shame but someone has to go.

[ally]

i will forever have the image of that disgusting "cigar" stuck in my brain. if you're going to do it, at least make it in proportion to a real cigar so you dont have such a huge honking roll that's impossible to eat.

that was the most stilted, embarrassing setting ever for top chef, hands down, can't even think of one even close to the cringe-factor here. it was like sorority couples playing house. i'm embarrassed for them. maybe it was a cheap way to do a test-run for Real Housewives of Highland Park.

Also - cilantro rules. that is all.

[garik16]

Couple things.

First, ignoring the QC (which was a terrible idea - but not surprising from a Top Chef standpoint), I don't think the EC was that bad of a challenge. The guests were terrible and painful to watch, but it seems clear that the judging was COMPLETELY out of their hands. And for the most part, there was plenty of neat ideas in the dishes that came out, even if they didn't always work.

Second, Nom:

The talent level here now appears to be somewhere between Season 5 and 7 and falling. For all intents they had no real restrictions on the dinner element. They had a small, but well stocked kitchen and no real time crunch and put out nothing that even looked interesting.

I gotta disagree here that you can judge at all right now. There was some creativity (whether it's original is another story) in Ed's dessert, Moto Chris's Cigar, etc. and most of the chefs seemed stymied by the requests of the guests.

There's some decent potential in these guys IMO. No one is yet dominant but it'd be kind of hard for them to be given that this was our first individual challenge of the competition.

[anne]

I was wondering if the chefs had ever seen the show before. Of course you'll get dinged if the hosts hate your food, but you're trying to impress the judges, that's what matters--unless they explicitly say there'll be voting or something. It was very clear the guests loved Chris's cupcake mess, but that didn't matter an ounce. (And Padma was having way too much fun when she asked, "Tom, what did you think?")

And I'm very pleased that Padma and Gail can talk about food without ever evaluating it in terms of "being worth the calories."

[Nigel from Cameroon]

Sisters Kim Schlegel Whitman and Kari Schlegel Kloewer hosted two-thirds of a “progressive dinner.”

Never heard of the Schlegels? Well. they are real (and really rich):

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_CEO/2009/November_December/Inside_the_Schlegel_Family_Dynasty.aspx

[nomnomnom]

I don't know if anyone cares but the main hostess (the first one) is a wannabee Martha Stuart starter kit. It was leaked in the local blogs here prior that she was going to have some role at some point. She is fairly well known for just trying to be over the top to get publicity. Her wedding was a good example of that.

Her and her friends are not a great representative of Dallas, heck not even a great rep. of HPUP. They were obviously chosen to go after the "real housewife" demo.

Oh, and it hasn't been mentioned yet here but the W hotel where they are staying has Tom's failing restaurant on the ground floor.

[Independent George]

Isn't Moto's cigar based on the cuban sandwich? That makes more thematic sense, and has obviously been refined to actually taste good. I've no problem making something that looks as ugly and unappetizing if it tastes good (Dom's description of the raccoon roadkill, for example, sounds incredible), but last night's cigar obviously needs more work.

[Anon Man]

George,

Yeah, maybe, but as a native Californian I can say New Yorkers hate CA possibly more than anything. Maybe that's how they got edited. But, they sure said a lot of dumb things. Dallas clearly isn't a complete wasteland of food; going to Tim Love's place has been on my list for several years. Next time I happen to be changing planes in Dallas, I'm extending my stay a night to eat there. I wonder if these people have ever eaten there, or they find it icky.

Let's boil this down to the essence. I don't think any of us really care that the houses were big and the decorations kind of tacky in a new money sort of way, but rather that the hosts they found were about as into food as a guy on a hunger strike. They could have had the progressive party in a subdivision of McMansions townhouses decorated by early Frontgate calatog and it would have been fine if the hosts actually were able to speak well about food. Where did they find these people? That would be an interesting question to answer.

As to nomx3 idea that this was to hit the real housewives demo: my wife watches some of those. And she doesn't watch them because they have interesting things to say about food; she watches them to see the train wrecks. In Top Chef Desserts, they had a housewife tie in that was annoying, but the actual blather from the trianwrecks was relateivly low.

[Libster]

Yes George, The original cigar is a Cuban sandwich, It looks like Chris was using that idea with a new type of food.

So far no one seems to be giving Chris a hard time for recycling the idea just failing to make it work. I do hope though we see more original ideas pop out of him and not just a rehash of Moto.

[Libster]

Man o Man, I'm looking at the rate the plate photos and Chris's Cigar does not look as refined as Motos. It kind of looks like a dog turd on the side of a gravel road.

[Vncntdl]

I can't remember seeing so much unimpressive looking food in one episode of TC. The QF was just dreadful: the combo of cooking outdoors and cooking with canned goods (and in a short time span) produced uniformly bad-looking dishes. I mean, almost all the dishes looked like something my roommate would cook for his dinner, and that can't be a good thing! My main problem with the EC was how the contestants were split into teams, although I guess the judges are always going to cut some slack to those who cook deserts (Chris C) to those who cook main courses (Chuy). I actually thought Ty-Lor was going home. He hasn't done anything memorable, has he?

Bad episode all round. Props though to Paul, for the first EC win!

[Patrick]

Some friends and I have a betting pool with this season and based on our discussions, we had the following rankings for the top three: Sarah, Paul and Grayson.

At the end of last nights episode, Sarah, Grayson, Paul and Chuy all had three top finishes out a possible six opportunities. I was shocked that Chuy was eliminated over everyone else in the bottom except for maybe Chris C (though he's the first this season to pull a double bottom finish in the same episode).

[Amanda]

I'm still surprised Heather didn't get a bottom mention for that overcooked lamb, especially since it looked like at least a couple of the guests were having trouble just cutting it.

[mo pie]

I agree with all of you that it was terrible. The food should have been good, but wasn't. I felt kind of guilty for hating all the spoiled rich people, but glad to know it's not just me.

"These folks want white bread food with edible gold on top."

I love you, Hugh Acheson.

[ally]

Vcn: I agree this is the worst food in recent memory. As others have pointed out, usually overcooked lamb would get you sent packing. But there were so many terrible dishes it didn't even get a bottom mention? That's sad!

The quickfire was essentially the "convenience store" or "vending machine" challenge, and usually i'm surprised at what they can come up with from seemingly terrible starting materials. This time it seems like they had a huge variety of ingredients, as illustrated by the fact that most of them had apparently taken out their survival dartboard to randomly put a dozen ingredients together. Also it was the worst plating ever for one of these things, where many didnt even bother to wipe the plate.

Oh, and Chris Jones -- it's called field corn. Look into it. Okay, maybe he's excused if he didn't spend formative years on a farm, but I can't believe he thought that could possibly be popcorn.

[Libster]

I think we need a volunteer to make Lindsays QF Dish and report back on it. :)

http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/triple-club-with-tuna-amp-sardines-in-french-onion-soup-with-vienna-sausage

[Joanna]

Holy crap, I don't know if that recipe makes me respect Lindsay more for actually making those ingredients taste good together, or if it makes me even sadder for how awful the rest of the dishes must have been. Her "sandwich" filling was tuna, sardines, mayonnaise, mustard, soy sauce and trail mix?? What?

[Duffy]

Poor Chuy. An excellent chef kneecapped by two very bad decisions. Off to a bad start with his iffy decision to blend fish with cheese. While some fish can be an excellent carrier for almost any strongly flavored sauce, the distinctively flavored salmon is not one of them. And Feta with Salmon? Oh my, an off-putting idea; didn't sound good -- didn't taste good. Trouble already.

At this point, upon their opening decisions, Chuy and Moto Chris, with Chris's terrible idea of the inedible looking cigars, would appear be tied.

But Cris apparently finished his dish with satisfactory technique (even though it looked awful) and Chuy stumbled. To get the cheese "right" he had to overcook the fish. Ouch. One wonders - would it have been any better if he had sacrificed the texture of the cooked cheese for perfectly cooked salmon? Maybe this last decision was more of a Hobson's choice than a bad decision, but it snapped him in the rear nonetheless.

[Independent George]

The thing I wonder about is whether it was a coincidence that all of those entrees were overcooked, or if maybe the equipment just happened to run hot in that house, or if that was a logistical issue in a crowded kitchen. It seems odd that so many would experience the same exact issue at the same location, but Beverly and Nyesha seemed to do just fine.

[Bart]

Can I (try to) defend the cigar?

Ok, here's the thing - what I think Moto Chris was going for was a dish that would have familiar flavor profiles, but LOOKED unique. And, maybe I'm wrong in thinking this, but I thought it was a cool idea. Obviously, he fell flat on the execution, but I wonder if it wasn't so greasy and stringy, if it would have been a hit.

I mean, the lady did ask "we want a conversation starter" and, hoo boy, that was a heck of a conversation starter.

Poor Chuy. I had a feeling he was gone when Besh said something like, "There's nothing redeeming about that dish." Ouch.

Chris C. has a crush on Padma, and a crush on Besh? Sounds like someone plays both sides of the plate...

Yeah, the episode was a little annoying, but it's over with. Next!

[Bart]

Just want to add - for those of you who haven't seen the Last Chance Kitchen mini-sode on Bravo, it's pretty good, and very, VERY much up Colicchio's alley.

[EdT.]

"With no offense intended the fine Texans who comment here, but never have I been happier that I don't live in Texas than while watching last night."

Dude... the folks in Houston were just repeating, over and over and over again, "f***ing Dallas... f***ing Dallas" as they performed repeated Picard pacepalms.

That episode was a total and utter embarrassment, and if we were allowed to, we would "secede" Highland Park from the state.

~EdT.

[Libster]

Re - Chuy, Cheese and Salmon, I read Tom's Blog which has a lot of insight into this. He was saying that the goat cheese he did use was too pungent.

I had no idea fish and cheese went together for years. Grew up in a place where lox and bagels are not served and was in my mid twenties before ever trying it. It wasn't until I bought some smoked salmon on a trip to Seattle that I actually made my own.

I'm a huge cheese fan but I rarely use cheese when cooking fish and I agree with Tom, Salmon needs a lighter creamier cheese.

After reading Tom's blog I understand why Chuy was the one to go. Even if I didn't like it.

Also great point, why were so many dishes overcooked? Was it the kitchens that seemed like they were never cooked in? or just a coincidence.

[EdT.]

I am firmly of the opinion that this particular EC was a special product placement - and maybe a screen test - for a new Bravo series, titled "Really Real Housewives of Pretentious Dallas Suburb."

[Libster]

Re: The real housewives of Dallas.

I'm actually going to commend them for one thing...

Sure I hated that they didn't seem to have a lot of food knowledge, or have an excellent palate but they are trying. Whether it's more of status thing or not I don't know, but these beautiful kitchens are not going to waste (for the most part).

They seem to be employing personal chefs, caterers and keeping in mind that it could just be easy for them to order at (insert high end chain restaurant here).

It's much like how the rich in the Renaissance would pay an artist for portraits.

[ally]

Libster, have you seen the movie Amadeus, where the king (or someone) said that Mozart's composition had "too many notes"? Thats what this seemed like. Pearls before swine, except it seemed like maybe it was more like ugly rocks before swine. There's a good analogy in here somewhere?

Also, Bart, from a chick's perspective, even if that cigar was a bit more tasty, I wouldn't be able to get away from how disgusting it looked. So no, I don't think there was any saving of the cigar, as long as it still looked like that.

[Sweet Sue]

They seem to be employing personal chefs, caterers and keeping in mind that it could just be easy for them to order at (insert high end chain restaurant here
It's much like how the rich in the Renaissance would pay an artist for portraits

Libster, you might think about changing your name.

[ally]

As for rankings, it seems that Heather is way too high, and Nyesha and Grayson are way too low. I know there were reasons for the initial rankings, but it seems to me that some dramatic movement should be taking place with a few of them. IMHO :)

[Anon Man]

Dude... the folks in Houston were just repeating, over and over and over again, "f***ing Dallas... f***ing Dallas" as they performed repeated Picard pacepalms.

Ok, Ed. To be fair, I'm originally from SoCal, and whenever someone tries to compare LA or San Diego to the nit wits in Housewives of OC, you get the same reaction. So, that we're clear: Dallas is the epicenter of everything non-Texans hate about Texas? Is that message here?

[KinderJ]

Anon Man- For me it wasn't a 'Texas' thing, it was sheer Yankee revulsion at people with so much money and so little taste. Those homes and their occupants would be equally revolting in Bismark, Boise or Baja.

It just occurred to me that part of what bugs me is that the homes don't look lived in. Oh sure, they were going to make certain everything was squared away for the cameras, but did you see a single book in those houses other than the publicity shot for the first housewife? Did you see any family pictures on the wall or drawings by the kids up on the refrigerator (assuming they have kids) or anything similar? Anything personal to the occupants, in fact? I didn't. The houses feel cold, sterile. Just a house, not a home. Creeps me out.

[TxGriff]

In Dallas's defense- it was certainly not cast in the most flattering light. However, as Anon points out, the three couples they selected no more represent the people and city of Dallas than The Housewives of wherever represent their respective cities. Which is to say, unfortunately people like that do live in Dallas, but they are a very small (and loathed by anyone outside the group) minority. Dallas actually has a vibrant foodie and arts scene, just as any large city does. I hope the show will focus more on that in upcoming episodes, but I fear we are going to get the "entertainment" edit.

As for Houston vs. Dallas- there has always been a rivalry between the two. It's just one of those things. I was surprised they passed over Houston since this is supposed to be "Top Chef Texas", so I imagine that only adds fuel to the fire :).

[ZRD]

I actually really enjoyed the main challenge. I thought it was fair and showed the actual cooking skills of the chefs; what more can I ask for? Way better than a catering challenge, or a lots and lots of restrictions challenge. It was basically just cook a tasty dish for a small group of people. Said people were hilariously ridiculous to me, and didn't have any influence on the judging. Therefore, I thought they were a good choice for an audience.

The quickfire, however, was really dumb.

[Genevieve]

I couldn't believe that Lindsay's saltine sandwich and vienna sausage soup won the quickfire over Edward's Thai peanut soup - it looked like Edward had created something restaurant-quality out of those survival packs, whereas Lindsay's looked laughable. Even if it tasted better than it looked, it was still a sandwich on saltines.

Fun comments here about people around the country appalled by the Housewives of Dallas:
http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2011/12/01/what-i-learned-about-dallas-from-watching-top-chef-texas/

[Nigel from Cameroon]

@EDt: Highland Park is not a suburb. It's a perfectly pleasant place. It has lots of money, generally populated by entrepreneurs, business owners, lawyers and doctors. So what?

The d-bags on this show no more represent Highland Park anymore than they do Houston or even Texas. They are, however, very successful entrepreneurs-- starting and running several businesses that employ lots of people.

And the houses show were not theirs. They were staged by the producers of the show. It was a pretty obvious mini-backdoor-pilot for a reality show.

Get over yourself.

[Nigel from Cameroon]

@TxGriff-- the producers "passed" on Houston because Houston did not pay them a brand-integration fee. Elves were paid $600k by the State and local toursim boards.

[helaine]

Nigel from Cameroon - that is interesting behind the scenes info regarding how sites were chosen etc. where does this information come from?

[caulder]

The only thing the dirty ashtray needed was a chaser of champagne made to look like snot.

[Anon Man]

Genevieve, great link. I hereby delegate to the LA Times all my future critiques on this episode.

Dom, where's the LCK post? I want to rip on what happened there, but out of respect for people who haven't watched it, I'm waiting for that thread.

[Tigerpiper]

Remember the scene in the Jerk when Steve Martin orders fresh wine, the freshest you got, not any of this old stuff, then is horrified when there were snails on Bernadette Peters' plate? That was funny.

This episode was sad.

[corey]

From Gails blog:

Bravotv.com: After a difficult Quickfire, we’re onto the Elimination! I’ve never heard of a progressive dinner party before.
GS: It seemed like a fun idea. I had never attended one until that challenge though. I imagine you need a staff if you’re having one.

That didn't make me feel better after watching the episode. Granting that it isn't fine dining by any means, plenty of middle class folk somehow manage to pull off progressive dinners all the time. In what world does your first thought go to "I need a staff to do this" rather than "what dish could accommodate this schedule"?

[~ Trillium ~]

1) I also don't understand why Gail a) never heard of progressive dinners and b) why she would think you would need a staff if you're having one. I went on progressive dinners as a Girl Scout where the scouts were the ones who made the dishes. As an adult, we've had progressive dinners with friends and never did any of us have outside help.

2) If Chris comments on someone's physicality again, I might just have to punch him in the face through my tv set. Dude, filter yourself.

3) Edward's another one who can keep comments to himself. First, what a whiner about having to do the QF in the field. No cutting board; boohoo. Apparently he didn't see the season when they didn't have the use of utensils and Fabio grated cheese on a wire rack. Also, didn't care for his sour grape comment about Lindsay's QF dish.

4) I don't care for the criticism of the hosts of the progressive dinner. Read the link posted by the gent from Cameroon and get an understanding of these people. They weren't born with silver spoons; they came from Amish and Mennonite stock and worked darn hard to get where they are. Would that everyone were as industrious.

[TokenOmnivore]

@helaine

Details about Houston not coughing up cash for marketing is at:

http://swamplot.com/why-theres-no-top-chef-in-houston/2011-10-10/

[For folks outside of TX:] This sucks since Houston has a large international community and the good dining that comes along with them. When visiting Houston, one of the good things to do there is eat...

[caulder]

To be fair to my wife's family that lives in and is from Dallas, they are some of the coolest people I know and in no way do any of these people represent them in the slightest. As near as I can tell this group is an aberration and should not be taken as a sampling of actual Dallas-uh, what do people from Dallas refer to themselves as?

I'd forgotten about that All Pink theme that was mentioned and then discarded.

This could be one of my least liked episodes of this entire 9 season series.

[anne]

Dom, are you less annoyed yet?

[Kevin]

Interesting that two desserts made the top. Just curious, has a chef ever won a non-dessert-specific EC with a dessert? Dakota's frustration with being placed in that group is pretty understandable since - while a good chef should be well rounded enough to handle desserts - being forced to have that as your only dish definitely could handicap your chances to win the challenge.

From the blogs, it sounds like Beverly was as close to making the top as Heather was to making the bottom. And Chris J's dish perfectly epitomized Dom's earlier criticism of Moto being style without substance.

Whitney Otawka finally got some screentime! I read a recap of this episode earlier and the author actually wrote: "Who the heck is Whitney?"

[kimberly]

I'm pretty sure Stephanie won a group challenge in season 4 due to a dessert -- maybe the block party challenge?

[helaine]

TokenOmnivore - thanks for the link re "behind the scenes" financials for the show. It also seems the Magical Elves are suing the State to prevent them from disclosing financial information claiming a possible negative impact on their ability to due future business. While i recognize I know nothing about the reality TV financial world, the lack of transparency regarding taxpayer dollars made the Elves a little less magical to me.

[Kathy from Austin]

"Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I wonder if that was an unconscious bias on the part of the producers. As a network, Bravo's frame of reference seems to be, well... this. I suspect that all of our teeth-gnashing was precisely the intended effect - it was an easy opportunity to score cheap laughs and feel superior."---IG

Just so. I have lived in Dallas. There are plenty of other places they could have gone that represented the city in a more accurate light. How about the "M" street area or Knox/Henderson or better still, the wonderful Farmer's Market? Dallas has a thriving foodie culture and they are doing a lot of cutting edge cooking there.

Also, what a cliche with the State Trooper. Bleh.

I have to 100% agree with IG. If you want to showcase ridiculous wealth, by all means go to any city over 1mm and seek it out. My guess is that the producers will think much more kindly of San Antonio and my beloved Austin because our city is more in line with how they feel the "better"--i.e., "superior" Texan lives.

I had hoped for better. What's next? Are they going to seek out our mansions here in Austin and proclaim them representative of our snootiness?

Somehow despite all our shortcomings and ignorance, we manage to appreciate a chef like Paul Q. Go figure!

[Danny]

Just to remind that Howie went home on the cook appetizers on a yacht for 100 people on a $20 budget challenge in Miami because of his Cigars. On that episode Tom was very vocal about not liking a dish called a cigar - the whole concept was unappetizing to him and, surprise surprise, very greasy.

[nomnomnom]

I think the whole pay-for-play thing was worked through in the blogs while they were shooting the episodes. If you don't know the results of this season I would not advise searching for much info on this as many of the blogs covering this story also spoiled the season.

It seems that Dallas and Austin were asked to waive several taxes and other fees, and declined. San Antonio never said publicly what they did. Houston was also approached about this option and declined as well.

I was fairly shocked how little they featured San Antonio. They were rumored to go to several more sites for shooting. If they didn't tell you they were in San Antonio you would have no idea they ever went there.

[ally]

i don't understand why this "pay-for-play" is such an issue or why it makes the elves "less magical". this is common practice in the film industry, why shouldn't it be for television shows? nobody on this blog has mentioned other locations and how much they compensated the production (if at all). are we this naive?

also, lets just see how this progresses, shall we? maybe they're going back to san antonio? most shows, regardless of location, are shot in whole foods, studios, and restaurants. what's the big deal this season?