Top Chef Rehash: The Break-Up
I feel like Bravo dumped me this week.
My usual TC routine is to go down to my friend Sarah’s apartment, watch the show once, and then go back up to my apartment to watch the rerun, to gather my thoughts and make sure I didn’t miss any of the good details. I couldn’t do that this week. After I heard those piercing words, “Andrew, please pack your knives,” I was heartbroken.
I held off on watching the rerun. Instead, I ran to my ex, Vh1. I found cheap solace in the arms of a has-been looking for “love.”
Sure, Andrew was unbelievably arrogant when it came to a discussion of nutrition against the judges, but nutrition is clearly his passion. Maybe he didn’t cook for his audience (sushi for cops, come on!), and there is a chance that he didn’t even really follow the requirements of the challenge, but getting rid of Andrew was a huge mistake. He is not only a very “colorful” character; he has shown consistency in his work. He was fun to watch and I always thought his dishes were interesting and well thought out.
I am moving past my pain, though. Even though I woke up this morning feeling as if a part of my heart was ripped from my chest, I am moving on. I am no longer hurt. I am angry — at Spike (and Lisa, too — I really don’t like her either)! If you ask me, Spike and Lisa took Andrew away from me, not the judges. Spike focused his dish and Quickfire advantage on how to screw his competitors rather than on how to please the judges. That should have earned him a one-way ticket home. Being an evil and a lousy competitor doesn’t make Spike a Top Chef — it makes him a jerk.
Furthermore, if he took bread, chicken, tomatoes, and lettuce, he should have made a damn chicken salad sandwich! Instead he presented the option of a sandwich. That sort of attitude is what sent Brian Malarky packing in Season 2.
And Lisa! Watch your rice in the first place! If she had been giving her rice the proper care it deserves (and rice needs love), she would have noticed that the burner was turned to high. But no, she didn’t watch her rice, and instead of being graceful about her faults, she turned on Andrew. Cheap, I say!
But alas, I have been forced to move onto a new love. With Andrew gone, I will focus my efforts on Team Antonia. I like her, and with the addition of a perfectly poached egg to a salad, she found a special place in my heart (coincidentally I had eaten a very similar salad for dinner that night — I think it was fate for us.)
As we are progressing with the second half of the season, I have a feeling that Spike and Lisa won’t be with us much longer (which makes me happier than you can possibly imagine). What are your thoughts?
Also, Spike is apparently opening up the first of a chain of restaurants called Good Stuff Eatery in DC, in Capitol Hill. Does anyone know anything about this? Let me know.
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By Melissa Alfano
Melissa Alfano is a Washington, D.C.-based business consultant and self-proclaimed foodie. A native of Northern Virginia, she attended James Madison University in the Shenandoah Valley and, after four years of studying economics and finding any excuse possible to write research papers on food, managed to find her way back to Arlington. Melissa enjoys anything that can be quickly, nutritiously, and deliciously created so she can get back to watching the Food Network.
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Jackson
May 17 7:24 a.m. 1I agree -- I was totally bummed to see them send Andrew, especially compared to the other two huge jerks they could have sent home.
But I do think that they had become the bottom three in the competition. Spike is a poor sport, a huge tool, and doesn't do good work, and Lisa (despite Antonia's lofty words for her this week) often underperforms and is simply the type of bitter, negative person I don't like around. They can both go home and I won't miss them.
Andrew had made his share of mistakes recently. His contribution to the wedding was the weakest, and several of his teammates privately (to their credit) commented on the immaturity of his menu selection. That bit him this week too. When it's sushi for cops, you broke a rule (inadvertently), and it doesn't taste good (that's the big kick in the groin), you probably don't have too much left to stand on.
Too bad, for sure, since I liked watching the coke-head do his thing.
Jackson
May 17 7:29 a.m. 2Oh, and on the Good Stuff Eatery, the Wash Biz Journal reports that the one on 3rd and Penn SE will be the first of several in the area. Spike's parents are funding the venture and playing the role of CEO and COO. That, to me, answers a lot of questions about spike.
Mel
May 21 10:11 p.m. 3A- thanks for the tip B- Your point on the coke head thing. I completely agree. He was just far more interesting than the other chefs (especially Lisa).