New Chef on the Block

Top Chef Chicago Episode 3
Part One - Quickfire

Okay, since we last said grace together, we lost Valerie in the animal-go-round for her olive blinie concoction that just didn't travel well. The women - and Stephanie in particular - are feeling the loss, as they're hoping this will be a woman's year. The guys, on the other hand, are shown roughhousing and wrestling. No pressure cooker there.

Next up, as always, is the Quickfire Challenge, where immunity is once again on the line. Chicago chef Rick Bayless, who is apparently known for his Mexican food, is the guest judge. (Of course, when I lived outside of Chicago, I never heard anything about Mexican food....but then again, I was a struggling college student, and the closest I got to high cuisine was the mystery meat in Valpo's cafeteria.) The challenge this time is to make high scale Mexican food - specifically, tacos with a twist. Some of the contestants grumble that tacos are street food and shouldn't be dressed up for high falootin' eaters....but c'mon people, do you think it would be challenging to create a taco for the Taco Bell menu?

So anyway, a lot of the chefs stick with "street food" for ingredients, taking the stand that street credo is what a taco is all about. And again, c'mon. By the time knives are up, Manuel - who believes he brings the creed to taco, because, after all, he is named Manuel - serves up a sausage picante concoction with goat cheese. Lisa's take on tacos includes skirt steak with caramelized onions, but Bayless can't bite through the skirt steak (never a good sign). Andrew makes a duck taco, which Bayless enthusiastically scarfs down. Erik goes traditional with a chipolte braised chicken and pomegranate salsa stuffed shell. Spike sticks to the streets with pulled pork, while Richard tweaks the taco shell by using shaved jicama (according to my dictionary, this is like a sweet turnip) with papaya, cilantro and avocado.

Padma asks for the bad news first, and Bayless points out that those who stood behind the street tacos weren't up to the challenge. In particular, he calls Erik's plate a train wreck, points out the chewiness of Lisa's skirt steak and didn't like Ryan's presentation, which included a piece of paper. (Which - huh? Isn't this about the food?)

Hot tamales go to Andrew, Richard, and Spike (who apparently did street food better than the rest). And the winner is Richard - who not only gets immunity, but also gets his taco on the menu of one of Bayless' restaurants. Spike is understandably peeved, since his taco received impressive kudos (Bayless even said he "swooned") but apparently it was too street for an upscale menu. Which, after all, was the challenge.

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