Top Chef 2/22 Show Discussion **Spoilers**

[josieb]

I call the 3 mean girls, two dumbos and a leprechaun. That's what they remind me of when I watch them. I'm glad the leprechaun is gone. Sucks that one dumbo is left. Just hope Paul wins this.

[Tilden]

Reading Tom's blog only confirmed for me that he's playing favorites, and judging from the number of negative comments following it, I'm not alone. He admitted that Sarah's frozen block of sauce didn't melt as she thought it would but then said that her concept was challenging and she "nailed" it. Nailed it? The sauce didn't melt. Nailed it implies she presented her concept perfectly, and she clearly told Tom in the kitchen her intention was that the sauce would melt over the pasta. It didn't, so she most definitely didn't nail her concept. He also says in his blog that it was obvious that Paul wasn't going home for a piece of arugula, because it's clear that he's a talented chef. Then why harp on it so? It certainly wasn't obvious to Paul, from his expression in the green room, that it was a minor error--and you kept him waiting after telling Sarah and her block o' sauce that she was safe. Why? To make the audience fear that there was going to be a mean girls final?

At the very end of the blog, Tom also mentions that they're all three very talented chefs without egos who've worked quietly and hard. Seriously? He's been in the kitchen. He's been at judges' table. Has he not picked up at all on Sarah and Lindsey's behavior? Some of the other judges did. I think Paul's generally been pretty even tempered, so maybe that could be said about him, but even if they haven't seen the full episodes of the shows, the judges, including Tom, should have caught on to Sarah and Lindsey's personalities by now.

And I still think that if Tom were served a block of frozen sauce in a restaurant, he'd be sending it back, not congratulating the chef for nailing his/her concept.

[maude~flanders]

I don't care how good Sarah's homemade pasta was, if you hand me a pasta dish with a block of frozen sauce on top of it, I'm going to send it back. Hell, I'd ask them to throw it in the microwave to melt the sauce for me. After all, isn't that exactly what all of those crappy frozen pasta dishes do? Give you blocks of frozen sauce in the bag with the pasta? But, even they don't tell you to heat up the pasta and serve it with the frozen sauce-cubes on top! Sarah's idea was not revolutionary or interesting at all - she's just obviously been eating Bertolli's or Lean Cuisines (well, not Lean cuisines). But, hey, they called it original because she didn't serve another freaking sausage. So, it was original for her.

[ryansmommy]

Wow. Well, I thought it was an excellent episode.

Top Chef has evolved so much. Remember back to year one when no participant owned a restaurant? Also, there was a student chef and a home cook competing?

[straycat80]

Well, I was disappointed Lindsey didn't make the final two but this was how the judges wanted it. I think it will be interesting to see how Paul and Sarah do in the finale.

[jucamer]

Tilden, you really hit the nail on the head with your post. My thoughts exactly tonight. Tom really pushed for Sarah...grrrr. It was very obvious. And I wanted to scream at him for going on and on about that one piece of arugala! That was so minor compared to Sarah's frozen sauce.
Had to laugh at Sarah saying that the Anti-griddle became too cold and that's why her sauce was too frozen. Surely, something like that has a temperature control or thermostat where the chef can regulate the desired coldness...but being Sarah, of course, she would blame the appliance and it just couldn't be her fault in any way!
I can't stand Sarah. I'm so hoping that Paul wins.
Didn't someone on another thread for Top Chef explain that they couldn't get another city in Texas to comply with their needs and that's why they went elsewhere? I can't really remember the reason but I'm sure it involved $$.

Shouldn't they look into things like that before they start the season

[Shoepie]

None of the finale cities have been relevant to the season. They pick interesting venues, that agree to their terms. I thought Vancouver was an interesting choice. I like it.

Texas would have been anticlimatic.

[jucamer]

None of the finale cities have been relevant to the season. They pick interesting venues, that agree to their terms. I thought Vancouver was an interesting choice. I like it.

Texas would have been anticlimatic.

But the show was called Top Chef Texas -wouldn't one think it would be eintrely shot in Texas? It doesn't matter just seemed to not be (a Project Runway word) cohesive....

[tears.and.rain]

The finale of top chef chicago was in Puerto Rico I think, Miami was in Aspen, NY was in New Orleans, DC was somewhere else, I don't remember, and masters was in the Bahamas. Season Two I think was also somewhere different from the city they were originally competing in. Oh and Vegas was different too.

[MFWalkoff]

Yes it's a tradition to take the semi-finals & finale to another city. I guess it just felt a little strange this year because of all the endless, cartoonish Texas hype going on all season, and then all of a sudden we're in Vancouver with little/no warning. They just went overboard with the TX branding, maybe to its detriment -- it's not like I want to hop on a plane and rush down there after watching this season. Here are the locale changes for all seasons:

1/San Fran - Vegas
2/LA - Hawaii
3/Miami - Aspen
4/Chicago - Puerto Rico
5/New York - New Orleans
6/Vegas - Napa Valley
7/Wash DC - Singapore
8-AS/New York - Bahamas
9/Texas - Vancouver