The Humble Gourmand

Welcome to sunny Puerto Rico everyone! I thought this episode would be difficult to watch considering that the no-rice-cooking-wonder known as Lisa had made it this far, but watching Richard and Stephanie aptly perform made me forget her — until they brought out the pigs.

I’ll admit, after a long day at work, I really got a cheap laugh out of watching Lisa attempt to butcher a pig. I felt sort of bad about it, but then I realized that she was an Asian chef and proceeded to laugh harder. Nutritional anthropology factoid here: pigs originated in Asia. Pork is widely used in certain Asian cuisines. With her being on the bottom (again), this week as pretty solid solidified my notion that Lisa is not actually an Asian chef. I am not sure what she cooks, but it sure as heck is not Asian food.

Rather than concentrate on the losing dish this week, I will only make my remarks by asking this: are there such things as “al dente” beans? I think there could be, but the judges had a different idea.

I do want to give credit to Richard this week. I’ve always thought he was a bit of a tool, but a damn good chef and an even better idea guy. I smiled a little bit when I heard him say to Spike, “Head to toe.” Being Top Chef is all about being able to have an idea of what is going on, and follow through with that idea. That is what Richard did. I also appreciated how he added sweetness to his pork. I love the idea of adding fruit salsa to a meat dish, but this really can only be done with pork. It just doesn’t taste that right with chicken or beef.

I also want to give a shout-out to Richard on two accounts: 1) He just had a baby (aww), and 2) His last floating head interview of the entire episode said this: “Congratulations, you’ve won a f*ing bronze medal.” It takes a true badass to make fun of the ever-so-important (in her own mind) Lisa.

1. Jackson

   June 6 2:39 p.m. 1

   I like Richard more and more as the season goes on... and now that Antonia is out, it's hard for me to decide whether I like Stephanie or Richard more. They both have great work ethics, put out good dishes on a regular basis, and seem like decent people.

   Did you notice the results of the quickpoll done by Bravo? They asked who should get booted, and 91% said Lisa. 'Nuff said. Nonetheless, the fact that she keeps sticking around scares me. One slip by the other two, and an overachieving day by Lisa could equal a huge upset.

   I wish Antonia had said she likes her beans "firmer" or some term a little more generic than "al dente." I'm sure it was a moment of pressure and she didn't find the right word, but it sure seemed to be a nail in the coffin.

2. escott

   June 9 11:27 a.m. 2

   I would also like to add another topic for discussion - Lisa's hair?!?!?!?! not quite food-focused, but heck she had enough gel in there i was worried it might start dripping into her dish - definitely a food safety issue.

3. Jackson

   June 10 7:51 a.m. 3

   @escott: not to mention unflattering, though I'm not sure whether or not she was going for that in the end :P

4. Mel

   June 10 2:24 p.m. 4

   I love how the Lisa bashing has gone from her less than stellar food to her awful hair don't. Top Chef really appeals to all. eScott, you're totally right- the gel was a bit much, but she had to do something to keep that monstrosity from eating her head.

   Jackson- you really hit the nail on the head with the comment on Antonia. I think I remember reading in one of the Official TC blogs that if she had said "firmer" and not al dente, she would have been in better shape.