Top Chef Power Rankings

Top Chef - S9E12 Power Rankings

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.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Paul Quickfires 2 3 4 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 4 5 1 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.

2 Sarah Quickfires 0 4 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 2 4 4 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.

3 Edward Quickfires 0 1 2 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 4 4 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.

4 Lindsay Quickfires 2 3 0 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 1 4 1 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.

5 Grayson Quickfires 2 3 3 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 1 5 3 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.

6 Chris Quickfires 0 1 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 0 3 4 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:

• Pee-wee will be amazing, and I will be unbearable.
• Pee-wee will be terrible, and I will be in denial.
• Pee-wee will be terrible, and I will be devastated.

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!

Top Chef - S9E12 Last Chance Kitchen

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!

Top Chef - S9E12 Postmortem

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!

Top Chef - S9E11 Power Rankings

Now THAT'S going to be tough to top this season.

I've said it so many times, and I hate to say it again, but this show is at its best when the chefs are at their best. No manufactured drama, no controversy, no storyline, no mission impossible scenario can compete with all seven chefs getting a fun challenge, hitting on every single dish and forcing the judges to pick nits to decide whose performance was the least awesome.

And if I may rewind a bit, yeah, it was kind of gimmicky, but I'm okay with that quickfire. For starters, that's how you do it... something goofy for the quickfire, then free the chefs up to rock for the elimination. And if I would have been annoyed by Pop Rocks making an appearance (though Graham Elliot Bowles has managed to build a reputation around them), the sight of Chris vs. The Lobsters made up for tenfold (the behind the scenes video with the reverse angle on that is highly amusing, BTW). We're eight and a half seasons into this thing. Maybe I'm getting soft. But as goofy challenges go, this one was pretty workable, and a lot of fun to watch.

I'm keeping it kind of short and sweet this week, mostly because I have a horde of stuff to write about back at the main blog in the wake of my trip. Saying it like that makes it sound like a chore, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's just that I'm really, really anxious to get these words out while they're flowing and the food is still fresh in my mind. So please forgive the brevity.

The elimination of Beverly and Ty-Lör has essentially gutted the middle of the pack, so we're left with what looks at the moment like a clear varsity and junior varsity squad. The question is simply order within those squads, and who from the JV might sneak in with a strong finish or a stumble from one of the folks up top. Remember that while unlikely, it isn't a given that one of the current bottom three will make the final four... we still have a Last Chance Kitchen winner rejoining the crowd shortly.

Just for this week, "Last Week" equals "Two Weeks Ago." I'm too lazy to edit them all. Let's get this thing going.

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.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Paul Quickfires 2 3 3 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 3 4 1 I'm sure you're all SHOCKED. But hey, he managed to take his first trip to the chopping block, which isn't for nothing. But the guy's been so dominant that he's going to have to completely tank two episodes to be nudged from number one. I have also given up trying to figure where his flavor combinations come from. Beet, cherries, strawberries, foie, bacon, mushrooms, pumpernickel, walnuts and red curry. Come again? And he doesn't just make it work, he wins with it. This is some seriously inspired stuff. BTW, I know it's gotten some mention in the comments, and it's on the Bravo site as well making it fair game, but Padma calling the finale decision one of the toughest they've ever made certainly suggests this won't be a coronation. Assuming Paul doesn't blow it and makes it to the finale, one wonders if he pulled a Blais (sorry, Richard) or if somebody else cooked the meal of their life, because the season thus far has certainly lent the impression that he's untouchable when he's on. We'll have to wait a few weeks to find out.

2 Sarah Quickfires 0 4 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 2 4 3 I toyed with the idea of swapping Sarah and Edward... Ed's been strong (more in a moment)... but Sarah's still looking mighty strong too, chopping block appearance notwithstanding. Frankly, I hate to hold this week's chopping block against anybody. But she pulled together a soft shell crab dish with cottage cheese and everybody seemed to adore her arancino last week. It isn't as though she isn't continuing to excel, personal issues notwithstanding. Plus, lamb heart. She gets a heart and a star just for that one. But it's close enough that I wouldn't discount a swap in the home stretch depending on how the next couple of episodes go.

3 Edward Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 4 3 Can I take a moment to say that if Beverly manages to win a couple of LCK matchups and work her way back in, a Paul/Edward/Beverly finale -- in the wake of Heather's early season comments -- would be completely awesome and hysterical. But back to Ed. Two very good eliminations in a row! I see no reason to move him anywhere, and certainly not down. His dish wasn't that much more thematically inclined than Beverly's, so I have to presume his was a bunch more enjoyable purely from a culinary standpoint. I confess, there's something about Ed's food that I can't quite get 100% behind. I believe he's a contender, I believe he belongs on the varsity squad... I just have reservations that are difficult to articulate. Something about the look of his food and recipes. Hmmm....

4 Lindsay Quickfires 2 3 0 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 1 3 1 I'm still a little confused by the degree to which Lindsay has kind of quietly snuck into the final six, but as little as she's stood out for most of the season, she's been on the bottom of precisely ONE challenge... waaaaaaaaay back in episode three (the cochinita pibil). And she's starting to make a little noise at just the right time. It sure seems like Tom loved her stew, and even if that quickfire win gets an asterisk, that's still a second place finish with it, which isn't for nothing. So it seems appropriate to put her at the top of the JV squad. Is a late run kicking off here?

5 Chris Quickfires 0 1 3 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 0 3 4 Okay, I really agonized over this one, and let me explain. I'm of the opinion that we have two chefs remaining who equally deserve the basement. But we're entering the home stretch here, and I find myself looking to upside potential as the tiebreaker. Chris has been on the bottom a ton, has been highly mistake prone, and has made a lot of really poor choices. BUT, as this week's elimination dish illustrates, he's capable of hitting a home run when the stars align. I'm not convinced the same can be said of Grayson. And that's why -- even though I still consider him more likely to trip up and send himself home before the finale -- I'm putting him above Grayson. Same data, earlier in the season, I probably have them the other way around. How's that for a convoluted justification?

6 Grayson Quickfires 1 2 3 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 1 4 3 I was looking through some notes trying to decide what to do with Chris nad Grayson, and I came across something that may or may not surprise you. Setting aside Restaurant Wars (a lot of chaos on a big team challenge) and the BBQ challenge (Paul was driving), Grayson has been on the bottom in six consecutive challenges. I realize that's no small number of qualifiers, but it's notable, I think, that almost all of her success was in the early part of the season. Essentially, for the past five weeks, in the plus column she has a beet and goat cheese salad, a dessert and a level head. And over the entire run of the season, I think we've seen maaaaaaybe one dish that she could take into a finale. My hunch is that while she may have the focus or luck to stick around a bit longer, we've already gotten her best shot, and it isn't nearly good enough. That said, my god, was that black chicken a striking plate. And I don't just mean from a thematically evil standpoint. It was, in its own dark way, stunningly beautiful. Love it.

7 Beverly Quickfires 0 3 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 3 4 I have to confess, that's not how I pictured Beverly going. I mean, really, who had their money on "not quite as good as the other six dishes?" Smart money was on total meltdown, either emotional or technical, all the way. I think it speaks well of the bulldog that it took both a two second oops in the quickfire and one of the best collective performances from the field in Top Chef history to knock her out. Of course, having taken down Nyesha in LCK, she only has to beat two more to hop back in. Especially considering the folks most likely to be knocked off in the coming weeks, I like those odds. My hunch is we'll see her back in the rankings again.

Huh. Guess that wasn't so brief after all.

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE TWELVE SPOILERS AHEAD

Annoyance potential is looking high for the next episode. Everybody pairs up... Sarah with Lindsay, Paul with Ed, Grayson with Chris. The quickfire is a prep and cooking race, and the pairs work as a team. But then, for the elimination, they're catering a block party and... going head-to-head? All of which makes sense, except that the preview edit makes it look like Chris is rushing to help Grayson at the buzzer, and throws chairs when her food isn't done. Which makes no sense. So I'm thinking that's not correct. Anyway, catering challenge. With six people left. Annoyance potential running high. We'll see what happens.

Discuss!

Top Chef - S9E11 Last Chance Kitchen

Yowza.

First off, props to Nyesha for coming so far. That was an outstanding run against long/impossible odds, and no matter who you're rooting for, it's hard not to be disappointed to see a streak like that end. That was a lot of fun to watch.

But just as much of a story here, I think, is Beverly. Clearly, she's rubbing some people the wrong way. But really, how many great dishes does somebody have to put together to be taken seriously? It's difficult to get a sense of the degree to which she's stepping on others' toes, and whether this reputation is fully deserved or being blown out of proportion. Wherever she lands on that spectrum, I understand frustration and anger. What I can't wrap my head around is how easily most of the crowd seems to dismiss her. Is it so easy to mistake awkwardness and a deliberate pace for incompetence? Strange.

In any case, we're not done with Beverly yet. Perhaps not for a while. Particularly since I suspect Nyesha's dead wrong when she states that she wanted it more.

Discuss!

Top Chef - S9E11 Postmortem

I have been repatriated!

So we're back up and running. Just getting caught up on last week's episode. I'll check in and get everything updated later tonight.

Discuss!

UPDATE : I'm going to save it for the rankings, but let me just briefly dust off an old and frequently used observation. This show is at its best when the chefs are at their best. And while it wouldn't be Top Chef without a KobaYASHI Maru or two, the more the producers set the chefs up to succeed rather than fail, the better the results.

Top Chef - S9E10 Last Chance Kitchen

I'm maintaining Top Chef media blackout until Wednesday when I can watch (yes, I am avoiding reading my own blog), but it occurs to me that you guys probably need a Last Chance Kitchen thread, too. Have at it... see you for the postmortem on Wednesday!

Top Chef - S9E10 Postmortem

I can't watch this week, but you guys keep the postmortem rolling until I get back. Be back next week!

Top Chef - S9E9 Power Rankings

This week's Power Rankings come to you from somewhere over the Pacific! Upside, only one week off since I can't get the show in China. Downside, no access to video for this week's rankings. Hopefully my memory's up to snuff.

Though I've already touched on this in the comments, a word on Modernist Cuisine. Those who say it's absurd to spend that much money on a cookbook are absolutely correct. And those who say it's a stunning work that justifies its price are equally correct. I have a copy. I... um... couldn't help it. And in terms of both scope and presentation, it's the most remarkable cookbook I've ever seen. It's hard to predict these things, but in ten years' time, I'd be less surprised if cookbooks had gone out of fashion altogether than if this weren't considered one of the most important landmark food references of all time. It takes an entire generation's worth of culinary innovation, and not only comprehensively catalogues it, but attempts to test, understand and codify it as well. It can be had for $400 in some circles, and while that's a huge sum of money, it's six volumes, manufactured with the care of a fine art book, and backed by years of research and testing. My opinion is that as expensive as it is, the price tag is justified.

So it's interesting to see which chefs are comfortable with modern techniques and which aren't. I'm often frustrated by those who insist that MG is smoke and mirrors, tricks and gimmicks. You wouldn't know if from Chris J.'s performance, but MG's true spirit lies not in using chemicals and newfangled machines, but simply in taking an open and innovative approach to cooking, and refusing to work with the given that culinary technique was perfected in 19th century France. The science isn't in the equipment and the ingredients, but rather in the method, which is one of exploration and experimentation. Of course, many if not most experiments will fail. That's science. MG has produced some stunningly bad food over the years. But MG's legacy will be in the techniques that survive the crucible and are adopted into the mainstream. In the end, it's all about being willing to experiment and sometimes to fail, and I'm always disappointed by the number of people who consider this a bad thing.

Anyway, huge tangents aside, a good quickfire. And though I'm starting to sense that I'm in the minority, I loved the elimination, too. Oddly, it's the first challenge I can think of in which the chefs were really set up for failure, but I thought it was a good challenge anyway. Thing is, you don't just jump into BBQ. This isn't slapping chicken on the grill (though that didn't stop a couple of teams from trying). It makes total sense that somebody like Myhrvold would be drawn to BBQ, because it's very technical, very scientific, and very precise. And experience counts for a lot. Unless there are ringers hidden in the field, this is a very, very difficult challenge and pick any season, I'd expect a lot of mediocre food. But I like that this was difficult not because of some dumb tricks, but simply because making really good BBQ is difficult. I liked that they didn't dumb it down. And for as many seasons as we've had that could have taken place anywhere, I love that this season, they're really making a strong attempt to tie the show into the location beyond a few B-roll shots after the opening credits.

All of that said, one losing team apparently used KC Masterpiece and the other used liquid smoke, so... you know... 30 lashes for all. Side note, if you ever need confirmation that the recipes can't always be counted on to be entirely accurate, look no further than the fact that you're instructed to smoke the winning team's BBQ at 300 degrees Celsius. Low and slow, indeed. I think most of these are thrown together on the fly, may or may not reflect what was actually cooked, and most certainly are not subjected to a rigorous editing process. Or maybe I just really don't want to believe that Ty-Lör actually mopped his ribs with KC Masterpiece and ketchup.

Oh, and anytime the elves want to give the canned car comments a rest, that'd be fine with me. No better way to suggest (or reinforce, some would argue) that your entire show is a sham than by having your contestants recite bad advertising copy and acting as though it's fooling anybody. Product placement, I understand. But this is the apotheosis of lame.

Not a whole lot of movement this week. Everybody looked bad except for Paul and two chefs who openly declared that they were simply executing Paul's vision. And while I love that they worked in BBQ, I'm hesitant to read too much into this week's elimination results...

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.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Paul Quickfires 2 3 2 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 2 3 0 ...besides wondering if there's anything Paul can't do well. Have we ever had such a prohibitive favorite in the history of the show? Don't get me wrong, it's gratifying to see my preseason pick romping like this, but really, when this qualifies as one of his less impressive weeks, there's perhaps an issue with competitive balance. And he's the only chef remaining who's never been on the chopping block. You know the phrase. "One mistake..." And yet...

2 Sarah Quickfires 0 3 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 2 3 2 Though it's disappointing that the regional BBQ dream team fell flat, I'm not sure how to judge a week in which one of the three goes down with heat stroke. I certainly hope Sarah didn't present her egg yolk raviolo as innovative as the edit made it appear. That's five years behind the curve even in her own city, where Michael Carlson over at Schwa made it a signature dish. Which isn't to say that it isn't so completely totally worth doing. Good is good. But this one's starting to wander into molten chocolate cake territory. Let's not present it otherwise, please.

3 Edward Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 3 2 I'm a little surprised to hear myself saying that pre-slicing the brisket was one of the lesser sins this week, but especially considering the circumstances, even if it was the wrong call (and it was), I can't get all bent out of shape over it. And though Ed let the jerkitude fly, I will say two things in his defense. First, I didn't see people lining up to defend Jamie when she cut herself last season. Is it okay to question the severity of somebody's injury/illness or isn't it? Something to think about. Second, despite the 'tude, when the moment at JT came when he could have grabbed Sarah by the collar and gleefully thrown her under the bus, he instead walked a very fine line between defending himself and blaming her. That's not for nothing, I think.

4 Ty-Lör Quickfires 2 2 0 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 1 4 There's an up and down week for you. I really, really, really hope his sauce wasn't actually KC Masterpiece and ketchup. I mean, ketchup as a BBQ sauce ingredient, absolutely. Many a killer 'cue joint gets ketchup in the mix. But that's like sweetening your corn syrup with granulated sugar. Ick. His quickfire, however, was a great example of MG being used for good rather than evil. It's a really simple dish... an amuse, really... that gets a little technical tweak to lend some character and interest. But the flavors are simple and classic. I can understand why some chefs were rolling their eyes, but I suspect part of the reason Myhrvold chose his watermelon was precisely because it illustrated what I was talking about above. And though it isn't really here nor there in terms of the rankings, I will add my voice to the chorus of folks who think Ty-Lör is showing himself to be a quality human being. Love that phrase, by the way.

5 Beverly Quickfires 0 2 3 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 0 2 3 *sigh*... maybe this is where Beverly really belonged last week. I'm not prepared to put her lower right now despite the fact that she's still the only winless chef. Her hits have just seemed too strong for that. Still, her ups and downs are starting to get comical. Is it really just a matter of not playing well with others? There isn't a direct correlation, though it's hard to ignore the trend. That doesn't exactly bode well for next week. Still, I find her awkwardness kind of charming, and I really do find myself hoping she succeeds. I know there was some mention of a comment from Gail that there's a big transitional moment in store for Beverly. It doesn't appear to be in her blog, and I'm offline so I can't find it, but I'll cop to being intensely curious.

6 Lindsay Quickfires 1 2 0 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 1 1 1 Seven episodes into the regular season, and still waiting for Lindsay to distinguish herself positively or negatively. In its own way, this is almost as amazing as Paul's dominance. She gets screen time, but it's like her food is invisible. It's odd, and this week doesn't help any with that impression. Elimination win! And the admission that she was happily carrying out Paul's vision. Which is great, I'm not knocking that. If somebody on the team has a great plan, I say go for it... take the back seat and shoot for a true team win. I find that rather admirable, actually. But I still don't know what the heck to do with her in the rankings.

7 Grayson Quickfires 1 2 2 Last Week: 9 Eliminations 1 3 2 And Grayson picks up yet another win that's chock full of caveats. They're the same ones that apply to Lindsay, above. I want to give her more credit than this, but we really are given the impression that this challenge was the Paul Qui show. I just can't bump her much.

8 Chris Quickfires 0 1 2 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 0 2 3 Chris made it easy to let her move at least a little bit, though. I know some thought Myhrvold came off as a jerk with the "I grow it in my basement" line, but let's be completely clear about this. Chris speaking to Myhrvold as though he's introducing him to miracle fruit is like a physics grad student going up to Stephen Hawking and saying, "So there's this really cool idea called String Theory..." Whether he was pushed to go into full explanation mode for the cameras, or whether he felt he needed to for Padma's sake, it's hard to say. But consider the possibility that what he did was on that level. The dish itself... well, the horse is long dead, but again, this is Chris and Moto all over again. I've yet to try it, but the whole concept of miracle fruit is amazing. Still, the concept isn't enough. Here's a lemon and some lemon soda and a pill. Great. Whether this dish was meaningful or pure gimmickry lies in the cheesecake component, and unfortunately there's no recipe to refer to. But one gets the impression that he was just so in love with the concept, again, that he didn't stop to consider whether this was the best way he could express modern technique. And then he screws up cooking all three meats. Which, in his defense, was really, really, really hard. But still... not an impressive week for Chris.

9 Malibu Quickfires 0 2 1 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 1 1 3 Malibu is a really nice guy. A really, really nice guy. So much so that from some of the supplementary materials, it appears he threw himself under the bus when the judges were trying to decipher who was most responsible for the failure of his team's meats. Inedibly salty? We all know how that story ends. The only question was who was going to take the blame, and it sounds like Malibu fell on his sword. Admirable, I suppose, but too bad... though his successes have been few, I've found them more interesting than anything Chris has been doing.

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE TEN SPOILERS AHEAD

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen... it's time. And man, they're setting it up to look like a total train wreck this time. Boys vs. girls! *groan* And nobody seems happy, least of all Lindsay, or anybody who's dealing with Beverly, actually. They're kind of telegraphing Beverly in trouble, which makes me think she's probably fine. But we'll see what happens.

Discuss!

Top Chef - S9E9 Last Chance Kitchen

Well, I can't keep using that same image of Nyesha smiling, can I?

She's starting to feel it. Though after seeing Tom describe Chris' sandwich, I thought it was going to go the other way.

LCK's getting all old school on us, now! For those who weren't around or don't remember, this was a throwback to the Season 1, Episode 4 quickfire where the chefs had to do their shopping at a gas station convenience store. It's the same challenge, right down to the time limit and the budget. Lee Anne won and her dish had something to do with Funyuns, but I don't recall the details.

In any case, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, despite being what I'd ordinarily consider a dumb challenge. Nyseha did what looked like a restaurant dish, a lovingly plated beer-glazed Polish sausage with pork rind tuille and a green chile nacho cheese sauce. Chris, on the other hand, embraced the convenience store and made what Tom described as a "perfect" grilled cheese sandwich, made with fried ham, jack cheese and pickles, and paired with a togarashi tomato soup with fried ham and chicharrones. But despite that praise, Nyesha wins again!

Y'know, the gas station challenge has caused me to reassess what I'm enjoying about LCK. It isn't the challenges, though they've been good. It's that the tone, particularly with the peanut gallery, is more of that collegial feel that I loved so much about the first two seasons of Masters. In some ways, this feels kind of like the spiritual successor to Masters. Sort of. You know what I'm saying, hopefully. In any case, still digging it. And starting to really enjoy Nyesha's run.

Discuss!