Rai

I caught up on a bunch of Top Chef this weekend. So, I liked Massimo as a TV personality, but I can also see he was exhausting. I do think his ego is probably a negative, and the fact that none of the other cheftestants were rooting for him says a lot. I don't see the entitlement showing up in Tristen, though. His food speaks for itself: He really is that talented. I think it's possible we're not always seeing him at his best though because for half the season he had to struggle through an grueling competition while coping with heavy grief. No one can really put up with a lot of nonsense after such a loss as is, and then under these circumstances? Dude's done far better than I could've at holding himself together. I am sad Massimo didn't get to go to ITALY! to cooking ITALIAN FOOD! but I'm delighted at how he livened up an otherwise low-key cast, and I hope he took away some positive growth from his time on Top Chef.

I feel like it was Jeremy from season 13 who got dinged for too many crudos (as everyone on that season did, honestly). Joe Flamm does cook Italian, but he was more of a pasta-maker and big meats roaster IIRC.

Nina was robbed! Still stings.

Top Chef viewers: Ya know, it's weird how often women struggle in this competition. Seems a little unfair at times. Also Top Chef viewers: If Bailey makes it to the finals, it was producer interference! I would've been okay with an all-dude finale -- which there have been plenty of on this show -- and I'm okay with Bailey in the finales as well. But I would like to see more blind tasting from the judges on this show, I think, and see if the women contestants do better than expected or not. If there's one thing I have to give credit to with Food Network and Tournament of Champions, it's their blind tasting and judgments. I really do think it levels the playing field in a refreshing way. That all said, Cesar was a sweetie and endlessly creative, and even though his swings could be some big misses, I love that he always went for it. Pickle curd! He'll be remembered.

This is a little late, but I had the pleasure of seeing Jinkx Monsoon in their production of Pirates! which is a re-imagining of the Pirates of Penzance. It was absolutely delightful. Jinkx played the nurse who was hard of hearing and apprenticed her charge to a pirate instead of a pilot, and David Hyde Pierce was the Major-General (and also delightful). Sometimes, the cast would do dramatic entrances from the back of the theater and I could tell Jinkx was about to pass by me twice because apparently Jinkx really likes to wear patchouli oil. If you're in NYC and looking for a fun Broadway outing, this show definitely gets my recommendation!

By that, I mean she was pretty awful at the beginning and got eliminated quickly as a result, but then she turned it around in LCK and came back into the show a much stronger competitor. She took her second chance and is making the most of it, and I definitely respect her resetting herself and going back in with a better focus.

Oh, right, I'm surprised I forgot because I also have the hots for Eric!

Agreed! Also agreed!

Oh man, I'm glad I read spoilers and knew what was going to happen with Tristen before I watched this episode because wow. Very heartbreaking, especially at Judges' Table. I hope they did a special memorial service for when Tristen got home because I assume he couldn't be there for the main funeral (just to be really sad about all this). I hated the spelling of Phlora and Phauna to the Nth degree, but otherwise, great concept, and it sounded like they deserved the win. I personally don't love a server or wait staff getting too cozy with me and my dining party, so I got where they were going with the critique of Massimo. I would've definitely excused it for the other restaurant though. That's more where it belonged. Shui honestly really failed as the FOH guy by not putting the menu into context for the diners. Whoever said he probably didn't explain the family-style concept and that's why the diners were ordering so much food nailed it (although also the portions looked a little small for family style?). His failure to explain Paula's dessert properly also helped tank her in the judges' eyes. I really would've advocated him to go home instead, but alas. No one has asked me to guest judge! I am glad Bailey stuck up for Paula and wish we'd seen the whole team do so. To be honest, her cooking hasn't overwhelmed me, but I was still on board for her to stick around at least one more episode. I also hope Cesar can keep his focus since he's the one left who I think can still be competition for Tristen (unless Katianna comes back). I really do like that even though Tristen is running away with this competition, his team really rallied behind him and wanted him to succeed. Good cook, y'all.

She's grown on me enough that I've gone from being irritated by her to slightly protective about the Bailey-bashing that can happen. Still, I find the other contestants more interesting, so I'm mainly interested that she's still here after bombing so much at first. We stan a hard reset.

Wait, I missed it. Which chefs did he have a crush on? I remember him kinda crushing on Doug from his season. I like Gregory a lot in this format, and Joe Flamm was also fun to have on. I really hope even if Kristin ever stops hosting, she doesn't stop doing this segment because it's just a bunch of joy every time.

I also will try a weirdo flavor just see what it's like -- hummus, Doritos, Ben & Jerry's -- I'm a sucker for all your marketing gambits.

I agree with this. A lot of chefs just swear all the time casually as their conversation. I didn't take it as pejorative at all. I felt so bad for Henry. On the one hand, I think he's lucky to still have gotten to this episode. On the other hand, had he been kicked off for this dish when it was screwed over so badly by Shuai (accidentally), that would've been wildly unfair to me. Ultimately, I guess I felt he should've gone home because of his track record vs. Katianna's, but that's not how the rules work. All I can hope is Katianna dominates LCK and gets back in to where she deserves. She and Tristan have really seemed like the front runners so far (Cesar possibly too; Shuai has fallen off, unfortunately). I love pickles a lot, so this was a fun challenge for me! I actually wasn't paying attention to the first course, so I still don't quite know what Massimo served, but congrats anyway, dude. I have no doubt that he's exhausting in real life, and I sure wouldn't want to work on a team with him, but as TV entertainment, he keeps the cast lively. Otherwise, I'd just have to dunk on Vinny all day, and that gets boring cuz it's too easy. Fun cast so far though! I don't even mind Bailey much anymore. (Oh wait, Massimo served a tartar to woo Gail specifically. Right, I remember that now. It didn't look like a tartar, so maybe that's why I got confused.)

I will never stop laughing about the pickle costumes, oh my god. That was hilarious, especially the dance routine.

At this point, it's been two years since her last season started airing, so it's reasonable a non-compete would've expired by now. Also, it's a slightly different format.

One recipe I've seen for borscht recommends serving it with hard-boiled eggs, so that's a possibility. But if you're going to do an ice cream, making it a really rich gelato would be the logical step for me. Anyway, I'm very sad Anya got the boot. Because she seemed to know what she did wrong, I thought she'd be spared. Tom likes it when chefs admit their failures but also can demonstrate good cooking knowledge by figuring out where they went off the rails (like Massimo's rant, which was hilarious). So this was a bummer. But! I'm glad there was suspense! This felt like a proper judges' table this time. I hope that particular bugaboo has worked itself out! Anyway, good job, Katianna, I hate licorice, but I'm sure your dish was great. I also have lived in New York for over twenty years and for some reason have never had a Jamaican patty. I should fix that at some point. Lastly, I hope Lynn Crawford makes another appearance! Whenever I see her in something, she's usually loud and hilarious, and I'm sad she was barely on screen. Bring your wacky aunt energy, gal!

I laughed really hard at the hats thing. Tom looked not entirely thrilled about the joke, but he did his best to move past it. He also looked genuinely surprised when Sam stepped out. The chefs say it every season -- it really is different when you're competing for real, and I can totally believe he underestimated how well he could cope with the pressure. Bummed Anya tanked. Miffed Tom seemed really dismissive of her when he told her to get lost, more or less. That must have been one bad halibut.

How Gregory got his middle name made me laugh a lot. It's fun that he asked her about her thoughts on the most recent episode instead of rehashing about his time on the show before. I like that they're moving conversations forward.

Wow, Daniel Boulud actually unleashed some snark this episode! Calling Vincenzo a brown-noser for the souffle? Catty! It's a good thing it came out well. Buying sabotage ingredients felt a little Chopped-esque to be honest, but they were pretty good sports about it, and I do like creativity in working with weirdo things. I also am a fan of Massimo, all in, and hope he sticks around for a while. Anya too! My sister in unfortunate Russian background (although mine is more removed than hers). Bailey's attitude rubbed me the wrong way even though I try not to bag on contestants unnecessarily. She just gives off this air of being too cool for school, and you're in a competition, and you haven't done great so far, so maybe take it more seriously? Also, maple AND honey? That's unnecessary. I didn't mind her leaving, but Corwin better thank his lucky stars. I also like Henry so far, even more now that I know he works with Evelyn Garcia, and I hope he gets his act together. Lastly, stop with the supershort judges' table. Some suspense would be great! That's all.

Sara has really mellowed out, and also she looks great. I enjoyed her being all "whoa!" at every twist Kristin revealed they put the chefs through. I also just love how relaxed Kristin is in these segments. I really wish she could be more like this on the main show too.

I generally try not to dislike reality TV people just for how they talk because ya know, they can't help it. But it turns out Bailey does actively get on my nerves, and I'm surprised she won this round. Sorry, Bailey! I did like how you were kind toward Ying about the number of people on Top Chef though. That sounded sincere. I didn't think Mimi was long for this show, and I don't think Bailey is either, but I can't say Sam is killing it either. I do, however, stand alone in my appreciation for Canadian bacon. But lord, outside of pizza or eggs benedict, I don't know what you'd use it for.

I recognized Mimi and Tristan right away from Chopped, so that was funny. It sounds like Kat might have been on it too, according to one of my food TV buddies. Mimi had regrettable hats on Chopped too, btw. I was bummed to see her go so soon since time management got more than one chef (weird for Chopped veterans, I have to say). I didn't like how abruptly they cut Mimi though. That was weird! No suspense at all. I hope that's not going to be the standard throughout this season. I like deliberation, I like each chef receiving their critique, and I feel like I missed a big chunk of judging. Speaking of judging, lord, I'd love a season where Gail can just wear whatever she wants and not get dunked on for having breasts. She's always worn outfits that show off her figure, but Padma's styling tended to be pretty focus-pulling, so I think Gail flew under the radar a bit. Ladies of a certain build tend to have the dilemma of wearing stuff that wouldn't look too revealing on smaller chests or turtlenecks. As a gal who is in the Gail dilemma camp, I appreciate she's just gonna wear what she wants and always has been that way. Am I a bit sensitive because I have the same dilemma and a lifetime of inappropriate and unwarranted comments to go along with it? Yes. Could people just leave a large-breasted woman alone to live her life? Also yes. Anyway, overall, off to a solid start. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Canada and hope everyone gets their nerves and time management under control. Perhaps even under their hats!

Reid Scott was also on my favorite gone-too-soon sitcom, My Boys, and man, was he a cutie on it. (Another actor on it was from the town right next door to my hometown, and it's very rare to see anyone from that area get somewhat famous, so props to him.)

This is my first time with the Traitors overall, so I really enjoyed it. Part of me wishes unknowns still played it because the money would be life-changing for them, and ya know, wtf does someone like Ivar care about 50k? But shafting regular folks out of money so that celebrities can triumph would make me feel pretty icky, so I'm glad that format was phased out.

Of the two Jennifers, I think of Tilly first. Of course they are all unique and fabulous butterflies. 😃