dewelar

This was such a breath of fresh air after the abomination that was this year's Halloween show. Everyone seemed like they were having so much more fun, and the bakers seem a good bit more competent, lack of Bundt knowledge aside (which, as noted above, is very much a classic recipe). While I like Carla a lot, I like the dynamics of these judges quite a bit -- even the sniping between Nancy and Lorraine adds something to the mix. I do take some issue with the wreath part of that challenge, though, since some of those pans do not lend themselves to that kind of decoration. Some of the non-wreath-y ones looked better -- Patti's, which looked most like a wreath to me, ended up in the bottom two -- but then I expect these shows not to be concerned with actual rules by now. Amber's might not have been too bad if she hadn't gone overboard with the spun sugar -- it looked more like a bird's nest than a wreath. I like Cheryl, but that thing should not have won. Her snow job (heh) on the judges aside, that broke what should have been the more important rule: it wasn't a HOLIDAY wreath. Ah, well, this is why I don't get invested in the competition part of these shows and just watch for the entertainment value. Looking forward to the rest of the season!

I watched this last season, but I don't remember it being quite this bad. I mean, four random slices of dough (or sticks of gum, or whatever those were) and a couple of dots is enough to invoke a mummy for these people? Between that, the painful attempts at humor, and the distinct lack of Ron Ben-Israel, two episodes is officially enough for me to nix this season.

There are a lot of ways to say that phrase -- I always heard "not the brightest bulb on the tree" growing up -- so this gets a pass from me. Of course, all the bulbs in the house/in the box/on the tree together probably don't add up to the light on my smoke detector, so there's that.

And over and over...WITHOUT EXPLAINING IT. EVER. Exactly. Careful now. That kind of talk got Ana labeled a racist ;-) !

Right. The problem is that Tregaye has never explained it, and she needs to.

Bobby: "The winner is Jane." Me: "Meh." *turns off TV* I didn't really have a favorite going in, but thought Susana's cake was beautiful, and also the only one that really invoked the destination with its appearance. I really didn't understand how much they were raving about how Dan's cake looked so Mexican, as I couldn't see those colors (or, really, anything about his cake) as uniquely Mexican in any way, and the "chalkboard" did indeed look amateurish. Similarly, Jane's cake did not evoke Hawaii very much -- maybe if her strand of flowers had wrapped all the way around the cake I'd give her a pass, but otherwise it's...a strand of generic-looking flowers. Even her flavors were more generic-tropical than Hawaiian. *sigh* I suppose by this time I should learn not to be frustrated when the parameters of a challenge are tangential at best to the judging, but I can't help it. If it doesn't matter, why even have the parameters? As others have said, just tell them "bake a pie" and send them off. Of course, with the way these shows go, someone would proceed to bake a miraculous pretzel or something and the judges would find some way to vaguely tie it to pies (It uses some of the same ingredients! It's a pie! Really!) to allow them to pick it as the winner. Feh. Is there a Summer Baking Championship I can try and convince myself to look forward to? ;-)

Maybe I'm using the wrong yardstick, but so far this season has been utterly uninspiring compared to the two previous iterations I watched (Halloween and Holiday). I chalk part of this up to the challenges themselves, as noted above, but another part has to be the lack of anyone to root for or against. Even the judges seem more subdued here. I'll keep watching to the end, partially because I watch the midnight EDT rerun before going to bed and it's improved its performance at helping me sleep :D . ETA: Yes. All I could think when the challenge was finished was "thank goodness it's fennelly over!"

Heh, I didn't even know these shows went on outside the holidays, but I'm happy that they do! Yes it is, and he's my early favorite as well, if only because none of the others stand out very much thus far. Also, was it me, or did things seem a bit rushed in this episode? Maybe I just haven't seen enough of these to know the rhythm yet...

Heh, it would have cool if they'd called it "Chef or Charlatan", although I still wouldn't have liked the show itself. I got really tired of the judges repeatedly saying "that's a [pro/con] move" or some minor variation thereof, the premise was muddled, and "hopped up on speed" is not a good look on Geoffrey Zakarian. This show is one-and-done for me.

This is still one of my favorite seasons, but the last three episodes really blunted my enjoyment of it. I remember saying after 47 Specks was eliminated that I'd be okay with any of the remaining winning, and I stand by that. Despite a mid-season fade, Jeremy did a lot of quality work, and Amar was fine even if he didn't stand out to me very much. That said, along with Karen these were two of the three I wanted least to see in the finals (Marjorie vs. Isaac would have been my dream F2, and I liked both Kwame and Carl more than those three), especially once Amar made it after the blight on humanity that is LCK. Looking forward to next season!

I was glad that Carl won the quickfire, since his dish was apparently only at the bottom because of the whole "seafood and cheese is ick" meme rather than any actual flaws. I was disappointed that it was at Amar's expense, however. Perhaps Carl was, too, and that was why he self-sabotaged himself out the door. Ah, well, guess I have to get behind Isaac, because LCK continues to be a blight on the planet (n.b.: I was one of the few who was behind the Kristen elimination at the time -- and still am -- since she also went home for self-sabotage, just of a different sort), although I'd also be fine with a Marjorie win.

I've liked Carl all season, and was glad to see him finally get a win. I think he's just the right amount of goofy that I could see myself hanging out with him. Rather than Blais, Carl reminds me of a toned-down version of one of my favorite past contestants (unpopular opinion coming, I think), Brian Malarkey. For me, Richard has always been the poster boy for Trying Way Too Hard To Be Quirky, where I think quirkiness is just who Carl (and MALARKEY!) is/are.

Yeah, that surprised me, but at the same time I was glad that Kwame didn't lose because of 47 Specks. I don't think Kwame ever really recovered from the disaster that was the "where were you ten years ago" challenge, so he's kind of been a dead man walking for a while. Also, tonight's episode made my decision for me that this is my favorite season of Top Chef to date (I've been watching since S2). For one thing, I have absolutely no idea who's going to win this thing, and it feels like all of the remaining chefs have a legitimate shot at the prize. Also, everyone left seems to be enjoying themselves, especially having fun in both of tonight's challenges -- except maybe Kwame, which probably contributed to his loss. I can't remember that ever being the case in past seasons. Finally, every single one of the people remaining has been fun to watch at some point, if not all the way through (Isaac). I could point to Jeremy as someone I like a bit less, but honestly that's only because we don't have Philip around to make him look less douchey :), and I have liked him at times anyway. Even Philip was entertaining to watch, partially because I was quite sure he would never win the thing. So, I'll say it. Best season ever.

I don't think that's what 47 Specks was doing, actually. He was just saying the judges were expecting culinary heavy metal and they got alt-pop instead, which is a totally fair description. I don't think there was a value judgement involved. This was definitely an odd episode, though. From what was presented, it sure seemed like the instructions given to the chefs were somewhat lacking. That said, if we couldn't lose Philip tonight, Chad's a perfectly fine alt-boot. He lost me back when he said his best date was with his daughters, and I have been unable to un-creep-out myself since. Of the remaining chefs (LCK notwithstanding), I think I might actually be fine with anyone other than Philip winning.

My wife and I were rooting for Adalberto, who we thought had been the best overall this season, but we were rooting even more against Steve, so the result was acceptable. Steve did a good job of coming up with BS explanations (not the first time he'd done so) when the judges called him out on the mis-sized words and the fact that he made a "summer" cake, so points for that, I guess. Also, his cake had the least connection to his theme despite his apparent delight at getting "Singing Carols" as a theme. He couldn't have made some gingerbread-man carolers to put in front of it or something along those lines? Maeve's cake definitely looked the best despite the cockeyed top tier. And yes, Adalberto's bears looked nothing like polar bears. If he wanted polar bears, he should have done white, shaped cookies of a bear in profile rather than doing them face-on. I liked the idea of the shaped cake, but I didn't really like the look of the final product. The decorations didn't pop enough, I thought, and the big bear head on top just looked weird. Anyway, this was an enjoyable show, and we'll look forward to it next year!

Hee, yes! Every season, I wonder who this Vito guy is, and why people are competing for his power.

I am apparently Jackie. Okay then?

ITA with those who think Dom needed to go tonight. When you follow up walking out on your partners in a team challenge with insulting your partner in a team challenge, you do not deserve any slack. I have to admit, though, that I was amused by the little passive-aggressively Alphonse-and-Gaston act he and Michelle were pulling off. It was so obvious that neither of them wanted to take ownership of their dish, with Dom saying he was going to let Michelle put herself forward and he was just going to make risotto while she was complaining that he wasn't giving her any direction. At least Michelle executed, so even though I don't much care for her I was glad she stayed. Also, I wonder if Rue tossing Dom aside in favor of having Arnold as her partner had anything to do with the decision to cut her, and not just because Dom is Giada's golden boy. Pairing her with Dom and then giving her the option to switch gave them the chance to see if she would challenge herself or choose a safer option. She went to her comfort zone with Arnold, and that cost her on multiple levels. Then again, I'm probably giving this show too much credit :) .