top restaurant

Lately, I've been playing catch up with Top Chef. I remember loving the series straight from Season 1--remember Harold? Sigh. 6 cities later, we're in Washington D.C. and at a pivotal point in the season. The most recent episode put the remaining chefs at war with each other in, well, RESTAURANT WARS! That's right, a bunch of chefs scrambling (eggs?) to work the front of house as well as the kitchen to utter perfection. And you know, I have to say, as one who's watched several season of this show, I've never once seen a team shine in every aspect. There are always flaws, no matter what. This episode, each team had its ups and downs.

The blue team contained most of my favorites: Kenny, Kelly (she grew on me), and Kevin. This team also included Amanda. But she is not one of my favorites, and she never will be. So that's that. Let's move on. On the red team, were Ed, Tiffany, Alex, and Angelo. OK. I LOVE Tiffany. I adored her enthusiasm since her first interview on episode one and she can also cook. She also cooks meals that I would actually like to eat. Those tamales last looked divine, and if possible, I would have taken them right out of the television and eaten them right then and there. Ed I can live with. He's cool. A bit opinionated but he's a nice guy. And I definitely sided with him during English Pea Puree Gate. Which brings me to the next guy: Alex. Grrr. I wanted this guy to be a favorite of mine simply because I share his name, but I can't make myself like someone just because his name is Alex, can I? NO. This Alex is a dirty player. His personality and attitude throughout the whole competition have not been appetizing. I suppose I could say the same thing about his food. I'm still in awe of the fact that he took Ed's pea puree--YES, HE TOOK IT. THE TAPES DON'T LIE. And Angelo--ugh, I don't even want to waste words on him. He's a good chef but too frequently compares cooking to sex and in doing so doesn't make either activity appealing.

SO. After a sweet little Quickfire with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Restaurant Wars was ON. Blue went with "TwentyOne21" for their name. Oooh, clever. And Red went with "Evoo. " I'll just say the name sounded really frightening when Angelo said it with wide-eyed excitement. So Red chose Alex for front of house. And it's not because he is the most approachable guy in the group. It's because THEY DON'T TRUST HIM AS A COOK--SCANDAL! And I'll just say, working as a server has never been something I'd like to find myself doing. But working as a server under Alex--well, that would probably make me go home every night, turn all the lights off, and cry in the corner. I'd want to quit, but it's a job and the tips are good. And the economy's so tough lately, I'm lucky to have a job. Even if I'm working for an insane disciplinarian, at least I'm working.

Um, yeah, so back to the episode. Blue chose Kelly for front-of-house. And I thought it a wise decision. Afterall, she is both approachable and kindly assertive. Instead of yelling at her waitstaff, she had them taste every dish so they'd know what they were serving. When I saw this, I really thought Blue had it in the bag. In. The. Bag. And for the record, though the judges found her a bit nervous, she WAS a better host than Alex. She was actually at the front to greet them, like a good host should be. And she didn't mix up what her restaurant was actually serving. Well done.

But in the end, the food prevailed. And while I admire Blue for fighting and giving Alex a good yell in the stew room, having your food compared to a dinner rescued by Hamburger Helper does not bode well. I was sad to see Kenny go. But by making himself the executive chef, he put himself on the line.

I know I keep harping on this, but I really do hope that Alex gets what's coming to him some how. If not for the pea puree, then for something else. Something crazy. Something that has never been seen in the history of Top Chef. I suppose I can only hope.

As for the rest of those gourmets, I'm really gunning for Tiffany. If not Tiffany, then Kelly. If not Kelly, then Kevin. If not Kevin then--well I'll just stop watching.