Ashforth
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Posts posted by Ashforth
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5 hours ago, Rai said:
In a similar vein, I'm a little uncomfortable with Kevin's concept being one of the winners, since a Southern restaurant inspired by the spice trade (at least the European era, which I assume Kevin was referencing) evokes colonialism at best, and also could fall into slave trade territory, only from the slavers' perspective, which. Gross. I can't help but wonder how Eric thought about that. This may be entirely too much thematic analysis of restaurant concepts, but to further illustrate my point, Columbus was part of this spice trade era and emblematic of it. In short, it just feels like problematic territory.
I'm born, raised and live in Texas and I've never heard of the dish called Country Captain. I looked online and yes, it's a chicken curry dish, so that gives Kevin some credibility. I know from the show that Kevin and Eric are friends, but I thought that the restaurant concept of Country Captain based on the spice trade seemed like a subtle way for Kevin to backstab Eric. As a practical matter, if we have to parse out political issues relating to every kind of food... oh, I don't even know how to end this sentence. We might just never eat.
I have to hand it to Kevin, though, that he did chicken breasts that weren't dried out. His family-style pot looked great. Didn't he do a fabulous-looking family-style dish in the awful beach-fire challenge that disappointed the judges with its flavors?
2 hours ago, meep.meep said:I hate Restaurant Wars. It always seems to take out someone I want to see go farther.
Restaurant Wars has always been my least favorite of Top Chef challenges, and I've always been baffled as to why it gets so much love. I hate team challenges in what is supposed to be an individual competition. That's why I was HAPPY that Melissa's concept wasn't chosen. Her food seems so delicate and beautiful and personal, I would hate to see it decimated in the hurley-burley bullshit of the frenzy that is Restaurant Wars.
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9 hours ago, Msample said:
Voltaggio needs to get his head out of his ass. $50-65 check average is “more accessible”???
My thought is that Bryan V is accustomed to the traditional fine dining space where per person costs can be $200 or much more, so in his perspective, $50-65 (which I assumed was per person) is more accessible. Unfortunately, his food and approach seem a bit dated and out of touch to me. Sad, because I like him and I think his food mostly looks delicious, but I don't know that it's what people are looking for these days.
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6 hours ago, Harry24 said:
So, "Coastal Italian." Does that refer to an Italian coast or an American coast? And which coast? Does it matter?
I assumed it meant the Italian coast. I immediately thought of Giada DeLaurentis' series of episodes set in Capri. Light, lemony, lots of fresh seafood (with a heapin' helpin' of cleavage LOL). I found this:
https://www.positano.com/en/e/flavors-and-aromas-of-the-amalfi-coast
Eric must have really been thrown by his loss in the pitch challenge. Rhubarb + Cod = Coastal Italian? I felt bad for him.
But Nini definitely deserved the win. I loved that Tom said he was going to steal her idea of partially filleting the fish but cooking it whole. That was ingenious.
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16 hours ago, IndyMischa said:"Where are you having dinner?"
"Oh, this great new place, named for the Atlantic slave trade!"
WHUT? Major record scratch.
Welcome to Middle Passage! I'll just shackle you to your chair so we can get started. There we go! We'll begin with an Amuse Bouche of Let Me Enlighten Your Uneducated Ass, and then move on to a delicious West African-inspired entree served with a complimentary side of horror and sorrow for the people who were kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped to the Americas. Enjoy!
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Yay Nini!!!!!!!!!!
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9 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:
I think you mixed Melissa with Nini? Nini made Bánh Xèo.
You're right, it was Nini. This quarantine is getting to me.
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@mmecorday, Doc was gorgeous, and his eyes! They tell a story of zen but I'm guessing there was plenty of zap to him as well.
My beloved Caesar (my avatar) died 4 years ago at age 18 and I still miss him every day. He was my baby and my best friend. I can't bring myself to get another cat. I tried a dog but it was just too much.
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Not too much to say about this one except hello, producer manipulation! Suddenly, after challenge after challenge with an inability to do anything except cover the models with yards and yards of fabric (even in the lingerie challenge), Angel and Minju are masters of the leotard. I feel used.
I thought Daniel's winning look was striking as a runway look, but not really functional. Charles' kickboxing look was sexy and functional and great! The design brief again was muddled. Did they want runway or something people would actually wear?
I was surprised to see Carli crash and burn so spectacularly.
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11 minutes ago, janie jones said:
Oh god, have you guys seen the one where there's some weird My Pillow party where kids get to take pillows home?
That one was playing constantly before Easter. And yes, creepy My Pillow guy frolicking with children in a park was just as horrific as you could ever imagine.
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The My Pillow guy's ads are everpresent during the morning show I watch. Now he has a mattress topper and the "testimonial" guy says it's "three inches of wonderful." Well, Mr. My Pillow, I guess that's what you'd like people to believe, but as a woman, I beg to differ. 😎
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I disliked this challenge. The design brief was ambiguous: Rock & Roll! But was it rock & roll as streetwear, or stagewear, or a Grammy/MTV red carpet? Who knew? If it's supposed to be a stage costume, how can it be too "costume-y"? Why were safety pins awesome on one outfit and the kiss of death on another?
Angel and Minju should have gone. Two challenges in a row that were epic failures. How the fuck are either of them going to do activewear?
I thought Claire and Adolfo should have gotten the chance to compete as individuals.
I'm going to stick with this to the end, but I'm disappointed. I guess my expectations were too high after seeing the posts about how good it was in the Making the Cut thread.
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On 2/3/2020 at 1:12 PM, dleighg said:
"ticket stubs" what are these things called "ticket stubs"?
Victoria, what are you doing here?
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2 hours ago, Steph J said:
Twist!
This was one of the weird ones where I was kind of rooting for the defendant despite thinking he's guilty.
The Plaintiff's story was so jumbled. And the baby momma just sat there looking like the jerk she is. I was a little surprised that JJ didn't call her to testify, especially since there was so much confusion over the car seat, who took the baby, why they were still at the apartment complex.
I also found the Defendant sympathetic and he sure looked and sounded good, as did his brother. I can almost forgive him for smashing the plaintiff's rear windshield (and it did look like it was with a tire iron). If it had been baby momma's car, it would have been all good.
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PSA: I live in an apartment and don't give a lot of thought to routine maintenance. In other apartments where I've lived, they would usually come around and change the a/c filter every few months or once a year. This morning, I looked up at the vent where my a/ filter resides and it was downright fuzzy! I realized it's been at least two years since it was changed. I had the maintenance guy bring me a new filter (didn't let him come in, Covid, you know) and I got on a chair and wiped down the filter cover to get rid of the accumulated dust bunnies and changed the filter and by God, my a/c is blowing ice-cold air! I've been setting it at 69 at night and 71 during the day. Right now it's at 73 and I'm considering jacking it up another degree.
So, yeah, change your a/c filter (if you're like me).
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3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:
There's also a laundry soap one with a head looking out of the washing machine door, maybe Seventh Generation? or one of the organic types.
It's a frontloader machine and the head is spinning around. It makes me dizzy.
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That little Zacharian girl cooks some mean eggs! Damn!
I must be getting soft, because The Kitchen has grown on me just a little. When I first started seeing it, I found it unwatchable. In particular, the craft segments were horrific. It seems they've stopped those? So much better. I've actually found it bearable to rather enjoyable for a few months now. I tend to keep FN on as background on the weekends.
I'm enjoying the quarantine shows. Unlike some, I much prefer seeing them straight up cook without the hooting and hollering WHOOO GZ! (Sunny, I'm looking at you). It has also shown Sunny up as clearly the weakest link as a cook.
Katie Lee's husband is a luscious hot hunk of man.
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5 hours ago, bad things are bad said:
Even worse IMO is the one with the head on the countertop. HATE IT
This one makes me laugh, the way he says "Every time you see me, you say ooooh" like he thinks it's a compliment instead of eeewww.
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The woman in the Consumer Cellular commercial who brags to her friends that she sends three pictures of her dog every day, "One for each grandchild," all I can think is how fucking irritating that must be for her son/daughter/SIL/DIL.
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11 hours ago, QuantumMechanic said:
We just started watching NIF this week. When we saw Ashton and Marco’s facemask look all we could think of were “men ahead of their time”. 🤣😭
I started it this weekend as well (30 day free Netflix subscription). I was concerned about the tiny thong for the male model, but they fixed the problem of "a nut hanging out," as I think Ashton said. That model must be a waxer! Because that was a smooth situation down there. And he was hot, hot hot. I loved the shot of him doing pushups before the runway. I thought their looks were wildly successful.
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On 2/1/2020 at 7:54 PM, Samwise979 said:
The male designer judge from last episode must have fought HARD for Kiki and Farai to result in a non-elimination. As soon as Farai said something like, if a high end fashion house made this everyone would think it was cool and where do they get [steal] the ideas from? Us! He would not budge on his support of them.
I get that they struck a nerve for him in regard to racism, and I know that Black people experience systemic racism, not only in business, but in everyday life every day. However, in my opinion, this was not a racist moment. He hadn't seen their previous bad designs and poorly executed work.
On 2/5/2020 at 1:13 AM, GaT said:I forgot to ask this question before, so I'll do it now. In the suit episode, Hayley didn't line the entire jacket because she didn't have enough material. Does this mean they can't just go back to the fabrics & take what they need after the original choosing? I sort of assumed they could, but if she ran out of material, it doesn't seem like they can.
My speculation is that the fabric room was closed to repair the problems with the fabric bolt holders and clean up and disinfect the bloodied areas.
On 2/29/2020 at 8:21 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:As for the actual decision, that's bull shit. If all four judges were split, that shouldn't mean that no one gets eliminated. You shouldn't get a pass for making crappy outfits just because the judges couldn't decide. And as multiple people pointed out, Farai and Kiki were in the bottom THREE times (out of only FOUR challenges)...
I didn't like Farai and Kiki's because the satiny fabric they used looked wrinkled/bunched up on the runway for the female model's shorts. The bra top looked like it didn't fit the model very well.
To me, taking a premade bra and sewing fabric to it isn't design/craftsmanship at the level that this competition demands. And why wasn't the wretched cameltoe of those poorly fitted, too-short shorts mentioned? Farai did a nice job for their male model with that same fabric. I think Kiki dragged Farai down. I hate team competitions.
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Well, thank you to the posters who spoiled the result of this episode for those of us who came here without watching the next one. Thank you very much.
I thought Kerby acted like a diva. He was a guest judge, not THE judge, or so I thought. And I get design theft by big brands, but it doesn't only happen to Black designers.
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1 hour ago, StrictTime said:
My finger was cramping from hitting the fast forward 10 sec.button so much the last two episodes. Good grief, how many times can they have E and J say the same things over and over and over? I think I’ll reserve judgement on whether or not Jonny’s employees were really slaves in sweatshops, because without details it seems unjust. By the way, it looks like Sander posted some of his finale looks on his Instagram:
Ahhhhhh so maybe not so tragic that he didn't get a runway show after all.
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Awww my late sister who was not much of a foodie or cooking show fan always fangirled over Eric Ripert.
Oh, did you mean drooling about the food? 🤣
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On 2/18/2020 at 4:19 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:
I hated the Elvis inspired suit. There was nothing about it that I liked. I hated the salmon colored collar, the floppy lapels, the gold zippers on the pockets, the loose fit of the jacket, the baggy pants, the lack of a shirt, the scarf around the model's neck, the multiple gold necklaces. Just EVERYTHING. If they didn't have enough fabric to line the jacket, why didn't they just get different fabric?
There was nothing Elvis about that suit. Fashionwise, Elvis was famous for his jumpsuits. And yes, as for the lining, why not go back to the fabric room and get something else? Was it quarantined for cleaning because of all the blood? I got the feeling that Julian went all passive aggressive and didn't do much of anything because he was letting Haley "take the lead." Jerk, much?
But it was at least an attempt at a suit, which leads us to:
On 3/1/2020 at 7:41 PM, chaifan said:Kiki & Farai's outfit was not a suit, by any measure of the word. It was simply a two piece outfit.* And an ugly one at that.
I thought it looked like an ugly, busy, ugly, ill-fitting, ugly jumpsuit. Did I mention that it was ugly? They should have been cut, in my opinion. And then (shallow alert) I wouldn't have to look at Kiki's gross long pointy fingernails again.
I think that the team thing wouldn't bother me as much if they only cut one member of the losing team. That way whoever either slacked or insisted on a crap design/fabric choice/styling wouldn't necessarily drag the other down as well.
I liked Charles' look (I'm barely including Angelo here) but also not a suit.
I thought that Ashton and Marco should have won. Maybe they would if not for the long train. It was dramatic on the runway but not terribly "suit"-y. But the judging is so inconsistent that if they had given the jacket a more traditional hem, it could have been too wearable. But look at what won. *Confused*
On 3/23/2020 at 12:44 PM, SemiCharmedLife said:I would love to see these partners get another chance in an individual challenge (ala Top Chef's Last Chance Kitchen...)
THIS.
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S17.E07: Pitch Perfect
in Top Chef
Yes, I fixed it, thank you!