someguy

Gabe has been my favorite since early in the season. I'm glad he won. I noticed he has a bachelors and masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from UT. Especially nice to see a longhorn win. If you know that Tom's opinion is the only one that matters, and if you know Tom's facial cues (he doesn't exactly have a great poker face), this one wasn't really a mystery. Gabe won comfortably. Odd choice for Shota to take it in a comfort food direction. He's at his best with subtlety and finesse. Dawn just flat out didn't belong. I've been down on Maria as a top half worthy top chef contestant, but she was an awesome sous chef and - for obvious reasons - a particularly good match with Gabe. It did make me chuckle when she advocated against deep frying the head cheese only to have the judges end up saying it wasn't crispy enough. Still, she was clearly a strong net positive for Gabe, as Byron was for Shota. Dawn just doesn't work well giving direction and limited what Jamie could do. I remember reading a post upthread a few days ago that pretty much nailed the sous chef breakdown - prescient. I was worried for Padma. She is getting older, and I thought she might throw out her back carrying Dawn all episode. It really felt like they were searching for ways to find nice things to say to maintain some sense of balance. Again, if you key in on Tom he was not impressed - probably wishing Sara had made it through. Overall not the best season, but any Top Chef is always enjoyable for me. I'm already ready for the next season.

The Vegas season was my favorite. Amazing high end talent that season.

not doubting you, but was curious where you got the info? I googled and couldn't find anything.

thought some of y'all might like a different angle.

The merits/demerits of Bill O'Brien as an offensive coordinator seem to miss the point. O'Brien did not take that job intending to be the offensive coordinator at Alabama for the next 5 years, the same way Doug Marrone does not intend to be the OL coach at Alabama for very long. This is an arrangement where Alabama gets to flex and show that former NFL head coaches are willing to be coordinators/position coaches under Saban, and the O'Briens and Marrones of the world get to kick ass with a massive talent advantage, rehab their images, and position themselves quickly for a better job. The Mannings, by all accounts, are not stupid and naive in this process. Whatever the pros and cons of Alabama, they almost certainly do not think O'Brien will be the offensive coordinator throughout Arch's college playing years and will not be basing their much of their decision on Bill O'Brien's offense.

Sadly, it appears Pierce went to the Grady Little school of managing.

I like the 3 person finale. I think Gabe, Shota, and Dawn have been head and shoulders above the rest since early in the season (it took Dawn a few weeks to get her footing). I personally have it as Gabe by the slimmest of margins over Shota, with Dawn a clear but respectable third. I think this is another after effect of Sara not making it back. I think they expected to add another contestant and fully expected to have a 3 person finale. When she didn't make it back, they couldn't cut a week, so voila, here we are. It is a cop out, to be sure, but I also think the best outcome in a season dominated by 3 chefs is to give those chefs the chance to cook their best meal and sort it out. I, personally, think the issues around Dawn leaving things off the plate are much ado about nothing. Does it matter? Sure, I can't say that it is absolutely nothing. But the show is about developing flavors and executing composed dishes. If a component is made and gets left off one of ten (or whatever) plates, I really can't be that worked up over it. If the elements are made, incorporated, and executed for the majority of dishes, then how much does it really matter if one gets left off? It is already such an artificial environment for the chefs with the goofy challenges, obscene product placements, time restraints, and whatnot. Being under the gun and missing an element on a plate doesn't suggest to me a deficiency as a chef. I understand, and respect, those who see it the other way. Reasonable minds may differ of course. Along those lines, I think Dawn did the right thing in owning up to leaving the potatoes off her dish for reasons that have nothing to do with integrity. One thing I've learned in watching this show religiously over the years is that the only opinion that matters is Tom's. I know some of the other judges were raving and going on about her dish, but as good as it may have been, it lacked the element to deliver more of the sauce to the mouth. Someone mentioned it during the meal and you could see that Tom agreed with that criticism. It is either a conceptual flaw or an execution flaw. At this state of the competition, Tom cares a lot about the mind of the chef and how they conceptualize their dishes. We saw that on display in the cheddar challenge (and what Jamie failed at so miserably). If I'm Dawn, I'd rather own up to the execution mistake (even knowing leaving elements off has become a recurring criticism), then letting Tom think she had a conceptual flaw. I think in the eyes of Tom, it is more forgivable to have properly perceived the need for a starch element to sop up the sauce, made the element, but forgot to put it on the plate in the chaos of plating than it is to have made that dish without any consideration of having such an element.

Nahlin obviously reads Surly.

Having some time to reflect on it, I think Sara's green tea rice element in the bento box must have been truly awful. I obviously cannot prove this, but I think Tom had every intention of passing her through Last Chance Kitchen - why else were they caught so flat footed on that quickfire meant for 6? By putting Brooke in, they altered the competition so much that they could not confer a reward for winning the quickfire. I think they fully expected 6 and had to pivot. I think - especially at this late stage - Tom would only put a LCK contestant back in the game if he thought they were capable of winning the whole thing. Otherwise, what is the point? I think Tom knew Byron had reached his ceiling and, while better than Maria and Jamie, was still a cut below Shota, Gabe, Dawn, (and Sara). I think it was set up for Sara to get back in, but her tea rice thing was so terrible that Tom felt the integrity of the competition would be compromised if he passed her through. I think if Sara was arguably close to Byron, it could be fudged. But if Byron made no obvious flaws and Sara's rice was terrible (especially if the eliminated chefs taste the food off camera), Tom had no choice. Sara was never going to win because of the exact quality that reared its head with the tea rice - quirky and eclectic is refreshing and has a high ceiling, so long as it works. It is a high wire act, and when it fails it tends to fail spectacularly. She was bound to have a high profile fail. It's just a bummer it had to happen before the final 4.

on campus

It is a myth. The tongue can relax and block the airway, but it isn't hard for the medics to clear up. What the teammate did/didn't do didn't change anything. The medics did a top notch job.

really, really glad to see this. Breckyn was struggling hard after football ended.

I hated that episode. The quickfire was BS allowing Brooke - one of the best and most experiences Top Chef contestants ever, and one who was particularly awesome at quickfires - was way more than an ordinary advantage. Dawn was no slouch in that challenge, but how would she done if paired with Maria, who had no freaking clue? The care package thing is a cute idea, but they needed to do a better job of seeing to it that the boxes were roughly balanced. Jamie got absolutely screwed with what was sent to her. I know I'm the resident Maria hater - and I do give her props for how she handled the end - but instead of all the weepy eyed drama, why not the truth? She was right to be intimidated because THERE IS A MASSIVE GAP BETWEEN HER CHEF TALENT AND THE TOP THREE. Trying to tap dance around that obvious fact led to record amounts of eye rolling from me. This was the worst episode of the season because it is blindingly obvious who the top three should be, and that Maria (especially) and Jamie aren't even close. There was no drama. I realize it is part of what makes Top Chef great - that any chef can go home at any time if they have an off week - but 1) any long tern fan of the show knows Tom puts his finger on the scale for certain chefs at opportune times to save from elimination and 2) A Gabe/Shoda/Dawn/Sara final four would have been amazing. I'm legit bummed we're not getting it. Instead we have to pretend like we're at the elite phase of the competition where only tiny mistakes and mental fatigue separate the best of the best, while Maria water bathes some chicken wings and puts it next to a nasty, watery salad. There are at least a half dozen eliminated chefs who could have at least put together something competitive in that position.

Y'all are sleeping on Take Shelter. Fantastic film with paranoid schizophrenia at the center.

Nick Harris is correct.

I'm getting irrationally angry that Maria is still in the competition. Not that I think she doesn't make tasty food - it sure seems like the does - but she has one lane that she shoehorns everything into, and even at that one lane she is tops out at average compared to the other chefs. I think she's like the 10th best chef this season and has had a ton of fortune in avoiding elimination. I know I'm probably in the distinct minority on this, but I think she should be have been one of the first 5 chefs eliminated. Shoda, Gabe, and Dawn have clearly separated themselves and, hopefully, will be the finale. My personal order is Shoda, Gabe, Dawn, but my gut feeling is that Dawn is the eventual winner. It took her a while to find her footing, but once she did she has been coming on like a freight train. We have no way of knowing, but I'd have loved to hear the judges' feedback on her fried tofu dish that was DQ'ed for not having enough plates. I think that might have been the best overall tofu dish and why I was absolutely sure Byron was going home when the desserts were essentially even.

Thoughts on Avery Benson as roster depth?

what a gutty performance by Jacobsen! First and third, no outs and she held on. Pulling the string to strike out that girl for the first out changed that entire inning. What a pitch.

real quick thinking there by Corona.