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Top Chef Season 4 Episode 11

Restaurant Wars

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8.1

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 5/21/08

It's all about service tonight as the chefs work the line during a breakfast rush at a diner, and then team up to create their own restaurants from scratch. Guest Head Judge: Anthony Bourdain Guest Judge: José Andrés – Elimination Challenge Guest Judge: Heleen Thanas – QuickFire Challenge QuickFire Challenge: Work a Short Order Egg Station Elimination Challenge: Restaurant Wars Round Elevenmoreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (7)

the chefs work the line in a diner; the chefs break into two teams for restaurant wars

10

By Collegebound06, Jun 01, 2008

i loved this ep..this brought out tons of sides in everyone..i was so glad that the ppl i love didnt lose it and get too pressured b/c of the conditions..spoiler..antonia didnt bring out any hate..neither did richard and stephanie definitely kept her cool..i was surprised that spike actually didnt point fingers too much when his team lost..the thing between lisa and dale was worse than normal..but in a sad twisted way it was entertaining..i was glad that dale went b/c his food didnt look appetizing..but lisa could have gone too..and yay..stephanie won for her service..i was so proud of her for thatmoreless
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One team at war and the other at peace!

9.0

By JPPT1974, May 24, 2008

The team of Richard, Stephanie, and the other person I can't think of at the top of my head but know their face is doing well. But Dale, Spike, and the other lady bring chaos and show lousy teamwork. As Tom, the head judge is invited to a charity event and controversal temporary judge Anthony Bourdain is brought on in. As a Spanish judge as the Richard, Stephenie, and that other person are the winners and Stephenie wins the prize thing. While Dale, who has won some events, isn't so lucky as he is sent packing. It is boiling down to the final four as one excellent episode!moreless
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Restaurants wars bring peace in one team, and wars in the other team. Antonia, Stephanie and Richard seem to be really doing well.

6.3

By hesonlylonely, May 23, 2008

For the Quickfire challenge, the chefs had to serve breakfast at a short-order counter and it looked like Dale and Antonia did pretty well. Spike and Stephanie couldn't fry eggs, Richard didn't understand the industry lingo and Lisa couldn't use a Styrofoam box. Antonia won, making her the Quickfire Queen, so far with 4 out of 11 wins. Not bad.

And the Restaurant Wars are back! At this point, I didn't really want anybody to go home at only six chefs left. If I had to pick, Lisa or Spike could go home, judging by the teams that Antonia picked. I never root for the underdogs, sorry if that disturbs anyone. :(

Anthony Bourdain comes in, and he comments very wisely on the fact that Dale's team make themselves sound very good, while Antonia's team make themselves sound very modest, in order to make it easier to exceed expectations. Then it is at this point when Jen joins Dale's team and Nikki joins Antonia's team. And um... Lisa makes the weirdest comments by the way. I'm not gonna go into it, but whatever. I'm gonna skip all the cooking problems and just skip to the eating.

I wanted to eat all of Antonia's dishes, especially the lamb dish and trout dish. Stephanie, Antonia and Richard won the challenge, and Stephanie in particular, got a free trip to Spain. As for the losers, Dale, Lisa and Spike all got blamed for all these different things, from who grabbed rice off the top shelf, to the argument as to who conceptualized or braised the short rib, from the decor being too extravagant, to the over-smoked laksa, from the sweet butterscotch scallop, to Dale's poor executive chef skills, from Spike's lack of involvement in the kitchen, to the lack of teamwork between Lisa and Dale. Whew! Boy, they're screwed.

Before one of the three of them got eliminated, Dale didn't hesitate to call Lisa a b***h while Spike and Lisa said other things literally behind his back. When the judges said it was clear, I knew it had to be Dale going home.

Which is a shame, because I thought Dale was a good chef. If only his attitude was a little better.moreless
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A classic and loved challenge turned dreadful by bad meat i.e. team members leaving a sour taste........

7.0

By sparkie_ac, May 22, 2008

Well another week where I think two again should have gotten the ax. Hey then we would be already down to the final four! This should have been a great episodes with a classic loved challenge but no bad meat i.e. team members turned it sour to the taste buds. And was there a doubt after that who would win?!?!?

Ok I have to start with my favorite part of the whole show Anthony Bourdain!!!!!!! I love that man and I love it when he just puts it out there and tells how the dishes are like it is. What a treat to have him and Ted this episode! But Anthony Bourdain rocks and I loved him at judges table and agreed with everything he said.

Spike yah but luck or what got by with being front of the house and staying out of a bad thing that come on ny one of us knew was going to happen when they got partnered up.

OK Dale yah didn't like him anyway but still he was head chef and should have called it but no he had to get caught in b*tching and ego besides for not making good food. Tell Anthony even caught him when Dale said he didn't know how to make a dish so he went by what Lisa and Spike said. Hello your suppose to be top Chef and you don't know DAH!!!!!!

Now Lisa, again Anthony nailed her with her attitude just standing there. And to fail at two dishes she has done before. Oh give me a break. This was where I was like hell send them both home Anthony!!!!

Glad Steph won, yah she is my favorite and yah she has had her turnat the bottom but she pulled it out. Of course she had a great team, and that is what works for them the fact that they worked more as a team.moreless
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Just when you thought this reality show actually displayed reality and it doesn't...

7.8

By gggroupie, May 22, 2008

First of all this morning I went on BravoTV.com and much to my chagrin NONE of the judges wrote on their blogs. Are you SHOCKED or SUPRISED...probably because they had no words to defend the decision they made last night. Last night's challenge was the all-defining restaurant wars; I still feel the first season displayed the best version of this challenge. Stephen has the host is a classic that no one will ever forget!

Some will argue that Dale wasn't a great leader and a hot head in the kitchen, but when you have a crappy sous chef such as Lisa you can't help it. HELLO, HELLO why has Dale one 1/5 of all the challenges just far? Was that for kicks? Ok, maybe you don't want another Hung - but at least let the guy make it to the finals. Lisa was HORRIBLE. Hello Bravo - you have shown she cannot cook worth a lick and her palate is completely off. Whoever has her on staff should fire her right now and send her back to culinary school because she obviously does not know what she is doing. Essentially this episode shows how the Chef's would act if they had their own restaurant, which is an opportunity they can pursue when they win Top Chef. It demonstrates their passion, willingness to work with others and overall spirit for the industry. In this episode they didn't stress the constrained budget and gave the Chef's plenty of working space to execute this restaurant. In the past that has played a key role in making things happen. (see comment about Stephen above)

At first I thought this was going to be a great episode and my prediction of either Spike or Lisa going home would come true. Instead the Judges' and the Producers' pulled a 180 on us and sent Dale home. This whole season has been about technicalities and this time they used the excuse of poor leadership. But if this show is truly finding a really great Chef then sometimes you have to give way to the people who just cook horribly. That is why this made me think they are now keeping Lisa around for a very bad reason.

We'll just have to wait until next week to see how else they could screw up a perfectly good show.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Padma Lakshmi	Host/Judge
Tom Colicchio	Lead Judge/Co-Host
Gail Simmons	Judge
Antonia Lofaso	Season 4 Contestant
Dale Talde	Season 4 Contestant
Evangelos 'Spike' Mendelsohn	Season 4 Contestant

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Nikki Cascone	Sous Chef, Team Antonia	Guest Star
Jennifer Biesty	Sous Chef, Team Dale	Guest Star
Mark Simmons	Sous Chef Pool Member	Guest Star
Anthony Bourdain	Guest Head Judge	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (6)
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- Elimination Challenge Dishes:
  
  Warehouse Kitchen - Antonia, Richard & Stephanie
  Concept: Gastro Pub
  
  First Course
  * Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Ras el Hanout Spices
  * Linguine & Clams with Sausage & Horseradish Creme Fraiche
  
  Second Course
  * Trout with Cauliflower
  * "Lamb Squared" - Lamb Loin & Braised Lamb Shank
  
  Third Course
  * Gorgonzola Cheesecake with Sweet Potato Puree & Concord Grape Sauce
  * Banana "Scallops" with Banana Guacamole & Chocolate Ice Cream
  
  Mai Buddha - Dale, Lisa & Spike
  Concept: Asian Fusion
  
  First Course
  * Spicy Coconut Shrimp Laksa
  * Pork & Pickled Plum Pot Stickers
  
  Second Course
  * Braised Short Ribs with Pickled Red Cabbage & Apple Basil Salad
  * Butterscotch Miso Scallops, Spicy Eggplant & Pickled Long Beans
  
  Third Course
  * Halo-Halo with Cantaloupe, Coconut, Kiwi, Avocado & Candied Nuts
  * Mango Sticky Rice with Toasted Coconut
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- The close-up comment card read, in part:
  
  Asian feel, "BUT" since I am Asian the Asian ingredients wr not paired well. Maybe less .
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- Stephanie's pasta was called linguine, but it appeared to actually be fettucine. Linguine is a narrower version of fettucine, and is usually described as flat spaghetti. Fettucine is the same width of the common supermarket staple egg noodles.
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- Dale insists that he did not choose the rice used for Lisa's dessert. When they can't find the proper sticky rice, the footage at Whole Foods shows Spike saying "How about this?" and Dale pulling several bags off the shelf, saying, "'Exceptional for rice puddings,'" and Spike saying, "Oh, well there you go." Lisa says nothing one way or the other in the footage shown.
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- Stephanie is the winner of the elimination challenge; Dale is told to pack his knives and go.
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- Antonia is chosen as the winner of the QuickFire Challenge and wins the right to choose her team for the Elimination Challenge. She selects Richard and Stephanie as her teammates.
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QUOTES (10)
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- Anthony Bourdain: I just wanted to let you know that Tom's away, and that I'll be filling in for him today. Bringing my warmer, sunnier, disposition to this, uh, challenge.
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- Spike: Dale, Lisa and I have all Asian backgrounds. It's time just to come together and be professional, and rise to the occasion, and come out on top on this one.
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- Anthony Bourdain: I am not a fan of the smear, by the way.
  Ted: Not when it's br .
  Anthony Bourdain: I'm really not.
  Ted: Especially not brown.
  Anthony Bourdain: Yeah, it-it, yeah.
  Ted: It reminds me of the New York City sidewalks.
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- Lisa: (of her reaction to Dale) It's not the appropriate way to behave, but it's human nature. If everybody around me is in a sh***y mood, I'm not gonna be all like, "Ahh! Let's go play baseball!"", like, ya know?
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- Antonia: They bring in eliminated cast members, and I see Jen and Nikki, and I was like, "They can roll out my pasta!" Honestly, that's all I saw. I, like, zoomed in on them.
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- (Commenting on Dale's reaction to Anthony Bourdain.)
  Spike: I think Dale's pissing his pants a little bit on this one.
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- Dale: Asian guy, Asian chef Asian restaurant. I mean, it only adds credibility.
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- Anthony Bourdain: (referring to "Mai Buddha's" sticky rice) It's baby vomit with wood chips.
  Ted: But how do you really feel about it?
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- Ted: (eating at "Mai Buddha") When this landed and I saw the scallop and butterscotch sauce, I was really afraid. It's like Willie Wonka scallop.
  Padma: (horrified and glad she isn't eating one) No! Really?!
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- Anthony Bourdain: (after his walk-through) The difference between the two teams' comportment is very striking. Antonia, Richard and Stephanie's team deliberately creating modest expectations makes it a hell of a lot easier to exceed those expectations. But nobody's reaching too far, taking any big chances with this menu. Over at Mai Buddha, things could go really, really well here, or really badly. They say they're all really comfortable with Asian food. You know, Asia's big! How good can you be at all of those things?
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NOTES (5)
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- Tom says at his blog at the Bravo website that when he watched the episode air, he saw for the first time why viewers get riled with the Judges' decisions, because he thought that Lisa should have been sent home based on the fact that two of Lisa's dishes were failures, while Dale only failed with one, and he would have argued strongly that was more damning.
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- Elimination judge, José Andrés, is a James Beard-nominated chef and restaurateur from the Washington, D.C. area. He owns five restaurants, Oyamel, Café Atlántico, Zaytinya, Jaleo and minibar by josé andrés. He hosts two cooking/travel shows that highlight the Spanish cuisine and lifestyle.
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- QuickFire Challenge judge Heleen Thanas is a co-owner of Lou Mitchell's Restaurant & Bakery with her mother and brother.
  
  Lou Mitchell's Restaurant, a Chicago institution located at the starting point of the old Route 66, has been around since 1923. Heleen is the first cousin, once removed, of the original Uncle Lou Mitchell.
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- According to Lee Anne, each contestant had about 20 minutes "in the hole" cooking eggs. The hardest part was the slang, which included calling "one egg" when they meant two, and "two eggs" when they meant four. Presumably, "one egg" meant "one order of eggs", with two eggs in an order. Another real difficulty lay in the fact that there was so little room to maneuver while in "the hole".
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- Lee Anne scouted out Lou Mitchell's with production several weeks beforehand. She had to hold down the line for two hours on the egg station to see how she fared. She found the trickiest part was not the fact that there was only one burner to fry the eggs (as the rest of the grill was mostly covered by hash browns, bacon and sausage), but the fact that they used small eggs and a lot of short order lingo. She found the key to success was to have a bowl full of cracked eggs ready for use, saving her time when she began cooking each order.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Anthony Bourdain: (referring to the napkin at "Mai Buddha") Silver and purple? I don't know, I feel like I'm in the back of Prince's van.
  
  Prince is a rock & roll star who became extremely popular beginning in the mid eighties, famous for his love of the color purple and Baroque ornamentation.
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