AI: I'm not sad that Brooke is gone because I was really getting tired of her, but I can't believe Jason is still around. His performances are just so below the level of the others. You know, it seemed like this was such a great group, and they can sing, I just don't see any of them in the top spot.

TC: I'm sort of glad Mark went home. I liked him, but he's certainly not as consistent as most of the remaining chefs.

I have to say that I thought that the judges were off in thinking that kids won't eat curry. I bet in New Zealand and in the UK they do. (And surely they do in India PADMA.)

Yeah, they are generally all about "not dumbing it down". And the Panang curry I made last night was certainly not spicier than pasta puttanesca.

I don't think this was a lame challenge (aside from the $10 at Whole Foods aspect) because it also tested basic things like seasoning and cooking things properly. You can't end up in the top three with roast chicken and vegetables unless they are perfectly done.

You can't end up in the top three with roast chicken and vegetables unless they are perfectly done.

There is that. The two sides of resturaunt cooking (IMO) are (1) something you could never make at home, at least not without making a serious effort and have learned some skills specific to the dish, and (2) make something anyone could potentially make, but it make it better than the above-average person could (sub-categories to (2) would be top-shelf ingredients vs. mad cooking/seasoning skills).

Roast chicken is a primo example of the 2nd. It can be boring and meh if not done with some flair, but when it's done REALLY well, it can be sublime (I'm thinking of a roast chicken with garlic and lemon that's a signature dish for one of the tonier resturaunts in Boston that I tried once, and keep meaning to get back to have again).

I'm thinking stuff like Zoe whining about how Richard's dish must have tasted awful. "If that's what they want, then ..." And even guy-whose-name-I-can't-remember complaining about making tacos fine dining.

Oh, yeah, Erik. That really turned me against him. I was really thinking of the ones who were still left.

Top Chef:

I think the idea of things like pasta puttanesca was a good one where it's recognized as one thing by the judges and another by the kids (thank god, we got spaghetti!) but is palatable to both.

The product placement has gone completely nuts. But I must say, that product placement on Top Chef is the one place where it's successful for me. You see the products getting used, and whether or not they're good. (Successful in the sense that I buy the damned things, I mean, not successful in that they don't completely damage the show.) I bought that Bertolli pasta fake cooking frozen stuff, and it was great! I doubt there's any power in the 'verse gonna get me to buy Uncle Ben's, though.

At first I was thinking, it's the Can You Cook Rice Challenge! But no. They just stuck the bag in the microwave.

Anyway, sorry, Markwise!

Oh, and I'm so ready for a fucking stay in the kitchen and cook gourmet food challenge.

Any day now I expect, "Your creation will be featured at the snack counter at 7-11s all around the country!"

Oh, and I'm so ready for a fucking stay in the kitchen and cook gourmet food challenge.

Bears repeating. Looks like they are doing a catering job next week again, though. Meh.

I bet in New Zealand and in the UK they do. (And surely they do in India PADMA.)

Yes! This!

I mean, if it wasn't a good curry, then say so - don't give us wishy-washy "kids don't like curry" bullshit. I mean, I'm sure kids don't like badly prepared curry any more than adults do.

You can't end up in the top three with roast chicken and vegetables unless they are perfectly done.

Then test that - like last season where they were given a chicken and an onion and told to make a gourmet meal. THAT was a challenge that tested basic cooking skills and was relevant to the overall goal of the show. This struck me as not much more than gimmicky product placement.

(And sorry if I'm coming off really punchy right now - work is driving me completely bugfuck so I'm probably venting more than I ought to be.)

You know, it seemed like this was such a great group, and they can sing,

I never got that, though I've heard it said a lot here and elsewhere. I didn't see much star potential there from the get go, really. Which to me explains why D. Cook keeps staying on top, and why nobody can let go of D'Archie. They're as close as it gets this season.

I never got that, though I've heard it said a lot here and elsewhere. I didn't see much star potential there from the get go, really.

That's what I mean. As opposed to other seasons, where there were plenty of people who I thought weren't even good singers. This seasons, I think people like Syesha and Archie can sing, I just have no interest in their performances.

This seasons, I think people like Syesha and Archie can sing, I just have no interest in their performances

Megan is me. I tune most of their performances out. If I can, then they aren't doing something right. ND performed a song I'd never heard before and his voice is starting to go, but I listened to and watched the whole thing. He's a performer.