No Robo Coupes!

Hello, again! I hope you all had a wonderful week anticipating last night's episode, which was pretty fun in my opinion. Any episode where I laugh out loud is a good one. First, the chefs had to create -- dare we say it -- a dessert! Like Padma said, desserts have been a nightmare for many a Top Chef contestant. We asked this week's guest judge about this. You can check it out that conversation in the Guest Judges' Blog.

OK -- can we just talk about Chef Johnny Iuzzini for just a sec? I've been called boy crazy in my day, but that guy is hot. There I said it. When I saw the previews for this week's episode, I was like "Um, who's that?" And I may be hearing things, but he has an adorable speech impediment to boot! (I have bizarre taste, I know.) Anyway, in Harold's Blog, he mentions that he has gone for cocktails with Johnny a few times, and if I could get invited to that, well, I would. I'm done now.

So, some of the chefs had dessert recipes prepared and some didn't, and I thought they should be disqualified just for that. Helllooo! This is Top Chef! If you don't know by now that you need at least one dessert recipe with you, you're, well, an idiot. Anyway, Richard actually didn't have one and won. So, what do I know? Definitely not more than Chef Iuzzini -- that's for sure.

The chefs then get to get all gussied up and head to The Second City. I was praying the girls wouldn't hussy it up too much (Yes -- that's a technical expression.) Remember what happened last year with the low-cut shirts? They didn't. Yay. So they all headed to the iconic Chicago destination, and would you believe it? Their night was cut short with a challenge. Shocker! The expressions on the chefs' faces when they realized what was happening was pretty priceless.They break up into pairs and get started on their what can only be called acid trip-inspirations. My favorite team? Andrew and Spike. They're pretty much insane, but Andrew has so much passion for cooking and food it's endearing. Although, putting the vanilla beans in your armpits? Even my blind-love couldn't explain that one away.

Then, another twist -- no Robo Coupes! No Robo Coupes! No Robo Coupes! This is, apparently, a big deal. For those of you, like me, who were all "What the chef is a Robo Coupe?" Well, here ya go: http://www.robotcoupeusa.com/. But the chefs rose to the challenge and roughed it.

Onto the meal. "Soup's Down. Thumbs Up!" Yay, indeed. Meanwhile, a commenter brought up the point that Padma used to say "Utensils down, hands up" (which has been rectified.) But seriously how funny would that be -- if say, Amelia Bedelia was one of the cheftestants? Utensils everywhere!

The Second City players were a welcome addition to the table -- I particularly loved Rob Janas, who we had the pleasure of getting a blog from this week. It's hilarious as you would expect. He admits to having a man-crush on Tom Colicchio, which we just call a crush around here.OK -- so, I pride myself on guessing the judges' comments. Who else KNEW the judges were going to bust Stephanie and Jennifer on the bread? It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. I just knew that bread would send one of them home. They hate giant croutons! Hate!

Andrew and Spike wow with their soup. Frankly, I'm sure Spike was just happy he got to make his damn soup. But, Dale and Richard win the day with tofu (I think them both winning was a Top Chef first -- obviously correct me if my senility has gotten the best of me.) Tom was adorable when he said he'd be bummed if he got that ingredient. And how cute was Andrew at the Judges' Table?

Nikki and Mark did well, but didn't seem to stand out. Although their dish did yield the funniest line of the night: "Maybe they could've made the sauce wit their tears." But, you know, from reading all your comments, since you're all such sticklers about sanitation (as well you should be), that probably wouldn't have gone over too well.

Now, about Antonia and Lisa. Come on ladies! Polish sausage is AWESOME. I think a lot of people would have liked to see a really good polish sausage dish and therefore a good recipe in our Recipe Finder. Did anyone else catch Tom basically give the dish the finger? He just licked the plate with his middle finger, but still.

Next week's episode looks Kleenex-worthy. Because I believe that children are our future.Onto some of your comments: "marybeth "wrote:
who's in charge of the "foodie poll?" I have yet to see dale wear a hat....

Ugh -- that's me. It's been fixed. I mix up Dale and Spike once a week and I have no idea why. Anyone have any ideas?

(Everyone in unison: "You're an idiot!")

And, I guess I can't ignore the comments about Andrea Strong's Blog. I'm not going to sit here defending it because, well, you won't listen, nor should you. All I can say is that it's a damn good blog about the show and the NYC restaurant scene. And makes me hungry every time I read it. I was actually really confused last year as to the strong viewer reaction against her. I will say that she is absurdly nice, like, seriously. I'm shocked when I meet genuinely nice people (I have a heart of coal -- what can I say?), and she's one of them. Alright, that's my piece. \

And for all you Bourdain fans, please vote for his blog HERE. You can earn him a Webby!

That's all for now -- keep the comments coming.

"superfan"