‘12 Chefs Walk Into a Bar’: What Happened Last Night on ‘Top Chef’ Boston
Update:TMZ is reporting that this season’s most hated contestant, Aaron Grissom, was arrested on felony domestic violence charges at his California home on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the website, Grissom was taken into custody for inflicting “corporal injury’’ on his girlfriend and was released from jail on Wednesday after posting $50,000 bail.
Quickfire Challenge
For many Bostonians, the Bull & Finch Pub — a.ka. “Cheers’’ — is a place to be avoided, except when cousin Mavis is visiting from Iowa. But before we all shake our collective heads and mutter “tourist trap…’’ under our breaths, let’s take a second to appreciate one of the most successful TV shows of all time. “Cheers’’ ran for 11 seasons, from 1982 to 1993, and was one of the 10 most-watched shows in the country for most of that run. Although the show was shot in Los Angeles (“in front of a live studio audience,’’ a cast member would always intone), the Beacon Street tavern was used for exteriors and became a tourist attraction for visitors from all over the world. Several Boston athletes even made cameos on the show, including Wade Boggs and Kevin McHale.
More than 80 million people watched the final episode of “Cheers’’ on May 20, 1993, making it the second most-watched series finale in television history. (For some perspective, the 2014 Super Bowl drew 111 million viewers.) Why do I mention all this? Because, yes, a visit to “Cheers’’ may be embarrassing to cynical locals. But there are far, far worse things for a city to be known for. So, if you get a chance, do what I did last year and grab a beer or two at “Cheers’’ on a rainy afternoon when it’s not too crowded. Have some food, chat up the tourists, and you just might have some unexpected fun.
Still with me? Good! This week’s Quickfire brought the cheftestants to “Cheers’’ to cook for George Wendt, the actor who famously portrayed character Norm Peterson. The show’s most memorable character was usually greeted with a loud “NORM!’’ from the other patrons because, well, “Cheers’’ was where everyone knew your name. Perhaps because of his prodigious beer intake, the chefs were asked to push the envelope and come up with a creative bar snack for Norm (yes, that’s his name for all intents and purposes) in 30 minutes. The teams were broken up into groups, and the winner would have immunity for the episode.
Thirty minutes didn’t allow for much creativity, but the smart ones came up with snacks that featured fat and/or cheese. Norm’s least favorite dishes were Greg’s burger (Padma’s was missing a bun) and James’s pickled and grilled carrots (no one goes to a bar to eat crudités). Two chefs who followed the pub-grub edict were Keriann with her beer-battered onion rings and Katsuji who made mahi mahi and tuna. (OK, his was high-end pub grub.)
Norm chose Katsuji as the winner, giving him immunity, along with a much-needed ego boost.
Elimination Challenge
For this week’s Elimination Challenge, the chefs headed across the Public Garden to take over Michael’s Schlow’s Italian restaurant Via Matta. Schlow, a former “Top Chef Masters’’ contestant and one of Boston’s most recognizable chefs, also owns Tico in the Back Bay and recently opened a Washington, D.C. location. The chefs were told to work in teams of three to create a classic three-course Italian menu (antipasto, pasta, secondi) for diners, the judges, and a “surprise celebrity guest.’’ The diners would see the menus from all four teams and choose the one that most appealed to them. The team whose menu was ordered the most would win, and the remaining chefs would all be up for elimination. But not just one chef—two! That’s right, Padma threw down the feared DOUBLE ELIMINATION gauntlet. By the end of the day only ten chefs would remain, and Katsuji’s immunity would prove very valuable.
Some observations:
• The surprise celebrity guest turned out to be the stunningly gorgeous Emmy Rossum, star of Showtime’s “Shameless.’’ (Rossum also appeared in 2003’s shot-in-Boston “Mystic RIver.’’) When it came time to order the first menu, Rossum not-so-casually mentioned she has been gluten-free for 15 years, long before the War on Gluten began. The judges would be watching closely to see how the chefs altered their dishes to accommodate Rossum’s allergy. The chefs also weren’t told it was Rossum who had the allergy.
• Like the unpopular kid in gym class, Aaron was the last one standing when everyone chose teams. Greg and Katsuji begrudgingly took Aaron as their third, though Greg seemed confident he could rein in the Little Ball of Terror.
• Salad continues to get these chefs in trouble. In the first episode, Katie caught a ton of flack for her broccoli salad. This week, Richard Blais was immediately worried about Doug when he saw his radicchio salad on the menu. Do I really have to repeat myself? You don’t win friends with salad.
• The judges loved Mei’s branzino, proving she has earned that “Fish Bitch’’ moniker.
• Far from being a passive judge, Schlow expedited orders in the kitchen, tasted all the dishes, and watched closely to see how the teams worked together.
• Three of the four teams featured a scallop in one of their dishes, and you heard the word “scallop’’ a lot on this episode. Why is this worthy of note? Because it gives me an opportunity to post Fabio’s “This is not Top Scallops’’ quote from “Top Chef’’ Season 5.
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Teams/Dishes
Purple Team
Aaron: Seared scallops, macerated peaches, pickled ramps, and crispy speck
Katsuji: Spring pea and goat cheese raviolo with pecorino, green chili, and mint, and spring pea and goat cheese with pecorino, green chili, and mint
Greg: Peppercorn-crusted strip loin with sweet onion compote, roasted tomato, cured olives and herbs
Orange Team
Doug: Radicchio salad with warm pancetta, goat cheese vinaigrette and hazelnuts
Adam: Bay scallop and fennel linguine with Sun Gold tomato and gremolata, and red quinoa polenta with seafood brodo
Mei: Branzino with lemon jam, salsa verde and radish
Gray Team
James: Chilled wild shrimp, mussels and clams with arugula, navel orange and capers
Melissa: Risotto with bacon-parmesan broth and spring pea purée, and spring pea ravioli with ramps and bacon-parmesan broth
Keriann: Pan-seared halibut with olive oil potato, warm asparagus salad and pistachios
Blue Team
Rebecca: Seared scallop with charred fennel, orange, and arugula
Katie: Hand-cut pappardelle with basil-walnut pesto, and confit cherry tomatoes and zucchini pappardelle with basil-walnut pesto, and confit cherry tomatoes
Stacy: Grilled ribeye with king trumpet mushrooms, asparagus, and kalamata olive vinaigrette
Judge’s Table
The Purple Team was a wire-to-wire winner this week. They produced the most-ordered menu, and the judges had very good things to say about Aaron’s (ugh) scallops. Although he won the Quickfire, Katsuji was the weakest link in the Elimination Challenge. The judges didn’t pull any punches letting him know that if it wasn’t for his immunity, he might be going home, since all he’d done to make his dish gluten-free was take the raviolo off the plate. But that’s why you work hard to win immunity! Also, I have to note that Greg was once again a winner this week. He has to be at the top of any power ranking.
With the Purple Team declared the winner, the remaining nine chefs were all at risk. Surprisingly, Doug’s salad was a hit with Padma and the Orange team was deemed safe from elimination. That left the Blue Team and the Gray Team.
Bottom Three Dishes
Stacy: She was told the vegetables on her plate were “annihilated’’
Rebecca: Richard Blais said her dish reminded him of “mediocre room service’’
James: He admitted it wasn’t “Top Chef level’’
When it came time for the two eliminations to be announced, Rebecca and James were sent home. Stacy (the lone local contestant) had survived, but barely. Whew.
“Top Chef Boston’’ Cheat Sheet
Who Should’ve Won
Have to agree with the judges here. From the minute they sat down together, the Purple Team had a clear vision of what they wanted for their menu. They didn’t try to get too fancy and they knew their menu needed to have popular, easily recognizable items on it to rack up the most orders. It’s not always the best dishes that win; sometimes it just comes down to following the instructions. Also, you have to give extra credit to any team that can perform well with Aaron buzzing around like a gnat.
Who Should’ve Been Eliminated
I’m clearly biased here, but the judges did the right thing by keeping Stacy around. James is the first person I would have eliminated. He has been one of the least-impressive contestants so far, and he did himself no favors in this episode. First, he served Norm from “Cheers’’ a crudités plate—crudités!—during the Quickfire. Then he served up a somewhat flimsy wild shrimp and proceeded to argue with Tom Colicchio about whether or not his dish had enough oil. I mean, what could Tom Colicchio possibly know about Italian food? Nothing, I imagine.
And Rebecca? Ah, Rebecca. She is what I would call a “floater.’’ A floater, for the uninitiated, is a species unique to reality shows like “Survivor’’ and “Big Brother.’’ Essentially, floaters do just enough to get by each week. They don’t live dangerously near the bottom, but they aren’t top contenders, thereby putting a bullseye on their back. They like to land right in the safe, gooey middle. Along with Melissa, Rebecca was one of the floaters this season, but her seared scallop dish sunk her this week.
Boston EyeCandy
The Zakim Bridge, Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar in the Fenway, The Rose Kennedy Greenway, and the Paul Revere Mall in the North End.
Insider Info
While speaking with Michael Schlow at Fenway Park last week, he revealed that some changes are taking place at Tico in the Back Bay. The restaurant has undergone renovations including brighter colors and new artwork and murals created by Schlow’s wife, Adrienne, a mixed media artist. Executive chef Leo Asaro is also introducing some new menu items, including fluke ceviche and king oyster mushrooms.
Weekly 45-Second Interlude During Commercial Break
This week’s interlude showed us how messy Aaron is in the kitchen. He is the resident pigpen of the cast, a fact everyone (at least this week) greeted with an “Aaron being Aaron’’ laugh. We also got a taste of it in this episode when he jockeyed for position in the Via Matta kitchen with Katsuji. Important note: Katsuji was on Aaron’s team.
You just know Aaron was the kid who kicked sand out of the sandbox in kindergarten.
This Week’s Lesson
Cheers Theme Song
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