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At which of the Top Chefs' restaurants would YOU eat?
by Joel Keller, posted Jan 8th 2009 12:24PM
The New York season of Top Chef has been fun, albeit a bit predictable. It seems like in every one of the episodes, you can peg who's going to be eliminated by the time Padma, Colicchio and company hit the judges' table. Even this week's addition of the Simon Cowell-like Toby Young as the new judge didn't derail the elimination train from its ultimate destination: the ouster of the two chefs everyone thought were in over their heads to begin with.The fun part is that the producers are throwing challenges at the chefs that are pretty brilliant in their deviousness. For instance, last night the chefs had to cook for their potentially toughest critics... their fellow competitors. The results were mixed, to say the least. As in the previous weeks, the food produced by the chefs was mostly mediocre or uninspired. The people that challenged themselves ended up falling on their faces.
Which leads me to this question for you all: Would you eat at any of the contestants' restaurants? Follow me after the jump and I'll explain.
My girlfriend and I are actually debating this question right now, as we live within a quick drive of CulinAriane in Montclair, NJ. Yes, folks, that's the restaurant owned by Ariane, the MILFy chef who seems to be powering into the top tier by making very straigtforward dishes that she knows how to execute well (I mean... pan-seared skate? If I saw that on the menu, I'd yawn. But I'm sure it was pretty tasty). I know that if we went to her restaurant, we'd get a pretty good meal. But would we even remember it in the car on the way home? There are restaurants in Montclair that have served me quite memorable meals, and nothing I've seen from Ariane tells me that she'd do the same.
But how many of the chefs would be able to actually make that memorable meal, one that keeps me going back month after month? I'd say that perhaps Stefan (pictured above) could, as he's the one who seems to be the most professional and sure of his abilities. But he's currently doing catering, so it's not like there's a restaurant I can seek out. So, out of the rest, the only restaurants I can remotely see myself visiting are the ones run by Radhika, Fabio (just because he's a charming, charming bastard), and Hosea. They have done some interesting dishes that were not only solid in concept and execution, but had some flair to them, as well. Also, the three of them are confident in their abilities, something that will serve them well on in the restaurant business even after Top Chef is over.
Oh, and about those eliminated chefs...? If I ever find myself inside Eugene's restaurant in Vegas, it'll be because I drank too many free cocktails at the blackjack tables. The guy has an equal capacity to both wow and poison customers, all on the same plate. And Melissa? Luckily, she's just a sous chef, so she's not inflicting any of her bland, uninspired dishes on the dining public in Colorado. She needs more training... and a personality.
What about you folks? Which of the remaining contestants would you trust to make you that special meal? Or even a fun meal on a Friday or Saturday night out? Let me know in the comments.
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