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S01.E03: Mike Isabella vs. Antonia Lofaso

FormerMod-a1

By FormerMod-a1
in Top Chef Duels [V]

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FormerMod-a1

FormerMod-a1

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I was never as enamored with Antonia as so many others.  I liked her all right, but that was about it.  However, I like her a whole heck of a lot better than Mike I.  Which, given my luck, probably means he'll win.  This is the battle I was/am least looking forward to.   

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avecsans

avecsans

Wow. I didn't think it would be possible for Mike Isabella to become more repulsive, but I was wrong. Between his enormous weight gain, garish tattoos and copious amounts of sweat dropped into the food, he is even more disgusting.

Yay to Antonia but enough with the "cousin" talk. They didn't even know they were distantly related until all stars.

Serious bitch face from mike's wife, am I right?

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Mya Stone

Mya Stone

Yesssssssss. I thought the Mike was surprisingly tolerable during the actual Duel, but in wanted to eat Antonia's dishes more, especially that carbonara ravioli.

Wow. I didn't think it would be possible for Mike Isabella to become more repulsive, but I was wrong. Between his enormous weight gain, garish tattoos and copious amounts of sweat dropped into the food, he is even more disgusting.

When he was plating pasta with his hands I threw up in my mouth a little.

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buttersister

buttersister

(edited)

What was with the his & hers way too colorful tattoos? Fat Mike didn't bother me as much as the return of Fat Mouth Mike. Grazie mille, Antonia. I couldn't have been happier that you won.

Hope Mike never hears the end of his mother telling him he should have chosen her.

Edited by buttersister
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biakbiak

biakbiak

I don't mind Mike at all and find he and Antonia adorable together. I liked Mike's challenge it was the most TC and made for the most interesting of the challenges from a viewing perspective.

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GaT

GaT

I don't mind Mike at all and find he and Antonia adorable together. I liked Mike's challenge it was the most TC and made for the most interesting of the challenges from a viewing perspective.

I don't mind him that much either, but I do like him with Antonia better than alone.

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Lizzing

Lizzing

Obviously I can't taste the food through the screen (oh, how I wish I could!), but I definitely would have given Antonia the duel win.  Mike's dishes had too much going on during the duel.  As for the Lexus $10K challenges, I'd have (based on the descriptions) given them to Mike.  Spicy soup, sign me up!  Whole fish, uhhh, no, not now, not ever.  But I get that's a total personal preference.

 

What really shocked me was that Antonia had a young teen daughter (I remembered she had a child, but not that "old").  I Wiki'd her and found out that she's in her late 30s now!  I just thought she was a good 10+ years younger than she is.  The lady has some good cooking and skin care going on!  Perhaps she could bottle that and have a second career helping out some Bravo coworkers. (RHWs, I'm lookin' at you ;))

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AriAu

AriAu

She was so kind and almost ingratiating toward him, and he was just a dick as usual in return. So glad she won.

 

Antonia just keeps plugging along and winning, but here is my question-is she top level chef or is she just really good at this game/has skills that line up well with producing food in this environment. Her restaurants are well received but she does not get the big time accolades or press reviews. I think she comes across very well and obviously does well on these shows, but is she in that upper echelon? I am not questioning her skills-only asking if anyone actually knows.

 

I had forgotten how much I hated Mike Isabella and his obnoxious comments and that skeevy giggle. I don't hate him as much as his DC buddy Spike since he appears to be a more qualified chef, but it is close.

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TexasGal

TexasGal

I had forgotten how much I hated Mike Isabella and his obnoxious comments and that skeevy giggle. I don't hate him as much as his DC buddy Spike since he appears to be a more qualified chef, but it is close.

Oh, the giggle.  How I hate it.  It makes my skin crawl.  Logically I feel bad for reacting like this to it, because I have a very distinctive laugh myself (but people at least SAY they like mine), but I just can't get over it.  Maybe because it always follows some douchey remark?

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beaker73

beaker73

Apparently, Antonia's daughter's father was Heavy D. 

 

Happy to see her win.  I despised Mikey in his original season, but for some reason he didn't bother me all that much last night.  Maybe I've become numb.  At any rate, the producers sure weren't shy in showing us his wife's stank faces during the dinner.  I'm sure it was wonky editing, but they sure didn't do her any favors.

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shimarella

shimarella

Ha ha yes, Mrs Isabella had some serious stank face going on. Even my husband noticed. Although I laughed even harder when Mike picked his wife to help over his mother...when the camera cut to the older Mrs. Isabella THAT stank face was epic. 

 

Even though I find Mike annoying too, I warmed up to the challenge. Yes maybe they are overdoing the distant cousin bonding a bit for me, but I'm not them...so if it really means something to them, it gradually showed more and more during the challenge which made this episode have a different tone than the others. I enjoyed their takes on Italian home cooking and both of them showed dishes that looked good ( although my heart clenched at the sight and description of the scampi soup). 

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Mya Stone

Mya Stone

Apparently, Antonia's daughter's father was Heavy D.

Happy to see her win. I despised Mikey in his original season, but for some reason he didn't bother me all that much last night. Maybe I've become numb. At any rate, the producers sure weren't shy in showing us his wife's stank faces during the dinner. I'm sure it was wonky editing, but they sure didn't do her any favors.

I totally thought it was a snarky comment! Poor Xea, losing her dad so young.

And yeah, Isabella's wife's faces rivaled Richard's for me in sheer WTFery.

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Nutjob

Nutjob

That explains why Antonia's daughter is so tall given that she's only 14! And poor thing, losing her dad so young. I had no idea.

 

Anyway, add me to those who never could stand Mike I., and whose mind was not changed during this episode. I find him repugnant in every sense, so I was rooting for Antonia for all I was worth. Bless her for winning.

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Happytobehere

Happytobehere

(edited)

Apparently, Antonia's daughter's father was Heavy D.

Yes, this is true. I remember her talking about the support she got from her family and her daughter's father during her season of TC. I recently saw her on an Unsung they did for Heavy D. and she still just barely manages to hold it together when talking about him. Apparently, he was an extremely active part of Xea's life and the little girl was rightly devastated by his unexpected passing.

Got side tracked and almost forgot to say how happy I am that Antonia won. Recently seeing part of Isabella's season made me remember that he is with the possible exception of Hosea, my most despised TC contestant ever. They only dishes I would have gone with him over Antonia is the spicy soup (partially because I am not a mackerel person, and spice and prawn = yum) and the carbonella because I have a visceral dislike of uncooked eggs in any fashion. Were it not for the egg, Antonia's dish looked right up my ally.

Edited by Happytobehere
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anonymiss

anonymiss

(edited)

I love the idea of this show because seeing my old favorites come back is great. Seeing Antonia win is great, but for some reason my mind wanders. I think it's the fact that I believe they rig it so they at least get 1 win each in the challenges so there's no suspense. Also, I used to like Curtis but found him extra dull this episode, probably b/c I started watching Food Fighters and they have such a knowledgeable charismatic host in Adam Richman.

Edited by anonymiss
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Wings

Wings

I was rooting for Antonia too.  I adore this woman.  They do take their distant cousin status seriously and have come to love and support each other.  Without knowing that I would still have a strong aversion to Mike. I have warmed to him a little. 

 

I love runny yolks but inside a raviolo does not interest me, not enough texture or taste.  Mikes pasta for that course was way to thick for my liking.

 

Thanks for the info that Heavy D was Antonia's daughter. 

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Wings

Wings

Weird that pasta with runny egg inside was also a challenge on MasterChef this week.

 

 

It is a fad that will fade soon along with putting a poached egg on top of almost anything. 

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Julia

Julia

At least with a poached egg on top of something you get your something sauced with yolk. As soon as you break open a yolk raviolo you've got an empty unwieldy pasta shape and a plate full of yolk. I would have expected this fad to pass faster, though. It's been going on for at least ten years now.

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Bella

Bella

At least with a poached egg on top of something you get your something sauced with yolk. As soon as you break open a yolk raviolo you've got an empty unwieldy pasta shape and a plate full of yolk. I would have expected this fad to pass faster, though. It's been going on for at least ten years now.

 

Yes, and why? I don't get the appeal at all, especially if it's presented so bare. It's almost like a chef's trick that they've decided should mean something to diners, and there have been enough foodies go along with it to keep it alive. Not this foodie!

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Kromm

Kromm

(edited)

She was so kind and almost ingratiating toward him, and he was just a dick as usual in return. So glad she won.

I wouldn't have liked living in a universe where Mike beat Antonia head to head (in a regular Top Chef episode it's not the same, since its not one on one).

She was so kind and almost ingratiating toward him, and he was just a dick as usual in return. So glad she won.

Good to know Mike's just as repugnant as ever.

Mike in fact ramps up the Dick factor around her, because he thinks it comes off as "cute" on TV instead of repugnant (and really... it's that second thing).

Apparently, Antonia's daughter's father was Heavy D.

Heavy D hit that?

Honestly, I never would have guessed that in a million years. (not that there's anything wrong with Antonia, it's just WAY out of left field)

Edited by Kromm
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picklesprite

picklesprite

This is probably a poor reflection on my character, but I like Mike okay after all these seasons. I feel toward him like a fond (blind, deaf) grandmother might, I think, lol. But I'm still really glad Antonia won!

 

But. . .this show is kinda boring? Maybe they need a quartet of contestants instead of only two? The judges could be livelier. And I miss Padma.

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paramitch

paramitch

(edited)

I thought Mike was actually pretty endearing here. I was delighted with Antonia's wins, but I thought there seemed to be genuine affection between the two of them, and Mike was actually on semi-good behavior (or maybe he's just continued to mature a little bit).

 

I agree that he was an ass on his seasons of the show, but I've always suspected he was one of those "big mouth, big heart" guys anyway, as I know so many of the women from his TC seasons absolutely adored him (to the mystification of me and many TC viewers at the time).  But this time I found him kind of endearing, even sweet, and there was something about his joking and humor this time that was actually a bit poignant to me. There didn't seem to be a nasty edge to it as before. And I thought he took his loss with real grace.

 

I did think the dinner was all kinds of awkward, as (rather ironically) Mike's side seemed to have little sense of humor about the proceedings, while Antonia's family was louder and occasionally a bit boisterous. Mike's wife did not look amused.

 

Last but not least, I'm so glad we had Chiarello as a judge here versus Puck. I like Chiarello's gravitas -- Puck always strikes me as trying too hard these days, and there's a meanness to him when he's on TC that has really turned me off him completely. 

Edited by paramitch
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Passing Strange

Passing Strange

Last but not least, I'm so glad we had Chiarello as a judge here versus Puck. I like Chiarello's gravitas -- Puck always strikes me as trying too hard these days, and there's a meanness to him when he's on TC that has really turned me off him completely. 

I don't even like Chiarello and I was thrilled to see him, because it meant no Puck. Puck has seriously skeeved me out with some of his comments on the previous episodes and I agree that he can be mean spirited to contestants. I'd be fine with never seeing Puck and his 200 watt teeth again. Chiarello's judging was a pleasant surprise, mostly because it was actually pleasant. Still, because I have a piece of frozen coal for a heart, I was happy to see that he's on the small side.

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Lisin

Lisin

Last year Antonia did an episode of Aisha Tyler's podcast Girl on Guy and they talk about Heavy D, it's really sweet and sad, Antonia breaks down sobbing in the interview, apparently they were still really close when he died. It's a good episode all around if anyone's interested in knowing more about what Antonia is doing now.

 

As for the episode? I am one of the rare people that doesn't hate Mike but I'm still really happy Antonia won. I actually thought they were cute and having fun with each other which was nice compared to Blais and Marcel for example. Though I think Mike did a good job if I were given a menu with all of the dishes cooked I think I'd pick Antonia's over Mike's more often than not. I think I'd probably order the panna cotta over the ice cream/canoli but that's about it. 

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Wings

Wings

I think Antonia is beautiful and i have always liked her.  I like Puck as a guest judge; I don't mind his edge.  I would rather see some distinct personalities as judges rather  than Curtis Stone who I find dull.  Puck knows about food and has very strong opinions on how things should be prepared, I like that.

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Kromm

Kromm

I think Antonia is beautiful and i have always liked her.  I like Puck as a guest judge; I don't mind his edge.  I would rather see some distinct personalities as judges rather  than Curtis Stone who I find dull.  Puck knows about food and has very strong opinions on how things should be prepared, I like that.

It's true that Stone is a bland robot who's very presence makes me go to sleep, but I don't think the logical alternative is a raving swine like Puck.  His food opinions are fine--it's his attitude towards an entire gender that appears to be the problem.

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Wings

Wings

It's true that Stone is a bland robot who's very presence makes me go to sleep, but I don't think the logical alternative is a raving swine like Puck.  His food opinions are fine--it's his attitude towards an entire gender that appears to be the problem.

 

I don't disagree that Puck's comments about women are inappropriate.  I just don't get all that riled about it.  I don't like it but I overlook it in his capacity as judge. 

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Julia

Julia

Puck is a consumer brand at this point, and I'm pretty sure that's why he was given this job. I think of him more in terms of canned food, high-end catering and franchised pizza than fine dining, but I suppose he can afford to eat the best.

Sadly for him/us, someone in production seems not to have noticed that twinkly Uncle Vulfy is usually kept to a soundbite and some chuckles in a busy episode for a reason.

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ratgirlagogo

ratgirlagogo

 

At least with a poached egg on top of something you get your something sauced with yolk. As soon as you break open a yolk raviolo you've got an empty unwieldy pasta shape and a plate full of yolk. I would have expected this fad to pass faster, though. It's been going on for at least ten years now.

While I'm not going to try and claim that it's some kind of ancient Italian dish, it's  not all THAT recent a trend.  Older than the last ten years, anyway.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara

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Bella

Bella

I've been making spaghetti carbonara for 30+ years, and it existed long before then. So yeah, raw egg yolk and pasta go way back.

 

But that's not the same as the single egg yolk in the ravioli, which goes back no further than 2009 based on my whopping 3 minutes of Google research.

 

If anyone can find out more about this dish, that would be interesting.

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Lamb18

Lamb18

So glad Antonia won.  I liked Mike a little better this time.  Antonia's brother is very handsome!  Her daughter looked disappointed not to be chosen as helper.  She sure looks like Antonia, sometimes I thought I was seeing double.

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