Top Chef Texas: Thank God It's Time for Restaurant Wars

In past food tv posts I've done on this blog I've compared almost every other cooking competition show to Top Chef because I believe that over the last few years it has by far been the gold standard (No reason to get excited Ron Paul fans it's just a turn of phrase).  Top Chef has consistently had the most difficult and innovative challenges with by far the most talented competitors.  That doesn't even take into account so many of the interesting personalities they've had on the show as both judges and cheftestants.  However, it pains me to say that this season of Top Chef has been less than stellar. 

I can't really put my finger on what's different or what's missing (not enough Tony Bourdain!) but something about Top Chef: Texas just isn't the same.  It might just be a function of following last season's superior Top Chef: Allstars and we're just returning to the mean.  I think it's more than that though.   Every Top Chef season seems to struggle a little bit through the first few episodes where there are honestly too many contestants.  It's hard for anyone to stand out, and the show suffers from weaker competitors that really don't belong  in the upper echelon that have a chance to win.  However, we're far enough into the Texas season that this should not be an issue and still not a single competitor is sticking out in my mind as being particularly impressive the way Richard Blais and Angelo Sosa have been in the past.  Instead this season seems to have cheftestants that are more memorable for their appearance (the Chrises) or their grating personalities (Heather, Bev).  I'm honestly beginning to wonder if the producers have just struck out this season, or if the last few episodes are going to turn it around.

If there is going to be a turnaround this season for Top Chef I believe that has to start tonight with the obligatory restaurant wars challenge.  For fans of Top Chef restaurant wars is the one week we all look forward to.  The chefs divide up into two teams and come up with a menu and restaurant concept top to bottom.  It holds all the potential for what ABC Sports used to call "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat".  For every successful restaurant concept there has been, there has also been one that is the culinary equivalent of that ski jumper biting it in the most horrendous fashion imaginable.  I believe one season both teams did so poorly they were embarassingly offered a do-over the next day.  I don't know if we're going to be in store for that much excitement tonight (or last night for you readers late to the party), but I'm hoping for an old familar challenge brings some some old familiar feelings of viewing enjoyment.

P.S. Wild guess, but I'll say the person who does dessert has a good chance to go home tonight.

image courtesy twentieshacker.com

Food TV: Next Iron Chef Superchef Battle

It's likely that if you are reading this blog that you are also someone who watches a fair amount of Food Network.  I know I do.  Sometimes I'll even watch shows on Food Network that are so crappy I can't believe they aren't part of the NBC primetime lineup.  I mean can somebody give Whitney Cummings a cooking show already?  In any case, the most recent phenomenon I've been sucked into is this years edition of Next Iron Chef. 

I've written before about how I believe, that despite Alton Brown's presence, Iron Chef America is a poor imitation of a wonderfully quirky Japanese cooking competition show from the 90s.  The American version uses "secret ingredients" that are far too boring (How will these chefs ever use a crazy wacky ingredient like CORN in a series of dishes???? They aren't superheroes!) and has "Iron Chefs" that I don't find that interesting.  Food Network must have realized some of these problems and addressed them by bringing some new life into the show by having a competition series where the winner would join the cast.  This is all well and good, but after the first 2 or 3 seasons of Next Iron Chef someone must have realized that no one knows any of these alleged "superior" chefs.  Food Network's solution was to have this season of NIC be comprised of competitors that all have a built in audience either from appearances on their own Food Network shows or other high profile cooking competitions such as Top Chef.

So far I have to say it's successful.  Food Network viewers already know a lot of the backstories/resumes of the competitors and likely have a rooting interest.  I also know that a lot of the people on this show have more going for them than just "I've been on Food Network".  There are no Rachel Rays or Guy "The Bold Bad Boy" Fieris here. Instead we get Anne Burrell, Robert Irvine, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marcus Samuelson, and Michael Chiarello just to name a few.  These muthas can cook.  Food Network has also gone to an hour format instead of 90 minutes which makes for better pacing.  Also of note is the fact that each episode consists of 2 challenges.  Instead of a reward challenge and an elimination challenge this format has the 2 worst dishes in the first round going to a 30 minute elimination cook-off.  I find that much more compelling.  It's also on every Sunday night so it's a good little bit of escapist television that us battle weary Colts fans are looking for after watching our weekly butt kicking.

Image of NIC cast courtsey of aoltv.com