Weekend Diversion: Night Of The Ponies
Pedway, First Store Open At Block 37
Around Town
Around Town
Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
Welcome to Puerto Rico, Top Chef fans!
We start off with Stephanie arriving at the P.R. airport in San Juan who tells us she has been spending the last few months in Southeast Asia. The envy. It burns. Next is Antonia who reveals her work ethic and child neglect (kidding, kidding). Richard arrives and bluntly states that it is good to see both Stephanie and Antonia and, oh yeah, Lisa will be arriving but really, she's like a vestigial organ that's overstayed its welcome. Lisa arrives with less hair and she gets a nice hug from Stephanie and a pat on the back from Richard.
Quickfire Challenge. The chefs meet Padma and the guest judge, Wilo Benet, chef/owner of Pikayo in San Juan, who looks a little bit like Tom Coliccio minus a soul patch. Of course, any pudgy, white, bald guy sort of looks like Tom Coliccio so, you know, whatever. The chefs must create two fritters incorporating plantains. Padma tells us they go best with a cold, cold beer. Cut loose for 40 minutes (just once, we'd love to have Padma scream, "Allez cuisine!"), Stephanie, Richard and Antonia dive for the plantains while Lisa makes like Spike to check out the proteins. Richard lights the gas stove and is engulfed in flames. It demands a TiVo slow-mo replay.
Stephanie presents Chef Benet and Padma with tostones and seared tuna (with vinegar, red onion, peppers and sugar). She also serves a pork and shrimp fritter with brown butter, lime and basil sauce. Antonia offers up crispy oysters with cilnatro plantain jam. Padma asks if the fritter actually contains plantain and Antonia says, "It'sa inna da sauce!" Next is yellow plantain with spicy slaw. Lisa serves tostones with pan roasted duck and mango papaya salsa. Next up is her sweet plantain, red onion and chorizo fritter with chutney slaw. She calls it her version of a mofongo fritter. Damn, we do love some mofongo. Richard arrives with pork meatballs with ripe plantain sauce. His second dish is green plantain chips with ripe plantain salsa.
Chef Benet thinks Antonia fell short on her integration of the plantains and said the raw plantain's slime in the jam was a turn off. Richard's raw plantain salsa gets a similar criticism. He though Stephanie's balance was great. He also liked Lisa's tostones. Which, as that was typed, did give us pause. Winner is: Stephanie! The crowd goes wild! A rare Quickfire win for Steph! The chefs head off to Old San Juan to eat and drink and watch Padma cut a rug.
Elimination Challenge. There's going to be a garden party at the Governor's mansion. Guess who is going to be catering the event? Tom and Padma tell this to the chefs and then reveal a pig on a platter. Each chef will use a whole pig to create dishes for the event. Then out marches Dale, Nikki, Spike and Andrew. As winner of the Quickfire, Stephanie gets to assign a sous chef to Antonia, Lisa and Richard and she graciously tries to pick people who will work well together. Stephanie picks Dale, Richard gets Spike, Antonia gets Nikki and Lisa gets Andrew. The contestants will butcher while their sous chefs go to the market to get the produce.
At the market, we see a nice demonstration of Andrew's communications with a local woman which consist of hand gestures, saying colors in Spanish and ending all other words with 'o'. Dale grabs some black plantains that he stresses look rotten…but he thinks Stephanie will like them (Ed. Note: Dale's right. Black plantains are very sweet. They just look nasty!). Back in the kitchen, the contestants git to butcherin'. There's a lot of hammering and Stephanie even apologies to her Wilbur, calling it 'buddy'. Awww. It's like eating the family pet. The sous chefs return and everyone is happy with their finds…except Lisa. Two hours of prep before they end the day. As the chefs leave the kitchen, the camera pans over to some pork belly left on a counter with a spice rub…uh oh. That looks like Stephanie's. We whisper, "ohhhhh, crraaappp."
The next day, Dale walks in and says he left the pork belly out on the counter. Stephanie says they must pitch it and she very kindly tells Dale, "That's okay." You know, we were just in Rome less than a week ago and recall seeing a statue of Stephanie in Vatican City because that woman is a saint. Lisa would have served Dale's balls as a fritter. Actually, we'd have been inclined to do the same. However, Stephanie works with Dale to consider the situation and come up with a third dish. The chefs run around, preparing their dishes for the party. Next thing you know, the guests arrive and begin to eat.
Richard's menu: 1) BBQ Pork shoulder cooked in coffee and cinnamon, with braised greens and mango, 2) Pork belly with pickled watermelon, 3) Ham and beans, and 4) Ribs with malta and soy glaze. Little reaction is seen from the judges.
Antonia's menu: 1) Crispy, honey pork belly with pickled sweet pepper salad, 2) Pork sausage with pigeon peas, and 3) Curried pork with pumpkin and yuca. Unclear reaction here, too.
Lisa's menu: 1) Yuca and pork rellena with pineapple mojo, 2) Citrus braised pork belly with potato and plantain mash, and 3) Adobo roasted pork, black bean and onion tostone. Unclear reaction but Tom says, "delicious."
Stephanie's menu: 1) Chicharrones, fruit and prosciutto salad, 2) Coconut braised pork with black plantain pancake, and 3) Pork satay on sugar cane skewer with miso almond sauce. The judges seem to like everything. Padma says the salad is refreshing and Chef Benet says the black plantain pancake is inventive.
Judges' Table: Tom liked Richard's pork belly and Stephanie's chicharrones but was less enthusiastic about Lisa and Antonia. Richard and Stephanie go to the judges' table and are told they are the favorites. Benet loved Stephanie's satay. Winner is: Richard! He wins a 2009 Toyota Corolla. He looks floored. In his head, he thinks, "How am I going to get this off the island?" No worries, dearest Richard, we have them in on the mainland, too.
Antonia and Lisa go to the judges' table. Lisa's hair is new but her sour expression is still the classic she keeps in the closet for these occasions. Gail (hieeee, Gail! We lurve you!) says that Lisa's puree was supah too sweet and that her dishes had more to do with garnish than pig. Benet tells her that her tostone was unbalanced. Antonia served all her dishes on one plate and Gail said they all blended. Her peas were undercooked. Not good. The judges discuss and call back Lisa and Antonia to rehash their mistakes before Padma asks Antonia to pack her knives and go.
We gasp and cover our mouths. In fact, Lisa practically does the same. But Lisa covers her mouth to keep from beaming at Antonia's back as she says bye to the judges. She does, though, genuinely seem surprised. As they re-enter the room to see Stephanie and Richard, Antonia gives the classic jazz hands wave to indicate she is going home. As Antonia hugs Stephanie, she whispers, "Kick their ass." In the stunned silence of the aftermath of Antonia's departure, Lisa looks over at Stephanie and Richard and says with a tinge of snide, "I know you guys are upset that Antonia's leaving but a congratulations would have been a little bit nice." Stephanie apologies and says congratulations. We sort of love that Richard says, "I'm just tired." Ha! Lisa says, "It just makes me feel like you guys feel like the wrong person went home." Wow. Lisa finally reads a room correctly. We love Richard as he says to the camera, "What does she expect? You won the fuckin' bronze medal. Congratulations. There you go."
Stay tuned, Top Chef fans. Next week we will have a winner!
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Welcome back, L. And, Wilo looks like he ate Tom. Just saying.
And, I just like saying "mofongo". Mofongo mofongo mofongo mofongo mofongo mofongo mofongo.
However the finale goes, at least it will mean I never have to see Lisa again.
You know, I wasn't actaully surprised when Padma said Antonia's name last night. Undercooking the beans and serving everything on one plate were huge screw ups that even people at home could understand.
What I don't get, though, is the judging on this show. In the end, it really seemed--based on the judge's comments--that Lisa and Antonia fought it out to a draw. Actually, more negative things were said about Lisa than Antonia in the end. If it was as close as it seemed, shouldn't the nod go to Antonia based on her consistency throughout the entire show? Lisa has basically been second to last the entire time. I know the judges claim to judge solely on that day's challenge, but at some point you have to recognize consistency over the long run--especially in close call situations like last night. If Lisa wins it all, I think this show takes a serious hit in the credibility of its format.
AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LISSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, did anyone notice how the FIRST commercial to air after they're butchering pigs is the one that features a cute little pig waddling around a kitchen and then flying away?! That sealed the deal--I'm back to no pork.
Benet tells [Lisa] that her tostone was unbalanced.
Nothing like bizarro-Tom takling about your tostones. Ay caramba!
takling
Talking, I mean. Chicagoist really must install a spell checker on this bady boy.
i bet hey kept Lisa for the drama. The producers know either Stephanie or Richard will win, and Atonia is drama free.
@jenniferexacto: i know, i know, but couldn't there have been the drama in watching three great cooks battle it out? i mean, there's NO way i could have predicted dale MASSIVELY effing up by leaving that pork out. man, and i missed the foreshadowing of "everyone is jogging for fridge space *because there is none."
i tell you, stephanie is class, class, class. first, she assigns sous chefs based on people who work well together. and at the end of the day, there was NO ONE that lisa* was really going to work well together with, because she managed to alienate herself from everyone with her crap attitude.
THEN, when dale totally screws up, she is TOTALLY upset and pissed, but she doesn't completely lose it. they regroup and figure out a way to save things and come up with a third dish, which the judges end up really liking. sweet!
but how in the HELL do they not send lisa home? if for nothing else than after all the times she's been in the bottom, for the fact that she had more negative things said about her dishes, BUT ... when they ask her why she's there .... she basically can't say why, makes it sound like the judges are the problem, and gives them attitude the WHOLE time. antonia at least fessed up to messing up the beans. doesn't it count for *something* to -know- when you've made something wrong? can lisa flavor *anything* right? gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
i just sat there and thought "this is when they send her packing, right? RIGHT?!?!?"
*her new hair did look good.
tivo slo mo on richard trying to light himself on fire is good, but slo mo on padma dancing when she's lifting her skirt up.. i swear you can see her hoo-ha.
Absolutely Lisa should have gone home. Other than the bacon which got her a trip to Italy (?) has she won anything? She's ALWAYS in the bottom 2. Forgetting her personality, her cooking appears to be of the lowest quality of anyone on the show.
As for Antonia, she seemed a little "off" all show. She kept talking about her new restaurant. Nikki said something was wrong. It seemed to me that her focus really was just elsewhere, which is why she made little mistakes. That said, I don't think she should have gone home. The quality of her food has been outstanding all season. In fact, I don't remember another time she was in the bottom 3.
What a disappointment. I can't even imagine if she wine. I, of course, want Stephanie to win, but this show may be dead to me if Lisa wins.
Hoo-ha!
Great. Another week of having to watch Lisa with her arms crossed and her chin sucked into her neck.
I remember reading Chicagoist's interview w/ Steph, where she said Lisa wasn't as irritating as the show's editing made her look? I think that's pretty generous of her to say, considering Lisa's "you guys didn't congratulate me for coming in third!" whining.
Is it me, or can anyone else not wait for this show and feature on Chicagoist to be over? What makes TopChef OK for Chicagoist to whine and moan like a 12 year old teeniebopper, but anyone would be chastised for doing the same about American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance??
And, the posting analysis is absolutely longer than any other posting on things that MATTER. No biggie, but seriously pretty lame at the same time.
We're just using this to prepare you for our annual Pitchfork and Lollapalooza coverage, mepps.
I cant wait for Stephanie to open a new restaurant in Chicago.
I'm going to Atlanta in the fall and will definitly follow Richard Blaise to whatever restaurant he is cheffin' at there. Element is Defunct and I cant find much information on 'trail-blaise' tho..
Anyone notice how Antonia didn't shake Gail's hand? She left Gail's hand out there hanging. hahahah!!!!
mepps because it was filmed all in chicago.
@mepps -- I think your solution is fairly simple: stop reading this recap and commenting.
I don't read it and the only reason I commented is because it seems like every 3 days there is this damn picture of this guy with a meat cleaver behind his back on the front page and I'm sick of seeing "Top Chef Recap". Go buy People or the TVguide or something.
Just because it was filmed in Chicago, thats a dumb excuse. ER takes place here and a good portion of it is filmed here too; we havent' been getting ER updates for the last 14 years or however long ER has been on.
Grrr... the stupid browser just ate my comment. Anyway...
As soon as someone remarked about Antonia's undercooked peas, my wife turned to me and said, "She's gone." It was such a basic mistake. That, combined with the plating... she just was really not on her game. Lisa's dishes may have fell flat, but Antonia made _basic_ mistakes. (God, did I just defend *Lisa*??!?!)
I'm pulling for Stephanie, of course, but I wouldn't cry if Richard won. His comment about the bronze medal was *classic*. He's also had great dishes and shown himself to be a class act. Now, if Lisa were to win... oh, the horror.
@mepps: Gee, I dunno, maybe because it's Top Chef CHICAGO??! Personally, I love the recaps, both Stolpman's and Sudo's. You can easily just not read them...
Speaking of DVR'ing slo-mo, and this ain't Padma's Hoo-Haa, did anyone notice the complete dis Antonia gave Gail? Antonia gets sent home, goes up to shake Tom C's hand, bypassing Gail altogether. Gail puts her hand up to shake, and gets left hanging. It was beautiful. Small things, I guess.
sorry, someone beat me to it.
I knew I loved Stephanie before last night. But when Lisa pulled her bullshit "GUUUUYYYSSS, tell me I'M awesome TOOO", I loved her even more. Though I could be wrong, I'm pretty sure that was filmed before Stephanie's interview here at Chicagoist, when she said Lisa just got a bad edit. You can edit all you want, but you can't make someone say something they didn't say.
I'm thinking Richard will most likely win, but would LOVE to Stephanie pull it off. Either way, it's going to be an awesome battle. Well, an awesome two-way battle, since one of the contestants completely sucks.
i love how richard was all sass this episode. i'm torn between him and stephanie!
and yeah i saw that gail snub. she deserved it.
Why did Gail deserve the snub??
As stated in previous comments, this reality show is all about the drama, and the editing. Watch the "Comeback." Lisa is going to win. I realized this after restaurant wars, and the fact that she keeps squeaking past more qualified peers. Burnt rice, frozen scallops, unrefrigerated pork belly are part of the script that plays out in the cutting room.
Antonia rocks,
but Lisa was sparred again,
was it the haircut?
Ain't no way Lisa is going to win, you can be sure of that. She's the character we "love to hate" and that person NEVER wins* even if they almost always get into the finale episode. It's not how producers roll.
*Jeffrey from Project Runway is a notable example, although he was both talented and started getting a lot more sympathetic edits towards the final episodes. Neither of which really apply to Lisa!
carapatricia: I've tried to find out about "Trail-Blaise" too, and from what I understand, it's a food consulting company, not a restaurant. Too bad -- Richard needs a way to share his amazing palette with a wider audience.
It's unfortunate, but I knew Antonia was gone as soon as someone mentioned that her peas were undercooked. That's a major error in execution. Flavors that are a little off can usually be tolerated--even Tom said he was OK with the sweet sauce. Food that's not cooked properly can be inedible.
It was almost intolerable. I wanted Lisa to go packing, but it was obvious Antonia's transgressions were worse than Lisa's. I still don't think it was as bad as when they sent Dale home. He's by far a better chef than Lisa or Antonia. Maybe they don't want an Asian guy winning two years in a row.
I want to like Richard, but he's ridiculously boring. I loved his reaction to winning the car. He couldn't have been less enthusiastic. Maybe he wasn't impressed by the Corolla. I suppose I'd have the same reaction to winning a Corolla.
I'm throwing my TV off my balcony if Lisa wins. I'm still pulling for Stephanie.
carapatricia and send9: blais is currently the chef at home, a restaurant in buckhead (upscale atlanta neighborhood). i live in atlanta but havent had a chance to go yet. unfortunately, home is owned by a midsize restaurant conglomeration (concentrics restaurants), and apparently the owner has restricted blais's creativity to some extent. reviews (in publications and from friends) have been positive, but far from excellent. hes also working on opening an interesting burger place in west atlanta called flip.
im rooting for the home team tomorrow, but stephanie is a talented chef as well. to echo the sentiments of many, if lisa wins, may god have mercy on our souls...
i dont know if i can edit my previous comment, but home is actually part of here2serve restaurants and not concentrics.