Tag Archives: Top Chef

Gentlemen, Start Your Crocs!

It’s finally arriving tonight: the Top Chef finale! (unless, of course, Bravo teases us and airs a rerun instead as they’ve been known to do.  Just to screw with me.  But it seems pretty official that it’s happening tonight.  If you consider the blogosphere official.  And facts.  Assuming you think facts are official)

It’s a six-legged race between one Voltaggio, another Voltaggio and the one that’s not a Voltaggio (Kevin!).  Here’s how it stacks up:

The Favorite: Kevin.  The man has just been nails all season, delivering simple, yet elegant food (like a nice cardigan).  He’s the Iceman of Top Chef, except impossibly polite (and not kinda homo-erotic).

Who Do I Want To Win: Bryan.  Love the fact that he seems incapable of displaying human emotion.  It’s not that he’s a robot.  He clearly has a heart, it’s just that you can’t tell if he’s ecstatic or livid or asleep.  But his food has uniformly looked delicious and complex without being smug.  And how cute was it when he bought that stuffed animal for his daughter?  Aww!

Who Do I Think Will Win: Michael.  He’s been running neck a neck a neck all season with his brother and Kevin, but his biggest competition may have been his own ambition (see what I did there?).  He’s the biggest risk taker of the three, and having the chance to do the traditional progression we’re betting that he’s going to be able to pull it all together and truly wow the judges with intense flavor profiles and interesting textures and avocado foams and other words they say a lot.  Also, if he doesn’t win, someone might get hurt, whereas Bryan and Kevin will be gracious losers.  So for the sake of the judge’s own safety (and Padma’s ‘lil bear cub), they might hand the title to Michael V (ah, just kidding, Mike!  I’m sure you won’t hurt anyone if you lose.  We’re just having a good time, that’s all!).

While you count down the minutes on your egg timer until the finale, you can check out Jen talking about how she’s become an inspiration to Philadelphia’s female youth (take that, Rocky!):

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Filed under Century 21 Reality, Top Scallop

The Connection Between Wes Anderson, Mario Batali & ‘Top Chef’ Revealed

(Hint: It’s the Crocs)

And speaking of these things, Top Chef finally returns tonight!  Until then, play the Match the Tattoo game! (guess they didn’t have enough Croc-wearers for a Match the Crocs game.  Shame)

And if you still need more Wes Anderson you can check out a recent profile done on him by New Yorker (subscription required), and if you’re feeling a little less elitist, then click over and read Videogum’s effusive praise for Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Agreed!

More later y’alls!

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Filed under Team Zissou, The Big Screen, The Sixth Taste, Top Scallop

More Crocs on Top Chef! But Still Way Behind Tattoos for Most Common Cheftestant Accessory

Months ago I lamented the departure of Top Chef Cheftestant and Hati survivor Ron Duprat, he of the red Crocs.  We were going to miss his jolly laugh, his trouble understanding the meaning of words like “vice” and “deconstructed,” and his revolting cocktails.  But most of all we were going to miss his plastic footwear, the fire truck red slip-ons that made him stand out from the rest.

It was then, with great pleasure, that I realized it appears that perennial challenge finalist and lover of all things pork Kevin Gillespie has been sporting his own pair of Crocs this whole time, albeit a much a less fashionable black set.  Looking back, it was very hard to pick this up, as they just as easily could have been confused for a pair of black boots.  But if you know what you’re looking for then you can (sorta) make out the Crocs, like in this picture from the Penn & Teller episode.

Kevin Gillespie

More photos of Crocs!

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Filed under Century 21 Reality, Top Scallop

You’re Not There to Make Friends. But Are You There to Cook Good Food? Questionable.

On this week’s Top Chef chefstant and house mother/pariah Robin joined the hallowed ranks of reality TV competitors like Omarosa and Kelly Wiglesworth who have uttered the now legendary phrase “I’m not here to make friends.”  This reminded me of a segment from the recent This American Life episode, “Frenemies.” In this act, titled “I am here to make frenemies,” Rich Juzwiak of the blog foufour details the evolution and now ubiquity of this quote in reality TV shows.  He also put together a thorough “I’m not here to make friends” highlight reel.  Enjoy!

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Filed under Century 21 Reality, Other people's stuff, Top Scallop, Virulent

Bravo Plays Me For a Fool Yet Again

Well, I guess you can ignore that last post, as when we loaded up the DVR to watch Top Chef we found that there was, in fact, no new episode last night. Bravo has a tendency to do this, both with Top Chef and Project Runway (when it aired on the net), showing you scenes from the next episode, but failing to inform you that said episode will not air the following week. Building me up and breaking me down (perhaps the blame is really on me for letting Top Chef become the highlight of my week, but I refuse to become Bravo’s scapegoat).

On the bright side this means that Ron gets to stay in the spotlight for one more week, and it’s an excuse for another Ron Duprat/Carl Winslow comparison.

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Filed under Impatience, TGIF, Top Scallop

Farewell to My Favorite Top Chef

Spoiler ahead if you didn’t yet watch last week’s Top Chef!!!

As we count down the hours until episode 7 of Top Chef: Las Vegas let us take a moment to look back and honor its most recent exile, Chef Ron Duprat.  His childlike wonder delighted us through half a dozen episodes, and although at times it seemed he didn’t know how to make most dishes, and often appeared completely lost, you have to tip your cap to a man who walked around the Vegas desert asking the other contestants for a sword.  Why he needed a sword to make a coconut lime tuna ceviche we’ll never know (we’ll also never really grasp what a coconut lime tuna ceviche is), but you have to appreciate his thinking outside the box (or maybe the sword was intended for his universally reviled Haitian Mojito.  Again, why he’d need a sword for that…oh, maybe he meant like those little plastic swords for cherries that are sometimes used instead of toothpicks).  But, despite Ron’s innovation, he was unable to survive a disappointing deconstructed paella (or as judge Toby Young calls it, pa-ella, like the Rhianna jam. Pa-ella, ella, ella) even though paella is a dish Ron claims he makes everyday in his restaurant.  As his self-proclaimed vice was coming to the US from Hati in a small boat, methinks Ron was a little confused during some of the challenges, and this was pretty obvious when Eli and Kevin tried to explain what deconstruction means.  I think it broke Ron’s brain.

Huh?

Ron, your limitations be damned!  We toast to you with a disgusting Mojito.  Without you the incidence of red Crocs has been reduced by a stunning 100%.

Ron Red Crocs

Luckily, the saturation of tattoos remains at record levels.

Neck Tatoo

Nice.

No word yet it Reginald VelJohnson will play Ron in the Top Chef Vegas movie, but I hear they are in talks.

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Filed under Must See TV, TGIF, Top Scallop