Damn I was confused by how it started! I thought I missed the whole thing!
It was cool that they got to take over a restaurant! More realistic than just making one great meal! Nick has an advantage, he killed it in restaurant wars- he could bring it again!
Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny that the prize is only $125K- it really isn't that much money and they really work their asses off and could start a killer restaurant with more capital!
So they each got to pick 3 chefs to help them!
Nick picked Jason, Louis and Brian
Nina picked Shirley, Stephanie and Travis
They both picked a weak chef, Jason and Travis- but at this point, it's important to have people you trust as much as you need good chefs.
Nina is taking a risk adding 2 courses! Hopefully it works in her favor!!! And Nick is redoing his panna cotta that would have sent him home the first time around! It is a sink or swim dish!
It was really nice they got to have dinner with their families!
Gail had another lady lump! She is preggggggo and had the girls out tonight!!!!!
I just have to say- of COURSE Nick's first dish has something poured on it! grrr
I can't believe Nick's service was that BAD! Damn! I think I gave him way too much credit!
During judging- the chefs picked who won each course-
First course Nina
Tuna and Escolar Tartar With Tomato Water and Jalapeno
First course Nina
Tuna and Escolar Tartar With Tomato Water and Jalapeno
Second course Nina
Baby Goat with Pasta and Whipped Goat's Cheese (actual course wasn't listed online)
Third course Nick
Kombu Cured Duck Breast With Kabocha Squash, Hijiki, and Ginger
Forth course Nick
Caramelized White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Almond Cocoa Crumble and Tropical Fruit
Padma said this was the closest finale ever! I am not sure I would agree based on what they said. I mean, Nina's swordfish wasn't great and her dessert was a whisper instead of a bang, but still good. She killed her first and second courses and also added a fantastic bread course and a frozen dragon fruit bite before dessert. Nick's first course was under-seasoned, his duck was not consistently or well cooked and everyone was split on his (Jason's) Scallop Noodles. His pana cotta was better, but still no one liked the consistency, they liked all the fruit, he made a fruit cup! If I were the judge, Nina won.
And the winner is...
Nick. Wtf
Nick. Wtf
First the Broncos lose, then Nina. No more words, just disappointment. Ugh.
Oh and le'Chefre finally gets a win!
Oh and le'Chefre finally gets a win!
At judges table it seemed like Tom and Gail (who ate together) were pulling hard for Nick. Padma, Emeril, and Hugh (who also ate together, right?) seemed to side with Nina. I think Tom and Gail have more influence overall, especially compared to Emeril and Hugh. I'm not really sure of Padma's voting role. I know she's the host but does her opinion about the food count as much as Tom's?
ReplyDeleteI think Nina was a stronger chef throughout the season but I think Nick put together a stronger finale dinner. I would have picked his menu to try based upon food served (not waitstaff or his personality!).
I was disappointed Nina didn't go for a stronger dessert. Donut balls with a dipping sauce is more like something I would attempt and not really appropriate for the Top Chef finale. I realize her first choice of ice cream was shut down which was a shame.
I really wanted Nina to pick a different entree (not swordfish) and go hardcore Italian. She had showcased island flavors with the goat dish and really crushed it. I think if she then went with something classically Italian instead of a strange meld of the two cuisines we might have had a different champ.
It was super annoying that Nick's first two courses were poured table side but I wanted to try his crudo - it looked delicious and eating at Nick's restaurant you'd obviously want to request some salt to the table.
Nina's crudo looked awesome too. I really liked the idea of using a granita of tomato water on top (ice shavings, basically).
Gail's dress looked alright when she was sitting down but it was not a great look when she was standing. It looked like Kermit had eaten Miss Piggy.
It feels great to get a win for Le Chefre! I wish Nina had won it all for a little extra icing on our victory cake.
Pretty shocking that 51st State picks the winning chef but only has half the points of 2nd place Pickely. This was kind of a weird season in that way.
I really need to make doughnuts.
I wonder if Top Chef: Just Desserts will ever have another season?
Anyone know what is replacing Top Chef in the Wednesday time slot?
Will 51st State ever post a comment on this blog?
I put up a big post on the last blog entry before the finale. So there. Go read it.
ReplyDeleteWe watched and were disappointed with this finale overall. I am glad they didn't do the "live" cooking thing like they did last time, but the food this time around didn't look that amazing.
Nina choose that weird mix of Islands and Italian. I don't think it worked very well.
Nick's dishes sounded better on paper, but I'm not sure which I would have liked better if I had tried them both.
It was close for the judges because I don't think both meals were all that good overall and there were some serious problems with consistency on both sides.
I think, in the end, Tom put his foot down as "Head Judge" and broke the tie. He ate better food at Nick's restaurant. We watched a little bit of the show after top chef where they had both Nina and Nick present, and Tom called in. Tom said that Nick cooked slightly better food that night which is why he won. Tom also said he had a hard time with that decision, because Nina cooked way better food the rest of the season. Nina did end up winning Viewers Choice chef or whatever (which I'm surprised Shirley didn't win).
I'm guessing Nina will be significantly more successful than Nick after this experience. Nick's attitude showed during his time and I don't think many people will seek out his food. He also mentioned that he currently has a 2 person capacity restaurant in Philly! How the hell is that going to be profitable?!?
Final note: If we were just picking the winners to win the pool, you all would be staring at goose eggs. Too bad we have picked too many negative point chefs for the rest of our team to all but crush our positive points. We'll fix that for next season, so watch out!
Welly welly welcome back Douglitfro.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the food at this season's finale was not as amazing as I was hoping. Thank god there wasn't a live finale.
Do you get anything for winning viewer's choice? I am pretty surprised that award didn't go to Shirley.
I liked your post from last week. Like you said, tough to root for most of the 51st ponies. Luckily, all except Nick were out about two months ago. ;)
Nina won another $10Gs for viewer's choice. Not too shabby.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I must have heard Nick wrong when he was talking about his restaurant in Philly. It's called Laurel (http://www.restaurantlaurel.com/) and while it does seem small, it definitely sits more than 2 people. He must have said it has a [something]-two person dining room. Like twenty-two or thirty-two. I think I only heard the second half of the number. Sorry to lead anyone astray.
Nothing to say that hasn't been said. Best comment goes to Ben's observation of Gail's dress. Le Chefre!
ReplyDeleteAs soon as the families came out the night before the finale I knew Nick would be a force. Maybe not a great attitude but his love for his family is so apparent it makes me like him better. I bet when he's not isolated from them his personality doesn't actually suck.
ReplyDeleteAgreed about the $125k not being huge. Survivor still awards a MILLION dollars & have done so for like 15 years. No one else comes close.