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Post by jackie on Feb 11, 2016 18:13:44 GMT
Is anyone looking forward to part 2 of this unusual restaurant wars challenge? I know I am.
I'm not sure who even won on the first half (lunch). The judges seemed to prefer Amar's team's appetizers but liked Karen's team's entrees (or was it the other way around?). I think that Kwame from Amar's team might have outshone Marjorie from the other team in the front of the house. So, based on that, it would seem Amar's team may have won. But I have to wonder how big of a mistake was it that Jeremy as executive chef made a decision to basically ignore all of the other diners so he could concentrate on the judges? Yes, the judges did get their food very quickly, but they noticed that other diners were waiting a long time for food. Plus, don't the diners fill out cards about each restaurant that come into play during judging. In addition, their team ran out of food and it sounded like they had a hard stop where they had to quit serving. If that's the case, I'm thinking many diners will never get their food. That can't go unnoticed.
I felt bad for Kwame when Amar neglected to get his bacon but it seemed like he kept bitching at the wrong person--Jeremy. I didn't see him say one bad thing to Amar about it. Then, although I realize Phillip can be a big pain in the arse, Kwame was a little rude and dismissive of Phillip when he was explaining how his food needed to be plated. I love Kwame to death, but he was a little on the jerky side this episode--just a little bit.
I think Isaac is probably my favorite chef. I really like him. He seems very real and he seems like he is so easy to get along with. He was really complimentary and easy going with his team during the whole challenge, even though I felt, especially at the beginning, that they were completely marginalizing him. I thought he did a really good job as executive chef for his team and really kept things moving along. Also, the judges seemed to like his dish. I hope he continues to do well in the dinner portion (part 2) tonight. I want him to stay. Actually, I want his whole team to win. I feel they are the less ego-driven team and I really like everyone on the team. I'm really warming up to Karen a lot. Marjorie I like okay, but sometimes find her annoying. One thing I can say about her though is that she is a powerhouse. She's great at savory foods, makes wonderful desserts, and can bake bread! Is there anything that girl can't do? |
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Post by bc2ca on Feb 11, 2016 20:24:32 GMT
I'm looking forward to the second half! First of all, how awesome was the song & dance when they met Padma  . I think Palate won the lunch service (and has a better restaurant name). Entrees were definitely better and I think Marjorie did a great job thinking on her feet and getting the tables turned over by luring them away with champagne (you don't have to fill them too much  ). Sadly, my favorite, Jeremy, really made a huge mistake stopping all other service when the judges arrived. The judges noticed, diners will comment on the wait and there has to be some sort of penalty for not finishing the service. I really think (once again) my favorite might be going to LCK because of restaurant wars. I like Isaac, but California fresh was a way better theme for the restaurant than Cajun. Cajun would have played to his strengths but would have been a huge gamble for the other three chefs. The Kwame/Phillip interaction was interesting, although I did kind of laugh at the mason jar glasses because I do think that trend is over. Did you catch Kwame's comment about not liking Phillip because he is racist?*** I can't think of anything we have seen that supports that but there is definitely something going on between them. I know Amar asked if they could combine a couple of Phillip's ingredients to speed up the plating, so it wasn't just Kwame questioning all the steps. It will be interesting to see how happy he (Phillip) is when his plate goes to the judges. ETA I was looking to see if I could find why Kwame said Phillip was racist and stumbled across the screenplay written by Phillip (came up on a search of Phillip's name). I don't want to direct link and peattlejuice him here, so remove the spaces after "www.", then copy and paste www. artbyphil.com/temp/productionNotes/Cook/COOK.pdf Second ETA ***I listened to it again and definitely misheard. After listening a couple of times, I'm pretty sure Kwame said "I'm not excited about working with Phillip just because he's very adamant and he can be abrasive." I swear it sounds like "a racist" when he says it, but abrasive makes more sense. |
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Post by jackie on Feb 11, 2016 21:42:05 GMT
I like Jeremy a lot too and I think he made a big mistake with that. Don't lose all hope yet; there's still dinner service! And yes, Marjorie was clever getting those tables turned over. I'm not saying all of Isaac's ideas were good. I absolutely agree that California fresh was a smart way to go. But even if after that had been decided upon, it seemed like they disregarded everything he had to say. Even if you aren't going to go with his ideas, at least be polite. There was one point where he was talking about an idea he had for a dish and Marjorie turned away and just started talking to someone else about something else. I think they kind of dismiss him. But it couldn't have been that bad because he had nothing but kind words to say about his team, so I'll just let Isaac fight his own battles.  The mason jar thing was funny. Especially when they were walking away and Kwame asked Phillip if he had mason jars at his restaurant and when Phillip said "yep!", Kwame said "I thought so." I did chuckle at that. I did NOT catch the remark about being a racist. Was that on the Restaurant Wars Part 1 episode? I'm going to need to re-watch. I hope that's not true. Maybe it will come out at the reunion. I didn't have a problem with Kwame wanting to combine some of his steps. Phillip's dish sounded complicated and I agree that others suggested shortcuts too. It was when Kwame just said well I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm just going to combine these steps anyway. That did seem a little rude. Again, no loss of love for Kwame yet. I still think he's a great guy. Just pulled up the screenplay. I remember him talking on Chopped (I just saw him the other day on a repeat!) about wanting to get this movie made that he had written. The little blurb of it they showed on Chopped looked stupid and his screenplay looks stupid too. I started reading but it's too long. Phillip is obsessed with certain images, that's for sure. I didn't read the whole thing but didn't see anything that struck me as racist, did you? Not a fan of Phillip and all of his pretentiousness, but overall I think this is one of my favorite casts for TC. Oh, and I loved the Restaurant Wars song too. I especially loved when Padma said it wasn't restaurant wars and you could have heard a pin drop. The whole song thing reminded me of the song about the beef tongue that they made up on the episode with Carla and Antonio. They sang it for Jimmy Fallon and it was so cute! |
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Post by bc2ca on Feb 11, 2016 22:27:15 GMT
I edited my first post and, after listening to Kwame a couple of times, think he said "abrasive" not "a racist", which makes way more sense. It is when the team is meeting to discuss a name, theme, etc., right near the beginning of the episode. I only read the first couple of pages of the screenplay and couldn't go on. I think it will need a lot of editing to make it onto the big screen  . I agree that this is one of the most talented and likable casts they have had on Top Chef. |
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Post by jackie on Feb 11, 2016 22:27:56 GMT
Ah, I do remember the "abrasive" comment. Okay, that's good--abrasive we can handle, but no racists!
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Post by cindyupnorth on Feb 12, 2016 0:07:28 GMT
Loving this season. I was really disappointed in Jeremy and the decision to feed the judges 1st, and not the rest of the diners!! I like Isaac, but I don't think he's going to win. Love Marjorie! and she CAN make it all, unlike most of the others!
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Post by cindyupnorth on Feb 12, 2016 3:43:07 GMT
What did everyone think? NOT surprised at what time won. But I was surprised at who they gave the personal win to, and who they sent home?!! Even though I wanted him to go,...still. worst risotta of all top chef? and still there?
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casii
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,474 
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Post by casii on Feb 12, 2016 15:23:07 GMT
It took me a while to get into this season, but I like most everyone left. They get along for the most part. There's no over the top manufactured drama.
I feel like a couple of different people could win and I'd be happy. Do you think Philip's congratulatory self promotion of his restaurants during dinner service plus his dessert 'salad' could have sent him home over bad risotto?
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Post by deep on Feb 12, 2016 17:10:27 GMT
I liked Isaac as the winner as he did do such a great job keeping the kitchen together and moving during lunch and had really positive feedback on his items.
As much as I like Jeremy, I would have thought he would have gone home as he was the polar opposite of the winner in terms of organizing the lunch service and feedback on his dish.
Not too sad about Philip leaving. He never seems to have any idea that he screwed up. No it wasn't that they didn't care for your dish and it could use some tweaking, they really hated your dish.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 10:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2016 17:47:57 GMT
So glad Philip is gone! He is a walking embodiment of the most annoying kind of LA stereotype. Though I was   that Jeremy used WATER for his risotto. WTF, dude? And his executive chef decisions were seriously questionable. I was a little worried Kwame was going to go; he's one of my favorites but definitely had an off day. |
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Post by bc2ca on Feb 12, 2016 17:52:19 GMT
What did everyone think? NOT surprised at what time won. But I was surprised at who they gave the personal win to, and who they sent home?!! Even though I wanted him to go,...still. worst risotta of all top chef? and still there? I think overall Isaac deserved that win. Each of the other contestants had one weak dish. If Karen's trout had been good I think she deserved the win because her lunch was clearly the favorite and she was great at front of the house (when she got there). Isaac did a great job as executive chef and didn't have any missteps with his food. I thought it was going to be between Jeremy and Phillip as to who left, but the judges quickly saved Jeremy because his lunch was one of Padma's favorites. I am surprised the whole team got a pass on not finishing lunch service and that the judges considered the teams even going into dinner. The question is whether Jeremy's executive chef decision was worse than Phillip running front of the house. I can't remember if the other chef's knew about his decision to serve a drink at the host station (and if the alcohol was sake, why wasn't it called a Tokyo Dangerous?). No one mentioned it, but Phillip was about to get changed for front of the house (I think), when he said "I forgot to slice the strawberries" and pulled someone else in to do it (one of the servers??). What the heck was that about? Karen was so far behind, Marjorie went out to instruct the the servers and get them setting tables, and Isaac stepped up helping her finish the trout, yet Phillip gets to pull in a prep chef? My other big laugh last night was the judges' comments on crudo being the new pork belly  . Ahi poke (raw tuna) is a standard on many menus here and I've noticed steak tartare showing up more and more, but haven't seen many crudos yet. |
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Post by jackie on Feb 12, 2016 19:51:42 GMT
He is without a doubt my favorite (which is saying a lot, because I like every single chef that's left), but I agree with this. I think his cooking might not be refined enough. He's just a really, really good solid chef and they're looking for that and a step up. I remember I really wanted Kevin to win his season (the chef that looks like Kris Kringle) and he was the same kind of cook. My dh even went to eat at his restaurant in Atlanta when he travelled for work. He got to meet him and he got me a signed menu from him. I love that Isaac won and I think he completely deserved it. The whole team said how wonderfully he organized the kitchen for lunch service and that they followed his lead for dinner service, which is why everything ran so smoothly for them. In addition, his dishes were good and he served not a bad bit of food in both services. That was something that couldn't be said about any of the other chefs. And while Karen did do a great job as GM for dinner service, all of the groundwork was put in place by Marjorie--Karen just went out at the last minute really. And as someone else mentioned, they did not like her trout dish at all. In fact, for that team, I believe that was the only dish they didn't like during dinner service. I was really worried that Jeremy or Amar was going to go home and I really wanted it to be Phillip--my wish was granted! Phillip only made one dish at dinner and the judges didn't like it at all. They also found so much to dislike about his front of the house. It wasn't even that they just thought he could be a little better--they really disliked many of his choices, from pulling out that stupid cocktail when people first arrived, to showing off his tattoos, to making conversations about him rather than the food. Plus he only made two dishes (salmon at lunch and strawberry salad at dinner) and the judges didn't care for either. One dish, they strongly disliked. Wow, that Marjorie though, she just continues to amaze. I know they didn't like her panna cotta, but she is still so impressive. Have you guys ever seen an episode of restaurant wars where the judges disliked the food as much as they did last night. I've seen episodes where it's kind of "meh", but never such a strong dislike. My gosh, the faces they made when they ate Amar's dish (the vinegary one)! All in all, a great episode--my least favorite went home and my most favorite finally won. He was so excited! Oh, and I don't think there was a problem with Phillip pulling that guy in to slice strawberries. I think I've seen them pull in the wait staff to help in the kitchen before when needed. It's kind of like on Project Runway when the designers ask the models for sewing help. |
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Post by LuvAgoodPaddle on Feb 12, 2016 20:19:30 GMT
I was cracking up at the faces Tom was making last night! I don't think I have ever seen the judges do that after every dish before. Did Tom like any dish from Phillips team? I'm glad man bun is gone. When judges were talking about how he was probably over there talking up his restaurants, spot on! Not a Top Chef, but even I don't make my risotto without chicken broth. I couldn't believe it when he said he used water. Kwame seems to get stuck in his head and if something is wrong, it totally shows in his food. He did NOT want to do Phillips dish and I think he was pissed about it so it showed in his food. Just like the other challenge where he did a dish about time with his Dad. I have no idea what the heck he was thinking with those dinner dishes. Wasn't it his foam that Gail called spittle?  I love Issac too and he 100% deserved to win this one. The other 3 totally ignored every idea he had and just talked over him when they were preparing the menus. He took it in stride, went along and just did his thing. I was so ticked that they were ignoring every idea of his, especially Marjorie since I really like her. |
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,391
Location: Lost in my supplies...
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Post by kelly8875 on Feb 12, 2016 23:13:32 GMT
I was SOOOOOOOO happy with who went home! He deserved it. Bad drink to start, bad 'salad', and not so good service in the front of the house. Basically his whole dinner service was bad. He was full of excuses, and never takes criticism well at all. I like that his team called him out on his strawberry salad and that he wouldn't take their suggestions that it needed something else.
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Post by jenis40 on Feb 12, 2016 23:32:10 GMT
Hallelujah Man Bun is gone! He was such a pretentious prick and just didn't seem to understand direction or critique at all. His amazement at the judges not liking his dishes was hilarious.
Of the chefs left, Isaac and Marjorie make the most dishes I would actually try. Isaac's team was very condescending to him so it was sweet to see him kick ass and get the win. Karen got saved by both Marjorie and Isaac. Marjorie and Isaac also seemed to have the best handle on what the FOH and exec chef roles needed to do. I was unimpressed by both Karen's and Marjorie's outfit choices for FOH.
Amar and Jeremy are both lucky they're not going home because neither was effective as executive chef. Philip just sucked worse as FOH and the judges hated his dish plus cocktail. No Philip, nobody cares about your freakin tattoos.
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Post by pb on Feb 13, 2016 0:18:27 GMT
Have you guys ever seen an episode of restaurant wars where the judges disliked the food as much as they did last night. I've seen episodes where it's kind of "meh", but never such a strong dislike. My gosh, the faces they made when they ate Amar's dish (the vinegary one)! One season the judges didn't like the food or decor so they gave the chefs a do-over. It was interesting to see which chefs and teams took the criticism and what they changed up. |
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huskergal
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by huskergal on Feb 13, 2016 0:56:53 GMT
Thank God Phillip is gone. My favorite was the judges telling him how tacky the cocktail thing was.
I am glad Isaac won. His food was good and he worked his ass off.
Why would Jeremy make risotto if he doesn't know how? Risotto and pork belly are the death knell.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 10:29:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2016 1:00:06 GMT
So glad Man Bun is gone.
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). Sadly, my favorite, Jeremy, really made a huge mistake stopping all other service when the judges arrived. The judges noticed, diners will comment on the wait and there has to be some sort of penalty for not finishing the service. I really think (once again) my favorite might be going to LCK because of restaurant wars.
. 
. Ahi poke (raw tuna) is a standard on many menus here and I've noticed steak tartare showing up more and more, but haven't seen many crudos yet.
