Between the holiday (and the fact I chose to watch the Mexico v. Argentina Copa America match Wednesday night) I’ve lost all track of what week this is, but I think it’s #4.
Was it just me or did they just jumped right into it this week with very little “gee whiz, we’ll all sure miss [last week's loser]” fanfare? Did we all care so little about… um… Micah?
Initially, I was so thrilled to see my all-time favorite hooch — Bombay Sapphire Gin — being spotlighted in the Quickfire Challenge… but then they started saying things like roasted pineapple and vanilla martini and I almost cried. Call me old fashioned, but that just sounds like a goddamned waste of gin. [Okay, I will admit the strawberry balsamic rickey has me intrigued, but someone could offer me a dirt rickey and I'd probably go, "Aw, but it's a rickey; how bad could it be?"]
I have to say, I think I kinda love Dale. I still can’t understand how he hasn’t been kicked out of the gay club for the fauxhawk, the manpris, and/or the Loverboy bandana action — but he endears himself to me by wearing the i [heart] hot moms t-shirt (from Target! I used to have one until the laundry folks melted it) in the narrative shots.
My initial joy at seeing Hung squashed again was immediately dampened by seeing Casey — still my least favorite! — win immunity for the rest of the episode. Damn.
Moving on to the Elimination Challenge: has Brian cooked anything that is NOT seafood at this point? Also, is his last name really Malarkey? As in, I’ll be havin’ none of your malarkey or I’ll hit ye with me shillelagh? Wow. That is some name, guy.
Okay. The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs folk. Seriously, they seem like a bunch of douchebags. Bedazzled douchebags. Also, every woman looked the same: fake blonde, fake tan, and some fakety-fake-ass boobs.
I was fairly thrilled to see Lia win, I have to admit. She’s grown on me, thanks mostly to her “I didn’t know how hard hot dogs and beans would be” crack. I would really like to see her win, honestly.
Now, I should admit, I’m watching this episode — for the first time — as I type, and as the final elimination approached (and I hit pause), I actually don’t really want any of them to go home. I pretty much like everyone on the pineapple team (Dale, Mysterious Ethnicity Sara, and Camille) and I’ve even kind of grown to like Howie and Joey Bagadonuts. Casey, of course, can go screw, but the rest are good.
Okay, I’m un-pausing and moving on.
And…
It’s…
…?
Camille. Huh. [And wow, everyone freakin' loved her, evidently.]
Man, that really seems like an odd choice. I mean, Howie’s food was second-worst, supposedly, and he’s been in the bottom three at least twice now, no? Well, no matter.
Wasn’t Camille some commenter’s favorite? Jay? Are you mourning the loss of your favorite? What about the rest of you?
Well, mourning might be a little strong for my reaction… which I’ll have to share a little later… long story, but I will give you my thoughts in the not too distant future!
OK. So it’s sooner than later. First, thanks Kristen, for recalling that Camille was my week one fav… the main difficulty for my contnued support of Camille is like this: some people “grow on you” and, gthe more you learn about them, the more you come to like them. Some are the exact opposite. Then there is the group into which I would classify Camille – the somewhere-in-between, middle-of-the-road, the less than outstanding but not bad enough to dislike… you get the picture. She didn’t do much (at least to my mind) in the last couple of episodes to distinguish herself, other than earn Tom Colicchio’s utter disdain with her “rubbery” upsaide-down cake. However, I must say she showed class with the manner of her exit.
Now, on the other side of the coin… we have Casey. Is it really possible that one person can just grow more irritating week to week? Seriously. I’m to the point where some of her facial expressions make me think, “What a complete bitch!” Introspective moment: Am I too involved in a reality show? Like, obsessively involved? No! She reminds me of a conglomeration of the most annoying girls I knew in high school and college… I think that’s where my low frustration-threshhold comes from with regards to her. Usually, when someone who hasn’t won anything gets a first place, I’m happy for them, but all I could think of when she won the quickfire was, “Oh shit! We’re stuck with her for ANOTHER epsiode!” Enough about her!
Malarkey. Shillelagh. Oh my God you made me laugh when I read that! And yes, he ONLY cooks seafood. So far.
Dale seems like a great guy; I was happy for Lia, especially in light of her less thean stellar performance in episode #3. Is it just me, or does this group of chefs seem to having AMAZING plating skills? Just a thought!
Finally (once again, I find myself being overly verbose), I have not tried Bombay Sapphire Gin – an oversight which I intend to correct sometime this weekend! – any recommendations for cocktail (other than the classic rickey)?
My husband and were discussing this after I wrote this post. Camille got kicked off for… one bad cake? Hasn’t Howie been in the bottom tier a couple of times?
“She reminds me of a conglomeration of the most annoying girls I knew in high school and college… I think that’s where my low frustration-threshhold comes from with regards to her.”
Ugh. You’re right. She is just like some really horrible mean girl you’ve met before.
I’m not really much of a drinker but I prefer a plain old Bombay Sapphire and tonic myself.
Well, my wife is sort of disenchanted with Season Three altogether, mostly from the standpoint that she can’t muster enough emotion to get behind (or even against) one chef in particular. Having said that… she would agree with you on the whole “one bad cake” thing. I think Howie’s saving grace with the judges was that the reasons for his lower echelon placements have been time related rather than taste. Athough, in this instance they weren’t happy with his dish in general…hmmm. Could it hve somethng to do with the fact that, win or lose, he stands out as a better, or perhaps more talented, chef than Camille?
on Casey: and not just mean, but perky. Now don’t get me wrong… I know (and like some) perky people that aren’t smugly, self-centeredly annoying, but she just seems to roll it all up into one vexatious (God, I love the English language) package.
Not much for mixed drinks myself (good wine with dinner being my preference), but thanks for the recommendation.
Good recommendation on the Bombay Sapphire and tonic!
Yep, Brian’s last name really is Malarkey. Apparently before he went to the San Diego Oceanaire, he was a chef at the Seattle one. One of my good friends is a bartender there, so I guess they knew each other. Apparently Brian is very nice and a lot of fun. But I still can’t believe he hasn’t cooked anything on Top Chef that’s not seafood. This after being chastised by Colicchio on the “Family Favorites” episode.
I know! You would think after, oh, specifically being told “cook something other than fish” he… would.
Of course, they didn’t say anything about it, so maybe they just figured the food was good, and it was a team episode, so why not let him get away with it. So far, that’s the only explanation I can come up with.
Well, I went to high school with Camille and let me say she was very well liked. A nice neutral girl who always had a smile on her face. I am glad to see she is doing well and hasn’t aged a second ! She may not have won Top Chef, but she will be just fine.