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bluepiano

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Everything posted by bluepiano

  1. Prices on this show have always been higher than what you typically pay at a real food truck since the trucks are judged by total sales. And people seem to be willing to pay the inflated prices just to participate in the TV experience. As for unimaginative food, they remind me of the waffle truck guys, who always made waffles and just changed up the toppings. But in the "real" food truck world, simple concepts and limited menus are often successful, because people like knowing exactly what they're getting. I am sure that the production crew was standing by with water, cool towels etc. and helping out the teams when they were not on camera. Plus there is always a medic on site.
  2. I think the best-case scenario for Eso would be that they can get investors to help them open an actual restaurant. Since fresh pasta takes a lot of time to make it never seemed to me that their concept was suited to a food truck, which is all about fast production. Eventually they had to abandon making their pasta from scratch and use pre-made, which to some extent lessened what made them unique. (I've eaten at a lot of food trucks, and can't really remember any that are focused on pasta). I know people do food trucks because there's less expense and hassle than opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant. But as the Eso chef was very proud of his handmade pasta, a restaurant would be where he could really showcase his skills and not have to make any compromises.
  3. Plantains are sweet as well and are usually served fried as a dessert in Latin Caribbean cuisine. Plantain chips (like potato chips) are also popular. I have never heard of them being used as a bread substitute in a sandwich and really wonder about the consistency, because they are not firm enough to hold ingredients inside. It must've also been messy to hold.
  4. Yeah, the best thing about this episode was that we didn't have to watch the trucks driving around looking for a place to sell, boring padder footage which we've had way too much of this season. As well as the thrilling parallel parking scenes! This is another way in which this show totally doesn't reflect the reality of the food truck business. Food trucks never drive around looking for some random place to park. All their locations are prearranged and contracted with the venue, with often permits from some local jurisdiction required. I was surprised by Maybe Cheese's success, because the last thing in the world I'd want to eat in a desert is hot, gooey, mac and cheese. All their dishes sound so heavy. I also was wondering about the sequined robe that Sugar wears. It covers her from her head to toe and she must've been boiling in it. Well, next week back to the beach. Outside of this week all the locations have been pretty much the same, which I think has been pretty boring. (And a few times they've actually shot in a different SoCal beach town then they claim to be in).
  5. Yes, I immediately called BS when the vote was announced. I would've been surprised if the vote went to blue by only a slight margin, but by more than two to one, no way! As you said, unless the steaks were raw or burnt, I would expect steak to win over fish every time. As someone else speculated, they must've wanted to get rid of Alejandro really badly. I remember not being a fan of Alejandro in his season, because of his constant sucking up to the judges, but in this case I thought he got a raw deal. For all his mistakes, he worked his tail off. Maybe it was editing, but there appeared to be several people on both teams that did very little. It's been proven that the way to survive these team challenges is to keep a low profile. There wasn't even an "immunity pin" given out, so there was really no reason to try to be a hero. Putting youself in the spotlight always increases your chances for elimination. With the obligatory moment when Gordon screams "these people are risking their lives for you, how dare you serve them.......... (fill in the blank: raw chicken, lumpy mashed potatoes, food with a hair in it etc.)
  6. I caught that too. In fact, the key scene in the movie "Ratatouille" was when the snooty food critic because emotionally overwhelmed because he was served ratatouille and it took him back to his peasant childhood. In general I was underwhelmed by the "judges," whose comments were on the level of "this is really good," when they weren't name dropping about the foreign countries they've eaten in. It was a reminder that you don't need any credentials or special expertise to be a "food blogger."
  7. Totally agree. I think the other trucks all were true to the spirit of the challenge and tried making something different from their usual dishes, but Cheese Born still made mac and cheese. I wish Tyler had called them out for that. Sorry to see Southern Pride go. Their food seemed consistently good, and there was no drama or complaining. Of all the trucks, they seemed the most professional, and were probably the most likely candidate to actually run a successful food truck business. I'm definitely tired of her talking about how amazing her food is, and then wanted to be graded on a curve because its vegan. I know that "I Sugar" has a lot of ego, but I think the leader of Senoratas has even more. The whole team seems pretty arrogant and full of attitude. I remember one of the other women saying when they parked near Eso, "Now so we can show them how it's done."
  8. Wow, thanks for posting, because I lived in Venice Beach years ago and know it well, and there were at least two "Redondo Beach" locations where I said to myself, "hey, that's Venice." But I convinced myself I was wrong, because, I mean, why would they have to fake being in Redondo when it's just a couple of miles down the road? I thought, well, maybe Redondo has a building with the Venetian style columns you see in Venice, or a Bank of America parking lot that looks just like the one at Pacific and Windward in Venice. So, if they're lying to you about the locations, what else are they lying to you about?
  9. Yes, it was unfair to her that Blais didn't send up the person on his team with the worst dish. Fortunately, she wasn't eliminated. Though I admit that everything about Richard Blais annoys me. Now he is calling his team The Trailblazers ("Blaisers," get it) because it's all about him. Isn't he just an invention of food television who has really minimal accomplishments in the culinary world? I hate that all the contestants fawn over him like he was some Michelin starred chef. No, because in a sense there only competing against the other chefs on their team, and on the same level. The big thing is to not have the worst dish on your team and be put up for elimination. I imagine that may change at some point, when there are fewer chefs. But as of now, the kitchen tower just feels like a shiny gimmick to try and make this show seem different than every other cooking competition show.
  10. I don't know much about her, but she seems like a genuinely good person. I'd root for anyway, because I can't stand Richard Blais, and Gordon has a big enough ego.
  11. They've definitely amped up the violence. Episode 4 of Season 5 was almost nothing but explosions and machine gun fire, and it was not well directed. It was often difficult to figure out who was blowing up who. Gandia and the government's super commando team are like comic book villains. And it defies plausibility that the Professor's rag tag group of misfits could fight them to a standstill. One of the dumb things about this show is the idea that you can put a machine gun into anyone's hand (ie Stockholm) and they suddenly can fight like a trained commando. Another thing that infuriates me about this show is the constant flashbacks that undermine the dramatic flow. We're into Season 5 and Berlin suddenly has a son? That whole lengthy flashback with Berlin, his son, and his pianist girlfriend stealing the Viking artifacts felt like it was from an entirely different show. The main story line was completely put on hold. My guess is that the success of Money Heist caused the producers to keep adding flashbacks and subplots to pad out the story so they make more episodes. (I think the series was originally supposed to end with the successful heist at The Royal Mint). Well, all that said, I'm still watching, because they've created some compelling characters and they do the cliffhanger thing very well. Presumably the five more episodes in Season Six will bring the show to a conclusion and all the plot threads will be tied up. But who knows. If there's sill an audience they could keep the thing going.
  12. But most Americans can relate to southwestern food, which is heavy on meat. I think a lot fewer Americans can relate to Asian cuisine. (I mean real Asian food, not Americanized Chinese.) And many people are adverse to spice. Even GR made a comment during judging about how much heat there was in all of Suu's dishes.
  13. I made a similar comment earlier this season. I was dreading this season, because with a group so young I was expecting the drama to be out of control. But other than Kiya, and to a lesser extent Bree, it was probably the most mature, level headed group they've had.
  14. The judges' comments on all these shows need to be taken with a grain of salt. They can be edited after the fact to fake out the audience. Happens all the time on Chopped, where the chef who seemed to get the most praise in a round gets sent home. I don't remember hearing that. I think they just can't have been a professional chef. Lots of people go to culinary school and then don't pursue cooking professionally. Ugh. Forgot that. Who knew an octopus even had a beak? Well, I've never eaten one and have no plans to.
  15. She had mentioned her travels to Japan and love of Japanese food, but you're right, it was not a huge emphasis in her cooking. A couple of times she did something Japanese or Japanese influenced, but she did way more Italian or "New England" cooking. I can only think it was something the producers encouraged her to do in the finale. Well, at least we didn't have to listen to Joe lecture her on proper Italian cooking and over-pronounce everything. OMG, a lot padding. But the 2 hour finale of Hells Kitchen was worse, as they spent about 20 minutes interviewing the finalist's families and gave us stunning, amazing shots of Gordon in his office silently contemplating his choice for winner. I'm far from a vegetarian, but I thought Suu's appetizer with baby octopus was kind of gross, as you could see the entire bodies of the animals. And they were BABIES!
  16. Totally. That was a bad idea to have the eliminated contestants be a peanut gallery. Their comments were obtrusive and added nothing. You could see who had the biggest egos by how much they talked. Anne, Alejandro, Tay. (actually, he talked constantly at the beginning and then calmed down.) At one point, one of the judges asked Alejandro for a commentary, as if he were also a judge. Stoked his ego but did nothing for the show. Abe, who had been my favorite, said nothing the whole night. Much to his credit. I don't begrudge Kelsey the win. Apparently she has some advanced technical skills that impressed GR and several of the "legends." Makes me wonder if she actually attended culinary school and they didn't tell us, in order to promote the "midwestern Mom home cook" story line. I think one of the reasons Kelsey won is that Autumn and Suu did menus that were specifically focused on one cuisine, which the producers might've thought the public couldn't relate to. (If anyone cares, there hasn't been a "Burma" since 1989, when the country's name was changed to Myanmar. Can't fault Suu though for using the traditional name, which most people from there probably still relate to.) When did they stop giving the winner a cookbook? That changed the show, because we stopped hearing all the time about culinary POV. Though I guess in the final we did get three distinct POVs. A cookbook on Burmese cuisine might've been pretty cool.
  17. I preferred Megan on a personal level, but she didn't seem mature or experienced enough to take on a high pressure job. She is listed as a "line cook," so that means no managerial experience. Trenton is an "executive chef," so while I have to wonder what kind of a restaurant has a 23 year old executive chef, on paper he's more qualified. Kiya had no chance to win this because of her total lack of social skills. I'm sure she had no idea how bad she looked with her childish "I hate Trenton" comments. It struck a sour (grapes) note throughout this episode. Other than Kiya, this season was refreshingly free of petty personal squabbles and backstabbing. Trenton's squealing girlfriend didn't annoy me, as she did some people. But I did get tired of her being shown constantly, with the title "Trenton's girlfriend." If the proposal was known about in advance by GR and the producers, does that mean that Trenton knew in advance he was going to win? Maybe not, but if he lost he'd have been doubly crushed. You can't fault these two young people for believing that drug bust was real, given the pressure they were under. I thought it was an incredibly cruel thing to do to them. The contestants are already intimidated by GR, and here he was, yelling in their faces in a threatening manner, regarding a serious criminal offense. I generally like GR, but man, that was bad.
  18. I had previously posted here about Kiya getting bleeped every other word. Steve wasn't that far behind, at least in his talking heads. I don't know if it's a generational thing or a chef thing. The contestants on Top Chef, many of them not that young, also curse a blue streak. Of course it's a common thing in our society in general. From my old fart perspective, when every other word is an F bomb, it completely loses any impact. It also shows laziness and a lack of command of the English language. Regarding the first challenge, I thought it was really silly to have people voting through social media. Since they couldn't taste the food, it was just a popularity contest.
  19. Joe is this show's primary perpetrator of crimes against the English language, but Aaron is a close second. I find Joe far more more annoying though, because his mistakes often come when he's trying to show how learned and erudite he is. Such a pompous ass.
  20. I was in agreement with your earlier posts about GR not picking a winner who didn't fit his desired image. So the boots of Brynn and Steven were surprising. I still can't see Kiya winning for the reason you state. I laughed at Steven's backhanded compliment about how she's done well for someone from Barrelville. For a moment I thought "Barelville" was a made-up name for a hick town, like Podunk. Then I remembered she actually is from Barrelville. Though except for the woman chef from New York (Emily?) I think all the contestants are from small towns. What exactly is a "protege" anyway? Unlike in previous seasons, we are not being told that the winner gets an actual job at a GR restaurant. Maybe GR is giving himself an out because of the youth and relative inexperience of the "young guns."
  21. Though there have been some "older" chefs that I've liked, and they often have more of an appreciation of what the opportunity means. Blanking on his name, but I liked the Irish chef from last season. What I don't miss is the snide comments that the young chefs often made about the older ones.
  22. Ah, got it. Of the guest judges at the "Michelin table" I didn't know any of them. One of the women judges was credited with some other kind of Michelin award that I take is a step down from a star. Just how common are Michelin stars? Everyone seems to have one.
  23. I felt bad that Abe got eliminated on a team challenge rather than something he cooked. The truth is that the producers decided for whatever reason they didn't want him in the finals and were looking for a reason to eliminate him. I think he was one of the best cooks, if not the best cook, on the show. Very impressive at his age. Chicken trips up more people on cooking contest shows than anything else. It can be tricky to judge temperature. I've cooked chicken in multiple different ways for decades, and I still sometimes have to put it back in the oven or pan after I thought it was done. Some of the other "masters," like Jonathan Waxman, are on the Food Network pretty regularly. But I agree about Ludo, I've always liked him. He doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. He had a short-lived reality show with his American wife that was pretty entertaining.
  24. I agree, I think Gordon is into looks and image, which eliminates Kiya and Meghan, but not Trenton, who's only just a little pudgy and arguably kind of cute. Actually, If you're talking about choosing a head chef, I don't think you can fault GR for considering image. I don't think Kiya would command respect in a professional kitchen. She's unpolished and immature and can't speak more than five words without getting bleeped out. I think that if HK is really about finding a head chef, and not a cooking competition, than she shouldn't be Top Five. I thought Steve's passion for cooking really came across, but the "beating heart on a plate" was not a good image. Like something from a horror movie. I think this may be one of the best groups of chef they've ever had. I would've been happy eating almost all the dishes made tonight. I think this show's come a long way from the early seasons, when many of the chefs could barely boil water and seemed to be selected only for the drama they could create.
  25. What is it with Autumn's "many" visits to Japan? On a bartender's salary? I was expecting them to explain that but they never did. She is probably one of the best cooks, but all her tattoos kind of put me off. It was fitting that she and Michael were paired together last week. The tatted couple. (And I've always thought Aaron's tats are stupid. A rich kid trying to look "street.") I may be the only person here who liked Anne. I thought she was always sincere. I preferred her to Kelsey, who somehow gives off a fake vibe to me. I'm tired of hearing about her kids every week. Joe's comments to the guest legend about how Suu is a much better cook than she showed made him sound like a disappointed parent after their kid muffed her lines in the school play. Question. How much offscreen coaching do the contestants get? I was very surprised at how knowledgeable they all seemed about Japanese cuisine, when only Autumn and Suu said they had any experience with it. (And then there's Abe with his "international" background, though Romania is a long way from Japan).
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