Gunn: You saying popping mama threw you a beating? Lorne: Kid Vicious did the heavy lifting. Cordy just mwah-ha-ha'd at us.

'Underneath'


Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]


sumi - Jan 27, 2009 7:28:01 am PST #7800 of 23273
Art Crawl!!!

More of Lee Anne's blog:

Each team was given sixty diners in parties of twos, threes, and fours the day they planned their menu. Each team was also given a reservation book and were responsible for booking and spacing out their dinner service, which was to be five hours long. Sunset Lounge wisely placed most of their reservations early, knowing that while dinner service may get backed up, at least their guests would be in the capable hands of Fabio and everyone would get fed. Radhika's team somehow booked several 11 p.m. tables for themselves, including a deuce for my best friend and her coworker. (You may see my Erin in the short purple dress caressing a cocktail while asking Radhika when their table would be ready). They were not sat until 11:40 p.m. because Team Sahana was so backed up in the kitchen and dining room because they couldn't turn tables, surely due to lack of communication between Radhika and the rest of her team. Not only did she seat my friends late, she very rudely told them they only had twenty minutes to eat and then had the nerve to complain to them about how hard it is being on the show. You can imagine my expression when my friends told me this afterwards (and we filmed on a weeknight, so I thanked them for being good sports about not getting out of there until after midnight). So from my perspective, Radhika automatically should've gone home because her behavior is the antithesis of what RW is all about. Even at Judges' Table she couldn't accept responsibility for her team or any of it's downfalls because I truly believe she had no idea what was going on. On a personal note, she's a sweet talented girl, maybe not cut out for high stakes competition but a young chef on the rise for sure. Best of luck to her.


sumi - Jan 27, 2009 7:30:06 am PST #7801 of 23273
Art Crawl!!!

What Lee Anne said about the food at Sahana:

The carrot soup was good, if not basic. The chickpea cake with (*gasp!*) scallop was actually quite delicious and original; the soft/crunchy texture of the cake mixed well with the sweet tenderness of the scallop and overall was a very successful dish.

The snapper was really light and underseasoned, but maybe because of the swamp of tomato water it was sitting in. The lamb shank was practically perfect, I can imagine, as the cold food porn version I got to try was also amazing, even though it had been sitting for an hour.

Carla's desserts were poorly conceived and there are plenty of other options if the freezer isn't working (which it was, but they kept going in and out of it every five minutes, which is why it didn't work). She also could've spread her sorbet into a shallow layer in a hotel pan which would've assisted in it setting up faster. I wasn't sure why they would separate the components of the baklava dish, rather than make a composed dish which would've looked and probably tasted better. The spiced cake was just dry and could've been helped with some crème anglaise, whipped cream, or lots of sauce.


megan walker - Jan 27, 2009 7:33:13 am PST #7802 of 23273
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

That makes me feel better because, from the editing, it seemed like Sahana's food (except for desserts) blew Sunset Lounge out of the water.


sumi - Jan 27, 2009 7:34:59 am PST #7803 of 23273
Art Crawl!!!

What Lee Anne said about Sunset Lounge:

"Sunset Lounge" was Stefan's idea, go figure. They are very lucky that The Italian Stallion volunteered for front of the house; charming, dapper, and understanding of what sort of energy they would need for the customers in order to win.

The egg roll tasted like takeout, while the "Two Way Sashimi" was another example of terrible conception; I think "two ways" implies two different preparations, not a slice of tuna and a slice of salmon both with a slice of radish, jalapeno, and cilantro leaf, with the same soy vinaigrette. Beyond that, just boring, amateur, and underseasoned. The soup was thin in texture and the color of baby vomit.

Leah's raw black cod sat in this rice vinegar soupy base, which was maybe supposed to be reminiscent of a hot and sour tom yum style broth, but just ended up tasting sour. Really the most offensive dish of the evening. The short ribs were decent, but it was Stefan's desserts that really saved his team (or rather Leah) from the chopping block. They were both delicious and creative.


Jessica - Jan 27, 2009 7:51:14 am PST #7804 of 23273
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Huh - I can see the blogs in IE but not Firefox. Weird!


Jesse - Jan 27, 2009 8:48:29 am PST #7805 of 23273
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

Also, I thought the TAR contestant looked like Mike White, but I didn't realize it IS Mike White: [link]


megan walker - Jan 27, 2009 8:55:41 am PST #7806 of 23273
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

And, once again, I find myself wishing I could go back in time and apply for the first seasons, you know, when they had (for the most part) real people.


Liese S. - Jan 27, 2009 9:02:53 am PST #7807 of 23273
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."

I know. I hate seeing all these people out of casting central. They especially can't seem to resist when it comes to the all-female teams. Irritating.


Jessica - Jan 27, 2009 9:05:22 am PST #7808 of 23273
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

It's gotten to the point where I'll root by default for anyone who's not a model or a cheerleader.


lisah - Jan 27, 2009 9:55:06 am PST #7809 of 23273
Punishingly Intricate

It's gotten to the point where I'll root by default for anyone who's not a model or a cheerleader.

Seriously. Although it is cracking me up that Mike White and his gay dad are a team.