S13.E10: Restaurant Wars, Part 2

[AriAu]

Risotto should not be in a giant vat waiting to be ladled out like gruel!  It should be prepared a la minute, which is why it's a bad choice for something like Restaurant Wars.  Fucking Gordon Ramsay and his stupid shows do not depict fine dining.  Mushrooms in a risotto should be cooked in  the stock with the rice, so it's probably hard to take them out.

 

In a perfect world, and at my house for Mrs Au and I, it can be done as ordered, but I would imagine that most restaurants have it partially prepped or it would take forever to get it to the table-it takes at least 30 minutes to get all of the liquid absorbed correctly. It would usually be done in either vegetable stock or some other stock that has the mushrooms (and often the water from re-constituting dried porcini (or other) mushrooms), so I would imagine it would be hard to pull it out completely.

FYI-Tom's recipe says at least 25 minutes to cook so a la minute would be tough in any restaurant

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-tomato-risotto

On the other hand, I doubt it is prepped a day ahead of time and then finished!

Interestingly, I was out for dinner last night and actually returned the risotto I had (tastless and a stick mess, served about 15 minutes after I ordered it)  at about the same time Tom etal decreed Jeremy's the worst in TC history.

Edited February 12, 2016 by AriAu

[VintageJ]

I LOVED Isaac's win.  During planning, Marjorie basically dismissed him, like his ideas weren't worthy.  I think she thinks because his food is not refined, he is not worthy of being on the show.  As a diner, I'll take taste over looks or creativity any day.  I want to like her, but her attitude towards Isaac is pissing me off.  I do like that Karen was able to not only readjust her previous thoughts about his role as EC, but also give him kudos for doing a great job and was really happy for his win.  Guess Marjorie didn't see the season with Kevin(?) and the Voltaggio brothers.  He won multiple challenges and rocked the house. Better be careful dismissing him.  I loved that he used it to motivate himself. I would definitely seek out his restaurant if I'm in his town.  He won because he was a great EC and both of his dishes were good.

 

I like this new format for RW.  No one can hide.

 

Kwame dear, I need you to get your mojo back.  And Phillip, good bye!

[Hero]

I love Isaac and he definitely deserved the win. I like how he has no ego and he really just seems like a nice guy.

[In Pog Form]

I had to rewind and watch it two more times. It really looks like Karen gave him the finger.

The finger GIF:

http://imgur.com/Gpno8hb

[Merneith]

I don't remember seeing that Bill Chait before, but I liked him. He seemed really on the ball.

I thought Marjorie should have won, for getting the FOH ball rolling at dinner. But I have no problem with Isaac winning either.

Man Bun ... what can I say. It was a well deserved auf. I would have liked to see someone call him out about talking up his own restaurants. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that he didn't take his shirt off.

I love Restaurant Wars. It's always the highlight of the season, imo, and sets up the final, more serious, challenges.

[locomoco]

The finger GIF:

http://imgur.com/Gpno8hb

I don't know... I see her doing a "hang loose"/Shaka gesture

[JoyousSpring]

You guys don't understand Man Bun. He's obviously an Indigo Child. These are "children who are believed to possess special, unusual, and sometimes supernatural traits or abilities" and they are said to be "the next stage in human evolution, in some cases possessing paranormal abilities such as telepathy, to the belief that they are more empathetic and creative than their peers." Although some clearly unreasonable  "critics view this as a way for parents to avoid considering pediatric treatment or a psychiatric diagnosis."

[pbutler111]

Phillip is like the low-fat granola version of Stephen Aspirinio from Top Chef season 1. I remember Aspirinio spent so much time educating the waitstaff on wine pairings during restaurant wars that it inspired the line (I think from Tom Colicchio?), "It's Top Chef, not Top Sommalier." Heh. Classic.

[Julia]

I don't know how much the audiences cross over between current-day Project Runway and Top Chef, but there was an upleasant contestant from Portland on PR who was badly hopped up on hipster juice, and she told the judges repeatedly that they didn't get her designs because she designs for super hip chicks who she would want to hang with (and by extension not the boring old judges). I suspect Phillip needs to be dipped for the same ticks - he feels that his being Phillip is just one more reason his restaurant is awesome, and his diners are coming for the Phillip experience. And he's not necessarily wrong. Both Betty from Season 2 and CJ are publicly associated with restaurants people eat at, so there is apparently a market for douche-adjacent dining in LA.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Julia

[pbutler111]

When they see him going on and on with the tables, Tom accurately calls out that Phillip is talking to tables about his restaurants in L.A. and not the restaurant the diners are dining in right now.

I loved that moment more than life itself.

[In Pog Form]

I don't know... I see her doing a "hang loose"/Shaka gesture

Could be a British two-fingered "up yours."

Isn't the hang loose/shaka usually done with the palm forward, so you can see the tucked-down fingers and thumb?

Edited February 12, 2016 by In Pog Form

[Jesse]

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. 

[AriAu]

The finger GIF:

http://imgur.com/Gpno8hb

 

Who was that aimed at?

If orange team, then I'm bummed we missed the HOURS of JT, since it must have been fun

[Rai]

I agree. Twenty years ago these people would have been seen as a creative genius - a person just too cool for school whose unbounded self-expression could not be contained by any norms of mainstream professionalism. Now they are run-of-the-mill. Pink hair and tattoos are banal and ordinary. They actually just look like dumpy women approaching middle age who are desperately clinging to what they think is youthful and hip.

At the end of the day their look is just dated and and very, very sloppy. Ironically, it would be truly refreshing to see a woman on this show who looked and dressed her age without them talking about their sexuality. I would love to see a woman on this show who kept herself totally professional.

I'm not in favor of picking apart women for what they're wearing on a cooking show, but going beyond that, I don't think Marjorie's ever said anything about who she prefers to date, and Karen's mentioned her spouse less than Isaac's mentioned his wife.  So should he shut up about his sexuality too?  It's an arbitrary criticism.

 

Cooks are in a world where tattoos and piercings and colored hair are entirely normal.  And it's not like they can get them removed very easily even if they wanted to.  As a heavier woman, I felt sympathetic to both Marjorie and Karen for wearing less than flattering clothing, sure, I'll admit it, but I suspect based on the way they were dressed, it was on the warm side.  Comfort helps in a stressful situation.

[Julia]

I'm not in favor of picking apart women for what they're wearing on a cooking show

 

I'm not either, if their clothes aren't relevant to the professional requirements of the job they're doing. Which I think you can make a good case that as FOH, they are.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Julia

[Maysie]

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.

[Bunnyhop]

I had to laugh at "Stupid Food". Years ago, I made something or other for dinner that I had not made before. Well, I didn't think it turned out the way I wanted but Mr. Bunnyhop liked it. He said it was good and I said no, it was stupid. Even then, the absurdity of that description reduced us to tearful giggles. To this day when I ask him how he liked his chili or soup or whatever, he says it was "Stupid!" Which means it was good.

[Muffyn]

This is the problem with rich parents just handing you everything on a platter.  Eventually the masses catch on that the emperor has no clothes.  Man Bun has no clothes.   

I, for one, am glad that manbun kept his clothes on rather than stripping done to expose all of his tattoos.  Figuratively clotheless?  Yes.  Literally clothesless; there is not enough brain bleach in the world.  

 

How did Phillip describe his restaurant: "It's fine dining on a plate - but rustic..." What does that even mean?  And considering his 2 tattoos say "Wolf I Am" and "Mother say a prayer for me", Amy Duggar's "Rest in the storm" is looking positively literary.

I LOL'd at the tattoos.  Really?  "Wolf I am".  He really outdid himself with these.  He so expected people to be impressed.  The editors get major kudos for the reaction shots to ManBun's ramblings.  

 

I don't understand the appeal of a FREE cocktail when the entire meal is, presumably, free also.

 

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?

For the cocktail, this could only work if it was in a pitcher on a tray on the station.  Pulling it out from under the podium did make it look like the emergency urine jug.  Can't get to the restroom?  Use this jug!  

 

In RW lunch, Isaac went out of his way to stay upbeat and positive while both women in his team gave him attitude.  He won Karen over by doing an excellent job.  He expedited well and he created two good dishes.  He was a strong team player who focused on the entire team's success.  Marjorie did OK as FOH.  They loved her bread, hated her dessert.  She seems like a damn good cook, but she can come off very sour.  

[candall]

To me, Phillip was sent packing because he'd reached his expiration date with the judges.

 

Phillip's strawberry dish was "stupid," but Amar's "concentrated pickle juice" had at least one judge lunging for water to get the taste rinsed out of her mouth.  Ooof!

 

Phillip made a couple of dumb moves as FOH, but he didn't tuck his head under his wing while the place dissolved into chaos around him.  That (bad) meal would have been exactly the same if there had been no designated EC at all.

 

I'm pretty sure, in years past, a steady stream of bad dishes would have had the Executive Chef packing his knives.  Amar skated.

[LennieBriscoe]

Delusion, thy name is ManBun. (Did you know he has TWO restaurants? DID YOU?!)

Good for Isaac! Now, just ditch the aggressive "Or I'll...", okay?

[Empress1]

I can't remember Gail having a reaction quite like the one she had to Philip's dish. "This was stupid!" Like, she was legit mad at that strawberry salad.

 

When Jeremy, a man who cooks for a living and has presumably seen this show before, a) made a risotto on the show and b) admitted to making said (gross-looking) risotto with water, I was like "Boy, what?" 

 

I think all foam looks like spit, which is why I can't deal. I don't care what it adds to the dish; we eat with our eyes first and I don't want to eat spit. It looks like Restaurant Wars took a lot out of Kwame; hope he pulls it together.

 

I'm glad Isaac won and glad Philip lost. Philip was already past my last nerve, and judging by the judges' responses to him, I'm not alone. I think they were just through with him.

[Nutjob]

The finger GIF:

http://imgur.com/Gpno8hb

Looks to me like she's throwing the metal horns.

[joanne3482]

I wonder if the cheftestants get to see the experience their diners are having before judging table or after judging table but before we watch it at home on TV. We know the judges didn't like almost anything District did, but did the District chefs know the extent of how bad it was before last night's episode? It would be kind of embarrassing to sit down and watch this show with your family all excited to then hear Gail call your dish "stupid." 

[Julia]

To me, Phillip was sent packing because he'd reached his expiration date with the judges.

 

...

 

Phillip made a couple of dumb moves as FOH, but he didn't tuck his head under his wing while the place dissolved into chaos around him.  That (bad) meal would have been exactly the same if there had been no designated EC at all.

 

I think maybe what pushed him over the edge was that while his 'restaurant' was going down, he was promoting himself and his own restaurants to the clients.

[In Pog Form]

Looks to me like she's throwing the metal horns.

If she is, she's doing it backwards.

[LennieBriscoe]

And one more thing about Phillip: He has zero social skills. His cocktail of choice should be a big glass of SHUT THE HELL UP.

[meep.meep]

They knew they lost, and they knew they lost bad.

[Major Bigtime]

Especially when the show's producers already paid for all the ingredients, the venue, the kitchen equipment, etc. Tom and Padma are executive producers, they essentially bankrolled the meal.

As I understand it and have read about it here, diners are paid to appear and most are SAG card-carriers. Extras on a TV show, if you will.

[RCharter]

And one more thing about Phillip: He has zero social skills. His cocktail of choice should be a big glass of SHUT THE HELL UP.

It was just all so perfectly gimmicky.  Instead of trying to improve his food, he is focused on these gimmicks.  Of course, not that his food needs any improving because it is phenomenal.  I don't think he truly gets that if food is gross no gimmick is going to save you.  You can't save gross food by serving it on a dirty rock and hoping the presentation is so cool that it saves crappy food.  You can't just give out free cocktails and hope that forgives gross food.  If you have delicious food AND a free drink (I'll take a free diet coke!) thats AWESOME.  But if you're just giving out a free drink hoping that it will forgive gross food that doesn't work.  I would rather pay for my own drink and have tasty food.

[ChelseaNH]

Especially when the show's producers already paid for all the ingredients, the venue, the kitchen equipment, etc. Tom and Padma are executive producers, they essentially bankrolled the meal.

 

No.   Magical Elves is the production company; they pay for production expenses.  Neither Tom nor Padma works for Magical Elves.  In most cases, "executive producer" is essentially a courtesy title.

[biakbiak]

As I understand it and have read about it here, diners are paid to appear and most are SAG card-carriers. Extras on a TV show, if you will.

I know plenty of people where that is not the case. A poster here was at the lunch service bease they saw Padma tweet. I have also had friends who went to past events who weren't SAG and we're not paid.

[Kerrey92]

So in Philip's world as long as you know you did the right thing, despite having a hugely negative visceral reaction to said thing, it's still right?

 

M'Kay....

[LennieBriscoe]

So THAT'S the bit in canned Pork and Beans! Who knew?!

My final comment on MB: He showed contempt for the show and the judges with his "trying to make what they want" episode. To the very end, he was cocksure about his opinion's being superior to the judges'. "I know I made it right." Not "tasty" or "delectable," but "right."

Well, now he can go make food "right" in his TWO restaurants!

(The gesture looks like the British "FU" to me.)

Maysie: "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...."

Reminds me of this; substitute "food" for "purse":

Edited February 12, 2016 by LennieBriscoe

[In Pog Form]

No.   Magical Elves is the production company; they pay for production expenses.  Neither Tom nor Padma works for Magical Elves.  In most cases, "executive producer" is essentially a courtesy title.

Do they not own any financial stake in Magical Elves or the Top Chef brand? And if they don't work for Magical Elves, then who pays them?

Edited February 12, 2016 by In Pog Form

[Julia]

You can't save gross food by serving it on a dirty rock and hoping the presentation is so cool that it saves crappy food.  You can't just give out free cocktails and hope that forgives gross food.

 

I thought the guest judge was spot on. Phillip has ideas about food, not knowledge about food. Juice and sake is not a terrible idea for a refreshing summer drink, and giving the guests a complimentary cocktail is not a terrible idea. But what he produced sounded an awful lot like Tropicana Tropical Blend with sake added (and not just one but two sakes, as though anyone would be able to tell the difference mixed with what I assume was canned pineapple juice), and he held up seating his diners for it. And when Kwame tried to flag the awfulness of his salad, the guy who said the lemon-bruised olive oil was going to be the death of his salad told him it was exactly the way it was supposed to be without tasting it.

 

He has a lot of ideas about what working chefs are supposed to be able to do, and what people are supposed to think of his food. I can't help thinking that if he had put some serious time in actually cooking food  to serve to customers his ideas might be more realistic. As it is, he's pretty much the lost Kitchen Nightmares episode.

[susannot]

OK, I have become a huge fan of Marjorie. Bitch just gets stuff done! Of the guys, I love Isaac and I cook like him--long, slow,flavorful braising. But agree with posters who have said he may not be "refined" enough to win. I think, despite his awful risotto, Jeremy will be the last man standing. Really, anyone who has been watching FoodTv for any length of time knows not to make risotto with water! terrible.

[Charlesman]

Well, if Man Bun is surviving this far, I hope he lasts one more week so I can witness him in Restaurant Wars. Keeping him this long will be worth it to see him flame out there.

He's going to put himself at Front of House, isn't he? It'll be awesome.

It was so worth waiting 3 weeks for that payoff. "Stupid" food, indeed. Epic crash and burn.

[bravofan27]

If anyone has Hulu, and is itching for something to watch, to catch Season 1 Top Chef restaurant wars. It's amazing. I mean, it's just amazing. The similarities between Phillip and Steven Asprinio are astounding, though they are opposite on paper, with Stephen having a lot of education and Phillip having none. They both have the same type of social interaction (meaning that social interaction is simply a means to talk about oneself). 

 

Season 1 Stephan was on the floor cutting threads from the carpet. It's a hoot. 

[RCharter]

Haha at the Boy Bun label.

 

What does it say when I keep thinking in my head Who the hell is Carl? when he is mentioned in posts. And my mind immediately goes to Wait, wasn't he the other beard guy who was booted right before RW? and then I realize no that's not Carl. And I waste several minutes trying to conjure up an image in my mind while silently screaming Who the hell is Carl?? And then I start doing mental mind challenges to prove to my self that I don't have early onset forgetfulness. 

 

Okay the deal with me is Yeah, women love yourself, love your body but for good grief's sake don't serve me while you look nasty and for Pete's sake do not serve me with your pits showing. Because yes, first we eat with our eyes. The hostess is the first thing we see. And if he or she is looking hella nasty my mind immediately goes to What the hell does the cook look like?

 

I have a yeast roll and a pound cake recipe memorized, because I made them once a long time ago and my family flipped out over it so I have to make the rolls almost daily, the cake weekly. I am not impressed with her being Top Bread. Even if she is doing it as extra. Top Bread is a different show. I don't like Marjorie for some reason.

 

Have we ever witnessed Tom's annoyance at a person who was not a contestant before? He was really rude to that server who asked if he could remove their plates. I mean, he was ridiculously Hey buddy, important, important food talk going on here, how can I exist if someone is interrupting important food talk mode.

 

I agree with you.  I constantly got Carl and Chad (?) mixed up.  Then I just started calling one "Beard" and it became easier.  But the season started with two guys that had beards....and one of them got food in the beard and it was disgusting.  

 

Your FOH person is the face that you present to the public.  If you choose to have a person represent you publicly that isn't at least neat and tidy, it makes me wonder whats going on in the back.  I get that maybe with the taping of the show you don't have time to put in Padma level effort, but neat and tidy shouldn't take that much effort.  And that shirt?  Come on now.  If you're thinking "I need something that may be a little dressy or nice" how is that shirt the option?  I've seen people dress nicer at the local hole in the wall Thai place.  A short sleeve turtleneck could have worked if you're concerned about getting too warm (although both Kwame and ManBun wore a jacket, so it shouldn't have been that bad), a lightweight blazer if you wanted to be able to take it off really quick with your sleeveless shirt underneath.  Even a wrap dress (I have never worn one that hasn't been comfortable).

 

Tom was just not having it.  Maybe it was a long, long day of filming for them (and I think he also got a pimple on his nose, that can ruin a good day :(  ).  They all seemed a little edgy, they were upset about the server refilling their wine, which kind of seems like a minor thing to get upset about.

[rho]

What does it say when I keep thinking in my head Who the hell is Carl? when he is mentioned in posts. And my mind immediately goes to Wait, wasn't he the other beard guy who was booted right before RW? and then I realize no that's not Carl. And I waste several minutes trying to conjure up an image in my mind while silently screaming Who the hell is Carl?? And then I start doing mental mind challenges to prove to my self that I don't have early onset forgetfulness. 

 

I have the exact same problem. I was going to comment on something he did/said and I could NOT, for the life of me, remember his name. I spent so long trying to remember it, that I already forgot why I brought him up in the first place. It's probably a good thing in the long run. Majorly unforgettable. I don't even remember what he did for the dinner portion last night.

 

 

Okay the deal with me is Yeah, women love yourself, love your body (men also) but for good grief's sake don't serve me while you look nasty and for Pete's sake do not serve me with your pits showing. Because yes, first we eat with our eyes. The hostess is the first thing we see. And if he or she is looking hella nasty my mind immediately goes to What the hell does the cook look like?

 

This stood out to me. Everywhere I have worked, both in restaurants and out, it's been emphasized that no one wants to see tits or pits. The same goes for men. I would have been seriously grossed it out Kwame wore a tank top and jeans as FOH and I was not interested AT ALL in man bun pulling his shirt down to show off his tattoo cleavage. Gross. So gross.

[Pepper Mostly]

Padma was utterly insufferable, dear god. The audacity of  the server-trying to remove their plates!! "Please-Leave us!" by all means, your highness. 

 

Padma, Tom and Gail were all pretty salty! The chefs can't win for losing--if they cook their own food, its too safe. If they take a risk, they should stick to what they know. Gail snarking on the crudo was really snotty, imo. 

 

Man bun's cocktail had me laughing hysterically. Why? Who walks in to a restaurant and is forced to stand around awkwardly with a drink before they can be seated? 

Edited February 13, 2016 by Pepper Mostly

[JunebugTx]

I don't know... I see her doing a "hang loose"/Shaka gesture

Yeah, I think you can see 2 fingers, not just one.  But it's funnier if she's flipping him off.

[biakbiak]

Padma was utterly insufferable, dear god. The utter audacity of  the server-trying to remove their plates!! "Please-Leave us!" by all means, your highness. 

Tom snottily said "let it stay there" at the same time. Padma at least included a please and thank you.

[phoenix780]

Padma was utterly insufferable, dear god. The audacity of  the server-trying to remove their plates!! "Please-Leave us!" by all means, your highness. 

I didn't have a problem with that.  They have to film a little scene as they eat, right?  That dude was probably interfering.  

 

ETA: Episodes like this make me realize how great Gail is. On top of being able to explain the dishes, techniques and ultimately tastes, you get "it was just stupid" about the strawberry salad and "baby spittle" about the foam-just perfect...and all without extreme attitude like Padma.

 

I thought Gail was awesomely entertaining last night for all those reasons, plus her WTF look with Tom at one point when they were in disbelief about how awful everything was.  I also liked her at JT when she mentioned something about how this challenge, unlike the catering ones, really showed them fully as chefs.  At least I attribute that to her. 

 

Padma did get her victory in there, with the broth/risotto element.  I don't know why, I felt like she was especially proud to have been right about that.  It felt like she was ready to drop a mic.

[Julia]

Well, that waiter was kind of undeft. He refilled the glass of wine when it was convenient for him, not when it needed refilling, and he was trying to clear plates which still had food on them while the guests were talking to each other. He wasn't clearing because they signaled that they were done, but again, because it was a good time for him. Part of the reason you're paying 300% of the food cost is to be served and relax, and having to interrupt your conversation to protect your food is not relaxing.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

'It Was Sort Of Like Spittle'
The Restaurant Wars on Top Chef finally come to an end.

[Reo]

I don't like to snark on overweight women, being as I am one myself, but Karen needs to take that dress and burn it, it was hideous. I couldn't take my eyes off her when she was in any shot and I don't mean that in a good way. I don't blame the cameramen, there was no way to make her look good in that thing. After all these seasons of TC, I don't understand why the chefs (men and women) don't pack one classy/classic outfit on the chance that they'll be FOH in RW.

 

I totally agree.   And I *like* Karen, so I'm not sneering at her ugly dress to mock her.  But you know what made it worse?  Those ridiculous boots she paired it with.  Her palate may be superb, but her taste in clothing ... is not.

[savannah1985]

Thanks everyone for the pork belly explanations. It sounds delicious and I'm going to try it. Now, someone remind me who Lenny was?

[SingleMaltBlonde]

Tom snottily said "let it stay there" at the same time. Padma at least included a please and thank you.

I think the service was reflecting Man Bun and his frenzy....over bearing service...especially when everyone should know they need to eat and discuss.  So I think this was an extention of their frustration of Man Bun.

[Nidratime]

I pass by the restaurant where Marjorie is executive chef, here in DC, coming and going to work each day. Maybe I should go and try it out in case she wins or gets close enough and the place gets more popular! (I'm beginning to think I should!)