We think the good folks at Bravo might be reading our minds. Just when we are enjoying some great kitchen tours and thinking it's time to bring back the cupboard challenge, Top Chef sends its contestants into a neighborhood in Chicago to poke around people's kitchens (we wish we could have seen more of one charming, all-white kitchen filled with fresh fruit) and cook a block party buffet using what they find.
Note: We reveal the winner and loser after the jump.
Before the contestants went door to door in the neighborhood, they had to impress guest judge Rick Bayless in the Quickfire challenge by creating an upscale taco. There was quite a bit of debate on the show as well as on the blogs about how upscale Mexican food should (or could) be. We think Mexican can be elegant, but we're not sure a taco is the best ambassador for illustrating the point. It felt as though Richard won the challenge simply because he made his taco — wrapped in a jicama "shell" — look fancy, regardless of how it tasted.
On to the elimination challenge. The chefs divided themselves into two teams, red and blue, and had to use their pantry finds to create food for a neighborhood block party. The red team immediately decided on classic american food, which, honestly, sounded good to us. We've never met a corndog we didn't like.
As for the loser... Erik was eliminated because his corndogs didn't weather the trip to the block party so well. They were soggy once they were served. Fair point, but we are starting to get frustrated with chefs being axed because their food doesn't travel well. Valerie had the same problem last week.
These contestants aren't full-time caterers. Can't we let them serve the food hot from the kitchen?
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Once they showed Eric making disparaging comments about Rick Bayless (who I love) and how Mexican food can't be upscale (he's dead wrong) during the quickfire, I knew he was gone.
view cweingarten's profile
How about it?! When Eric said Mexican food can't be upscale, first I was insulted and then I thought that he's never heard of Bayless or Geno Bahena. He probably thinks Mexican food is nothing but nachos and tacos.
¡Adiós, Eric!
view Alex's profile
I understand that it's not their fault when food goes soggy when traveling but shouldn't they have thought about it before deciding to make it? It seems common sense to me that anything fried would taste good when eaten after a few minutes of making it and not a few hours.
view mstina's profile
It was funny. I missed the first chapter of the show, the quickfire. But, because they re-air the episode right after I saw the beginning and of course, saw the big guy tell Rick Bayless to you-know-what. I was completely shocked. I hope that people stop going to his restaurant in SF. Talk about the kiss of death for himself on the show but he could have seriously put a fork in his own business. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Soggy corn dog or not--dumb.
Was it just me or did they leave out in the beginning the fact that the tacos were supposed to be an upscale interpretation?
The one cook who used paper on his taco tried to turn out an SF La Taqueria (Mission) creation proving that the power of their taco is beyond duplication!
I thought the mini blow torch smores should have earned high points. There were 70 kids and 40 adults. I'll bet every kid wanted to line up for one of those marshmallows.
The show goes on...
view art's profile
I agree about the smores...as I'll bet it was a bigger hit with the kids than the lavender enhanced drink and the fruit cobbler. Spike tried to argue that they were cooking for the families rather than something highbrow....
But how do you screw up pasta salad?
view cweingarten's profile
I think simply choosing pasta salad was a shot in the foot. No way in hell did that have a chance of winning any points with the judges-good or not. Just like corn dogs and mac and cheese.
Part of being a chef is having the expertise (experience) to know what to serve under the conditions. Catering can be a good test of that experience. But I agree, two events, back to back is enough already.
view art's profile
Just curious, do most people consider the corn dog to be typical American food? When it was mentioned on the show as such, I thought that was odd and then proceeded to get into a heated debate with my husband.
Growing up in New England, not only did I never eat a corn dog, I never saw one on a menu.
view SMM's profile
@SMM,
I unenthusiastically admit that the Midwest is indeed responsible for the corn dog.
It was invented in a diner in Springfield? Illinois.
They graced the fiberglass platters of many a school hot lunch growing up.
view art's profile