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I loved the blind quickfire. I definitely would have been like Mike I. and used up 5 of my 10 minutes just letting my eyes adjust to the light. I have sensitive eye balls.

I'm very happy they didn't decorate the restaurants - that was always such a bad element of restaurant wars. I'm happy with the end result but Lauraine's goodbye speech was kind of sad. It sounded like she hated being on Top Chef.

I think it's a joke that Rick Moonen is harping about sustainability in Las Vegas. Please. While I appreciate the effort, he's talking about sustainability in a metropolis that was built in the middle of a desert.

LOVED the quickfire!

Oh totally, I think Tom has a thing for Jeniffer and doesn't want to see her go this early. My prediction: she's going to be part of the remaining 4 (Kevin, Michael, Bryan and Jennifer)

But, that said, Jennifer, although her mistake was a bigger one-it's about cooking after all, not management of a restaurant, she's been more of a standout cook from week to week than Laurine , so ulitimately, Tom and producers make a decision that lets her stay.

And yes, kudos for not having them go through decorating hell nonsense-whoever came up with that in the first place-a total waste of their efforts. They should learn from this mistake and hire an outsider to move plates and talk to the judges, too. Let the cooks cook.

What a great episode! I was worried that this season wouldn't be worth watching but it has really shaped up to be a nice combination of talent and good tv.

I agree with the Detective about the sustainability bent. While RM probably cooked his way up to the top with this philosophy it's quite a different thing when you plug it into a LV superhotel and casino. But the way I understand it, he and most other chefs there will probably be going back to more modest operations as the ones they are now in are no longer sustainable themselves.

Revolt had to have been the absolute worst name but like a lot of ego-driven chefs that had to have incorporated their name into the restaurant name, no matter how ridiculous or revolting it is, or they would have spontaneously combusted.

But talk about two completely different courses of events in restaurant wars. With the exception of the cold beef courses on the Revolting side, they hummed like a restaurant that had been open for a week. Good service, good organization, good execution and TWO desserts. Thank God they ended this run of the no dessert restaurant restaurant being acceptable. Even if only order dessert 30% of the time, I will look at the dessert menu to see how it reads compared to the rest of the menu and the experience. Desserts, whether sweet or savory or a combination, are an essential component of every good restaurant.

I think Kevin is awesome but he showed that roasting a lamb rack properly is not as easy as it seems. Most restaurants now do not serve rack of lamb.

Jennifer showed how it is possible to take on more than what you should and sometimes it's not all about cooking. They could have used her leadership more than anything.

(if I had time to re-read my post, I should have had time to edit it. I apologize.)

Whoa. I don't watch this show, but could I have that pantry in the 1st photo??

i loved this episode as well, probably the first episode i have been interested in all season. i was shocked at kevin and jennifer's underperformance, mostly at kevin's. however, their menu seemed like a disaster from the start. i think it was anthony bourdain who remarked in a previous season that it is best to underpromise and over-deliver.

i also think that front of the house is quickly becoming the least desired/most feared job. radhika was sent home last season over it as well.

i read tom's blogs on bravotv.com after each episode and he said that laurine was sent home because she had two strikes against her - the front of house and the lamb (it was her idea even though kevin executed it, and she served it after she saw it wasn't cooked right.) jennifer only had one real strike and the judges were impressed that she was steaming clams to order even if they didn't turn out that well. so that's why laurine went home, not because she'd been performing worse all season but because she screwed up more things that jennifer.

I loved the episode. I am just surprised that my two favourite chefs did so badly. But I think a touch of arrogance can really bring you down.

I still predict that Kevin will win. He's just fantastic and turns everything he touches to gold (except this, of course).

It was very surprising that the Mission team would choose to have each chef in charge of two dishes that were to be served during the same course. That's not working together, that's working in succession. The chefs clearly rely on their specialties, Jen with her fish, Kevin with his pig, Brian with his cow. I have to hand it to Michael, despite his boorish behavior, for turning out consistently interesting food.

what a great episode! i was really surprised at mission, thought they were the team to beat. it seemed they thought that, too, which may have been part of the problem. jennifer obviously had a terrible day, i'm glad she's still in the running. i'm predicting (and hoping for): jennifer, kevin and the voltaggio brothers in the finale.

bebklyn - I think they're clearly the Top 4. But Padma said that only 3 will make it to the finale. So, for me, I'm rooting for Kevin, Jennifer and I'm torn about which Voltaggio brother to root for. I think Michael is clearly the superior chef of the two, but he's just such an ass that I can't get behind him. So, I think I'm putting my energy behind Bryan.

I'm just glad neither Kevin nor Jennifer got the cut. Those two are awesome. Talented, hard-working, and even seem to have good chemistry with (most of) the people around them.

And I loved that crazy quickfire challenge. But Rick Moonen was wrong, it wasn't "like a game of Telephone," it was like a culinary Exquisite Corpse! So fun to watch!

(I'm not sure why the challenge never mentioned it, is Exquisite Corpse not as commonly known as I had thought?)

Slow Lorus--I also immediately thought of a culinary Exquisite Corpse! Are you a visual artist or a writer? I definitely think folks in those circles are familiar with the concept. Maybe chefs aren't, even though chefs are also certainly artists. But then again, maybe chefs are familiar with the term, but the show's producers didn't think most viewers would be...