This week on Top Chef, Richard and Yoda continue to excel, Erik and Nikki continue to suck, and Zoi and Beast continue to be lesbians.
What's a neighborhood block party without your crazy, cracked out neighbor to scream threats and obscenities at your children?
We open with a little man-love between Evangelos and Twitch as Evangelos pretends to slam Twitch's head against a wall over and over. If only. Shocker that those two became friends, by the way. Yoda's pouty that Valerie got the boot, and she and the lesbian lovers give us the annual a-woman's-gotta-win-this speech. If y'all would stop sucking and caving under the pressure, I'm sure the judges would love a female winner. Meanwhile, Twitch tells us that he thinks part of being a chef is being an entertainer. Unless you're working a Dippin' Dots stand at Six Flags, I'm not sure what being an entertainer has to do with anything. Just don't poison anyone.
The chefs arrive at the kitchen for their Quick Fire challenge. Guest judge is Rick Bayless, Mexican food-extraordinaire and chef/owner of two Mexican restaurants here in
Chicago. I've never heard of his places - Chipotle hits the spot for me when I'm craving Mexican - but most of the reviews call his food average-ish and pricey. Anyway, the QF challenge is to create an upscale taco. Teary-eyed Erik thinks this challenge is no bueno, and bitches to us about how tacos are soul food, and shouldn't be upscaled. I think Erik's getting "soul food" confused with greasy, fattening, and likely to give you the shits, but I do see his point. It's like calling for an upscale chicken nugget.
Scar sends them off and scurries out of the way as chaos erupts and the clichéd latin music begins. Hola! Manuel's working with cactus petals, and tells us that since he's Mexican and cooks in a Mexican restaurant, he better not screw this up or su mama le va a patear su culo. Evangelos also has a problem with the upscale taco concept, and tells us he refuses to fake it and be someone he's not. I agree - this kid is the furthest thing from upscale. Twitch is making a duck/plantain taco, and thinks he's going to win the show because of his crazy combinations and risk taking. I think he'll be kept around for a while for ratings, and then booted with about 6 chefs left. Richard, meanwhile, is all excited about the upscale concept, and is using some sort of potato - likely dipped in battery acid or some other chemical concoction - as his taco shell. Ryan's working on squash/pomegranate tacos, but he's wrapping them in paper. This confuses Mutton, who comically scratches his head while asking us why so many of the tacos around the kitchen look like they were purchased by a frat boy at 3 a.m.
Dick Tracy called. He said you look like a douchebag in his hat.
Time is called, and Padma and Rick begin their rounds. Manny's up first, and launches into an elaborate explanation that shows off his accent while the other chefs look on jealously. Lisa's next, but when Rick tries to take a bite of her taco (insert obvious joke here), the steak is so tough he can't bite through it, and winds up standing there like a dog gumming on a chew toy. Twitch's duck taco is paired with a creamy goo, but it turns out that duck tacos are some of Rick's favorites, and Twitch annoyingly celebrates.
Erik's dish once again looks terrible, this time because of a chunky avocado paste spread across the top. I suppose the neck tattoos and mismatched patterns should have been a clue, but really this man has no aesthetic sense. Rick comments that the dish has classic flavors, so it's hard to tell if that's criticism or praise. When he gets to Evangelos, Rick says it works if they were going for street style, which Evangelos hopes is a good review. Ryan's squash tacos are wrapped in paper and are so messy that Rick needs a towel to wipe his face. The good news is he still has a little bit left in his flavor saver if he wants to try it again (I couldn't resist). Richard brings up the rear with his potato-shelled tacos. He made three (instead of the required two), and decides to eat the third while the judges do the tasting. This is odd enough, but then he proceeds to explain his dish while his mouth is full, covering it with his hand to prevent any partially-chewed food from dropping onto the table. Yum.
« American Idol: Tonight, America Dies a Little Inside | Main | Dancing with the Stars: Penn is an Asshole »
Comments (14)
Great recap, LoLo! Loved the Princess Bride reference!
1 of 14 | Posted by kdfinjpn | Posted on March 29, 2008 1:02 AM
I'm surprised Erik lasted as long as he did. The souffle w/the tortilla chips was horrid last week. I don't understand why these people can't figure out how to make their food work when it has to sit for a couple of hours! Soggy corn dogs, watery chicken salad, chewy mac n cheese - ugh! Twitch and Spike drive me nuts, but they are kind of fun to watch together! Great recap, LoLo, your screen recaps are the best!
2 of 14 | Posted by valmommyt | Posted on March 29, 2008 4:41 AM
I thought Daddy Tom should have thrown out Twitch just for his comment!! I couldn't believe he said that. Upscale bar-b-que? I think not, they could have done so much better with what they had and I'm talking about both teams. There is nothing upscale about corndogs, pasta salad, mac and cheese...
Great and funny recap! I was sad to see Eric go though, although besides Twitch, I'm not sure who should have been packing.
3 of 14 | Posted by featherhead | Posted on March 29, 2008 4:46 AM
I agree that it was Erik's time to go but I must say he did a 180 for me from that first episode and I actually think he seems nice and a relatively calm influence in the kitchen.
I think there is a shot at a woman winning this season- richard is going to be difficult competition but he is too much like Hung and Marcel.
I think in the top tier will be Antonia (she hasn't done poorly yet and she keeps her shit together) Yoda-if she can stay cool under pressure which almost definitely won't happen, and Jennifer- I think she has a lot of potential and is going to come out as a big winner soon.
or I could end up totally eating my words next week. get it? EATING my words...
4 of 14 | Posted by chunkymonkey | Posted on March 29, 2008 7:55 AM
my boyfriend has a didjeridu. its the frickin sweetest thing ever.
thats not important or relevant, but seriously that thing ROCKS. everyone needs one.
5 of 14 | Posted by aman | Posted on March 29, 2008 9:19 AM
Long time lurker here, first time poster - Awesome recap! LoLo, you rock on this and you can tell that you're totally into the show. :) By the way, I think Richard said he was using a jicama to wrap his tacos in the QF, although I missed the beginning so I can't tell you for sure. Those are yum yum good, btw, and eaten raw taste like the result of a warped marriage between a carrot and a water chestnut. Good snack!
6 of 14 | Posted by teri00 | Posted on March 29, 2008 10:53 AM
You're right Teri -- it was jicama and it actually looked really refreshing to me. It sort of looked like a Vietnamese spring roll rather than a taco though.
I can't tell two of those guys apart -- the one that you had like 50 screencaps of is Spike, right? So is he who you call Twitch? The other is Evangelos? I seriously cannot tell the two apart when they are onscreen, and the added nicknames just make it more confusing for my poor addled brain.
But, that doesn't prevent me from saying: great recap! I love this show -- thank you for making it even more entertaining!
7 of 14 | Posted by zbird | Posted on March 29, 2008 12:09 PM
Hey everyone! Thanks as always for the comments -- I love having you guys to watch and discuss this show with!
Teri, Zbird, you're both right -- it was a jicama that Richard used, which I mistakenly thought was a kind of potato. I should have double checked that one, so thanks for catching it!
As for the nicknames, Spike and Evangelos are the same guy. He said in the first episode that his real name is Evangelos, and since he drives me nuts, I'm perversely calling him that because it was clear he's embarrassed by it. Twitch is Andrew, the chef who won last week's EC. They do look an awful lot alike and they hang out together too -- sometimes the only way to tell them apart is look to see who's shaking uncontrollably (and that would be Twitch).
Hope that clears things up!
8 of 14 | Posted by LoLo | Posted on March 29, 2008 12:43 PM
Does anyone else think twitch looks and acts like the actor from alpha dog, not sure the name ...but if you recall the movie it was his younger brother that was the plot of the movie and got killed. we def need a screen cap/movie clip of the 2 side by side
9 of 14 | Posted by Anonymous | Posted on March 29, 2008 5:38 PM
Rick Bayless is a douchbag! What is up with the weird looking beard and when he smiles it's scary! Like serial killer scary! And one more thing Rick, shut up! He was way over-the-top negative and the other "real" judges just had to sit there while he flapped on and on. Me thinks he is trying for his own reality show...
I think the bad pasta salad making girl chef should have gone home.
10 of 14 | Posted by bingo blog boy | Posted on March 31, 2008 8:08 AM
grr this episode made me mad.
Obviously I wasn't there to taste the food, but for a block party I definitely found the red teams menu to be more appealing. The way the judges were mad because their food was so low brow- it was dissapointing. THey had to cook for kids. Kids don't enjoy a lot of what was on the blue menu. And also the judges didn't pay for the food, the guests of the block party did, it was their food and they really should have taken a vote from the crowd, because every time they interviewed them they seemed to prefer the red team over the blue.
11 of 14 | Posted by tvkitty | Posted on March 31, 2008 8:51 AM
Did anyone notice the really gross thing that richard did while making his taco? He put the mixing spoon in his mouth, then right back into the bowl. I DVR'd it to make sure. Didn't the first ever contestant on Top Chef get booted for licking his finger, then putting it back in the sauce?
12 of 14 | Posted by misswatchsomuch | Posted on March 31, 2008 9:35 AM
Awesome recap yet again! Even though the entire thing is funny, LoLo is the screencap master! Especially the brilliant: (Evangelos) Just a mere two inches more and we'd be in business...friggin awesome!
I had some mixed thoughts on this episode. I was actually impressed with how well the red team seemed to work together, I mean, there was like no blaming someone else when one of them fucked up, or anything! That being said though, I completely agree with Ted, if you're gonna make simple, everyday food like mac&cheese and salad, it better be the best shit they've ever tasted (ahem..Nicki)
Since I've brought her up, let me rant on how much Nicki pisses me off - so far she's made, pizza, mushrooms, lasagna, and mac&cheese. Umm...seriously? If anyone tells me that she is the "Italian" chef, I will cry, because besides the lasagna she basically has proved that she's qualified to cook lunch at an elementary school - Nicki, please cook something that hasn't already been perfected by Chef Boyardee or Red Baron. If she makes Beefaroni next week I'm gonna kill myself.
Anyway, I still like Beasty and Antonia. They seem to take challenges and roll with it while not being complete shitters.
Again, loved the recap! (...and Richard agrees that his favorite kind of party is a sausage fest. - awesome!!)
13 of 14 | Posted by carmelicious | Posted on March 31, 2008 2:34 PM
I haven't been to a sausage party in a long time--sounds good to me. I agree with Dick Tracy--Evangelous looks like a douche--esp in his hat. I don't know why people listen to the other teams, esp when they say it's cleaned out--like they would help them not waste time.
Aren't there a few other dishes that can be made with weiners--i'm just sayin'
Beyond Stupid for Erik to plow through knowing full well--I was really not impressed with his cooking at all . . . deserved to go.
Good call on Nicki, Carm. Once again, mac and cheese--is there nothing else that can be made with velveta besides edible underwear--oops, that's my trick!
Thanks for the recap LoLo!!! I like your nicknames, makes it easier for me, esp w so many chefs at this point!
Twitch is a dick too--"my house" puuuleeese!!!!
14 of 14 | Posted by juddfan | Posted on March 31, 2008 4:52 PM