top Chef DC! 6

I like the quickfire concept of this episode in part but not the elimination challenge. First the concept was boring -- Cold War, really? How -- 80s.

The quickfire is a familiar one. How often have top chefs in the past had to use offal and exotic stuff? The twist was egregious, even ridiculous.

Andrea revealed herself to be pretty self-involved and egotistical. Yeah, girlfriend, you're up there with Michelle Bernstein. Sure, go ahead and blame your kids for falling behind her.

Alex doesn't know how to cook ostrich. I've had ostrich in enough restaurants to think that's pretty pathetic. It doesn't taste like chicken -- it tastes like steak. You serve it rare -- like steak. So of course it was dry. And Alex, you are now most definitely on my villain list with Angelo with your sneaky subterfuge with Amanda. I don't care for Amanda either, but please be professional.

So could I eat llama? I don't know. Does it taste like cow? They're very cute. But so are cows. I definitely couldn't eat white duck kidneys. eeewwwww. Just like Rocky Mountain oysters.

Brief pause for Washington, DC excitement. Dupont Circle! in a quick glimpse. Their tour on the Sequoia makes me curious. Is that tour available to regular people?  I wasn't recognizing the coast at all -- where were they?

So the elimination challenge is really boring. The magical elves don't explain the vocabulary and don't explain the techniques. There wasn't a whole lot of time spent on cooking because of the way the judging was structured.

And I'm not sure if I like the chefs judging each other. It's a page from a different kind of reality show. Perhaps Kenny did deserve to be on the bottom, since the judges didn't bring anyone else into the room, but you can't help but be suspicious. But cartilege sounds like an egregious sin to me, Amanda.

Tom Colicchio has the best facial expressions. When they started trashing Kevin's dish, his face was priceless, as if he was saying "you guys are just too much." You aren't impressing the head judge with your pickiness, buckos.

Commercial break. Oh dear lord, I'm dreading this DC housewives series. Bleh, yuck, poohey. I'm already sick of the Saledis as it is. Isn't their 15 minutes of fame over already?

So the second group seemed fairer and not as harsh in its judgments. As much as I hate Kenny's macho posturing, at least he's not a slimy Iago-type like Angelo, going around whispering poison in others' ears.

Tamesha's dish must have been nasty, judging from the expression on Gayle's face. She was pretty quiet at judge's table and at the dining table, too. Wonder if she's holding in the words for her new show on dessert making. I'm not that much of a dessert eater, so not certain if I'll get into it.

Then again Michelle Bernstein didn't really like Kenny's dish either, so would the judges have chosen someone else to add if the bottom wasn't really so surprising. In fact, Tom in his blog said Kenny deserved to be there.

But wh00sh that he stayed. This season seems lacking in talent, so they need to hold on to every consistent winner they can. But I kinda wonder if Angelo is somehow psyching out Kenny.

I'm sorry to see Tamesha go since she was the hometown girl and the Post and other outlets have been giving the new version of the Oval Room a thumbs-up. She sold me with irritation with Amanda. And she seemed talented -- ended up in the top on this week's Quickfire. At least she won't have Angelo whispering in her ear anymore.

PS I really did not need to know about Ed and Angelo's girlfriend. Really. Honestly. That's something for Sleezy Island, not Top Chef.