Top Chef - Restaurant Wars S03E08

2259 Views 30 Replies 19 Participants Last post by murgatroyd, Aug 21, 2007

Agatha Mystery

Discussion Starter · Aug 18, 2007

They get a do over. I think that's fair. Having to step out and be a front man who has never been a front man is a bold move.

I think 30 minutes with a wait staff isn't enough time to prep. They aren't interested in polishing glasses and plates. It could be that they were instructed not to do anything that they weren't told to do by the chefs.

Casey got lucky that Brian told her to stay away from scented stuff. Dale isn't the only one to blame with the candles, though. Hung smelled them and agreed. I expected the candles to sit and not be lit, though. They put out less smell.

I wonder if they have to do the same recipes or if they get to pick different entrees.

Oh, and Howie stepped it up and didn't argue. He sucked it up for the team, which showed some major growth, I think. Sounds like the desserts and Hung's entree was the best out of all of them. I think, as a group, all of them worked much better as a team. I think the previous challenge showed that they needed to do that.

I'm surprised they only got 4 hours to dress the 'restaurant'. I would've expected more time for that. They can't be expected to have a perfect place when given only a short time. I think they did need to put together a checklist and should've brainstormed in the hotel about what they needed to make sure which tasks were completed and when.

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betts4

· #2 · Aug 18, 2007

I thought 4 hours was not enough time either to 'dress' the restuarant. I just don't understand how the judges can expect brillance and the same manner of serviing in this kind of set up as they would in a normal well honed place.

I don't know if I were them if I would have slept much. I would be still trying to plan it out and tweak the progress of the dishes and such.

I think both teams did okay as a team and I also think Howie did a good job of keeping quiet. Even to the part of defending his style of riscotto (sp). I did like that Sara stepped up to be head chef and took charge a bit. And kept her chin up for the judges. The Garage may have had a scent problem, but they seemed to have less food problems.

I wonder how many more 'team' events they are going to have. There have been a lot this season it seems.

Poor Brian and his sweating.

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HackManDan

· #3 · Aug 18, 2007

I think it's ridiculous they have to design a restaurant in the first place; they're chiefs, not interior designers!

Fleegle

· #4 · Aug 18, 2007

HackManDan said:
I think it's ridiculous they have to design a restaurant in the first place; they're chiefs, not interior designers!

It's because many of these chefs want to own their own restaurants. They'll have to decide how to design their own place.

GoHalos

· #5 · Aug 18, 2007

Agatha Mystery said:
Dale isn't the only one to blame with the candles, though. Hung smelled them and agreed.

I was surprised that Hung didn't step up during the judgment and claim partial responsibility for that. It probably wouldn't have hurt his chances, since his dish was well received.

When Casey recommended the scented candles, I said out loud to my wife that that was a horrible idea for a "high end" restaurant where they want to highlight the food. Then I was even more shocked when Dale and Hung decided on their candles.

Agatha Mystery said:
Oh, and Howie stepped it up and didn't argue. He sucked it up for the team, which showed some major growth, I think.

I also thought that Howie was well behaved in this episode (for him). I was quite surprised that he allowed Sara to take the Head Chef position in their restaurant without a comment/argument.

anom

· #6 · Aug 18, 2007

GoHalos said:
When Casey recommended the scented candles, I said out loud to my wife that that was a horrible idea for a "high end" restaurant where they want to highlight the food. Then I was even more shocked when Dale and Hung decided on their candles.

This was baffling to me, I've never been in a restaurant, from high end to fast food or anywhere in between that had scented candles, let alone lit scented candles. How a group of fairly experienced restaurant professionals came to the conclusion that this was a good idea is beyond me.

anom

· #7 · Aug 18, 2007

Agatha Mystery said:
I wonder if they have to do the same recipes or if they get to pick different entrees.

Based on the previews for next week

at least some of the menu items have been changed.

marksman

· #8 · Aug 18, 2007

HackManDan said:
I think it's ridiculous they have to design a restaurant in the first place; they're chiefs, not interior designers!

I don't think it is ridiculous at all. As others have said most chefs want to eventually own their own restaurant.

It is about time they made them do something other than design dishes. That is nice and all but there is a lot more to running a restaurant and a kitchen then just designing the menu.

I am bittersweet on Howie's naming. The Garage, I don't know, it sounds almost as goofy as the name of his actual restaurant, which I am not recalling now, but which always makes me cringe when they show it on the screen.

HackManDan

· #9 · Aug 18, 2007

I'm not saying a chief shouldn't have input on the design of a restaurant, but, wouldn't they work with an interior designer in real life when designing a restaurant?

MasterOfPuppets

· #10 · Aug 19, 2007

Most chefs are extremely anal, I can only imagine the fun times of restaurant design.
As for chiefs...I used to work at an Indian casino, I'll keep my comments to myself.

I thought this episode was weak. The way the judges were bashing the food the entire time, I have to believe that it was predetermined that there would be 2 episodes made from this concept.
Seems as though Brian is even more of a spaz than Hung...who knew?

Still pulling for CJ...pretty much still just because he's the tall guy. He doesn't get a lot of interview time though.

murgatroyd

· #11 · Aug 19, 2007

marksman said:
I am bittersweet on Howie's naming. The Garage, I don't know, it sounds almost as goofy as the name of his actual restaurant, which I am not recalling now, but which always makes me cringe when they show it on the screen.

There used to be a burger joint around here named The Garage, but there was a reason for it. It was in a building that used to house an auto repair place.

So it didn't seem like an odd name to me.

YMMV.

P.S. to HackManDan: IIRC, in previous years they did bring in interior design students to do the front of house -- which caused entirely different problems.

Jan

Jesda

· #12 · Aug 19, 2007

I was hoping Howie would go nuts. He didnt. Boring episode.

kaszeta

· #13 · Aug 19, 2007

murgatroyd said:
There used to be a burger joint around here named The Garage, but there was a reason for it. It was in a building that used to house an auto repair place.

I've eaten at several "Garages" (www.joes-garage.com is the primary non-diner one that comes to mind). Pitch some funky American food, and the concept can work.

However, was it just me, or did they do the "Garage" sign in duct-tape?

TonyTheTiger

· #14 · Aug 19, 2007

What amazed me more than anything (except, maybe the candles) was the fact that the food was not good. I think a lot of decor problems can be excused with good food!

As far as why they have to do this, it's a competition. It's as much about seeing how these guys react under pressure and adversity as anything. If the challenges are too easy, it would be a) boring and b) not much of a contest!

I like CJ and Tre so far. I'm DYING to see Howie and Hung get theirs, but having said that, it's entertaining to watch their antics!

marksman

· #15 · Aug 19, 2007

This is the first year I have watched, but for some reason my Tivo taped the last 7 episodes run on Season 2 so I just finished watching those. In their Restaurant War episode, the food was pretty bad as well.

This kind of goes to my point that it is entirely different to actually be able to prepare something but to get it out and do it over and over again is really the tougher challenge.

I know this is a competition and it would be dumb with out the competitive aspect, but it is a bit skewed, because probably the one area where Chef's don't have a huge time element/time crunch is in creating new dishes. This is something they can essentially do as they want. It is not like customers come in and list 5 ingredients and tell them to make something good. They make up the menu in advance.

So while I think the time element is a good component, how it is usually implemented, in designing/creating dishes is not really an area where chef's need good time management.

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rhuntington3

· #16 · Aug 19, 2007

Since Casey and Tre are from the Metroplex here, I'd be interested in trying out the restaurants where they work.

marksman

· #17 · Aug 20, 2007

rhuntington3 said:
Since Casey and Tre are from the Metroplex here, I'd be interested in trying out the restaurants where they work.

Tre works at Abacus. It has come up here in the past I believe.

Don't know about Casey.

David Platt

· #18 · Aug 20, 2007

rhuntington3 said:
Since Casey and Tre are from the Metroplex here, I'd be interested in trying out the restaurants where they work.

You should have come with us to the fine dining outing during Momma Skittle's Birthday weekend! We went to Abacus, Tre's restaurant, and we have photographic evidence that he was cooking that night.

uncdrew

· #19 · Aug 20, 2007

Agatha Mystery said:
They get a do over. I think that's fair. Having to step out and be a front man who has never been a front man is a bold move.

Agreed. A "do over" seems the right call. Eliminating someone for not doing well out front seems a bit harsh for a cooking show. Knowing how it needs to be out front and doing it are different and a great chef should be a great chef, not necessarily a great chef and a great waiter.

Agatha Mystery said:
I wonder if they have to do the same recipes or if they get to pick different entrees.

Not only

were there some different menu items in the preview, but I think the name of at least one of the restaurants was different.

Also, it seems unfair to blast Howie and Sarah for their items being "too rich" and then make them do them again and not act on the advice.

Agatha Mystery said:
I'm surprised they only got 4 hours to dress the 'restaurant'. I would've expected more time for that. They can't be expected to have a perfect place when given only a short time. I think they did need to put together a checklist and should've brainstormed in the hotel about what they needed to make sure which tasks were completed and when.

I'm not sure what I'd do with more time than that, unless it would be do more shopping. A blank room, some mirrors and tables and vases. 4 hours to set that up seems like a lot of time.

And while The Garage was pretty bad, Restaurant April seemed great to me. I really liked their colors and the focus piece.

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hyde76

· #20 · Aug 20, 2007

Garage in French? Écouter.

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