Top Chef 4.2

In my last Top Chef recap, lvglenn and I were talking about Molecular Gastronomy (MG), and how Richard seems to be a little more laid back about it than, say, Marcel was a couple seasons ago. This episode reinforced that, especially with Mr. MG from NY, Wylie Dufresne as a guest judge. A half hearted attempt at eucalyptus, (perhaps a foreshadowing to Koala food at the zoo...) but the rest of the soup (chicken wings, apples, cider, butter) would have looked at home in China or even Normandy. Alas, Wylie seemed to shrug and move on.

I thought the five-ingredient max was a fun, minimalist idea, though we learned that Andrew has a hard time counting that high, perhaps since four-letter words make up most of his vocabulary. At least he admitted it, even as the realization crossed his face, though it's a little harder to lie about balsamic vinegar not being in there, as opposed to olive oil (which was a cheating claim by some chefs way back in the diabetic kids camp challenge in Season 2).

I'm having a hard time telling Spike and Andrew apart, which may be why Spike tries to wear his floppy hat every chance he gets. Only so many fuzzy Timberlake-clones should be allowed in a kitchen at once. I did kinda chuckle that Andrew is all curse and bluster in the interviews, and was almost hand-wringingly nervous when the spotlight of the judges table was focused on him. But, his charred squid and balsamic (again!) tapioca seemed to impress the judges. In the show, Tom seemed to shrug off his glacier ("Ok, next!"), but the judges blogs over on Bravo seemed to say it was actually pretty tasty.

The zoo thing seemed a little contrived to me. Maybe an episode that would have been better done on FoodTV's Dinner Impossible, especially with the catering. Vultures eat anchovies? On pizzas that people throw out the window of passing cars? Still, Kiwi Mark's anchovy looked pretty good.

If anyone should have learned anything from past seasons of Top Chef, it's to hold the cooked mushrooms. And Dale (who seemed at first to have a Hung-like energy, now just seems to have the sullen superiority instead) sidestepped the fact that he made it even worse by tossing on the cheese and not tasting it. Sabotage? I don't know, but Hung was already distinguishing himself by this point with fantastic dishes (and utter failures), but I don't remember anything of Dale's yet. This may be because of the crowd of contestants, or the producers not featuring him yet, but I want to see some food that matches his ego.

And speaking of producers, Top Chef fans noticed last season that the producers typically have three interviews at the beginning of each episode -- and by the end of the episode, one will have gone home, one will have won, and one will have done something interesting/controversial (but not bad/good enough to win or go home). Though not necessarily in that order. Valerie was the first interview out of the gate ("I really want to work with Stephanie!") and she got her wish, and sealed her fate.

The herd is still too thick, though. Kiwi Mark stands out in accent and zaniness, but he's doing some good things, too. The lesbian wonder twins get a lot of airtime, but I'd love to see something sublime and subtle from either brash contestant (like cursing-Andrew seemed to do in this episode with his calamari). Nikki is now linked to the deadly mushrooms in my mind. I'm getting to like Richard, faux-fauxhawk and all. I still like big, bald Erik, though I don't think he's as good as he thinks he is yet. I like Stephanie's attitude (from shaking hands to sunny optimism), and I think she might do pretty well if she doesn't get too nervous -- changing dishes on the fly because the chips didn't work shows a lot of quick thinking on her part, even if the second dish got soggy, too. Spike/Andrew need to stand and cook together more often so I can learn which is which. Everyone else is still a blur.

(no subject)

In the three years I've watched American Idol, I don't think I've ever reversed the DVR to listen to a song, but I did tonight with David Cook's Billie Jean. It was just good enough, and just oddball enough, that I had to hear it again. I wonder if he arranged it, or if it was someone else again -- a la the controversy over Daughtry's/Live's Ring of Fire and Cook's potential borrowing of Eleanor Rigby from another band's cover. Some of the blame for both controversies goes to the AI producers, who might tape the interview of the artist describing the original arrangement, but leave it on the cutting room floor due to time (or licensing arrangements). Still, Cook immediately attributed his Day Tripper arrangement to Whitesnake, which would almost be more of an embarrassment than an influence, so who knows?

So I voted for David Cook tonight. A lot. And Brooke White, because I think she's groovy.