*anyone else notice the resemblance?... just me then?... okayI'm going to need a moment to digest this TC feast.
Richard* came in third, no doubt in my mind. There's your f'n bronze medal Mr. Banana Scallop Redux. (btw - my father's fav 'asian' place has served them like that for years)
*He knowingly served scaly mush fish - he's dead to me.
But when Stephanie faltered a bit too, I was sitting there thinking 'Gee, I was only kidding when I posted those pro-Lisa stats'... all the while realizing that Lisa might take the title with her 'slammin'(©Padma) soup and dessert.
In the end, I wanted to hear more from Eric Ripert, et al, and their votes. With our regular judges being the only ones whose votes counted, why not a -blind- tasting since those four already had preconceived ideas about the final three?
All along Lisa has reminded me of a braggy jr-high kid: full of bravado, talking before thinking, and utterly lacking in self-awareness. Not anyone's favorite combo in an adult. So this will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe that the judges took until 6 a.m. because Lisa was ahead, and only Steph's previous EC wins finally tipped the balance in her favor.
What's your opinion: Think its true that only Lisa's previous bad behaviour kept her from taking the top toque? (And will we ever find out?)
And, considering how many viewers were supporting Stephanie already,.. were you surprised at the outcome?
Not surprised, but definitely relieved!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think the judges spent most of their deliberation time trying to craft an argument that would make it look legit for Steph to win over Lisa. Not that I doubt Steph's food, but I think you're right - it was a dead heat.
And even if they cheated according to their own, made-up rules, I am fiiiine with that.
I was surprised that Rich landed in third place, but not at all surprised or disappointed in Stephanie's performance. Yep, this is very cool.
ReplyDeleteI was scared to death that Lisa was going to win. I think it took the judges all night because the powers that be from Bravo were fighting a Lisa win!
ReplyDeleteBut this episode was boring, so I decided to make stuff up for my recap:
CLICK HERE for DavidDust's Top Chef Chicago recap.
And look for my Project Runway recaps next month!
I secretly think Richard threw the race to validate the countless "first female Top Chef" mentions all season.
ReplyDeleteOoh, nice theory Maggie.
ReplyDeleteHe figured, 'I got a car, now I can go let a babe win'... nice
I think they had to consider that Stephanie had 4 Elim Challenge wins and Lisa only had one, otherwise "Top Chef" is a misnomer. If Lisa had won, it would be "Last Chef Standing."
ReplyDeleteExcellent point about - 'Top Chef' vs 'Last Chef Standing'. Its true, we'd all much rather have the overall best chef win TC.
ReplyDeleteBut I can see why Bravo continues their charade of 'only tonight's food matters' because otherwise the season would be boring because we'd know Steph had it in the bag after her third EC win.