1. I didn't think I'd last the hour of Kid Nation but I kind of switched between that and Good Eats and wound up sticking with it. I was very glad that the tiny 8 year old decided to go home. I cannot believe that any sane parent let a child that young try this. He was a
baby! Also - when the kids were all sad and homesick: it made me sad. But then they started doing the kid thing and thinking up kid ideas and that was kind of fun.
2. So relieved that Dale is going on. I mean, it would have been cool to have two women cheftestants in at the end but DALE. Plus, raw chicken is nobody's friend.
And I second the enthusiasm for Eric Ripert. What a good sport to come back after last year's fiasco. I only hope that no one feeds him chocolate covered liver this year.
I sort of think Casey got the shaft tonight, even though her pronunciation of coq au vin was killing me. And I think Bourdain senses other people will think so too by his repeated defense of the judges.
Viewers were saved from having to discuss, debate or even think about the answer to that question. Just ask Sirio. Because he, better than any person alive, was qualified to tell you.
Except didn't he say when he tasted Casey's that it was the best so far? And Hung wins because he's the one Soltner would
hire
? Color me shocked that an old-school French chef would hire the man over the woman.
Color me shocked that an old-school French chef would hire the man over the woman.
Not to mention the only classically trained chef remaining. yeah.
Re: Kid Nation. I liked this show a lot more than I thought I would. Jimmy, the 8 year old who should have been allowed to leave 3 days before, was really kind of pitiful. It was clear to me he absolutely wanted to go home and nothing was going to change his mind. The 10-year-old beauty queen cracks my shit up. I hope her parents reflect on the kinds of things they've been teaching her so she isn't again caught saying "I'm not going to dishes because beauty queens don't do dishes."
Kid Nation. I liked this show a lot more than I thought I would.
Me too! I mean, there's a large part of me still going "Ack! Ack! Babies! Alone in the desert! Not cool!" but the whole Survivor with preteens thing is embarrassingly compelling to watch.
I wonder how many of the kids actually buy the "abandoned mining town" backstory and how many are aware that they're on a movie set playing Color War.
One question I have about the gold stars -- does being "worth their weight in gold" (because...they're made of gold...) mean that the kids have to exchange them for cash if they want to actually have $20k at the end of the show? 'Cause it would kind of suck if they had to choose between winning the money and keeping the trophy. If I were ten years old, I'd want the star. A ten-year-old's parent, on the other hand...
Except didn't he say when he tasted Casey's that it was the best so far? And Hung wins because he's the one Soltner would hire ? Color me shocked that an old-school French chef would hire the man over the woman.
God that was infuriating. I could just see her dying a little inside when he said something like "Since I'm a man I want to pick Casey because he is so attractive." fucker. (Even though it did sound like Hung did a great job with the dish at least.)
At least it was obvious what was going on -- in both cases, they both cooked really well, but the old-school chef peferred the male, classically-trained, male, chef.
If it comes down to Casey v. Hung in the final, what a great match-up. Mr. Training and Technique v. Ms. Worked Her Way Up.
If it comes down to Casey v. Hung in the final, what a great match-up. Mr. Training and Technique v. Ms. Worked Her Way Up.
They are totally my vote for the finale now.
While Hung may have technique, he does best when he doesn't have to create the menu. Give him a fairly fixed set of ingredients and he does well. Give him a wide choice and he makes odd choices. I think Casey has the edge on him regarding creativity and choice.
Top Chef: It was a really great set of challenges and a really great set of judges. Definitely there was some old-schoolin' going on there. But it looked like both Hung and Casey just had an on day.
Brian's mess cracked me up. At least it tasted good. I told the SO, this is why cooking shows don't work on television. All I can go on is what it looks like, not what it smells or tastes like.
Dale is such a space case. He'd be much farther along in this competition if he didn't keep forgetting things. Like, how to count, and to include the damn second sauce in your duo. Glad he's still around though, just for the snark and the viewer pov.
It probably was Sara's time to go. There is no excuse for undercooked chicken. In a restaurant, you could get sued! Top Chef should be able to outcook the gas station Burger King in Holbrook, Arizona (which served me raw chicken). I'm just saying.
I'm glad Casey is doing so well, and that she acknowledges the difficulty for a woman in the field. I hope she knows she's fighting that and not just her food. She's clearly an excellent chef.
Further, knife skills can be improved, and that's the only thing anyone's seriously dinged her on to this point.
