Restaurant Wars Trivia Answers

We have some very astute readers indeed, including Jeni, Fire and Ice, and Teddy. Thanks for playing! And thanks to Troll for commenting. Here are the answers. If you disagree, you know where to find the comment box :)

Trivia Game Part 1

1. Which All-Star(s) have already appeared in two-Restaurant Wars? Stephen “This is not Top Sommelier” Asprinio. He competed in Season 1, focusing on wine service and front-of-house, to the chagrin of his teammates. And returned as a guest in Season 3 to help the winning team from the Quickfire select wine.

2. Which All-Star(s) have already failed to win two Restaurant Wars episodes? Tre Wilcox, who appeared in Season 3, the Restaurant Wars “do-over” season. No one won the first RW installment, and Tre was eliminated in the second.

3. Which All Star(s) were PYKAG’d in the RW episode of their respective seasons? Tre Wilcox and Dale Talde

4. Match these Restaurant Wars restaurant names with their respective seasons.

Sabor: Season 1 - Lee Anne Wong, Miguel Morales, Stephen Asprinio

Sahana: Season 5 - Radhika Dusai, Carla Hall, Jamie Lauren, Jeff McInnis

Sunset Lounge: Season 5 - Leah Cohen, Fabio Viviani, Hosea Rosenberg, Stefan Richter

The Garage: Season 3 - Dale Levitski, Howie Kleinberg, Hung Huynh, Sara Mair

Twenty One 21: Season 7 - Amanda Baumgarten, Kelly Liken, Kenny Gilbert, Kevin Sbraga

Warehouse Kitchen: Season 4 – Antonia LoFaso, Richard Blais, Stephanie Izard, Nikki Cascone

5. In which season was the “décor” (ahem) pictured at the top of this post what one Restaurant Wars team came up with? Season 2

6. In which season was the requirement that chefs be responsible for decorating their restaurant spaces finally discontinued? Season 6

Trivia Game Part 2

1. Which of these cheftestants made it to Restaurant Wars in their respective seasons?

* = made it to RW
** = eliminated in the episode just prior to RW

*Alex Reznik
*Amanda Baumgarten
**Andrea Beaman
**Andrew D’Ambrosi
**Ariane Duarte
**Betty Fraser
*Cliff Crooks
*Howie Kleinberg
*Laurine Wickett
*Leah Cohen
*Michael Midgley
*Miguel Morales
Nikki Cascone – Nikki was eliminated 2 episodes prior to Restaurant Wars in Season 4, but chosen to return for RW. Midway through the challenge, each team's executive chef was allowed to select one additional assisting chef from the last four that were eliminated from the show; Antonia chose Nikki and Dale chose Jennifer Biesty.
*Radhika Dusai
*Robin Leventhal
*Sara Mair
**Sara Nguyen

2. Which contestants who took on front of house duties were named winners of Restaurant Wars in their respective seasons? Dave Martin (Season 1), and Stephanie Izard (Season 4)

3. How many times has a tartare or crudo appeared on a Restaurant Wars menu?
Four:
Tuna Tartare (American Workshop – Season 1)
Tuna Tartare with Egg Vinaigrette, Nicoise Olive Purée and Herb Salad (Hung Huynh - Quatre/The Garage – Season 3)
Arctic Char Tartare (Mike Isabella - Mission – Season 6)
Crudo of Black Bass and Yellowtail Snapper with Meyer Lemon-Caper Relish (Tiffany Derry – EVOO – Season 7)

4. Match the Restaurant Wars dessert to the season/team/chef:

a. Baklava Cigars with Fig and Minted Frozen Yogurts: Carla – Sahana – Season 5

b. Banana Scallops with Banana Guacamole and Chocolate Ice Cream: Richard Blais – Warehouse Kitchen – Season 4

c. Butterscotch Miso Scallops: Dale Talde made these in Season 5 for Restaurant Wars, and they got him sent home, but they were made as one of the two required alternatives for the second course (the other was Braised Short Ribs with Pickled Red Cabbage and Apple Basil Salad), not as a dessert.

d. Chocolate Ganache with Spearmint Ice Cream and Chocolate Tuiles: Bryan Voltaggio – REVolt – Season 6

e. Frozen Mango Lollipops with Dark Chocolate and Mint: Stefan Richter – Sunset Lounge – Season 5

f. Gorgonzola Cheesecake with Sweet Potato Purée and Concord Grape Sauce: Stephanie Izard – Warehouse Kitchen – Season 4

g. Halo-halo with Cantaloupe, Coconut, Kiwi, Avocado and Candied Nuts: Dale Talde – Mai Buddha – Season 4

h. Mango Lemongrass and Sake Sorbet: Restaurant April – Season 3

i. Oreo Lemon Pie: Elia Aboumrad – M.E.C. – Season 2

j. Pear Pithivier: Robin Leventhal – REVolt – Season 6

k. Watermelon “gnocchi”: Sam Talbot – Lalalina – Season 2


5. What Restaurant Wars dish pictured at the top of this post (I was referring to the bottom one in the montage) was roundly reviled by the judges? (Hint: It was from Season 2.)   Sam Talbot’s Watermelon "Gnocchi" with Cabrales and Asiago Cream

Restaurant Wars Trivia! - Part 2

The only Restaurant Wars individual winners who went on to win their seasons are Stephanie Izard and Michael Voltaggio, who, of course, aren’t appearing on All-Stars because they've already won. But here’s some food for thought, er, trivia:

1. Which of these cheftestants made it to Restaurant Wars in their respective seasons?

Alex Reznik
Amanda Baumgartner
Andrea Beaman
Andrew D’Ambrosi
Ariane Duarte
Betty Fraser
Cliff Crooks
Howie Kleinberg
Laurine Wickett
Leah Cohen
Michael Midgley
Miguel Morales
Nikki Cascone
Radhika Dusai
Robin Leventhal
Sara Mair
Sara Nguyen

2. Which contestants who took on front of house duties were named winners of Restaurant Wars in their respective seasons?

3. How many times has a tartare or crudo appeared on a Restaurant Wars menu? As I said in my first Restaurant Week trivia post, this is a friendly contest, so you can just mention chef/team/dish descriptions on this one.

4. Match the Restaurant Wars dessert to the season/team/chef:

a. Baklava Cigars with Fig and Minted Frozen Yogurts
b. Banana Scallops with Banana Guacamole and Chocolate Ice Cream
c. Butterscotch Miso Scallops
d. Chocolate Ganache with Spearmint Ice Cream and Chocolate Tuilles
e. Frozen Mango Lollipops with Dark Chocolate and Mint
f. Gorgonzola Cheesecake with Sweet Potato Purée and Concord Grape Sauce
g. Halo-halo with Cantaloupe, Coconut, Kiwi, Avocado and Candied Nuts
h. Mango Lemongrass and Sake Sorbet
i. Oreo Lemon Pie
j. Pear Pithivier
k. Watermelon “gnocchi”

5. What Restaurant Wars dish pictured at the top of this post was roundly reviled by the judges? (Hint: It was from Season 2.)

Stay tuned for more, and have fun!

Restaurant Wars Trivia!

Hooray for Restaurant Wars! Isn’t that our collective response when we finally reach this episode each season?

In anticipation of the All-Stars episode of Restaurant Wars this Wednesday, I descended into the Top Chef Crack Monkey Basement to remind myself of RWs gone by. As an avid viewer of the 7 prior seasons that have aired over the past 5 years, I was surprised by some of the things I was reminded of in my archaeological dig.

I know we have some very astute readers with long memories, so let’s try a trivia game.

1. Which All-Star(s) have already appeared in two-Restaurant Wars?

2. Which All-Star(s) have already failed to win two Restaurant Wars episodes?

3. Which All Star(s) were PYKAG’d in the RW episode of their respective seasons?

4. Match these Restaurant Wars restaurant names with their respective seasons. If you don’t recall whether it was Season 1, 2, etc., just refer to cheftestants’ names – this is a friendly contest.

Sabor
Sahana
Sunset Lounge
The Garage
Twenty One
Warehouse Kitchen

5. In which season was the “décor” (ahem) pictured at the top of this post what one Restaurant Wars team came up with?

6. In which season was the requirement that chefs be responsible for decorating their restaurant spaces finally discontinued?

Have fun!