This was a bad season

I can't argue with that.

I don't doubt that Tiffany's dish was the worst of the bunch that night - she knew it wasn't the dish she'd originally planned, and last-minute fixes are risky at this late stage in the game. BUT STILL.

Rotten luck for her to have a bad night when everyone else had a good one.

Sucks about Tiffany but you could see it was going that way.

Bourdain was thinking what I've been thinking - what the fuck crawled up Ripert's ass? The past couple of weeks it's been all "it's too complicated, too messy, too hard to eat." All pissy and negative and almost none of it about the food.

I would definitely pull for Angelo ahead of Kevin at this point. But did anyone catch last week that he's only met the fiance twice? Total mail-order.

Angelo strikes me as super slimy. ::shudders::

I am so bummed about Tiffany. And I guess rooting for Ed now, although I can't say I think he actually deserves the title. It's just insane to think about the level of talent last season compared to this one.

It was amusing that Bourdain seemed generally impressed with at least something about every dish. No room for snark!

S. and I were trying to remember what he called Mikey that season. The bastard love child of Betty Crocker and ... ?

Bourdain was thinking what I've been thinking - what the fuck crawled up Ripert's ass?

There's that, and I also think because they're pals he loves giving Ripert shit on camera when he can.

I loved the Ripper/Bourdain back and forth. The crits are always better when Bourdain is part of them. So much more amusing.

Yes, sometime in the midst of it all I started worrying about Tiffany. Well, she was the only one that had a major thing go wrong with her dish. I suppose the fact that she couldn't adapt to it well enough is a strike against her. (But she did have Ripert say that she cooked the fish well - she can definitely be proud of that. I'm not misremembering that, am I?)

Re: Angelo - long distance Russian fiancee! That's why the divorce info struck me funny - I just couldn't remember the fiancee thing. He is an odd duck and a douchnozzle but he can cook.

Kevin should have tried braising pork for his elimination dish - Bourdain would have loved him then.

But she did have Ripert say that she cooked the fish well

Yes, and Bourdain loved her sauce.

But did anyone catch last week that he's only met the fiance twice? Total mail-order.

He does live in NY. They could have met if she was there on vacation, or maybe they were both on a trip.

In any case, at this point, I'm rooting for Ed.

Oh, and I can I say, it's Top Chef, not Top Pea? I have never seen so many pea purees!