Top Chef : Season 7 - Washington, D.C.

[Doodad]

Well, you kids can stay up, but us old farts with new Jack Russell puppies who have to go out at 5 in the morning......

Seriously, that was an evil quickfire. Reminded me a bit of some of the nonsense that happens on Chopped.

[rickster]

What was the rule? One thing from each box? Everything from each box? I got confused....

It was everything from the first box. The subsequent boxes only had one item in each of them, which had to be used.

[IndyRob]

While watching the elimination challenge I had a hard time coming up with better ideas. But after thinking about it for a while several strong ideas came to mind. I say that because I didn't know they were able to think about it overnight. With that in mind, I think the general offerings were weaker than I originally thought.

[Eatmywords]

I couldn't help but be suspicious of the Angelo melt down. From the start of the show he was down and out. I understanding an off day, pressure getting to them, etc, but to go from top dog to insecure, sniveling no talent seemed very odd (and dare I say contrived? - You know, like he's not so invincible. Level playing field now more than ever? hmmm).

I like Tiffany but nothing special about her food. Her wins have come as a result of being the best of the mediocre.

[Tri2Cook]

I'm normally not a big fan of crying out that Season X was better but this was a challenge I really wish had been in Season 6. *All* of the reinterpretations looked kind of boring and uninventive to me. I would have loved to have seen what Jen, Kevin or the V brothers would have done in a challenge like this.

Yeah, I think I would have enjoyed seeing this challenge last year more than I did the deconstruction challenge.

[Chris Hennes]

If you make tartare in a meat grinder, you are not a "Top Chef." If you don't know about oxidation of proteins, you are not a "Top Chef." If you serve crappy tuna to the two most influential seafood chefs in the US, you are just not real bright. I won't miss her. Hard to say about the rest of the challengers: we can argue about lack of creativity all night, but in the end, it doesn't seem like you are going to have to be creative to win this year: you just have to do better at executing familiar flavors.

[TheFoodTutor]

I cannot think of another episode that I've seen where it was any more obvious who was going home right from the beginning. I cringed as she was shoving that tuna through the meat grinder.

Asking Angelo for advice, and then taking it, was also brilliant. I actually didn't find her all that annoying until last night, but wow. That was shockingly stupid.

[gfweb]

Really dumb move probably forced by pressure. I bet she cringed all that night. But she should've gone anyway.

Who is left that is TC-worthy? For that matter who started that was TC-worthy? Kenny perhaps.

[Chris Hennes]

We are left with a set of contestants where any one of them could go home now, or win it all. And it's not because they are all so awesome.

[Tri2Cook]

I just wish one of them would've had the cojones to pick "hide the salami" in the quickfire.

[gfweb]

That'd be perfect for a couple of them. LOL

[sdkittycats]

Unfortunately with this season, I think the show may have run it's course. None of the contestants were/are particularly ingenious, or likeable for that matter. Other seasons have had far more dynamic personalities with much more obvious talent. It just seems tired.

[Chris Hennes]

When my wife and I watch it now, we basically go MST3K on it (minus the silhouettes, and unfortunately lacking in waffles).

[Florida]

When my wife and I watch it now, we basically go MST3K on it (minus the silhouettes, and unfortunately lacking in waffles).

Your resemblence to Tom Servo is uncanny.

[ChickenStu]

It feels like the show has run its course.

Season 6 was good, probably the best since the 2nd or even 1st season. Hopefully the just desserts will be cool.

Just saw Padma on the street outside my apartment, she was walking her kid around in one of those expensive strollers that holds the kid up about 4 feet.

[ChickenStu]

Your resemblence to Tom Servo is uncanny.

QFT. Haha....

[Shalmanese]

They just announced on the Top Chef Blog that the finale is going to be held in Singapore! What an exciting location totally wasted on a pack of uninspired competitors .

[Eatmywords]

Anybody notice the Village Voice, NY Times and a couple others recently blasted Plein Sud where Ed is executive chef? Mostly a consensus the food is unfocused and bland across the board. Poor guy. I think he's alright and hope he recovers.

[oakapple]

Plein Sud is the third restaurant where I've had his food (after Veritas and BLT Market), and it is the least impressive of the three. I wouldn't give it zero stars, as the Times did, but I think he can do better.

[Chris Hennes]

Props to the Season 6 crew, which won an Emmy this evening. It really was the best season so far, Season 7 can't compare...

[David Ross]

I second that. Soggy sandwiches, soggy fries, fish prepped a day in advance. On and on. (There are a couple of good Chefs remaining though). Call Season 7 the season of poor judgement. The show may win an Emmy, but the Chef's sure won't win any Beard awards if they display that sort of effort if they're lucky enough to get hired at a decent place once this season finally, finally, comes to an end.

[jsmeeker]

Props to the Season 6 crew, which won an Emmy this evening. It really was the best season so far, Season 7 can't compare...

I was so happy when I heard them announce 'Top Chef' and not 'Amazing Race'. Nice to see a new winner in that category.

[Chris Hennes]

eGullet Technology Test Tonight: You're Invited!

During tonight's episode of Top Chef we'll be testing a new bit of technology, and we're looking for some eGullet members to help us out. We've set up an open chat room: it's a place where you can come and join your fellow eGullet Top Chef fans to discuss (and mock) the episode live, while it's happening. The technology is new, though, so this is a limited test: only the first twenty Society members to get there will be allowed in. If you get a message that the chat room is full, feel free to check in later during the episode. We're going to see how it goes, and see how the server handles it, and we'll just "watch what happens!"

The chat room will "go live" five minutes before the episode starts on the East Coast, at 9:55pm EDT/8:55 CDT, and will shut down at 11:15pm EDT.

Here's the link to get to the room: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?app=ipchat

If you decide to join us, please note that regular eGullet Forums rules still apply!

ETA: Thanks to those who helped us out with this test! Hope to see you next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel, for the TC Finale chat!

Edited September 2, 2010 by Chris Hennes (log)

[percival]

How did the chat go from a tech perspective? I know there are tons of ways you can get a high volume chat room up and running.

This episode was better than the last few. Curious: how does one go about freeze drying anything in the first place? And can you really freeze dry and reconstitute emulsions, like a coconut curry? I find it doubtful. I've had freeze dried ice cream, but it's definitely not cream -- it's more like Styrofoam that melts in your mouth. And if you can freeze dry ice cream, why would freeze drying sugar be an issue. I think fruit freeze dries very well, too...

After watching eps 1, my vote was for Mr. Michelin Star to win. And now that they're going to Singapore, I think it's an easy win. Angelo's the only one with any sort of Asian exposure.

Of course I could be wrong. Stefan sweeped season 5, only to get dismissed in the finale because of supposedly plebeian ice cream lollipops...

[oakapple]

This week's challenge was one of the closest elimination decisions I can remember. None of the chefs made any of the obvious technical errors that lead to a clear loser. In his final recap before Padma told Tiffany to pack her knives, Tom didn't actually have anything negative to say about any of them.

But it goes to show, once again, that you don't actually need to be creative AT ALL to go far in this show, as long as your food is technically correct. There wasn't an ounce of creativity in Kenny's dish, but he is going to Singapore and Tiffany is not.