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Top Chef<\/a><\/p>\n Restaurant Wars<\/p>\n \n Season 23<\/p>\n Episode 8\n <\/p>\n \n Editor\u2019s Rating<\/p>\n 4 stars<\/p>\n ****\n <\/p>\n \n The teams face off in a surprisingly drama-free Restaurant Wars, even with that takeout-order gimmick. Our question has been answered: Sieger\u2019s back. The timeline of Last Chance Kitchen (which Sieger didn\u2019t have to compete in) isn\u2019t fully explained, but here\u2019s my theory that I shared in the comments last week. I think that production paused filming LCK as Jennifer\u2019s health took a turn, to see what Justin might want to do, approached Sieger to return to Top Chef when Justin said he wasn\u2019t coming back to the competition, and then let Justin compete in LCK when Jennifer\u2019s health leveled out, because why not? They still had to fulfill the LCK episode order, and at that point, Justin had given up his spot in the main competition anyway. Regardless of how that all went down, Sieger\u2019s back, and Jennifer and Justin have provided a health update on their shared Instagram account<\/a>. Which I think is cute, by the way, and if Jennifer does come back to the competition in another season, I\u2019ll be rooting for her.<\/p>\n Anyway, Restaurant Wars! This was the most straightforward, efficient episode of the season, pleasurable in its simplicity, with only one gimmick (the to-go orders) that barely made a difference to the episode\u2019s outcome. Kristen explains to the brainstorming teams that Jennifer is still in the hospital and has been removed from the competition for her own well-being, and Justin chose to be with her rather than take her spot, and that Sieger is back instead. He joins Oscar, Brandon, and Jonathan, whose restaurant concept is Terra Reina, Latin food with Southern soul; Sieger will be executive chef and expedite orders, Brandon and Jonathan will be line cooks, and Oscar will be front of house. The other team decides on the name Carolina Queen, and on a general Southern concept; immunity-having Anthony will be the executive chef, Laurence and Sherry will be line cooks, and Duyen will be front of house. As they plan their menus, Sieger volunteers to do an appetizer and a dessert (two dishes is a lot on top of being executive chef); Oscar has an entree that Brandon will pick up and cook for him; Brandon is also doing a dessert; and Jonathan is doing an appetizer and an entree. Over on the other side, Anthony is doing an entree; Duyen is doing an appetizer; Sherry is doing an appetizer and a dessert; and Laurence is doing an entree and a dessert. I think that the Carolina Queen line cooks each doing two dishes is more in line with how prior Restaurant Wars competitors have handled the division of labor, so let\u2019s see how that goes.<\/p>\n The teams shop for decor and ingredients \u2014 I loved seeing Sherry\u2019s very long, neatly organized shopping list \u2014 and are prepping when Tom and guest judge Michael Mina<\/a> walk through their shared kitchen. Duyen freaks out when Tom both mocks her green rice pudding from last week<\/a> and wonders whether she tested her choux pastry for her cheese-stuffed puff (her \u201cNot today, devil!\u201d response to Tom in her talking-head interview made me laugh), but the Carolina Queen team already has a good idea that shows they\u2019ve done their Restaurant Wars homework. They\u2019re making a fizzy welcome tea with turmeric and yuzu that diners will receive when they arrive, and that\u2019s exactly the kind of pleasant touch that will make diners rate Carolina Queen highly. No team really seems to run into any issues on the first day. On the second day, though, Duyen realizes how much work she needs to do in the restaurant to get it ready for guests, and Jonathan admits he\u2019s fallen behind on his prep work with only an hour to go before the restaurant opens. Brandon\u2019s rightly pissed that Jonathan didn\u2019t ask for help earlier (I enjoyed Brandon and Sherry both mocking Jonathan for thinking he could catch up on prep during actual service), and to his credit, Jonathan\u2019s a little embarrassed to ask. Also of note is that the two teams differ in their approach to takeout orders. The Terra Reina team is asking their host to take to-go orders and walk them back to the kitchen to Sieger, while Carolina Queen has a phone in the kitchen that Anthony says he\u2019ll personally answer.<\/p>\n Time to open the doors! The judges, Michael, and second guest judge Clare Reichenbach<\/a>, CEO of the James Beard Foundation (she\u2019s been on Top Chef before<\/a>), dine at Carolina Queen first, which they praise for its \u201csoft and feminine\u201d aesthetic and the welcome drink. Duyen is right there when they arrive, paying attention to them \u2014 and every other table; she\u2019s very good at this \u2014 and the dishes come out in a timely manner, with only a slight gap between entrees and desserts. Here\u2019s their menu and some brief judges\u2019 thoughts:<\/p>\n Appetizers: \u201cGreat start,\u201d per Kristen; everyone loves both dishes. Entrees: Laurence\u2019s pork belly skin is too crunchy and difficult to eat; Anthony\u2019s rice is mushily cooked and slimy from the okra. Desserts: Sherry\u2019s is a big hit; Tom thought Laurence\u2019s dish could have used more sweet potato flavor in the cr\u00e8me anglaise or in the baklava itself. There\u2019s a slight lag in service when to-go orders start coming in \u2014 Anthony needs to be reminded to pick up the phone \u2014 and some tables wait a little too long for entrees. But mostly, Carolina Queen seems to be running well in this first service. Tom calls it \u201cvery successful,\u201d which might be one of the nicest things Tom has ever said. Over at Terra Reina, things aren\u2019t going so hot. The servers struggle with filling out the tickets as Sieger needs them (a sign that he may not have trained them that well to begin with), and food is being walked back into the kitchen because it\u2019s going to the wrong tables. As Sieger deals with that and the restaurant tries to get the first diners out the door so they can start their second service, the judges walk in. And for some reason, Oscar doesn\u2019t prioritize their dishes going out first? Instead, it seems like he (or maybe Sieger, or maybe both of them together in a moment that isn\u2019t explicitly on camera) decides to push out the entrees that are holding up their first seating of diners. Maybe the time genuinely got away from Oscar, but I am really skeptical that he thought the wait was just five minutes. Instead, it takes 40 minutes for the judges\u2019 appetizers to come out, and they only come out after Kristen beckons Oscar over and asks him what the hell is going on. Yikes! Here\u2019s what they\u2019re served, after Tom justifiably grumbles that the wait is \u201cridiculous\u201d:<\/p>\n Appetizers: Gail dings Sieger on the casual presentation of the tostada, and Kristen thinks it needs a sauce; everyone loves Jonathan\u2019s aguachile. Entrees: The judges say both dishes are fantastic and definitively better than Carolina Queen\u2019s, and Kristen says Oscar\u2019s dish is the most sophisticated thing he\u2019s made all season. Desserts: The judges don\u2019t like either, and call them \u201ca big letdown\u201d; Sieger\u2019s custard is grainy and too savory, and Brandon\u2019s rice pudding has clumps of uncooked rice and not enough Cheerwine jelly. Before the Judges\u2019 Table, the judges agree both teams did a better job than many others before them, and they liked both concepts. At Judges\u2019 Table itself, a winner isn\u2019t immediately identified; instead, the judges ask the teams a few clarifying questions and share what takeout diners thought. With Carolina Queen, a few takeout orders came back because they were missing dishes and utensils. With Terra Reina, there was negative feedback about the container the aguachile was served in; it got too messy, and the plantain chip too soggy. Also, with Terra Reina, Sieger, Jonathan, and Brandon are shocked to learn about the timing issue with the judges\u2019 appetizer; it\u2019s unclear whether Oscar knowingly fibbed to his team about how long it took to avoid a confrontation, or genuinely lost track of time. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n The judges deliberate on their own, and because the teams performed so similarly, they really go in on little things. Tom calls Duyen\u2019s service \u201cimpeccable,\u201d and says Anthony is lucky he has immunity because his dish had so many technical issues. Kristen calls Laurence\u2019s dish \u201cuninspired and safe and, quite frankly, boring,\u201d which is very different from the feedback they gave him when he was in the room! Gail calls both of Sieger\u2019s dishes \u201cmediocre.\u201d But the most criticism is leveled at Brandon, who helped a ton with Jonathan and Oscar\u2019s dishes, but also served up a one-note and poorly cooked dessert. Tom says that Sieger should have, as executive chef, ordered Brandon to cook both desserts, and while I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any world in which Sieger would have done that, I see Tom\u2019s point that Brandon has been talking up his dessert prowess all season (and done well with it!) and then whiffed here. (Interestingly, the to-go issues are basically waved away; Tom practically rolls his eyes when Gail asks how much they should consider Carolina Queen diners missing items from their orders. So what was the point of putting the chefs through that at all? A silly change that I hope gets dropped for future Restaurant Wars.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s pretty clear that Carolina Queen is going to win because Terra Reina\u2019s desserts were so lackluster, and that\u2019s exactly what happens. Duyen wins, but immunity is off the table for the rest of the season, so she just gets bragging rights. And Brandon gets sent home, Tom says, for not pulling his weight, which I don\u2019t think is exactly right. Brandon failed with his dessert, but he did pull his weight by helping teammates instead of focusing on his own dish. He\u2019s going immediately into the finale of Last Chance Kitchen \u2026 and depending on how he does there, maybe he\u2019ll be back on the show next week when the chefs travel to Greenville, South Carolina, and meet last season\u2019s finalist Shuai Wang<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 The dishes I most wanted to eat this episode: Sherry\u2019s she-crab cake and soup, Laurence\u2019s pecan baklava, and both of Jonathan\u2019s dishes. A version of cod pescado a la veracruzana is pretty straightforward to make at home, and one of my favorite weeknight dinners with a huge slab of sourdough.<\/p>\n \u2022 Kristen teased last week that the winning team would get a major prize, and we learn that each of them gets an \u201cexclusive vacation\u201d to the Universal Orlando Resort. In Florida. For a Carolinas-set season?! There was nothing worth gifting in all of North and South Carolina?<\/p>\n \u2022 This is my latest conspiracy: Did anyone else notice that Terra Reina\u2019s to-go containers for ceviche were DIFFERENT from the containers the takeout diners complained about? The to-go containers we see in the kitchen were two-piece plastic with a detached lid. The to-go containers the diners complained about were a one-piece black clamshell container. Now, the plantain chip definitely would have gotten soggy in either of those, but were there enough to-go diners that the Terra Reina team ran out of one container and started using another? I didn\u2019t really get a sense of there being that much takeout demand.<\/p>\n \u2022 Very jealous of Duyen\u2019s excellent over-the-knee boots in this episode.<\/p>\n \u2022 Last Chance Kitchen spoilers for the fifth episode and season finale \u201cLast Bites\u201d: It\u2019s Brandon vs. Rhoda, with each preparing a three-course progressive menu. Their courses need to be a single bite, and all three need to be presented to Tom within 45 minutes; it\u2019s their own version of a mini Restaurant Wars. Rhoda decides on a California-Mediterranean concept, while Brandon goes broadly with seafood. Brandon serves a scallop crudo \u201ctaco\u201d with apple, fennel, and yuzu; a hushpuppy with trout roe and Andouille sausage aioli; and a quail egg raviolo with ricotta, country ham, and caviar. Rhoda presents a roasted carrot salad with goat cheese and pistachio aillade<\/a>; a seared scallop with grilled leeks and romesco sauce; and a roasted duck with grilled radicchio and grape jus. The dishes are all good, and Tom\u2019s critiques are very slight: Brandon\u2019s hushpuppy was slightly undercooked; Rhoda\u2019s romesco sauce was underseasoned. But he thinks that Rhoda\u2019s concept was stronger and her progression was better, and she wins LCK. She\u2019ll rejoin Top Chef proper next week, and Brandon\u2019s going home for good.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Housewives Institute Bulletin<\/p>\n Dame Brian Moylan breaks down all the gossip and drama, on- and off-screen, for dedicated students of the Reality Television Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n
\n Photo: Paul Cheney\/Bravo\n <\/p>\n
\u2022 Sherry: She-crab cake made with coconut milk instead of aioli, with she-crab bisque.
\u2022 Duyen (with Sherry doing her pickup): Cheese puff with country ham, comt\u00e9 cheese, and mornay sauce.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Anthony: Red rice with smoked oysters, pickled okra, crab roe, and b\u00e9arnaise sauce.
\u2022 Laurence: Pork belly with collard greens, fried scallion cornbread, and pickles.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sherry: \u201cPB&J\u201d peanut butter panna cotta, oat crumble, compressed fruits, Cheerwine gel.
\u2022 Laurence: Pecan baklava with sweet potato cr\u00e8me anglaise.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sieger: Carolina Ruby sweet potato tostada with crema and salsa negra.
\u2022 Jonathan: Snapper aguachile with grapes and apples and a plantain chip.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jonathan: Cod pescado a la veracruzana<\/a>, with stewed tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, and capers.
\u2022 Oscar (with Brandon doing his pickup): Tongue and cheek barbacoa, wrapped in a collard green leaf, with a duo of salsas<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sieger: \u201cCr\u00e9meuxso,\u201d with crema Catalana (the same custard Sieger made a few episodes ago<\/a>), chocolate, and a benne cracker<\/a>.
\u2022 Brandon: Arroz con leche (rice pudding) with Cheerwine cherry jelly.<\/p>\n