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It would be a real pity if that were the case. Sometimes cognitive dissonance sets in: having been forced (by the economy) to open a more modest restaurant, he may have convinced himself that it's what he wanted anyway.I would add that we liked Shang a whole lot better than you did, but we also sampled much less of the menu. Everyone seems to agree that if you happen to order the right dishes you can have a great meal here, and perhaps we were lucky enough to do that.

My impression is that all five chefs did a pretty good job, and there wasn't a big gap between top and bottom. I am not excusing Stefan's arrogance, but despite "phoning it in" it sounded like his food, after all, was pretty damned good. The difference may have been due to his lack of familiarity with Creole food, than to lack of effort. However, I think Don Colicchio is onto him, and in a hypothetical tie the judges will pick Carla or Hosea. I believe that comment was taped right after he observed her visibly struggling to get the oysters shucked in time. He was pointing out that there is an easier way—of course, just like any technique, it needs to be done correctly. He commented on the Bravo blog that he did not expect Carla to make it past the midpoint of the season, but his level of respect for her has gone up in recent weeks. I don't think he has a rooting interest. He just wants to eat good food, and lately Carla has been delivering. Everyone on the show seems to concede that Stefan is the best chef there, but he hasn't been putting forward his best effort, and Colicchio resents that.I was also glad to see Gail back. It looks like we've seen the last of Toby on Top Chef.

Was that always the intention, or was he forced to modify the concept when they realized he would be opening into the teeth of a recession?

I have no doubt that this was their intention, and I respect any legitimate effort by restaurants to get more butts in seats. On the other hand, those familiar with the restaurant ought to point out that some "deals" aren't really a deal, and this is one of them.

Cutlets had a commentary on the all-you-can-eat at H.C. He feels that the deal steers you away from the best things (e.g., the moist brisket), and it's not such a great deal anyway, because hardly anyone can eat more than $25 worth of H.C. food in one sitting.

I visited David Burke Townhouse (its new name) three times. I was never really satisfied, and I have finally given up. As you note, the space is extremely cramped. I liked his new place, Fishtail, a lot better, though I would note that it too is somewhat cramped. However, service is better, and based on one visit, so is the food.

If you want BBQ in the Times Square area, Virgil's is the only credible option. I consider it about average, but it's nearly impossible to get in there at any reasonable eating time.

It's not just you. This review is slightly shorter than normal.

The Bravo site says "Finale, Part 1." If two chefs are eliminated tonight, that would leave us with a mano à mano next week.

We liked the food a lot better than Bruni and ewindels did. Leaving that aside, I thought it was a bit churlish to blame the restaurant for a staircase and a bar that are under the hotel's control.

Among the multiple reviews I've read since he re-opened, the consensus I'm getting is that he upped his game somewhat, but not as high as he was aiming for. Of course, that was the consensus about the old Bouley too.

How many visits is this based on?

I am not sure what you're comparing it to, because Bouley currently is offering fewer choices than any comparable restaurant, and no one yet has suggested it is better than all of the comparable restaurants—JG or LeB, for instance.

This is a closer call, because they are roughly comparable. If it is meant to be a romantic meal, I think Annisa has a slightly more quiet, elegant ambiance—not that Wallsé is any slouch in that department, but Annisa coddles you a bit more. If food is the major consideration, you can have a wonderful meal at either one.

I always wonder if somethings are staged. This and the fridge breaking down on the Christmas show and no one went home. Just seems too set up. ← Ever since the producers of Twenty One got caught cheating in the 1950s, people have always suspected that game shows are staged. The blow to their credibility if it were discovered would be incalculable. And among the large number of crew who work on that show, it would take only one to spill the beans. The chances of pulling it off are low.The Christmas show was a celebrity event for a large number of guests. If you were going to stage an incident that threatens to wreck the food, is that the time you would do it? Sometimes, shit happens. I agree that this week's knife drawing was a remarkable coincidence, but even here, there are clues it was random chance. By winning the quickfire, Carla won the right to exchange knives with any chef she wanted. If it were staged, why would you set it up so that Carla draws the knife she already wanted? All of those dishes were classics, meaning that any of the chefs could have prepared them with equal probability of success or failure. Fabio and Stefan, it's true, won unusually lucky pairings, but that could easily happen even without the producers' intervention.

The reaction to Stephan's preparation was practically unanimous, which suggests that he cooked it beyond the point that any chef would consider reasonable.

The lack of NYC-specific "scenery" hasn't made the show un-enjoyable. Ultimately, the show is about finding the best chef (at least from among the group that they have, which may or may not be the best available). The scenery is incidental. It wouldn't fundamentally alter my enjoyment if the challenges took place on the Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, etc., instead of the secluded kitchens they've been using.Spoilers, once they are out, are extremely difficult to avoid. You could steer clear of http://www.topchefspoilers.com/, but a lot of the sites that discuss Top Chef are general food-interest sites that people visit for other reasons.

In one of the post-show interviews, Leah explained why the season didn't make more use of the New York City environment. According to her, they were afraid that if they did anything visible around town, spoilers would be out instantly on the web. It's a pity, but I can see their point.

More negative than positive? I seriously doubt that.

It's a fallacy to think that classics are easy. In New York, in the last 12 months we've seen both David Bouley and Alain Ducasse open French brasseries where classics were botched with amazing frequency. Of course, it happens at other restaurants too, but you'd figure Bouley and Ducasse could have their pick of promising young chefs, and they still got it wrong. The idea that any culinary graduate can do this in their sleep is utter nonsense.Of course, you wouldn't want replication of classics to be the only skill tested on Top Chef. But should it be among the skills tested? Absolutely.

Every single one of them has botched something basic at least once during the season, so obviously those tests are not superfluous. And to the extent the show has a didactic function, it is teaching an important lesson too. I suspect that many professional chefs have such gaps in their resumé. In fact, it's clear they do—because all of these chefs are professionals. In last week's episode, Colicchio made it pretty clear that duplicating a dish from Le Bernardin's kitchen is hard to do. The fact that you think this stuff is easy is awfully telling...because it is not.But if you want uniqueness, the quickfire challenge had that.

I think it's very apparent that they considered Stefan's overall performance to date, even if the official rules say they can't do this. The ability to do classics well is a major part of being a successful chef. The creativity element was very much present in the Quickfire. I don't know if they planned it that way, or if it just happened by dumb luck, but it made sense to juxtapose wacky dishes for Wylie in the quickfire with a bunch of classics in the elimination challenge.

She was interviewed on the Feedbag, and admitted that she was ready for it to be over. Of course, that could be a rationalization. I mean, I doubt that she watered down the holandaise sauce to deliberately increase her chances of losing.The other interesting comment was that apparently the producers told her the morning afterwards that they had footage of her with Hosea, and she felt she was being used. I can see why she'd wonder, "Why did they have to tell me that?" On the other hand, she wasn't forced to lie on the sofa with him, and no one on that show should be surprised that cameras are around. She did not admit to being a lesser chef, though she wasn't asked.

I initially thought so too, but that would have meant a total of 25 dishes, an impractical amount of food for the judges to consume.

People underestimate how difficult it is to produce a damned good roast chicken. Although it's very easy to do a passable chicken, it is not so easy to do a great one.