Top Chef 6.9

After re-watching the last episode and having read Tom's blog and an interview with Toby, I'm having bad vibes about restaurant wars. What if Bryan goes home? Both Tom and Toby hinted it's a shocker and I'm afraid Kevin's comments about Michael pushing Bryan's buttons and detonating a time bomb in his head.

This blind relay race is fun. Watching the lead chefs stew as the second ones follow is amusing. and you're learning about chefs' thought processes as they're cooking. This particular race really shows the technical aspects of cooking.

Poor Jennifer. I'll have to go back and see what she said originally about the fish -- trout or sablefish? ETA: yep, she said black cod when she picked the fish. Braaaaiiin fart! Gotta hate it when that happens. and at 49, trust me when I say it happens more and more the older you get.

I take back my fear about Bryan. He wasn't the captain of the team, so I don't see how he's the one to go home. Now I'm worried about the other team. Whenever a team is confident of itself, that's when they screw up. Neither of my faves can go home!

Interesting that Laurine wasn't part of the planning. And Eli's untucked shirt looks slacker. I like that they don't have to worry about decor and FOH has to do a dish this time.

Poor Robin. I think she was trying to kid around and people still take it wrong. But she was in the wrong on that whole dessert thing. Michael, while being douchy about it, was trying to help.

I'm getting more and more nervous about the Mission crew. They're starting to look disorganized and now I'm afraid Jen's going home. She's pulled this stunt before where she thinks she's in the weeds and pulls it out but this looks much more ominous. And Kevin having to do all the meat courses can't be good either. Especially if he's having to rely on a marinade from Laurine, who is a weak link on the team. And Laurine is a caterer so not experienced with running a restaurant. Otherwise, not doing dessert seems smart to me.

At first, watching the first team, Revolt seemed to be a little in the weeds, but the Mission team is looking like it's flaming out. I'm guessing now that Jennc is in big trouble. But will Laurine's mishandling of the FOH work against her? Hate the skirt. When you're short, you have to be careful about pairing short dresses with flats.

I'm definitely guessing that Mission lost. So is it Jennc or Laurine? I would vote for Laurine, but I'm prejudiced that way.

Someone in the Top Chef production room definitely doesn't like Michael V! But I laughed and laughed. He is that weird combo -- he can be nice and professional one minute and total donkeyhat the next.

Ok, Michael V is being a nice guy by sharing the money. It's interesting that Robin chooses judges' table to be assertive about her hand in the dessert. The biggest bummer is Eli's swelled head probably gets a little bit bigger.

The Voltaggio bros definitely have issues they need to resolve. Michael did do a nice thing and Bryan should be accepting of it. This could be Cain and Abel. Or Jacob and Esau. Or any other sibling rivalry. Wonder how far apart they are in age?

Thank god. She was going home sooner or later anyway. Tom and Toby were unnecessarily scaring us. Maybe they were talking about next week.

RE: preview. Mike I, curb your lust. And maybe the two Ts were talking about the upcoming ep.