[S13.E10: Restaurant Wars, Part 2]

We went to Isaac's restaurant yesterday for lunch. My husband had the braised lamb and it was phenomenal.

[S13.E10: Restaurant Wars, Part 2]

I don't think Karen's flipping off Man Bun's exit either - I also see a "hang loose" gesture. And though the thought of flipping him off is funny, I sincerely hope she didn't because that would knock her down a few notches in my opinion. Yeah, he's a hipster/poser with little to no self-awareness who's apparently uninterested in learning or growing from the experience he was fortunate to have. And yes, he's kind of a dick for blaming other people for simply not being smart/savvy/hip enough to get his food. But in my book, flipping someone off is reserved for someone who does you wrong, and as far as I can see, Man Bun didn't do anything to earn Karen's ire (and I'm sure if he did, the producers/editors would have had a field day turning it into juicy television).

 

While I'm talking about Man Bun, I have to make a note here that I feel a bit bad for his parents. Does anyone here actually know them? Do we know that they sucked as parents? Do we actually know they gave him a pot of money and said "here Boy Bun. Don't worry about going to school. You are far too gifted to waste your time with the masses. Here's a blank check for an elegant rustic dining hole!"? I ask because his parents seem to be taking a pretty good hit over raising a dick of a son and in my opinion, there's a point where you don't blame the parents anymore. Hell, they could be great people who happened to have a complete tool for a child (that does happen - good people do spawn craptastic children). Of course, they may very well have been of the mindset that Boy Bun could do no wrong, that he always deserved the award just for showing up; they may have been the parents that asked him what he wanted to eat for every meal and let him figure out when and if he went to school. If that's the case, they do earn credit for raising a douche, however, Man Bun is now a man and his dickish behavior now rests squarely on his tattooed shoulders. At his age he should have been around enough to see that not everyone is like him, shares his vision or will like him.

 

Regarding FOH appearance, I'm willing to give Marjorie and Karen a pass partly based on the person upthread who noted that it'd been a long day and they didn't have the luxury of really cleaning themselves up. I'm also not going to quibble over sleeveless dresses. Down here in the south it gets hot in the summer and we see lots of FOH women that are sleeveless. As long as there isn't visible armpit hair and the body is clean, I don't care if arms are bare, tattooed or whatever. And I'm not going to quibble over the cut of someone's clothing or whether it's flattering, unless it's overtly sexual. It would have been a nice touch for the women to throw on a jacket or a shaw/scarf or something to dress it up, but that's starting to get pretty nit picky in my opinion, particularly when you have customers waiting or elect to whip a questionable cocktail from beneath the welcoming station.

 

 

I'm also at a bit of a loss why Marjorie is considered to be such a miracle worker for being able to bake risen bread. The yeast do all the work. It's not rocket surgery.

 

As Tom pointed out, they aren't allowed to bring recipes, so she must have the proportions memorized, and that's just not something that most savory cooks/chefs do enough to do from memory.  And you don't get a second shot or time to adjust, like you might with a sauce or other kind of dish.

 

I'm realizing that I'm not keen on Marjorie myself. There's a lot I find a bit odd/questionable about her, such as her evident disrespect for Isaac vs. her fervent support of Angelina. However, I do have a lot of respect for her ability, including the baker aspect. As far as the bread goes, it can be pretty easy to remember the basic recipes, however, baking bread from scratch reliably can be very challenging. Environmental factors such as humidity and temperature can really mess with how and if your dough rises and what works one day may not the next. I imagine that with her experience, Marjorie kinda just knows what will work and what won't, but I think it's still a risk to make a really good bread in an untested area, so kudos for her for doing it well. I LOVE good bread and when there's really excellent bread brought out to the table, I immediately raise my expectations for the rest of dinner.

[S13.E10: Restaurant Wars, Part 2]

 

Maybe I missed something, but I don't understand how Isaac won.  What exactly did he do that was so great?  I mean, other than complain about the other chefs being mean to him, grrrrrr!  Does he know how to cook anything other than stew?

 

Admittedly I didn't see last week, but from what I gathered from the judges and other contestant's comments, Isaac was responsible for two very good dishes and Carl gave him props for running the kitchen well during lunch time - good expediting, if I remember correctly. Marjorie rocked the front of the house (apparently) and made good bread, but her dinner dish - the desert - was a fail. Karen's fish sucked - evidently it REALLY sucked. I don't know what Carl did that was good/bad, but it seemed that Isaac fired on all cylinders for the challenge. The only complaining I noted from him in this episode was the talking head where he said he would use getting chosen last as motivation to show them he was deserving as more than a last choice pick (or at least that's my interpretation of it). Maybe if Marjorie had knocked the desert out of the park or had done something other than desert she would have been chosen as winner, but I think her panna cotta worked against her.

[S13.E10: Restaurant Wars, Part 2]

 

I hate to defend Phillip and he does go on and on when someone asks him anything but I would guess that both the tattoo and restaurant monologues were him initial responding to questions asked by the customers.

 

I'd bet that the tattoo discussion was a response to a question. However, there's a line between "oh, I got them a few years ago," or "they're a couple of things that have personal meaning for me" and yanking at your shirt to show off the top of your chest region as you prepare your customers for dinner. A throwaway line is all that's needed. Anyone who has a visible tat should have something short, sweet and to the point prepared (I do; few really care that much about that tat). As for the conversation about the restaurants, I'd be willing to bet he did something to at least goose the question, perhaps something along the lines of "tonight we're going to serve you salad soup, inspired by my own restaurants right here in L.A." ..."What restaurants? Why my goodness, thanks for asking!" Blah blah blah blah blah.

 

The point is, it doesn't really matter if the guests asked him or not. Restaurant Wars gives the chefs the opportunity to shine in the context of working in a team. That usually means doing your individual part, and sometimes more, with the best interests of the group in mind. Marjorie did it. Man Bun did not. Whenever I watch Restaurant Wars I thank the stars above I'd never have to do something like that - it looks incredibly stressful - but I think it does underscore that being a chef isn't a solitary enterprise. It's one thing to turn out great dishes when you don't have to worry about producing them for large groups of people who are continuously streaming in and out of the equation. Teamwork, trust, communication - they're all critical. The orange/red team developed an "every man for himself" attitude that ultimately killed them, I think - dinner sure seemed to be an utter failure. Kwame attempted to tell Man Bun that the salad taste wasn't right, but of course, he was shot down. Amar decided he'd just keep his head low and do what he was told. No one felt free to suggest using broth instead of water to Jeremy. Failure was the only outcome here, in my opinion.

 

As far as the grey team goes, it seems to me that Isaac could have sunk that team if he'd copped an attitude about Marjorie's attitude. But he did what he was supposed to do (what he's basically paid to do): be a professional. It wouldn't have served him or his team mates to sulk or be self-serving in restaurant wars and that makes me happy he won. Since I didn't see the previous episode, I have no idea how harsh Marjorie was with him, but if she really was, props to Isaac for using it as inspiration to kick ass for himself and his team.

 

Several months ago I listened to an interview with Donald Link, one of the popular (and talented) chefs in New Orleans. He told the interviewer that he'd rather have someone doing crack in his kitchen than have a complainer. His theory was that he can deal with the drugs in the kitchen, but a complainer is a cancer that infects everyone and ruins the vibe in the kitchen. Though Man Bun wasn't "complaining," the premise is basically the same; I sense the mix of people on the orange/red team turned it into a group of individuals, whereas the grey team was really a team.

[S13.E10: Restaurant Wars, Part 2]

I didn't watch the two previous episodes, so I missed some of Marjorie's snarky comments about Isaac. However, based on what I saw in this episode, it appears that when their team hit the kitchen, it was actually a team. It did seem that whatever issues there were about shopping lists (which I read about in last week's thread), last choices and refinement (or lack thereof) were pushed to the side in the effort for the team win. So props to them for understanding the need to put their egos aside. The red (or orange - was it orange?) team, however, was a mess. And I think between Man Bun's crappy salad (which he refused to accept any constructive criticism about) and his obnoxious front of the house skillz, the judges were on point sending him packing. I noticed that none of the other cheftestants made a move to even shake his hand, let alone give him the conciliatory hug, when he began the walk of shame. He was as clueless as ever in his talking head - "I know I made good food!" I'm sincerely trying to remember when, exactly, he made good food. He made serviceable food, and good enough food, but it finally caught up with him. I can't say he ever made anything I'd be interested in eating.

 

I'm a bit worried that Kwame is losing his mojo. I don't like seeing a struggling Kwame. I am glad Isaac won, and holy moly, was his face RED when they announced him as the winner. Since I didn't watch last week, I can't comment on Marjorie's versatility making the win possible, however, I think her actual food prep for dinner was a wash. They liked the bread but not desert. And they noted that Isaac made two great dishes - one at each meal - so I can understand why he would get the win.

 

I like Isaac a lot, but I'm not sure if he can carry it through to the finals for exactly the reasons Marjorie mentioned - his lack of "refinement." Padma mentioned he likes to braise a lot, and I wonder if that will work against him in the future. I love braised dishes, so I have no issue with that, but he may not be versatile enough for the judges' taste, ultimately.

 

I listened to an interview on NPR with the NY Times restaurant critic that gave Per Se its "bad" two star review and he made a comment along the lines that so many chefs aren't really thinking about cooking a meal that actually tastes good anymore; it's becoming about using certain ingredients and presentation. When he made that comment, Man Bun was the first guy I thought of - the all flash and no substance. With him it's a matter of "if I put this oyster on a rock, it will have to be good because no one is plating on a rock!" or "I'll be that guy who gives new meaning to whipped potatoes!" or whatever. He may want to concentrate on being a food stylist if he's that much into presentation. It doesn't matter how that food tastes, as long as it looks appealing, which seems right up his alley.

[S13.E07: Back In The Day]

I read through the thread before I watched the episode this evening, so I knew the outcome. In some respects, that's a good way to watch because i found I paid more attention to facial expressions, mannerisms, etc., instead of focusing more on what the chefs were doing in the kitchen.

 

I had come to dislike Jason, and that didn't change this episode - I'm happy to see him go - but I thought Tom really hit on something at the judge's table: Jason seems to have no joy in his work. I have to wonder what exactly his joy is, aside from the partner he mentioned in an early episode. He was obviously uncomfortable/unhappy with the group dynamic (and it's my bet that it would have been that way no matter who the cheftestants were and where they were). His memories didn't seem particularly pleasant and he mentioned expressing himself through the way he dresses. The kicker was that he said he left his restaurant two months before Top Chef, which seemed a little weird to me. I sense that Jason is really struggling with who he is or how he sees himself ("I dress strangely/outlandishly and I don't care what people think about it" vs. "I don't fit in with this group;" and dude, yellow pants aren't really all that far out there, at least down here in Nola.). I wonder if he entered the competition to get new life/passion/whatever for his chosen field. I think Tom nailed it: Jason seems to have the skills/talent, but he doesn't really seem to like what he was doing. That sucks and I feel kind of bad for anyone who invests so much of him/herself into a profession that isn't doing it for them.

 

Kwame's facial expressions through the entire episode were very telling (tip: do not play poker, Kwame). I have no idea what his issues with his father were/are but have no doubt that they are real and difficult for him to deal with. I felt badly for him and hope that he can rebound from his poor showing. He is so young and seems like a sponge, absorbing everything around him; he seems so genuine.

 

Tip of the hat to Isaac for doing a gumbo in two hours, and not just gumbo, but a good gumbo. I think Tom understood what an accomplishment that was.

 

Marjorie always has something to say about her competitors, and while I think her "Isaac doesn't know refined food" was a bit snarky, I figure it's in response to whatever questions are being lobbed at her. She may simply give the best television. I don't know if Isaac can't or can't do refined, but I'd hazard a guess that ten years with Emeril must have taught him something about it.

 

So far, liking Kwame, Arman (is that right?), Jeremy and Isaac. Man bun is just kind of pitiful right now. Chad's more interesting to me, as I learn more about him. Carl seems a bit bland, while Karen and Marjorie vary wildly, from impressive, to vaguely annoying to meh.

[Caitlyn Jenner: Call Me Caitlyn]

I've imposed a Kardashian/Jenner hiatus on myself because I figure I need to stop feeding this giant, money-grubbing, famewhoring beast. However, I watched a good portion of the Golden Globes and I heard Ricky Gervais' Caitlyn joke, and guess what? I laughed. Just like I laughed at some of his other jokes. I had to come here to see what the response was.

 

Gervais didn't "attack" trans people, and there's absolutely nothing in that statement that screams "transphobic" to me. He basically called Jenner out on her traffic accident, and he continues to do so, given the twitter response. The trans thing was the set-up for the joke. If anyone should feel bad about the joke, it should be the victim's family. Because Jenner was not the victim in that scenario. Someone else died. Other people lost a family member. Caitlyn most certainly did not.

 

If Caitlyn wants to take on Ricky, I think she'll quickly see she's way out of her element. She's been dealing with dunderheads and whatnot for so long she seems to think she can keep up with someone who's actually smart and talented. I may not like everything Gervais says and does, but he actually works for a living and owns his shit (plus he's a huge animal rights advocate).

 

It feels a bit like Caitlyn is wrapping herself in the protective coat of transgenderism, using it to shield her from any criticism she may experience. Really, she could/may call foul for any perceived slight, whether it be her appearance, how she spends her time or what she does for a living. I think about the only thing I'd give her a pass on is getting worked up over "man in drag" comments. But a bad haircut, crappy dress, botched plastic surgery - it's all fair game, the same stuff any other woman of notoriety is raked over the coals for. And her behavior, regardless of gender, is always on the table.

 

I should also note, that as a woman, I'm not offended at the implication of bad woman drivers. That's an old, tired joke and now Caitlyn gets to deal with that reality too.

[S13.E06: Banannaise]

I looked at the Facebook page and one of the links is dead and the funding page appears to be defunct (no active fundraising, but lots of descriptions about the project). It appears that the project is almost four years old, so I'm surprised there's still a Facebook page for the film. I wonder if he's hoping that the stint on Top Chef will kind of resurrect his dream for his film??? Just speculating on that since there's no way to know.

 

I have to say, seeing all that does make me view Man Bun differently, and not in a good way, which I suppose isn't quite fair. He may be the nicest guy on the planet, hand nursing orphaned puppies and kittens and stopping his car to help little old ladies across the crosswalk, but I don't know . . . I feel like I'm getting the whiff of famewhore from him. Between the beautiful model/chef wife, his large photographic presence promoting his restaurants, the previous appearances on the other cooking shows and the past attempt to write, produce, direct his own film . . . It seems so very L. A./Hollywood hustler. It's almost like he could be a character on Entourage.

 

I appreciate and respect ambition - I sincerely do. But all of the above, combined with his man bun, oyster on a rock and gluey potato cream is kind of turning him into a caricature for me. It's very hard for me to take that seriously. It makes me wonder if cooking is really that important to him or if it's just kind of a hip thing for him to do that may lead to notoriety and wealth (because after all, we live in a time where chefs can be hip, famous and rich, thanks very much Anthony Bourdain). It's an interesting contrast between Man Bun and someone like Wesley, who seemed to sincerely appreciate the opportunity to learn more about what he was doing and stretch himself into new places.

 

ETA: I like Bourdain; however, his hip, wealth, fame factor cannot be denied!

[S13.E06: Banannaise]

 

Rather, he's young, ambitious, proud, but- with his weirdly rabbit looking face- I think he is able to adapt and learn.

 

Thank god I wasn't drinking a beverage when I read this because I'd still be cleaning up my monitor right now.

 

 

Please.  It was "freezing a banana with NITROGEN and putting it up his butt."  The nitrogen part being a (playful, I assume?) dig at Blais.

 

I didn't see the season with Blais, so I didn't get that reference. I figured it was a dig at Man Bun's potatoes (for the iSi dispenser), but that's nitrous oxide (right?) and not the same as nitrogen. I'm learning science!

 

Right now, Man Bun is good to have around for entertainment value; I mean look how much mileage we're getting out of those potatoes. After living in a hipster city for a few years, yeah, those hipsters can be obnoxious, but for now he doesn't get on my nerves as much as Jason does. I sense that Jason may be a score-keeper, one of those people that's always mentally tallying up who got the biggest piece, who went first when and how often, etc., and will trot that out when he feels slighted. I may change my opinion if I see more (because I don't hate Man Bun like I expected to, so I may have the same change of heart over Jason). But my heart won't break if either one has to leave the kitchen.

[S13.E06: Banannaise]

It was nice to see a bit of Amar and Chad this episode - they've been so overlooked that I was wondering if they were going to stick around.  No surprise about Angelina or Wesley, though I did kinda like Wesley, and appreciated the crash in the kitchen sound effect as he left at the end of the show.

 

Though I like Isaac, that dish sounded disgusting, but then I hate bananas. Bananaise sounds awful, but I don't know what I would have done for such a dish. Kwame surely figured it out, though (and I never did get a grip on what he was doing - they seemed to gloss right over that). He seems to be the guy to beat right now - I think he's the only one who's been consistently in the top contenders and I can't think of anything negative that anyone's said about his cooking (or him, for that matter).

 

It appears that last week's pile-on made Man Bun think a bit. I don't think he necessarily agrees with the criticism, but I got the impression that he knows he has to play to the crowd at hand. I respect that type of pragmatism. I also have to wonder if things really are financially tight for him. Restaurant margins must be thin and his little talking head made me wonder if Top Chef and his other competitions have been part of building his brand for potential investors/greater stability? Just spitballing on that, though. Anyway, he was far less obnoxious to me this week.

 

I always enjoy seeing Emeril and I like it when he hangs out in the house with the chefs. However, I wish he would drop just a few pounds - I worry about the kind of extra weight he's carrying around.

 

Marjorie and Angelina definitely seem to have a big/little sister relationship that is sweet, though I don't much care for Angelina.

 

As far as personalities go, it was a bit of a bland show - and I'm not complaining about that. It seemed like a lot of action, I guess because of Angelina and Wesley's extra challenge. I do wonder: with two chefs gone in one episode, how does that work for future weeks? How can they plan for all their episodes? Does that mean someone gets a free pass at some point? Because if I understood it correctly, it wasn't an either/or proposition with Angelina and Wesley (she went or they both stayed, right?). So how does production account for that when they plan the episodes? I've only been watching this for about four seasons, so I'm in the dark about how this plays out.

[Season 13 Last Chance Kitchen]

Thanks for telling me that - I wasn't sure, but it makes perfect sense. (I'm not watching enough Reality TV, I think . . .) So basically, the only "tell" was that he gets to see Emeril as a judge again. But that could be as soon as next week, so he didn't spill anything telling.

[Season 13 Last Chance Kitchen]

This is just a bit of spoilery info from an interview Isaac did on a show on the local NPR Station. In response to a couple of questions, he said that it took about eight weeks of his time, which makes me think he'll be around for at least a little while. He also referred to two judging appearances by Emeril, so there's that.

[Top Chef in the Media]

More Isaac media: the local NPR station (WWNO) has a food show once a week for an hour and Poppy Tooker had a little conversation with Isaac. It was an interesting chat and I think I like Isaac more than I expected I would. He's quite frank (said leaving the wife and the babies behind was hard but he knew it going in and decided he needed to focus on the job at hand. He said his greatest intimidation was Emeril as a judge and that he had no idea who a number of the guest judges were (and I guess he got a bit of business over it, to which he said, "what do you want? I've been cooking in South Louisiana for the last 19 years . . ."). He said he got pretty drunk watching the first episode because it's awful watching himself on television. As he put it, when you hear your recorded voice, your first instinct is to say "that doesn't sound like me!" Television, according to him, is 100 times worse.

 

ETA: I did not include the station link because in the course of the interview, there was some discussion of timing, which I considered to be mildly spoilerish.

[S13.E05: Big Gay Wedding]

Oh, I'm sure Man Bun thought those potatoes were genius. Didn't he use a whipped cream dispenser to plate them? I'm sure to him, that meant they would be light, airy and potatoey (??? - you know what I mean). I mean, he used a "fancy" tool to plate his potatoes (kind of like Wesley's stencil back in the beginning), which I'm sure elevates any dish in his mind.

Snark aside, I was curious about the potatoes so I went to Scratch Bar's Yelp page for some help. I didn't read all the reviews, but the three I read mentioning the potato puree were very positive (If you consider licking the plate positive!). So either something went wrong with the dish or Man Bun and at least a few of his customers have their heads up their asses and/or have a very different palate than the people at the wedding. (It could be that Man Bun is so used to raves for the dish that he dismissed Kwame's comments because they were from a competitor). But the judges and Kwame all pronounced them gummy/gluey and Isaac said something similar in his interview, so I'm thinking at its heart it was a bad dish (maybe the type of potato he used???). Man Bun either didn't taste them (BAD idea, imo), was going to defend them til he died, or has a very different idea of what's good what isn't, which means he won't be around long.

Not having seen him on other shows, it's hard for me to believe he's all his publicity says he is. From the talk in the first episode, I expected him to be the guy to beat but between the oysters on the rocks, the crappy pudding and now the potatoes, it's kind of like the emperor has no clothes in this setting.

[S13.E05: Big Gay Wedding]

For some reason, I've lost the option for a quote box, but Muffyn above said something that is interesting: Muffyn noted that Kwame tasted Man Bun's potatoes and said they were gummy. It made me realize that generally, when one chef tastes another's dish, they don't say "that sucks!" From what I recall, they tend to stick to the fact at hand, which in this case was gummy potatoes. And really, that's what they need to do because otherwise they're in the position of potentially undermining or helping a competitor's position. And the really interesting thing is that Man Bun was okay with the "gummy" which tells me that's what he's going for. I'm guessing that later, after it's all said and done, the other chefs are like Isaac in his recap saying "wow, those potatoes pretty much sucked!" That's different than just calling them gummy, at least to Man Bun (though I think he would have argued that they didn't suck if Kwame had said "they're gummy and they're really awful."

Two to three hours at the judges table - holy moly. I bet they do have to pee. That's a lot of time to learn about the judges and for them to learn about the chefs, too.

[S13.E05: Big Gay Wedding]

 

I can't say I enjoy Jason's personality but I was impressed that he managed to not shove Angelina into the walk-in and leave her there until he could complete the dish and honestly, I think his patience was just gone by the time he was at Judge's Table, because he had almost bodily carried a grousing Angelina through to one of the more successful dishes of the night.   Then he was confronted with Phillip's inability to understand that his dish was not good, and then Phillip -- who honestly seemed to think he had adequately described his dish to everyone -- proceed to cast a net over all of them and drag them into the notion that everyone thought it was a splendid idea.  Everyone thought mashed potatoes with meat sounded -- to be clear -- adequate at best.  There were no rousing cheers for "you're doing meat...and ...potatoes?  Is this secretly a big gay wedding for cattle ranchers?"

 

It's interesting how patient so many of the cheftestants are with Angelina, simply because she's young and inexperienced. I do think it's nice to be patient and gracious, however she also has quite an attitude that I don't find appealing. I don't know if it's part of being young and always right (because I remember those days!) or if it's just part of her personality that will stick with her as she matures. I think it was telling how teams collaborated on this challenge. Giselle quashed any potential input from Wesley and abdicated responsibility for just about everything, laying it at Pink Hair's feet. Man Bun was going to do steak and potatoes, because evidently, a wedding needs steak and potatoes. I think when Jason ended up with Angelina, he took over the menu plan and I don't think she had a problem with that, though I'd forgotten how pushy she was with making whatever it was they were making. So yeah, he does score points for not getting stabby with her. I think my issue with Jason is that I'm beginning to pick up some sort of air of superiority or something from him that's not sitting well with me. It's different from Man Bun's pretentiousness. I sometimes pick up a judgmental vibe from him.

 

I wonder if Jason had been stuck with Giselle, how the dish would have turned out; he seemed more willing to be firm with Angelina than Pink Hair was willing to be with Giselle, and maybe that made all the difference.

 

The other dishes seemed to be successful because they were collaborations. For me it signals an element of respect for your co-workers/co-cheftestants - willingness to listen, pitch in where needed, speak up when necessary, etc.

 

Whatever, I bet it was a bit awkward in that house that evening. . .

[S13.E05: Big Gay Wedding]

I'm another one who doesn't get the hotness of Chrissy Teigen. I mean, she's far from ugly, but I don't get what all the fuss is about. But I'm not in her target demographic, so whatever. The fact that she writes a food blog kind of makes that whole giggly, jiggly, "did you do it"-innuendo driven shtick even more annoying for me. But yeah, Kwame's reaction was kinda sweet.

 

I feel like if/when Wesley gets the boot, he'll be sad but I sense that he's actually gaining a lot from his experience. He's one that would be an interesting return because I sense that there are some scales falling off his eyes and that's so, so refreshing, especially compared to Man Bun and Jason. And though I haven't liked Man Bun I have to say I'm glad it was Giselle that left. Part of that is because I felt like she earned it (Gail put it best: it sent a message you can just coast your way through) and partly because I bet Man Bun's presence is going to drive Jason nuts. Because after this episode, I hate Jason.

 

I don't have anything to add to the discussion about how/why he felt the need to interject himself into that mess at the judges table (which really, is one of the most uncomfortable things I've watched on reality tv in a while. The other cheftestants looked hella uncomfortable.). I will say this: Man Bun owned his gluey mess, that he meant for it to be that way (and I agree, if that's what his vision and talent is for this particular venue, then he does need to get the boot, sooner rather than later). However, Jason showed himself to be a dick when he was admonishing Angelina for referring to his dish as dolma. Yeah, she fought back on it, but he just had to be right, he had to have the last word, and his talking head didn't help (don't tell me what my dish is!!! Shit, he had everything but the finger wag in there.). I wonder if he's super insecure (pouting over the pool party and talking about now that he won a quickfire he's shown them he has the chops to be there) or if he just likes to lord it over people. I can't get a read on him, but it doesn't matter; I don't like him. I think he's a whiny little bitch, frankly, and I'll take Man Bun's pretentiousness over that right now.

 

I've got a grip on most of the cheftestants, though guys such as Carl (really, a date milkshake??? Are you kidding? Talk about phoning it in!), Chad and the other guy that worked on the pork belly are still blending into the woodwork for me. I'm liking Pink Hair and Marjorie, as well as Isaac, Kwame and Jeremy.

 

 

Hmmmm - wonder if that's part of why they chose Kwame as the winner? Smackdown.

 

Between that and the judges table, I do wonder how much more goes into the decision beyond the food. So were the judges taking note of the fact that Kwame let his food speak for him and that Wesley gave props to Kwame for a large portion of their dish's success? What did they think of Jason inserting himself into the whole discussion? And Giselle trying to throw Man Bun under the bus? And Pink Hair admitting she made most of the dish? There was an awful lot of WTFery going on at that table; if I had been sitting there, I'd have definitely been mentally filing that stuff away for later.

[S13.E04: It's A Dry Heat]

 

Anyway, despite cracking wise about it, I actually find it an endearing thing for all the reasons I've already named.   I don't actually watch any of the other shows Phillip has been on, so this is my sole experience with him.  Right now he's not quite living up to anything extraordinary, but there are reasons I find him likable:  he's not mean. That goes an incredibly long way with me in life and when watching someone.  He remains cheerful in the face of difficulties (like I said, I started to like him when he was plating under the table) and unlike someone like Angelina and Grayson, both of whom just hovered at the bottom for each episode and whose time on the show came with an obvious expiration date, Phillip seems to be holding his own.

 

I'm not a man bun fan but he's not on my get-off-my-tv list yet. Really, it's kind of soon to have that list because we're pretty early in the competition, though it looks like Angelina and one of the other female chefs I can't remember are eeking toward the list. Yeah, it's tiresome listening to him talk about his wife and if we have two or three more months of this I may come to hate him (like I grew to dislike Nick in TC New Orleans because he was weeping over missing his kids; FFS, go home if it's that tough; the other chefs seemed to deal with the separation). I do think man bun is a bit cocky, and based on how he's fared in other competitions, I guess there's a reason for it.

 

It makes me wonder if 1) he became a little full of himself due to his previous success or whether his general awesomeness led him to compete in other reality venues (which came first: the competitions or the great confidence, and have they fed each other?), and 2) if he's naturally competitive and genuinely likes going up against other chefs or if a lot of this is just good marketing to promote his restaurants. I'm not judging him on any of that; I'm just wondering what his motivation is. I guess we have to see at least one very confident chef during the course of the competition and I think man bun is him. Honestly, I've been a bit underwhelmed by him -- for some reason, I expected more out of him. I mean, he doesn't suck but I figured he'd always be in the top tier and so far I'm not getting that vibe.

 

I tend to go for people who have a bit of humility or at least a sense of humor about themselves. I'm not seeing much of that from man bun, but it's early and I'm willing to wait it out a few more weeks.

[Kendall]

Wow. That is bad. I've basically avoided all things Kardashian the last month but after reading the comments I couldn't help but watch. That can't be unseen. I think Kendall needs to stick to still photography and dead-eyed runway modeling because anything else seems to be a bit of a stretch to her. I couldn't bring myself to watch day 7 (and wtf with that anyway? Do the Kardashians have a controlling stake in Love? I guess we're fortunate Kim was ready to give birth because otherwise she'd be in there too).

 

I think I'm retreating back into my Kardashia-Jenner-West-free zone.

[TAR Fantasy Casting]

I dig the idea of Justin and Diana racing against Rob and Amber, but it would be an interesting twist to pair up Justin and Rob (I mean hell, it's not like pairing up strangers is unheard of on the show now). I'd love to see Rob's reaction when Justin began to cry because they weren't in first or when Justin tried to berate Rob for some perceived failure.

 

As the years have passed, I don't feel nearly as negative towards Rob and Amber; I suppose the fact that they went away and aren't nearly so present helps - they seem to be happily living a family life when I google them. I can deal with that better than I can deal with the personalities that get their 15 minutes of fame and then go through all sorts of histrionics to stretch it out, kind of like the Jon and Kate people (didn't watch the show but god knows I knew who they were).

[S13.E04: It's A Dry Heat]

 

(Padma's a bitch, part two: "did you not understand when he said turn it toward the sun?" She's so unpleasant.

 

 

I usually filter her imperiousness as an outsized TV-judge-persona, but this was spectacularly condescending.

 

Agreed. I would have no idea exactly how to cook with those "ovens." I think they're cool as all get out, but anyone who drew the oven knife was kind of getting screwed. It looked like there was very little control over what you were doing. At least with the cook tops you could look at your dish and make adjustments based on what you saw. The ovens looked as though you put your stuff in that drawer and prayed it cooked properly. It made me wonder if there was a brief tutorial that was edited out, but I'm guessing there wasn't. And Padma's comment was totally unnecessary, in my opinion.

 

As for the Whole Foods corn, sometimes it's simply hard to know how your produce is until you cut/bite into it. I've bought plenty of mangoes, onions, peaches, etc. that looked and felt just fine, but biting or cutting into them was a different story. I think there's an impression that if a product comes from Whole Foods, it should be pretty good (especially based on the price), however I think they're as vulnerable to the unknowables that any other super market faces. That's why I buy as much as I can from my local farmer's markets -- at least I know the stuff hasn't been picked much before it's ripe and hasn't been sitting there as long as the stuff from the super market.

[S13.E04: It's A Dry Heat]

 

I cut the hot tub guy some slack, because I've felt the way I think he is feeling.  I don't think its anger, I think he is just feeling hurt because he is left out of the clique.  Its like the nerd in a John Hughes film who has to take a class with all the jocks and the cheerleaders.  No one wants to feel like the outsider looking in, and I hope he'll find his clique as the competition narrows down.

 

 

Yeah, having worked in a very bro-y environment (I'm a black woman without bro tendencies), it's really lonely if that's not your scene. I was miserable working there, and at least I got to go home at the end of the day. He has no escape.

 

I do understand your points, and I've certainly felt like the fifth wheel. However, based on what I've seen, that felt like kind of a one-off so far. Granted, we haven't seen much of the cheftestants' down time, so there may be some cliquish behavior going on. However, it 1) seems awfully early for it and 2) doesn't appear that there's any animosity yet among the competitors. I kind of wonder if the chef was just sitting there silently with all this stuff happening around him and the producers asked him, "so what did you think about all the rowdy behavior going on around you?" (I'm sorry, I can't remember his name; I'm just not remembering the names of most of the chefs at this point. There are so many and I feel like the show isn't doing well at differentiating them at this point.)

 

Perhaps he started out in the hot tub alone, winding down with a drink under the stars after a stressful day and then had his reverie crashed by the human equivalent of a pack of adolescent Labrador retrievers.

 

 

Just before they announced the winning team I had a thought that the blue team is going to win so they can save Philip, because he seemed to have the worst dish by far. (Way bigger issues than the corn being cooked). I think that for whatever reason he's been hand picked as one of major contenders and they did not want to lose him this early.

 

And likewise, by making orange the loser they could get ride of either Grayson or Angelina.

 

After the first dish, I had a sense blue would win because Jeremy had the presence of mind to ice his bowls, which was not only a thoughtful touch, but helped with the flavor of the dish. As well, Wesley shifted the prep of his dish to incorporate the judges' input, strengthening my impression. I can't remember the specific dishes, but it seemed that up until desert, the blue team was getting the overall nod from the judges. And the shrimp with the corn hash sounds like a hot mess, from overcooking the shrimp, cooking the corn and then the greasiness of the chorizo. Ultimately, it didn't seem like much of a contest to me. However, I do pick up some of that vibe about Phillip, though that could be his pretentiousness shining through.

[S13.E04: It's A Dry Heat]

 

Is Phillip capable of NOT being a pretentious douche?

 

I noticed his smirk when the orange team was getting its critique and thought his smugness was a bit out of place since he was the weakest link on his team, which was kind of excellent after how much he talked up his wife's dessert - what, basically a rice pudding that didn't set well with some fruit?

 

 

Unpopular minority opinion, but I thought Angelina's rubbery shrimp probably earned the ding more than not using raw corn.  Raw corn doesn't really sound very intuitive, except for salsas and salads.  Why would you put cold raw corn in a warm chorizo hash?

 

For me, Angelina would have gone because shrimp's the point of the dish and it's overcooked (and I hate overcooked shrimp). The hash could have been outstanding (but really, in 100+ degrees? Ugh.), but if the primary element of the dish is tough or rubbery, the dish still would have sucked, in my opinion.  I didn't like Grayson and am not sorry to see her gone, but I'm losing my patience with Angelina because I feel like her youth gets her a pass. I can understand being a bit intimidated and perhaps overwhelmed, but many of the other chefs seem to be somewhat protective of her because she's so young and inexperienced. I wonder if/how that will change as time goes on because I think Angelina has a crappy attitude. She also doesn't seem to be all that great at her trade.

 

 

Jose Andres, with his sense of humor and lack of an overblown ego, stole the show for me.  Someone had to save this mess, and I'm glad it was Jose.

 

I liked him too and I thought his comments were the most insightful of all the judges. He wasn't easy on them, but he gave them solid criticism that would be helpful in modifying their dishes - such as Wesley did.

 

I have to admit: I'm liking Wesley. Yeah, he's kind of a mess, but it seems to me that he's really trying and absorbing what he's being told - you know, actually growing from the experience. I can respect that. Plus, when he cooks something I think "I would give that a try." (Unlike Phillip and the oyster on the rock. Just no.)

 

And finally, the chef who was pouting about the evening hot tub fun: relax!!!! Any time cooking in the desert would make for a grueling day's work, so I can't blame any of the chefs for cutting loose. Yep, that was a lot of people in that hot tub and yep, they were drinking beer and kind of rowdy - there were people jumping in the pool -- OMG! My guess is that it didn't last too long because Palm Springs has some pretty tight noise restrictions, from what I understand. Anyway, there's no reason to be put off by it. If you aren't into the scene, take a glass of wine inside and unwind in your own way, or do what I would do: pull up a chair along the pool and enjoy the show. It's a good way to learn about your fellow chefs, these people you'll be living with for (hopefully) the next month.

[S27.E12: We Got A Chance, Baby!]

10) Intimidate your opponents: remind everyone that you are Super Fan and have run your own specially designed race so that no matter what they may have done to prepare, they pale in comparison to your foresight and desire to win.

 

11) Learn a handful of key phrases in a variety of languages to help with rule #2. "Friend" is always a good choice, especially when sung in a loud, annoying manner; the locals will appreciate that you consider them a friendly presence and the folks at home will praise you for embracing the local culture. Don't worry too much about "thank yous" and "please," because these are likely always universally understood in English, and by the time you're using them, the task is likely almost complete and it's not so important to be nice to the locals.

[S27.E12: We Got A Chance, Baby!]

 

The second part of that interview is up today on realitytvworld.com and they are far less likeable in it. Diana is pretty arrogant in it as well. They do talk about getting married, although Justin freely admits that he will postpone his wedding, and won't really even pick a date for it yet, because he doesn't want to miss out on an All-Stars Unfinished Business 2 edition. He says he is going to stalk the producers and get "his fans" to stalk the producers until they get an offer to do another race. PUKE.

 

Any misgivings that I may have been too harsh in my assessment of Justin just went out the window with this. For me, this just underscores that he really is a dickish, douchebag of a tool.

 

Justin must have been that kid that kicked, screamed and basically threw a fit until he got everything and anything he wanted. Way to go Justin's parents! And I'm sensing Diana is enabling that (because if he's holding off on the wedding to get his second shot on TAR, he's essentially pulling the same moves). I sincerely hope that TAR producers become the first people to tell him no. I hate to see bad behavior get rewarded and that's exactly what that will be.

 

And can someone please explain to me how their marital status has anything to do with running the race again? I am at a loss for that.

 

ETA: I read the interview and they say they will be married by the end of 2016. They have also been together eight years. Diana knows exactly what she's dealing with. I say get married, have a great life and may we never see -- or hear -- you again.