Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Recap Roundup: Top Chef Masters 2 Episode 2


Jordan Baker raps: "I bet every time he gave someone lip on the ER set, they were all 'Look who thinks he's Clooney/ He's just Mekhi Phifer.' I bet every time he snuggles his girlfriend, she's all 'Look who's gettin' spoonie/ hey, it's Mekhi Phifer.' I bet if he buys a purse for his mom, the sales clerk can't resist busting out with 'he's buyin' the Dooney/good choice, Mekhi Phifer.'"

Serious Eats on foreshadowing: "All seemed well until ominous music started playing, and the camera started zooming in on a shot of a lone foil-wrapped tray sitting on a shelf. At first I was a bit alarmed, until I remembered that's just Top Chef's way of saying, 'Tee-hee, somebody's totally screwed and they don't even know it yet.'"

Slashfood on drama!: "Anyone who knows and loves Top Chef Masters will admit it's relatively low on intra-chef tension, what with all the humility and sharing and mentorly learning going on. But in this, the second pass at weeding out 22 accomplished chefs for the title of Ultra Pro Haute Cuisine Jedi Master (we're paraphrasing here), there was a whole lot of drama. Blood! Sweat! Tears! Insincere hugs! This is why we pay for basic cable, folks."

TWOP on why everybody's jealous of Kelly this week: "Kelly is the judge, and each chef has to create an awesome grilled cheese sandwich. I would like to judge that contest. I would automatically eliminate anyone who put bullshit in there like caviar or spinach or something. I want good bread and good cheese with a crispy outside and a gooey inside."

Marquee on the actual food drama: "Monica and Thierry try to help Carmen out, cutting up the yucca and putting them to boil. You’d think two veteran chefs would now how to boil tubers… To prove the point that no good deed goes unpunished, they accidentally burn the starch. Carmen returns. She freaks. She decides to make the best of it, and serves the stew with chopped cilantro and sausage as a garnish."

Speakeasy on the moral of the story: "The takeaway: Trust your gut and you’ll win… but also don’t help others and get second place. The Good Samaritans in the episode (David, Thierry and Monica) just get pats on the back before being shown the door. It’s a cold world, Top Chef."

Box Office Prophets on Monica v. Marcus: "At this point, I was totally rooting for Monica. She helped Carmen out to the detriment of her own dish. Marcus played the “this is a competition and I’m in it for me” card and I never like to see that rewarded."

Squid Ink (LA Weekly) with the truth: "Of course, anybody who watches Top Chef knows that whenever you mess up and have to do a less complicated dish, then say you're not going to win, that usually means you're going to win."

Food Network Musings on keeping your food below 40 degrees: "I am still not understanding how she is intending to serve a pot of stew that was left out of the refrigerator all night. Will someone please explain that to me?"

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