Top Chef: Karma's Four Teeth And A Gigantic Ass

The big challenge this week was to create a main dish that TGI Friday's could put on its menu. The guest judges were an executive chef from Friday's (curiously wearing no "flair") and a bunch of firemen. The chef-aspirants were given $100 and a few hours to prepare, then 15 minutes to heat/finish it up once they got to the firehouse.

Worst:
Dumbass Michael, Stockton's favorite son, reveals he worked at a Friday's for a spell. Did this give him an advantage? Evidently not. He chose to purchase beer for himself rather than cheese to complement his dish: a sloppy steak sandwich that was unimpressive, greazzzy, and overcooked. Frank, who we like but don't think has a chance in hell, made some sort of Fungi in Wonderland that was neither cute nor appetizing in appearence. Emily, who resents cooking for the types of commoners that would eat at Friday's, goes for a seafood/steak combo, her "Slamming Surf and Turf." Evidently, she "slammed" a little too much salt onto it.

The Controversy:
Marcel (a.k.a. "New Stephen," or perhaps "Astroboy" if we're judging on hair) had an onion ring component to his pork dish. He couldn't get the deep fat fryer to work (he blamed it on Michael, which may or may not be fair). He spent much of his time bitching about it. To his credit, he left the undercooked o-rings in the kitchen, and his pork chop with 'shroom sauce was fairly well recieved. However, Betty gave him a bunch of crap about his whining. Which is fine. But then similarly, Betty had some issues heating up the grilled cheese component of her dish. Marcel let her have it much the same way she did him, albeit slightly more obnoxiously.

Betty, who's been a sweetheart heretofore, really came off poorly. She was snide and bitchy and immature. And while we're not making excuses for Marcel, he's in his twenties. Betty's 44. Her dish looked delicious, but she left a sour taste in our mouth. Rise above, Betty. Rise above.

The So-so:
Ilan made a sort of bacon and corn dish, which looked great but was more of a side, not a main course. Marisa made a strawberry crisp with some other crap (she'd've had bonus points for calling it "flair")--also not a main course. Could she have used her pastry skills to make, say, a pot pie? She's had no luck with sweet stuff (like the "panna cotta hockey pucks" last week, or the middle-of-the-road ice cream from earlier in the episode). Elia's fish tacos were appreciated, but not the cream of the crop.

The Best:
Gail luurrrves the word "cravable," used by the rep from Friday's. Gail practically makes "o-face" while saying it. (Are y'all picking up on our horrible "Office Space" references here?" We know, unimpressive and unoriginal). In any case, thanks for the addition to the lexicon.

Betty rightfully made the top three with her mouth-watering tomato+red pepper soup with bacon garnish and grilled cheese+mushroom sandwiches, as did Sam with his awesome/intriguing dish of spiced fruit salad. Cliff's mac & cheese and fish sticks are also deemed "cravable."

Betty, despite her troubles, wins. Um, yay?

While Michael is acting like he's gonna fight Chef Tom or something, the judges decide that Emily needs to leave the show--essentially for putting too much authenticity (i.e., salt) into her "surf."

Ain't karma a bitch?

Tune in tonight to see who packs his or her knives next!