Thursday, October 15, 2009
Restaurants 'Top Chef' Las Vegas, Episode Eight: The other white meat
Posted by Emily Hansen on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Three cheers for the other white meat!
Kevin's love of pork took center stage last night (narrowly beating out Padma's knee-high white boots) as the remaining cheftestants paired pig with pinot noir for guest judge Charlie Palmer. In fact, Kevin's downright jolly reaction to the challenge (“I have a pig tattooed on me, that's how close this is to my heart”) and his subsequent win was more exciting than the dish he won it with, a pleasantly uncomplicated pork leg pate with pork fat mayo and a hint of chestnut. Even if Kevin doesn't pull off a “Top Chef” win, after braised pork barbecue and bacon jam and all kinds of pork fat, he's certainly the king of pig.
Atlanta's moodier cheftestant Eli may not have done as well with the pork (his braised pork belly clashed with his pinot), but his refreshing potato clam salad paired with *insert Alexia plug here* earned him his first individual win during last night's quickfire challenge and proved that his food can live up to his attitude.
As for his showdown with “big R, little obin,” Eli proved something else entirely: his immaturity matches his living situation (“I know it's kind of hokey, but I actually live with my parents”). While it's obvious that none of the remaining cheftestants want Robin around — even Laurine, whose airtime is limited to judges table, seems annoyed with her — Eli is the only one who's actually yelled at her. In calling her a “martyr,” he winds up looking like he's still bitter about her previous quickfire win. Robin herself, however, also manages to look pretty immature, insulting Eli's mother (“If I were your mom I would have raised you better”) instead of disengaging from his outburst.
The truth is Robin is downright irritating and should've already packed her knives, but I don't think that excuses Eli. Hell, even wordy Michael Isabella kept his mouth shut when he had to cook with her.
The real drama of last night's episode didn't involve Robin at all. Instead, it was the budding tension between the Voltaggio brothers that caught my attention. Although nothing came to head this episode (other than the spat by the appropriately placed Gladware wrap), the differences between Michael and Bryan become more pronounced each episode, and next week's preview promises the kind of brother-brother conflict that's been brewing all season. Which Voltaggio will come up on top? I'm thinking, or at least hoping, it will Bryan.
I don't have much to say about Ash's departure, other that he had it coming. He was indeed outcooked.
Now, bring on the restaurant wars! That's the kind of drama we need, the kind that's about the food.
(Photo courtesy Bravo)
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